Title: The Digital Twin of a Material – What is it and How it is Changing the Way We Design Airplanes

Authors: Mahesh K. Chengalva, Vivian T. Dang

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/s.24.0243

Abstract: The past few decades have seen an explosion in the application of digital technology and the aerospace industry is no exception. As the industry steadily increases the use of the digital tools, digital twins are rapidly preceding physical counterparts in all types of applications. While digital twins of individual parts or even large assemblies can readily be visualized, what exactly is the digital twin of a material? It is the continuum-mechanics representation of all aspects of the mechanical behavior of the material comprising of a collection of equations and algorithms, encapsulated in a piece of software referred to as the ‘material subroutine’. When the digital twin of a material is manifested in the digital twin of a structure, such as a structural analysis (FEM) model of a component or even a complex assembly, a powerful new capability is unleashed. Virtual testing suddenly becomes feasible. Entire structures can now be virtually tested to failure to determine ultimate load capability and the precise origin of failure down to the point within a hole surface or specific ply. This powerful technology, the subject matter of our proposed paper, has been in production usage at Boeing for several years and will provide leading-edge industry insight into a game-changer in the making.

References: [1]J. Johnsson and M. Day, Boeing Taps Amazon, Microsoft and Google for Cloud Mega-Deal, Bloomberg, April 6, 2009. [2]L. Malvern, Introduction to the Mechanics of a Continuous Medium, Pearson College Div; 1st edition, 1977. [3]J. Lubliner, Plasticity Theory, Pearson Publishing, 1990. [4]D6-85605-102, UFEM Theory for Ductile Structures, The Boeing Company, 2017. [5]ABAQUS 2016 Users Guide, Section 1.2.22, VUMAT: User Subroutine to define material behavior, Simulia.

Conference: SAMPE 2024

Publication Date: 2024/05/20

SKU: TP24-0000000243

Pages: 16

Price: $32.00