Case Study: ÉTS (Team Rafale) achieves a lightweight, high-performance C‑Class foiling catamaran with Altair HyperWorks (OptiStruct)

Design and Optimization of a High Performance C-Class Catamaran with HyperWorks

ÉTS (École de Technologie Supérieure) Team Rafale set out to design and build a high-performance C‑Class catamaran under strict class limits (25 ft length, 14 ft width, <300 sq ft sail) and an aggressive sub-18‑month schedule to compete in the Little America’s Cup. To meet extreme weight and strength targets for carbon composite hydrofoils, cross‑beams and a 45 ft rigid wing sail, the team partnered with Altair and used the HyperWorks suite—specifically OptiStruct—for advanced laminated composites design and optimization.

Altair implemented a three‑phase composite optimization workflow in OptiStruct (free‑sizing, ply bundling, ply‑shuffling) integrated with CAD, enabling rapid iterations (hours vs. days) and automated composite data exchange. The result: a main cross beam that carries ~3000 lbf but weighs only 18 lbs, hydrofoils under 2 sq ft and <30 lbs producing up to 1000 lbf lift, a boat that foiled successfully and reached 26.7 knots, and on‑time completion for competition—demonstrating Altair’s ability to shorten development time and help ETS meet its performance and weight objectives.

ETS

Julien Chaussée

Lead Design Engineer and Founder