Collier Research Release HyperSizer v6.2 for Improved Design and Manufacturability
25 May 2012
25 May 2012
Collier Research has released HyperSizerv6.2 structural sizing and analysis software which includes new modelling capabilities for airframe wing box designs, and laminate zone and ply-count optimisation enhancements to improve manufacturing efficiency.
“Composites are booming due to stepped-up fuel consumption efficiency goals,” says Craig Collier, President of Collier Research. “This is pushing the movement towards light-weighting. But creation of lighter, stronger designs is limited by many of today’s standard industry practices. Weight is needlessly added because engineers have only a partial view of options. They often overdesign to play it safe.”
Collier explains, to overcome such drawbacks, HyperSizer targets weight while serving as an independent and neutral data exchange hub for CAD, FEA, and composite software packages. It iterates with FEA solvers, calculates margins of safety, validates failure predictions with test data, and sequences composite laminates for fabrication—avoiding weight growth as designs mature.
“HyperSizer works from preliminary design through flight certification,” says Collier. “This gives the engineering team a more wide-open conceptual design space for performing trade studies involving thousands of alternatives. They can find robust solutions that lead to significant weight and cost savings. On average our customers reduce weight by 20 percent.”
“In the past, our designs were often overweight,” says Ian Fernandez, former Materials and Analysis Lead on NASA Ames Research Centre’s LADEE satellite project. “HyperSizer has enabled our Centre to be more competitive in this regard. It’s a robust analysis tool that allows us to complete our weight and strength studies in far less time, while finding optimal ply coverage.”
According to Collier, new features and enhancements in HyperSizer v6.2 include:
Collier Research will be demonstrating HyperSizer v6.2 this week at the SAMPE (Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering) conference, Booth 1049, May 22-24 in Baltimore, US.
