SBIR Phase I: Thermo-mechanical analysis of chopped fiber-reinforced plastics for the design engineer

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力可能是在注塑件分析方面取得的重大进展，通过这些材料的创新新用途提供显着的社会效益。在这方面特别值得注意的是汽车工业。尽管复合材料在汽车应用中的前景一直很好，但由于在具有挑战性的负载条件下性能的不确定性，该行业在广泛使用复合材料方面进展缓慢。设想中的软件的成功推出将为该行业带来转型变革，在能源效率和安全方面带来显著的长期社会效益。除汽车工业外，短切纤维结构部件在消费品、航空航天部件和电子产品中无处不在。该公司的目标是提供精确的解决方案，涉及复杂的材料行为，生产的零件设计为最高效率，并在初始制造中实现，而不是经过多次生产迭代。其结果是一种颠覆性的技术，将大大降低生产成本。这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目解决了与非线性材料建模相关的巨大技术挑战，以及使用短切纤维复合材料制成的结构部件的失效。短切纤维复合材料的纤维体积分数和取向产生可能在整个结构中变化的野生微观结构构型。典型聚合物基体材料的复杂变形机制大大放大了这一问题。此外，聚合物的行为受到环境和负载条件的显著影响。现有的用于短切纤维结构部件工程分析的软件解决方案要么由于过于简化而不足，要么在另一个极端，过于复杂而难以实现，从而使它们对典型的设计工程师毫无用处。缺乏适当的软件解决方案会导致昂贵的过度设计和显著延长的上市周期。该公司的目标是提供精确的解决方案，涉及复杂的材料行为，生产的零件设计为最高效率，并在初始制造中实现，而不是经过多次生产迭代。该公司软件的一个特点是强调简单性，同时仍能产生高保真的应力分析，模拟复杂的非线性材料行为。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project may be characterized by major advances in analysis of injection-molded parts, providing notable societal benefits through innovative new uses of these materials. Of particular note in this regard is the automotive industry. Despite the long held promise of composite materials in automotive applications, the industry has been slow to adopt widespread use of composites due to uncertainties in performance under challenging loading conditions. A successful rollout of the envisioned software will bring transformational change to this industry, leading to notable long-term societal benefits related to energy efficiency and safety. Beyond the automotive industry, chopped fiber structural components are ubiquitous in consumer products, aerospace components, and electronics. The company's goal is to provide accurate solutions involving complex material behavior, producing parts designed for maximum efficiency and achieved at initial fabrication rather than after multiple production iterations. The result is a disruptive technology that will dramatically lower the cost of production.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the immense technical challenge associated with nonlinear material modeling to failure of structural components made using chopped fiber composite materials. The fiber volume fractions and orientations of a chopped fiber composite material produce wild microstructural configurations that may vary throughout the structure. The problem is significantly amplified by the complex deformation mechanisms occurring in typical polymer matrix materials. Moreover, polymer behavior is dramatically influenced by environmental and loading conditions. Existing software solutions for the engineering analysis of chopped fiber structural components are either inadequate due to gross oversimplifications or, at the other extreme, overly complex to implement, thereby rendering them useless to the typical design engineer. Lack of an adequate software solution results in expensive over-design and dramatically longer cycles to market. The company's goal is to provide accurate solutions involving complex material behavior, producing parts designed for maximum efficiency and achieved at initial fabrication rather than after multiple production iterations. A hallmark of the company's software is an emphasis on simplicity while still producing high fidelity stress analyses simulating complex nonlinear material behaviors.