Case Study: PoliTo Sailing Team achieves a lighter, stiffer, competition-ready skiff with Altair HyperWorks

Close hauled with HyperWorks Student Team of Politecnico di Torino Sails Away from Competition

PoliTo Sailing Team, a 40‑student group from Politecnico di Torino, entered the 1001VELAcup with the challenge of designing and building a skiff under strict class rules that mandate sustainable materials (wood, flax/basalt fibers, aluminum rig) and tight size limits. To meet the competing goals of minimal weight and high stiffness while handling unusual load cases, the team used Altair’s HyperWorks suite of CAE tools to support their structural design and validation.

Using HyperWorks tools—HyperMesh, OptiStruct and HyperView—the students modeled a tubular aluminum support with 1D bar elements, characterized material properties, ran worst‑case load analyses, and iteratively optimized tube sections until achieving minimum deflection with minimum weight. Supported by Altair Italy with licenses and documentation, the solution produced a lighter, stiffer ATKA skiff made of 70% sustainable materials, reduced development time and costs, and delivered measurable gains in stiffness and weight reduction that helped the team successfully compete in the 1001VELAcup.

PoliTo Sailing Team

Claudio Moscoloni

Manager of Structural Area