*** 96-61604 Marjadi This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and test an innovative software tool which will merge the tasks of design and structural analysis into one concurrent task. This innovation has the potential for dramatic reduction of design cycle time by reducing the iterative process of analytical validation into one single concurrent design step. The technology of topology optimization will be combine with the emerging h-p adaptive meshless (Clouds) method of structural analysis. For given package space and loads and boundary conditions, this method will compute structures which are optimum in terms of topology as well as size and shape. The error prediction feature of the h-p adaptive method will hold the modeling and computational errors within user prescribed bounds, thus significantly reducing design iterations, which are the most costly and time consuming portions of the design process. Phase I will merge the two technologies with analysis formulation efforts focused on linear static analysis using two-dimensional structures. Phase II would include design for more practical three-dimensional solids and shells. Commercial applications of this software tool are expected with mechanical designers and computer aided engineering (CAE) experts, particularly in the automotive and aerospace industries. ***
