Linking manufacturing simulation with functional performance engineering for composites applications

The study reported in this paper shows the importance for taking into account the manufacturing simulation on the performance of a composite component. First the different type of manufacturing simulations are discussed after which the influence of the draping on an omega shaped stiffener is assessed. The predicted response is compared to experimentally measured FRFs. It is concluded that for this components the influence of having the accurate local thickness distribution and material properties are crucial for predicting the correct response. In a final step an inverse identification of the local thickness profiled is attempted by evaluating the predicted and measured FRF and trying to match them by changing the local thickness.