Approximate geometric methods in application to the modeling of fiber placed composite structures

Fiber placement is a modem method of constructing composite structures with complex curved surfaces. Modeling individual tows in a fiber placed part constitutes the challenge addressed by methods presented in this paper. One method is presented to approximate offset curves on a free form surface using the geometric constraints of the fiber placement process. A second method is presented to approximate a curve on a free form surface that can be used to generate a laminate family ply. We demonstrate that these approximation methods are sufficient for the accuracy of the fiber placement machine.