LUXEMBOURG - Nov 12, 2019 – e-Xstream engineering, a market leader in materials simulation software and engineering services and part of Hexagon, announces advanced new capabilities to derive more accurate design values for fibre reinforced composites, model structural crash of Sheet Moulding Compound (SMC) and understand the safety limits of lightweighting using the Camanho method.

Digimat 2019.1 provides mechanical engineers a new approach to determine allowables in safety-critical industries, complementing physical test campaigns to determine material variability and performance through simulation and establish greater confidence in "virtual coupon" tests.

Material modelling of is also improved for high fibre content CFRP. Microstructure analyses now replace random fibre placement with realistic fibre positions based on the Melro statistical model to enable direct engineering of the material.

Meshing complex geometries to the required density and scale for finite element analysis is rarely feasible. A new Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) solver makes it possible to analyse advanced composite materials microstructures, and computes 10-100 times faster. By eliminating time-consuming meshing and accelerating compute, users can screen more materials and investigate the performance of a material across more dimensions.

Digimat 2019.1 also further advances manufacturing process simulation. Design engineers can now accurately predict fatigue lifetime to design more optimal parts using Short Fibre Reinforced Plastic (SFRP). A new model resulting from continued collaboration with DSM Engineering Plastics enhances fatigue modelling to account for local plasticity in SFRP under constant load amplitude.

An industry-first approach to modelling structural crash applications also now enables design engineers to better understand how common manufacturing issues affect the Sheet Moulding Compounds (SMCs), for example enabling lightweighting at point of design for automotive applications. Built-in modelling accounts for varying anisotropy, damage propagation and weld line weakness.