Carbon Fibre Tows Simulation in Hypermesh

Dear Community,

 

my name is Lennart, I am a composites engineering student from Germany and I have started working with Optistruct/Hypermesh full-time since a few weeks. I am trying to get ahold of composite optimisation.

Optistruct is only partially able to compute composite parts. it appears that I am very limited in the design of more complex parts. What I am looking for in particular is a way to not only design plies in flat structures, but rather tows and roving in 3D parts, for example a scaffold of a crane or similar.
I AM able to model 3D composite structures by designing surfaces which come close to the 3D part and apply a laminate as a workaround.

 

As a first step towards 3D composite optimisation, I would like to have a workaround solution for working with single tows. For example if I have a 2D circular part, let's say a simple ring.
If I apply a tensile force (with a bolt or similar), the ideal optimisation result for a minimum displacement of the circle geometry would be a 'ring' of carbon fibres. However I am not quite sure how to get this result in Optistruct. This is not possible when the program only 'thinks' with plies.
is there any way how I could achieve this result with the given Optistruct possibilites? Any way to 'cheat' and work with single fibre tows instead of plies?

 

Any help would be greatly apprechiated.

Regards,
Lenny