The Boeing Company

Benjamin A Westin

Thomas D Mitchum, Jr

Travis G Olson

Robert T Sheldon

Terry R Vogler

Thaddeus L Wells

An apparatus for conducting an engineering analysis of a structural product is provided. The apparatus produces a computer-aided design (CAD) model of the structural product including component parts joined by fasteners and produces a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) model of the structural product from the CAD model. The apparatus assigns one or more electrical properties to a mesh of elements representing the component parts and fasteners, and performs a finite-difference time-domain analysis on the FDTD model with the one or more electrical properties assigned, and with the FDTD model exposed to simulated lightning, to predict an impact of lightning on the fasteners and therefrom generate a corresponding prediction. The apparatus produces an output based on the corresponding prediction that indicates one or more levels of the impact of lightning on the fasteners and displays the output to facilitate design or manufacture of the structural product.

Engineering analysis of a structural product

An apparatus for designing a structural product includes memory to store computer-readable program code for an integrated development environment to establish a digital thread in a lifecycle of the structural product, and processing circuitry to execute the computer-readable program code. The apparatus is thereby caused to generate a graphical user interface from which the integrated development environment is accessible to cause the apparatus to generate an electromagnetic effects (EME) model of the structural product from authoritative data including a solid model of the structural product, and parameterize the EME model with one or more electrical properties. The apparatus is caused to produce a computational electromagnetics (CEM) model of the structural product from the parameterized EME model, perform a CEM analysis from the CEM model to generate a corresponding solution is generated, and post-process the corresponding solution.

Integrated development environment to establish a digital thread in the lifecycle of a structural product

A method of predicting electrostatic charges in a liquid container is provided. The method includes generating a computer geometric model of the liquid container according to a design of the liquid container and generating executable code to reproduce fluid dynamics and electrostatic charge conservation during transfer of liquid into the liquid container. The method includes executing a simulating application to at least: perform a simulation of the transfer of liquid into the liquid container subject to the fluid dynamics and electrostatic charge conservation to produce a prediction of electrostatic charges in the liquid container during the transfer of liquid; and iterate the simulation to update the electrostatic charge conservation. The method includes outputting the prediction of electrostatic charges in the liquid container to enable certification of the design of the liquid container.

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Charleston, SC, United States of America

Benjamin A Westin