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Department of EnergyRobust Design of Wind Turbine BladesAlphaSTAR demonstrated Certification-by-Analysis (CBA) capability for wind turbine blades made from advanced lightweight composite materials. The approach integrated durability and damage tolerance analysis with robust design and virtual testing capabilities to deliver superior, durable, low weight, low cost, long life, and reliable wind turbine blade design. AlphaSTAR implemented cost effective design methods with special focus on service life and durability and damage tolerance (D&DT). It accounted for the considerable scatter in manufacturing anomalies and defects (i.e. voids, fiber waviness, and fiber and matrix damage during manufacturing). AlphaSTAR implemented well established modeling and design techniques that reduced weight by as much as 15% without loss in reliability or durability and with no increase in cost. Progressive failure analysis and test validation of Sandia's BSDS blade under static loading
High-Performance Computing Development of a Real-Time Dynamic Super-Element Forced PartitioningThe ever-increasing size of computational structural mechanics (CSM) simulations imposes a pressing need for commensurate increases in computational speed to keep costs and computation times in check. Conventional FEM development tools do not have the flexibility, where major components (e.g. wing/fuselage, wing/engine, etc.) can be changed while keeping the other components unchanged. During the aircraft preliminary and detail design phases, modification and/or redesign of particular substructures are often required. Each time a substructure is modified, the entire airframe structural response must be re-calculated. Such calculations are extremely time consuming and expensive due to the large scale of the entire airframe's structural model. A flexible-forced and/or automatic partitioning technique, based on super-elements, was developed by AlphaSTAR to isolate designated portions of a structure for evaluation. The technique allows the engineer a broad range of partitioning choices for a large structure. This approach reduces the cost and time of airframe structural configuration trade studies because trade studies generally concentrate on a single substructure. Consequently computer processing can be concentrated on target areas. It is anticipated with the developed technology to reduce running time for progressive failure analysis by two orders of magnitude.
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