Fitting a Woven-Cloth Model to a Curved Surface: Mapping Algorithms

The problem of fitting a 2D broadcloth composite ply (modelled as a piece of deformable woven cloth) onto a 3D curved surface (modelled with a NURBS surface) is considered. "Fitting" means that a ply is deformed and applied to a surface so that it is everywhere in contact with the surface. A fitting method is presented that incorporates a flexible method for specifying initial conditions, and allows for the simulation of a wide range of fitting configurations. 1 Introduction Owing to their outstanding mechanical and structural properties, advanced composite materials, such as fiberglass/epoxy, graphite/epoxy and aramid/epoxy, have become increasingly utilized in aircraft and other vehicles in place of aluminum and duralumin [1, 2, 3]. Bidirectional broadcloth (or woven cloth) composites, one of the major composite production forms [3], have been extensively used for reinforcing structural elements in aircraft. They are either supplied as either rolled sheets of plain woven cloth or ..