Digimat-VA (“Virtual Allowables”) empowers engineers to virtually compare composite materials before starting a lengthy physical allowables process. By using Digimat-VA, it’s now easy to generate hundreds or thousands of coupon simulations. Composite variability can be addressed and understood, bringing more confidence in design values. By generating virtual allowables, engineers can now start the component design in parallel with the physical allowable campaign. Furthermore, it enables users to explore material sensitivity to parameter variability and thus better understand the performance of composites.

The judges based their decision on Digimat’s ability to provide engineers with advanced, accurate descriptions of local composite behavior. That knowledge gives them the confidence to take full advantage of composites’ potential to replace metals with lighter but equally strong parts, assemblies and systems. The judges also praised Digimat’s integration into existing design processes, and for bridging the gap between manufacturing process and structural analysis.

Understanding and characterizing composites and the generation of allowables requires a substantial amount of physical testing of coupons. This is costly, and more importantly, a time consuming process,” said Roger Assaker, Chief Material Strategist and CEO of e-Xstream engineering, an MSC Software company. “To reduce this time and cost, we have developed Digimat-VA, a vertical Digimat solution aimed at setting up virtual test campaigns to generate and run thousands of coupon analyses, post-process the results and validate allowables.

-Roger Assaker, CEO & Chief Material Strategist
e-Xstream engineering, an MSC Software Company