Simulation of 3D Composites with ANSYS
Composites are increasingly used in the design of fans, turbine blades in the aerospace industry, and in the oil and gas industry for pressure vessels, pipes, and tanks. To simulate these thick composites, specific tools are required, which we will review in this video.
Illustrating the Process
We will examine a pressure vessel, focusing on:
- Stresses and the mesh
- Failure criteria
Steps in Simulation
- Start with a CAD model of the pressure vessel.
- Simplify the model to extract a surface used as a mold for defining the plies of the composite structures and materials.
- Define the materials and fabrics to determine the thicknesses of the plies.
- Define the orientation, specifically the zero angle definition on the structure.
- Define the plies, including their angles, locations, and the number of plies required in the model.
- Review the plies through section cuts to locate them and identify drop-offs.
- Create a 3D model from the plies definition for subsequent simulations.
Assembly and Simulation
The pressure vessel also includes two external caps made of titanium, which are assembled with the composite vessel. The mesh corresponding to the various plies in the composites is visible in the section cut.
Analysis and Results
Once the loads and boundary conditions are defined, the solution can be computed to analyze:
- Deformations
- Stresses within the plies
- Stresses within the mold, either on the full mold or within a section cut
At this stage, results can be reviewed within the composites to evaluate failure criteria and reasons for failure over each element. Additionally, you can investigate a given element through its thickness to assess stresses or failure criteria.
Design Improvements
It is crucial to examine the thickness of each element and the failure of each single ply to identify potential failure points. This allows for design changes to strengthen the structure.
If you want to learn more about the simulation of thick composites, you can visit or contact Ozen Engineering, Inc.
Composites are now more and more used in the design of fans, in the design of turbine blades in the aerospace industry, or in the oil and gas industry for pressure vessels, for pipes, for tanks. To simulate such thick composites, we need specific tools that we will review in this video.
To illustrate the process, we will look at a pressure vessel, from which we see here stresses and the mesh, and here the failure criteria.
We start from a CAD model of the pressure vessel that we will simplify to extract a surface used as a mold for defining the plies of the composite structures, as well as the materials. Once the materials are defined, we can define the fabrics that will be used to get the thicknesses of the plies.
The next step consists in defining the orientation, i.e., the zero angle definition on the structure. Then, we can start effectively defining the plies, what their angles are, what their location is, and as many plies as required in this model.
When all plies are defined, we can review through section cut where the plies are and where the drop-offs are located. Now, a 3D model is created out of the plies definition and will be used for subsequent simulations.
Our pressure vessel also consists of two external caps made of titanium that we will assemble with the composites vessel, which we see here. We see the mesh corresponding to the various plies in the composites in this section cut.
And once the loads and boundary conditions have been defined, we can compute the solution to look at deformations, to look at stresses within the plies. We can also look at stresses within the mold, on the full mold, or within a section cut.
At this stage, we can also review the results within the composites to look at failure criteria and the reason for failure over each element. Or we could look at a given element through the thickness and investigate the stresses or the failure criteria through the thickness of the element.
A very useful step is to look at the thickness of the element. This is also useful for looking at the failure of each single ply to see where failure may occur and apply design changes to those plies to make the structure stronger.
If you want to learn more about the simulation of 3D composites, you can visit us or contact us.
