Feature Aeronautics Can costs hinder the penetration of composites in the future? Simulation .............. p26 Cost-effectiveness p28 Low cost manufacturing .... p30 Thin-ply .................... p33 High temperature p36 Laser placement p45 Release agent ..... p47 AFP / ATL Filament Winding Prepreg Making Prepreg Slitting Composite Machining Equipment & Software www.mikrosam.com simulation New generation of software to accelerate composite materials developement Composites offer enormous lightweighting potential to aerospace and automotive companies, and just as enormous a design challenge. Composites insertion is however hindered by the amount of physical testing required prior to design. The acceleration of the development of composites can be made possible thanks to dedicated simulation softwares that help decision making for optimal physical testing in the face of fluctuating fuel prices, regulatory and environmental pressures, lightweighting has become a top design priority in both the aerospace and automotive industry. Composites are a logical weight-saving alternative to aluminium and steel, offering an unbeatable combination of high strength and low density. By Philippe Hebert Product manager e-Xstream Engineering T he thousands of variables that composites introduce into the design process are an obstacle to their faster 26 jec composites magazine / No96 April 2015 adoption throughout the supply chain. Every layup of a composite that is designed to give it particular stiffness and strength in specific areas also creates new potential damage mechanisms: delamination, fibre breakage and matrix cracking, fibre-matrix de-bonding, etc. Every layup must be tested extensively to determine their behaviour as part of an aircraft design, particularly their tolerance to damage that can be caused by manufacturing-related defects, normal use and accidents. All of the critical knowledge required to design durable composite components and assemblieshttp://www.mikrosam.com