GENOA, MCQ-Composites to Join Altair Partner Alliance Composites Lineup

TROY, Mich., June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Altair Partner Alliance today announced the addition of its sixth composites partner, AlphaSTAR Corporation (ASC). HyperWorks users can now access its multi-scale progressive failure analysis (MS-PFA) software, GENOA, as well as the Material Characterization and Qualifications (MCQ) Composites Suite. GENOA and MCQ are applicable in many industries, including aerospace, automotive, wind energy and sporting goods.

"We are very pleased with the addition of AlphaSTAR to the Altair Partner Alliance," said Dr. Robert Yancey, Altair Sr. Director – Aerospace for Altair.  "AlphaSTAR has been involved in composites analysis and design for many years, and it will add advanced technologies and expertise to our Partner Alliance.  We have already worked with ASC for key customer projects in the past, and we look forward to more collaboration in the future." 

GENOA is an engineering software suite that performs material characterization qualification, durability and damage tolerance (D&DT), and reliability prediction for structural design and analysis of composites structures. It augments the limitation of commercial finite element analysis (FEA) packages by providing multi-scale (micro-macro) PFA capability. GENOA was developed to cost effectively predict strength and time-dependent reliability and durability of structural components during the design stage, and to reduce experimental testing support. With the ability to predict damage and fracture evolution as well as end of life of many types of composites, GENOA takes laminated composites with either continuous or short fibers from micro-mechanics to the structural level, while considering the various operational and environmental conditions.

MCQ-Composites, the second tool available from AlphaSTAR, predicts composite material properties, considering both fiber and matrix uncertainties. It is designed to characterize and qualify material properties that can be used as input for FEA of simple or complex structural components. MCQ allows the user to quickly generate relevant information for a given material, whether it is a composite, hybrid, or ceramic material system. MCQ provides a library of fiber, matrix and ply properties that can be easily expanded or modified for application to FE analysis. In addition, it can effectively predict fiber, matrix and composite/sandwich laminate properties, as well as stress-strain curves, ply behavior and more.

"GENOA and MCQ work together to provide users an accurate and powerful composites analysis solution," said Dr. Anil Mehta, AlphaSTAR's Vice President of Business Development. "HyperWorks customers will not only be able to harness the capabilities of AlphaSTAR's software to address their questions about where, when and why their parts are failing, but also how to optimize their design to alleviate those occurrences. By utilizing advanced failure mechanisms, GENOA is able to investigate structural responses from material degradation, caused by damage induced from static, cyclic, impact, power spectrum density (PSD) and thermal loading. GENOA's PFA also is able to account for the effects of manufacturing defects, fiber waviness, springback, residual strength, moisture and temperature. By using GENOA, a wide range of material systems become available, including metals, ceramics, composites and nano composites.  We look forward to working with the Altair Partner Alliance to provide the best composites solutions possible, to a broader audience."

HyperWorks users can take advantage of the integration between GENOA and Altair's RADIOSS solver, as well as the integration with OptiStruct, which is currently in process and will be available soon.  

Available for the last 12 years, Altair's innovative unit-based licensing system allows HyperWorks users customizable access to a growing portfolio of applications, optimizing their return on investment (ROI) by making more than 28 in-house developed applications available by use of a single pool of recyclable HyperWorks units (HWUs).

After experiencing this original licensing model's success, Altair has offered the opportunity for third-party companies to run their own applications under this unit-based system, a collaboration now known as the Altair Partner Alliance. The overall flexibility of these HWUs empowers users and allows them access to the largest and most complete suite of CAE applications available, making the benefits to participating HyperWorks customers infinite. The ROI increases for users each time a new application is added to the offering, since any of the partner programs can be accessed using the same leased HWUs they are already using to run HyperWorks. This makes more than 55 additional applications available at no incremental cost or long-term commitment.

HyperWorks users can download GENOA and MCQ Composites at www.altairalliance.com/alphastar. To learn more about AlphaSTAR, GENOA or MCQ, please attend one of the introductory webinars, being held on June 26, 2013, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT. These webinars will be hosted by Altair and presented by AlphaSTAR.

AlphaSTAR Corporation

AlphaSTAR is a leading engineering services and software company that provides innovative physics-based simulation technologies for structural modeling and analysis of advanced composite structures in the aerospace, automotive, defense, and energy industries worldwide. Utilized in defense agencies, manufacturing companies, and universities, the company's product line includes its core structural design and simulation software, GENOA, and also MCQ Composites, enabling customers to reduce their need for expensive physical testing by over 60%. AlphaSTAR is headquartered in Long Beach, California and is the recipient of esteemed industry and technology awards for R&D and software development. For more information, visit www.alphastarcorp.com.

About Altair

Altair empowers client innovation and decision-making through technology that optimizes the analysis, management and visualization of business and engineering information. Privately held, with 1,800 employees, Altair has offices throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific. With a 27-year track record for high-end software for engineering and computing, enterprise analytics solutions, and innovative product design and development, Altair consistently delivers a competitive advantage to customers in a broad range of industries. To learn more, please visit www.altair.com or www.simulatetoinnovate.com.

About the Altair Partner Alliance

Altair's HyperWorks platform applies a revolutionary subscription-based licensing model in which customers use floating licenses to access a broad suite of Altair-developed, as well as third-party, software applications on demand. The Altair Partner Alliance effectively extends the HyperWorks Platform from 28 internally developed solutions to more than 50 applications with the addition of new partner applications. Customers can invoke these third-party applications at no incremental cost using their existing HyperWorks licenses. Customers benefit from unmatched flexibility and access, resulting in maximum software utilization, productivity and ROI. For more information about the Altair Partner Alliance, visit www.altairalliance.com.

SOURCE Altair