Kinematic Drape

Kinematic Drape provides methods to predict manufacturability of composite parts with challenging shapes and to align material direction for the structural simulation. Draping simulation predicts how the orientation of a ply will change as the ply is placed in a tool/mold.

For each ply in HyperMesh that is draped, corrections are applied spatially to the default ply orientation. A Table entity for each draped ply is generated and assigned to the ply. The table contains the corrections to ply orientation due to draping.

Ply shapes need to be associated to elements. If the model is based on surfaces or lines, ply realization is needed before draping.

Access the Kinematic Drape tool by right-clicking on Plies in the Composite Browser, pointing to Drape, and selecting Kinematic Drape from the context menu.

Note: Kinematic Drape is available in the OptiStruct and Nastran user profiles.