Collier Research Corporate presented during the last Cyclitech, on December 16th 2016, the composites design optimization capabilities of HyperSizer Express. The design software is a user-friendly NASA-spinoff of the HyperSizer software, widely used in military and commercial aircraft and space-agency programs over the past 20 years. Aiming to better showcase the potential of the tool, the company presented a model example of lightweight bikes designing.
The challenges of computational composite bike frame optimization can indeed be even more complex than those involved with an aircraft wing, due to some details such as highly doubly curved surfaces and joint sections. HyperSizer Express enables to solve composites design complexity, obtaining maximum manufacturability, reliable prediction of ply-by-ply stresses, highest stiffness and durability at the lightest weight possible, using the least amount of expensive composite material and saving time and resources otherwise needed in prototype-test-redesign cycles. The software can as well support the growing number of other industries and applications that are adopting composites to make lighter, stronger and more durable products, such as automotive components, sport equipments, medical prostheses, robotic parts, boats and wind turbine blades.