Concept: Layup verse Laminate

[njaneer]

Hypersizer provides two composite defintions types: Layups and Laminates.

Layups: this defintion provides individual ply angles but not material properties; also, each ply within the layup must be the same material. During optimization, a layup definition tells Hypersizer to choose the optimal material property for the specified ply orientation.

Laminates: this defintion provides both ply angle and material properties. Unlike the layup, each ply within the laminate can be composed of different materials. This capability is extremely useful when attempting to optimize a sandwich Structure that uses a one material for the facesheets (e.g., Carbon) and another for the core (e.g., Foam).

When performing optimization it is important to remember that the layups are paired with orthotropic materials in order to complete the defintion needed to perform the analysis. However, since laminates already have the material definition, no other information is required.