Firm:

          

Intact Solutions

          

   

Address:

          

345 West Washington Avenue Suite 301, Madison, WI 53703 - 3007

          

   

Phone:

          

(608) 469-7292                                                                                                                                                                                

          

   

Name:

          

University of Delaware

          

   

Address:

          

210 Hullihen Hall, DE 19716 - 0099

          

   

Phone:

          

(302) 831-8626                                                                                                                                                                                

          

   

Name:

          

Dr. Xingchen Liu

          

   

E-mail:

          

Xliu@intact-solutions.com

          

   

Address:

          

345 W Washington Ave Ste 301, WI 53703 - 3007

          

   

Phone:

          

(608) 515-9322                                                                                                                                                                                

          

   

Name:

          

Mary Freytag

          

   

E-mail:

          

maryf@intact-solutions.com

          

   

Address:

          

211 South Paterson Street, Suite 350, WI 53703 - 4504

          

   

Phone:

          

(608) 469-7292                                                                                                                                                                                

          

   

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) :                                                                                                                                                          
Begin: 3
End: 6

          

          

     

Technical Abstract (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words):

The unique advantage of tow-steered composites arises from the ability to tailor and vary the stiff fiber alignment continuously. However, the existing design tools for composite structures are limited to straight fiber systems and simple geometric configurations --leading to suboptimal designs and the inability to take advantage of improvements in composite manufacturing technologies. Development and deployment of new design tools are challenging due to challenges in interoperability, automation, and user interfaces.

 

In this STTR project, Intact Solutions in collaboration with the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials will develop Intact.Fiber, a commercial-grade API that provides an interoperable and extendable interface supporting the parameterization, manufacturability constraints, physical simulation, and optimization of tow-steered composites. The salient features of Intact.Fiber include: (1) towpath query interfacing different design space parameterizations, (2) geometric queries interfacing manufacturability constraint checks, (3) moment queries interfacing finite element physical simulation packages (NASTRAN), (4) Interchangeable and interoperable tow-steer composites design through optimization, (5) fabrication of tow-steered laminate designs.

 

Intact.Fiber will allow the rapid and automated design of advanced composites tailored to reduce weight and improve structural properties, taking advantage of expanding manufacturing capabilities and delivering drastic reductions in development time and cost. Through the interoperable and ready-to-use manufacturability constraints and finite element simulation with NASTRAN for different towpath representations, Intact.Fiber’s architecture is designed to explore wide design spaces spanned by different towpath representations and optimization algorithms, delivering improved performance with optimal lightweight designs with highly tailored load paths.

          

          

     

Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words):

Intact.Fiber can be used to optimize the design of

• Aircraft structures, such as wing skins and stringer-stiffener wing panels design, which is of interest to Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
• Spacecraft launch vehicle tanks, specifically intertanks, which is of interest to the Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Artemis programs
• Rotor blades, which is of interest to NASA’s Mars Helicopter mission

          

          

     

Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words):

Intact.Fiber can be used to optimize the design of

• next-generation airframe technology such as the Boeing X-48 blended wing body
• Wind turbine blades, which is of interest to GE/Siemens
• Lightweight 3D printed parts that are optimized for topology and fiber orientation
• next-generation automobile (electric/gas) chassis technology

          

          

     

Duration:     12