Designing Future Materials with Desired Properties Using Numerical Analysis

Abstract

The swift advancement of the computer power and the recent advances in the numerical techniques, and improved strength and failure material models, resulted in accurate simulation of manufacturing processes and events, such as stress optimization during lamination process of polymers and impact into multi-layer opaque and transparent armor configurations. Parametric analysis of materials of known material models can contribute to the development of future materials. The systematic numerical analysis of the effect of material properties, such as modulus of elasticity, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength, on the performance of various systems can provide researchers and manufacturers crucial design information for the technologies of the future. This paper presents the modeling efforts at U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) to develop a correlation between failure mechanisms and the material properties obtained experimentally leading to future materials technologies for personnel protection.