Digital Twin Methodology For Compression Moulded Thermoplastic Composite Optimisation.

There has been significant uptake of compression moulded continuous fibre thermoplastic composite parts, particularly within emerging composite sectors, in recent years. Further growth has been limited however by difficulties in material substitute product optimisation. The integration of digital simulation and manufacture techniques into the laminate design and optimisation process is proposed to exploit advances in high performance digital computing to improve product design efficiencies. The proposed process uses Siemens FiberSIM composite manufacturing software to develop a laminate Digital Twin. Optimisation iterations are then applied to the Digital Twin and assessed for mechanical performance increases and improvements in manufacturing efficiencies. Prototypes show clear improvements in stiffness using selective reinforcement informed by the Digital Twin model. The application of selective reinforcement is also shown to reduce material usage by 13%. The technical challenges of developing and deploying a Digital Twin are discussed and evaluated. The principals discussed in this work can be translated to other continuous fibre reinforced composites and processes.