NEXTGEN HIGH FIDELITY DATASETS TO VALIDATE ADVANCED COMPUTATIONAL METHODS FOR COMPOSITE HYGROTHERMAL-MECHANICAL RESPONSE

Abstract

Industry at large has been slow to adopt novel advanced structural analysis techniques for composite structures despite several recent government, industry, and academia partnership efforts to advance the maturity of the tools. Much of the challenge is associated with the value of the developed technical data packages as the demonstrated capabilities of the methods lacked industrial relevance for current and next generation material systems and composite construction. While simple coupon level analysis for static strength at room temperature ambient conditions has shown tremendous growth in Technical Readiness Levels, many methods are still immature to address higher level elements in the structural building block and lack appropriate validation protocols for accounting for the effects of temperature and moisture. These conditions often drive structural sizing and present a near term opportunity to better understand temperature and moisture effects that often take several months before test data is available. The High Fidelity Building Block and Validation Protocols for NextGen Composite Methods Program (N00014-21-C-1008) seeks bridge the gap of high fidelity test data and associated protocols for validating advanced structural analysis tools for composite structures including temperature and moisture. The program includes test articles that are fabricated from IM7/5320-1 tape as well as FM309-1 structural adhesive to maintain a high degree of relevancy for future aircraft needs and to increase the value of the technical data packages required for industry adoption of methods. The paper provides an overview of industry needs for advanced analysis capabilities and how the high fidelity data can be used to address them.