Variable Stiffness Composite Structures

Overview

Variable stiffness composites — made possible by AFP’s ability to steer fiber paths — offer significant improvements in buckling resistance, damage tolerance, and structural efficiency compared to conventional straight-fiber laminates.

Approach

LAMMA combines computational structural optimization with AFP manufacturing to design and fabricate composite panels with spatially varying fiber orientations and thickness profiles. Buckling performance is characterized experimentally and validated against finite element models.

Applications

Aerospace primary structures, UAV airframes, and urban air mobility (UAM) vehicle components where weight and structural efficiency are critical.