HyperLaminates are a special kind of discrete laminate used to define ply drops and adds within a stiffener or beam. If the box is solid, it means that the ply is enabled for that segment.
HyperLaminates can be created manually using the laminate editor or automatically using the Set Variables capability.
How to manually create HyperLaminates
HyperLaminates are created by clicking Hyper in the Laminate Editor. This will add the L2, L3, and L4 columns to the Laminate form. Using the boxes that appear in each column, you may turn plies on or off for each stiffener/beam object.
Once a laminate has been saved as a HyperLaminate, it can only be used in a web object for panel or beam sizing optimizations.
How to automatically create HyperLaminates
HyperLaminates are created automatically for I and T stiffened panels using the Set Variables feature. See Set Variables.
The HyperLaminates for the stiffener can be viewed by selecting View Cross Section on the Dimensions tab of the sizing form.
Using this visualization feature, the ply details are displayed when you select the ply.
Increasing the Bending Stiffness
HyperLaminates are useful for stiffened panels and beams to increase the bending stiffness of the stiffener or beam cross section. In the example shown above, the stiffener flange has extra 0 degree tape plies which drop-off at the web. By doing this, the panel bending stiffness (D11) is increased without adding the unnecessary weight of including the 0 degree fibers in the web.
Tailoring the Load Path
In addition to adding 0 degree fibers in the crown/flanges, the bending stiffness of a stiffener or beam is driven by the height variable. Tall stiffeners have more bending stiffness. However, for tall stiffeners web local buckling is a critical compressive failure mode. By removing the 0 degree plies the web longitudinal stiffness decreases. Since the load is distributed in the panel or beam cross section based on the stiffness, the Nx load in the web is minimized. This makes the web object less prone to buckling under axial compression.
