On the Development of an Open-Source Toolbox for the Structural Analysis of Composite Materials

Commonly used in structural applications since the ’90s, composite materials represent a valid alternative to metallic solutions. An intense research activity accompanied the spread of this technology to the point that, nowadays, a large variety of modeling techniques and tools are at the designers’ disposal. Although the literature on this topic is vast, detailed, and thorough, the need for new, faster, and more efficient design tools and methodologies remains. In this context, this work covers the development of an Open-Source computational laminate analysis toolbox, its structure, and its validation. The objective of the research was the creation of a simple and accessible mean for the calculation of laminates’ stresses in complex structural components with a reduced computational cost. To this end, the authors implemented the basics of micro, meso, and micromechanics in a Python-based toolbox and then performed a validation campaign against the results of an FE analysis. The work resulted in an inputgeneration/ output-analysis instrument to be used by designers alongside the FEA.