Case Study: EADS achieves greener, lower‑cost composite aircraft designs with Dassault Systèmes' Abaqus FEA

Greener, cleaner aircraft with Abaqus FEA from SIMULIA

EADS, Europe’s leading aerospace company, needed to produce “greener, cleaner” aircraft by replacing metal components with complex composite structures and accurately analyzing a critical wing flap support (the LIR) to avoid delamination and thermal mismatch. To meet this challenge EADS worked with Dassault Systemes, using SIMULIA’s Abaqus FEA to model the composite behavior and attachment details.

Using Abaqus FEA from Dassault Systemes, the EADS team built a detailed 3D model (~450,000 DOF), evaluated multiple load cases and all 324 rivets, and validated in‑plane and transversal stresses. The analysis allowed EADS to simplify the LIR geometry for uniform thickness and automated lay‑up—reducing manufacturing costs—while proving that stress components were within tolerances and all rivets met or surpassed strength specifications.

EADS

Tamas Havar

Specialist