Nadeem Masood S

S Nadeem Masood is working with a team developing the new aerospace composites structural designs at Advanced Composite Division (ACD) of CSIR-NAL since October 2011. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and a Master’s degree in Engineering of Structures (Aerospace) from AcSIR, New Delhi. His Contributions in the area of ‘Numerical simulations & validation of failure in composite aerospace structures’ are highly recognized by Laboratory. He has also received research funding from AR&DB and MHRD for is research work.

He has contributed in: design of test articles, fabrication of test specimens, design of test fixtures, full-field displacement and strain measurements, test data post-processing, Finite element numerical simulations and validation with test data. His research efforts have led to 3 Journal papers, 7 Conference papers, 8 internal documents and more than 50 CADD models/drawings. He has good rapport with his students and supervised 5 student Master’s Thesis in last 5 years from IIT, NTU, Singapore, RWTH Aachen university, Germany and so on. He has also received CSIR-NAL young scientist Award for the year 2017. Details of his contribution to major aerospace structural design project/research at CSIR-NAL are:

Project 1: Composites Airframe Panel Design for Post-buckling

Aircraft structures are typically made using stiffened skin construction as it provides a minimum weight solution to many design problems. Designers are reluctant to allow composite aircraft structures to buckle below Design Ultimate Load due to their poor inter-laminar properties and ensuing loss of stiffness after initial skin buckling. However, there is reserve strength in these structures which can be exploited to reduce the structural weight. This work focuses on the design of stiffened fuselage composite panels with various configurations which will undergo local skin buckling approximately at 120% of Design Limit Load.  Reliable nonlinear post-buckling solution techniques and finite element analysis methodologies are established & validated through structural testing to prove the safety concerns of structure under post-buckling. 

Nadeem ‘s contributions:(1) Precise Compression Testing of Large Composite Stiffened Panels and test protocols (2) Development of Reliable Nonlinear Post-Buckling Solution Techniques and Finite Element Analysis Methodologies for prediction of collapse load (3) Post-Buckling Design Philosophy (4) Design of end casting for smooth compression load introduction into panel.

Application/Benefits: Aircraft Structural Weight Reduction.

Project 2: Damage tolerance for composite structures

Airworthiness regulations require the demonstration of damage tolerance of primary aircraft structures. The approach followed by most aircraft manufacturers for certification of primary structures is through “analysis supported by test data”. This is typically done by following a “Building Block Approach” (BBA) where the design is verified at various stages through tests and analysis - coupon level, element level, detail level, subcomponent level and finally at the component level. In this project, tests are conducted at coupon, detail and sub-component levels of the BBA and simulation capabilities are being concurrently developed to understand the behavior of damaged composite aircraft structures.

Nadeem ‘s contributions:(1) Development of Synergetic Approach of Testing and Numerical Simulations to Accurately Predict Damage Growth in Composites (2) Development and Validation of Finite Element Models for Prediction of Impact Damage Area, (3) Prediction of Compression After Impact Strength in Composite Laminates and (4) Disbond growth initiation and progression in composites specimens through numerical simulations

Application/Benefits:(1) Damage Tolerance Testing Protocol (2) Generation of Design Data for Impact and Fracture Toughness of Composite Materials (3) Analytical Models for Prediction of Residual Strength of Damaged Composite Structures.

Project 3: Development of Tufted Composites

To address these issues of delamination/disbond and improvement in damage tolerance resistance in aerospace laminated composites, Tufting capabilities of laminated composites are developed at CSIR-NAL. Tufting is an experimental technology to locally reinforce continuous fibre-reinforced along the Z-direction in order to increase out-of-plane resistance in conventional 2D laminated composites.

Nadeem ‘s contributions:(1) Establishment of Tufting Procedure, (2) Optimizing the Resin Infusion Method for Tufting, (3) Numerical Prediction of Damage Growth in Tufted Composites.

Application/Benefits:(1) Reduction in Factor of Safety for Damage Growth in Composites to Realize their Full Potential.