IRT Jules Verne Showcase Latest Advances at ESAFORM 2025
The 28th International ESAFORM Conference on Material Forming, held from May 6–9, 2025, in the historic town of Paestum, Italy, was a vibrant gathering of nearly 400 experts from 26 countries. Among the standout contributions this year were two papers presented by Yvan Denis of IRT Jules Verne, highlighting exciting progress from the CAELESTIS Project-a major European initiative focused on the future of aircraft manufacturing.
Predicting Shape Distortions in Composite Materials
In the first paper (A Comprehensive Numerical Workflow to Simulate Post-Manufacture Shape Distortions in High-Performance Composite Materials) Yvan Denis and his team introduced a powerful digital workflow designed to predict and simulate how composite parts might change shape during manufacturing. Using advanced simulations, the team tackled the complex process of making Outlet Guide Vanes (OGVs) for aircraft engines. Their workflow covers every step-from laying down fibers and injecting resin to curing and demolding-while taking into account real-life uncertainties like fiber placement and temperature variations.
Why is this important?
By anticipating potential distortions before a part is ever made, manufacturers can avoid costly errors and ensure higher quality, more reliable components for the aerospace industry.
Smarter Tolerancing for Composite Parts
The second paper (Numerical workflow for skin model tolerancing applied to a composite study) takes things a step further by applying this workflow to “skin model tolerancing”-a method for defining and checking how much a part’s shape can vary and still function properly. Again focusing on OGVs, the team showed how combining simulation with uncertainty analysis can help set realistic tolerances, balancing quality with cost.
What’s the takeaway?
Instead of relying on overly conservative “worst-case” scenarios, this approach uses real data to set smarter, more efficient tolerances. The result? Better parts, less waste, and lower production costs.
