structural analysis of awa’s composite connecting rod€¦ · overview arthur warfield &...

OVERVIEW Arthur Warfield & Associates, LLC (AWA) is developing a full line of composite engine components currently unavailable in the automotive race industry. AWA partnered with ATA to analyze their composite connecting rod fabricated from a 3-D orthogonally woven polymer matrix composite (PMC) from Fiber Material, Inc., (FMI) and compare its performance to the aluminum counterpart. ATA, well known for work performed in the aerospace industry, used its composite material characterization soﬅware, COMPAS, to predict responses of this advanced composite system using limited material property data. The performance of the PMC rod and that of an identical rod made from ultra-high- strength aluminum were compared side by side to assess how FMI’s PMC stands up to other top- performing materials in this application. TASKS PERFORMED & KEY OUTCOMES h Generated material properties for FMI’s PMC using ATA’s COMPAS soﬅware. h Developed detailed finite element models (FEMs) of a 3-D orthogonally woven PMC connecting rod and an ultra-high strength aluminum connecting rod. h ATA’s enhanced binary model (EBM) accounts for the nonlinear response at the fiber/matrix interface, allowing for relative sliding between fiber and matrix. h Estimated connecting rod loads for racing applications using a chemical kinetics model. h Performed nonlinear static analyses to judge rod performance during the entire engine cycle. h Predicted the fatigue life of the PMC and aluminum rods under operating conditions. h PMC connecting rod was predicted to outlive its ultra-high strength aluminum counterpart for specific racing applications. Structural Analysis of AWA’s Composite Connecting Rod Case Study Matrix shear stresses (top), tow stresses (middle), and interfacial loads (bottom) under compression © ATA Engineering, Inc. 2018 Aluminum connecting rod (top) and composite connecting rod (bottom) Images courtesy of FMI www.ata-e.com ata-engineering @ataengineering [email protected] 858.480.2000 San Diego Corporate Headquarters Denver Huntsville Los Angeles Washington, D.C. San Francisco Albuquerque

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OVERVIEW

Arthur Warfield & Associates, LLC (AWA) is developing a full line of composite engine components

currently unavailable in the automotive race industry. AWA partnered with ATA to analyze their

composite connecting rod fabricated from a 3-D orthogonally woven polymer matrix composite (PMC)

from Fiber Material, Inc., (FMI) and compare its performance to the aluminum counterpart. ATA, well

known for work performed in the aerospace industry, used its composite material characterization

software, COMPAS, to predict responses of this advanced composite system using limited material

property data. The performance of the PMC rod and that of an identical rod made from ultra-high-

strength aluminum were compared side by side to assess how FMI’s PMC stands up to other top-

performing materials in this application.

TASKS PERFORMED & KEY OUTCOMES h Generated material properties for FMI’s PMC using ATA’s COMPAS software. h Developed detailed finite element models (FEMs) of a 3-D orthogonally woven PMC connecting

rod and an ultra-high strength aluminum connecting rod.

h ATA’s enhanced binary model (EBM) accounts for the nonlinear response at the fiber/matrix

interface, allowing for relative sliding between fiber and matrix.

h Estimated connecting rod loads for racing applications using a chemical kinetics model.

h Performed nonlinear static analyses to judge rod performance during the entire engine cycle.

h Predicted the fatigue life of the PMC and aluminum rods under operating conditions.

h PMC connecting rod was predicted to outlive its ultra-high strength aluminum counterpart for

specific racing applications.

Structural Analysis of AWA’s Composite Connecting Rod

Case Study

Matrix shear stresses (top), tow stresses (middle), and interfacial loads (bottom) under compression

Aluminum connecting rod (top) and composite connecting rod (bottom)