A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 2 3 Fifty designs were evaluated in less than two hours and an optimal solution was discovered among twenty- three feasible designs, i.e., designs that satisfied all the constraint requirements. It is worth noting that a traditional design approach typically leads to a feasible design, which is not necessarily the optimum one. Further effort can be required to identify the optimum design. Finding the optimum design of a complex system such as a composite hydrogen pressure vessel was the goal of this proof-of-concept MDO study. Automating the design process identified the optimum design five times faster than a traditional design approach. This achieved the goal and significantly reduced the risk of human error in the process of data transfer. With the U.K. looking to position itself as a hub for agile, high-tech manufacturing, MDO presents an enormous opportunity to substantially improve product design, development, and manufacturing time to market. automation and MDO, laying the foundation for future applications. MDO offers a step-change in design engineering and can significantly reduce product development and time to market. It provides manufacturers with a process that can be easily adapted to meet new product and market requirements, offering a level of agility that will drive innovation, enable competitive advantage and engineering leadership in the global competitive marketplace. ~AM&P For more information: Camilla Osmiani, advanced research engineer, National Composites Centre, Bristol and Bath Science Park, Feynman Way Central, Emersons Green, Bristol BS16 7FS, U.K., comms@nccuk.com, 0117.370.7600, www.nccuk.com. NEXT STEPS MDO of the hydrogen pressure vessel was a proof-of-concept project to develop an understanding of the steps involved in setting up an automated multidisciplinary analysis, to demonstrate the concept, viability, and benefits of the approach. The process can be applied to other products, from composite hydrogen pressure vessels for different applications to composite cryogenic tanks, by adapting the automated design process to quickly explore and optimize designs that address different objectives, under a different set of constraints. Linked to this, the NCC is also focused on integrating the MDO process flowwith CAD-CAMmodeling to enable the automatic generation of machine code for manufacture. CONCLUSION The hydrogen pressure vessel test case successfully demonstrated the application and benefits of design
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