FEA Optimizes Airframe Panels

Virtual product development tools such as MSC.Marc help to prove that aerospace components made of new aluminum alloys can be lighter and stronger than composite structures. However, the month-long processing time currently required for the design of each panel must be greatly reduced. To achieve this goal, Alcan Aerospace has automated the finite element analysis of structural airframe panels by developing a subroutine named Panel for MSC.Marc nonlinear simulation software. The Panel subroutine reduces the meshing and processing time from a month to a single day or less for each panel, placing aluminum within an acceptable aerospace industry time frame and price point. MSC.Marc and the Panel simulation tool speed optimization of buckling, fatigue crack growth, and residual strength properties for aluminum airframe panels.