ICAN sensitivity analysis

A computer program called Integrated Composite Analyzer (ICAN) was used to predict the properties of high-temperature polymer matrix composites. ICAN is a collection of NASA Lewis Research Center-developed computer codes designed to carry out analysis of multilayered fiber composites. The material properties used as input to the program were those of the thermoset polyimide resin PMR-15 and the carbon fiber Celion 6000. The sensitivity of the predicted composite properties to variations in the resin and fiber properties was examined. In addition, the predicted results were compared with experimental data. In most cases, the effect of changes in resin and fiber properties on composite properties was reasonable. However, the variations in the composite strengths with the moisture content of the PMR-15 resin were inconsistent. The ICAN-predicted composite moduli agreed fairly well with experimental values, but the predicted composite strengths were generally lower than experimental values.