The user selected INPUTS include:

Design Criteria

Structural performance requirements such as safety factors for strength, general instability, high cycle fatigue and low cycle fatigue. Also specifications for structural stiffness, modal response, maximum allowable weight, minimum gauges, manufacturing tolerances and minimum forming radii.

External Loads

Local and distributed force and inertial loads as well the optional acoustical power spectrum density and thermal environments to which the structures are exposed.

Configuration

Overall and local geometry, interface requirements, constraints, clearance envelopes, boss and cutout sizes and locations and bolted flange configurations.

The RESULTS produced by ISOGRID-SST™ include:

Design Results.

Definitions of critical features, interfaces and structural dimensions. For example, ISOGRID-SST™ generated isogrid structures flat pattern databases and dimensioned member cross sections are directly transferable to other CAD systems.

Trades and Data.

Automated outputs include stress analysis, mass properties, structural performance, trades and performance margins. The margins include strength, HCF (high cycle fatigue), LCF (low cycle fatigue), general instability, local crippling and delaminating.

Modal responses and structural internal loads are also summarized.

Mass Properties.

Mass properties are summarized for a number of tolerance conditions on critical and selected structural cross sections.

For example, flanged isogrid mass properties are output for all possible combinations of maximum, minimum and average dimensions of skin thickness, rib width, flange thickness, flange width and plate thickness.

NC Programming.

The databases for the NC pocketing of isogrid and waffle flat patterns are the same as those ISOGRID-SST™ generates to draw these patterns. Consequently CAD layout generation and NC programming for the patterns are essentially concurrent, self checking ISOGRID-SST™ processes..

Unique, PS.A proprietary pseudo spiral tool paths are generated by ISOGRID-SST™ for metal removal with nearly uniform chip loads during pocketing operation. This results in significant reduction in run time over conventional pocketing.

Super Traces.

ISOGRID-SST™ Super Traces validate all critical design and sizing analyses. They also  provide peerless facilities for structures designers, analysts and mass properties engineers to rapidly evaluate and use tradeoffs between such parameters as rib width, plate, skin and flange thickness. Super Traces fully define and independently evaluate the exact equations and algorithms used to produce critical results.

In addition to being able to select from different built in analyses  methodologies the users can modify these and/or add his own methodologies. 

The items shown under DATA refer to databases and ISOGRID-SST™ code maintenance and enhancement facilities. These extensive facilities are continuously updated to support the multi disciplinary, heuristic and robust features of the ISOGRID-SST™ software system. 

Cross references are provided in all ISOGRID-SST™ modules for definitions of symbols, filenames, algorithm descriptions, code comments and development notes.

ISOGRID-SST™ employs classical, empirical and finite element methods in the generation of structures solutions. Heuristic and various rapid descent software methods are used for optimization and to implement built in ISOGRID-SST™ concurrent engineering processes.