The design process of aerospace structures currently assumes precisely manufactured structures having no residual stresses. These prerequisites are quite often not valid for composite structures. Typical manufacturing processes (liquid composite moulding, heating, cooling, bonding, etc.) essentially affect their mechanical properties. The analysis and the simulation of the production process in all its different phases are helpful for the design of high-performance light-weight structures. This is in particular valid for a further reduction of station times of the composite manufacturing which may lead to higher impreciseness, errors or imperfections. Process simulation will contribute essentially to cost savings.
Future numerical simulation of structural tests trends to consider all real test conditions leading to similar specifications as defined for the process simulation. This requires so called„virtual test beds“.
The aim of the development of virtual test beds is to complement, prepare, optimize, or even substitute expensive experiments.