New advances in damage mechanics and computational methods for composites: from research to industry for spatial applications

Previously, solid propulsion developments were based on experiments. In the current environment of constant reduction in costs and development/qualification periods, this approach is no longer viable. Thus, modeling is impossible to circumvent for acceptable margins. Today, most mechanical models are developed in university laboratories and their industrial use is not easy due to their implementation in industrial finite element codes, the model robustness, the parameter identification and especially its use, and the analysis of results, These various topics will be successively examined and real examples will show the efforts already made to achieve cost reduction. Lastly, we will try to list the shortcomings of the current methods in order to identify the directions for future progress. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.