Granta Design, the leaders in materials information technology, announced Phase II of a Project to enable effective management of composite materials information, providing essential support for organizations that are innovating in their use of composites.

The Composite Data Management project is driven by the Material Data Management Consortium (MDMC), a unique collaboration that develops and applies software to manage mission-critical materials data in the aerospace, defense, and energy sectors.

The announcement comes from the JEC Americas Show in Boston, MA, where Granta are demonstrating the software tools that resulted from Phase I. Granta will also speak on this topic at the upcoming SAMPE Tech Conference in Wichita, KS (Oct 21-24).

In Phase I of the Project, members of the MDMC’s Composites Subcommittee (which include Boeing, Honeywell, NASA, Northrop Grumman, Rolls-Royce, and others) guided design of a database structure to capture the complex interconnected data needed to characterize composite materials.

They also specified requirements for tools to help them apply this information traceably and securely within their organizations. Granta Design used these findings to develop composite data management templates and tools within the leading materials information management system, GRANTA MI.

Five areas were identified where composites pose a particular data management challenge:

At the end of Phase I, a robust materials information management solution has been developed to meet these challenges. It ensures that data is easily accessible, traceable, and available for use in further analysis, and that the results of this analysis can then be stored in the same system.

The effectiveness of this solution has been validated through practical application by MDMC members. Phase II will draw on this experience to further advance the system, reducing risk and saving time in the development of composite structures and the products that use them.

“The main focus of the Material Data Management Consortium has always been to maximize productivity, while maintaining quality, traceability, and security of mission-critical materials data,“ explains Granta’s Dr. Will Marsden.

“As the Composites Subcommittee enters Phase II, we look forward to drawing on the requirements, experience, and expertise of the members to further enhance this solution. We invite any organization with an interest in managing or using composite data to join this collaboration, which represents a very cost-effective way to implement best practice. “