Author: jim.evans

On April 17^th 2024, the CerTest team met with the Independent Advisory Board (IAB) and the Industrial Steering Group (ISG) for a fantastic day of presenting the project’s research goals and achievements along with in-depth discussions about CerTest methodologies and next steps including what comes after CerTest . Presentations and posters were made by CerTest researchers and PhD students covering the work going into each of the project’s four research challenges, as well as the interactions and joint activities. The CerTest team presented a complete vision for the project, and for the first time a holistic depiction of what the CerTest methodology for performance validation and ultimately certification will encompass and how it is different from the current building block approach. Essentially, a road map towards certification by analysis or digital certification was outlined. The presentations were very well received by the representatives from the IAB and ISG including cross sector industry stakeholder and the funder EPSRC. The day was topped off with an evening dinner reception that concluded a very enjoyable day for all.

At the recent 23^rd International Conference on Composite Materials (ICCM23) held in Belfast, 30th July to 4th August 2023, the CerTest team organised a very successful workshop and panel session themed, ‘Modernising Routes to Compliance with Composite Regulations:  A Journey towards Virtual Testing and Digital Twinning’. The event, listed as an Industrial Needs Session in the ICCM23 programme, took place on 1st August 2023.

The event followed up on similar successful sessions on modernising composites regulations that were held at the ICCM21 in Xi’an in 2017, and the ICCM22 in Melbourne 2019.

The overarching aim was to define a cross-sector view on the need for modernisation of routes to demonstrate compliance with composites regulations. This includes discussion of viable routes forward with respect to lessening the burden of meeting regulations, including reducing cost and time to market whilst also enabling improved performance. The workshop/panel sessions addressed this through a selection of invited talks covering academia (CerTest representatives), regulators (EASA – European Aviation Safety Agency; DNV – regulations wind turbine blades and structures), and industry (Airbus – aerospace, Vestas Wind Systems – wind turbines, and Jacobs – construction industry).

The event, which was attended by more than 100 conference participants on and off, was highly successful, with insightful and thought provoking invited talks and many questions and lively discussions.

The programme of the event is listed below with links to the invited presentations which can be downloaded.

Programme

‘Welcome, background and aims of workshop / introduction to speakers’: Janice Barton, Bristol Composites Institute, University of Bristol, UK

‘CerTest: scientific foundations for a novel framework for performance validation of composite aerostructures relying less on physical testing and adopting digital twinning’, Ole Thomsen, Bristol Composites Institute, University of Bristol, UK

• Janice Barton and Ole Thomsen joint presentation

‘CerTest: enhanced performance and productivity through integration of multi-scale modelling, high-fidelity experimentation and Bayesian learning’, Richard Butler & Andy Rhead, University of Bath, UK

• Richard Butler presentation
• Andy Rhead presentation

‘Developing composite (and other advanced manufactured) product certification – a regulator perspective’, Simon Waite, EASA, DE

‘Overview of current processes and future developments in composites certification – a wind turbine industry perspective’, Chris Harrison, DNV Denmark, DK

‘VVUQ framework to assess credibility of simulation of composite structures’, Ludovic Barriere, IRT Saint Exupéry, F 

‘Regulatory barriers across to efficient validation and certification of composites across sectors and applications’, Enrique Garcia, National Composites Centre, UK 

‘An Airbus perspective on challenges in certification for future airframes’, Linden Harris, Airbus, UK

‘Offshore wind turbine blade certification – challenges and opportunities’, Stephen Randall Vestas Wind Systems, UK

‘Barriers and opportunities in certification of composites for infrastructure applications’, Lee Canning, Jacobs, UK (presentation to follow)

The CerTest team will be attending the 23rd International Conference on Composites Materials taking place from July 30th to August 4th 2023 in Belfast.

The ICCM will feature speakers from CerTest, and a special workshop on ‘Modernising Route to Compliance with Composite Regulations: A Journey towards Virtual Testing and Digital Twinning’. The Bristol Composites Institute, the National Composites Centre and the University of Bath have worked collaboratively to bring together the programme.

For the full list of speakers, please see a downloadable copy below.