Safety constraints are driving innovation in advanced material use

摘要

Material forms the heart of any design. It determines a component's cost, performance, durability and reliability, and passes on those properties to the wider product. Customer expectations and environmental imperatives are therefore driving greater scrutiny into how engineers can best exploit materials. Take, for example, the UK aviation sector's commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. To meet this ambitious target, which will require more light-weighting and design evolution than the industry has ever had to contend with, the old ways of understanding material performance will not work. Many engineers are looking to composites and reinforced thermoplastics as a way of increasing the rate of innovation while still complying with stringent safety regulations, but this is only feasible when paired with advanced modelling that allows you to make assumptions with the same confidence (or more) as a traditional steel element in FEA.