ILC Dover Uses Abaqus FEA to Simulate Inflatable Lunar Habitats

Case studies

MES

ILC Dover Uses Abaqus FEA to Simulate Inflatable Lunar Habitats

Case study showing how Abaqus FEA validated fabric stress limits and reduced weight for ILC Dover's pressurized inflatable habitats without physical prototypes.

Published

June 4, 2026

Read time

3 min read

Source

ILC Dover applied Abaqus/Standard and Abaqus/CAE to model fabric and webbing behavior under lunar pressure loads, temperature changes, and safety factors. Engineers iteratively tested lighter materials in simulation to confirm structural integrity before any physical build. The approach eliminated trial-and-error prototyping and supported designs later tested in Antarctic conditions.

Key takeaways

Abaqus FEA modeled nonlinear fabric and webbing response under internal pressure and thermal loads

Virtual testing replaced multiple physical prototypes, cutting cost and schedule risk

Simulation identified safe stress limits and enabled weight reduction while preserving required safety factors

Same FEA workflow supported habitat validation for Antarctic field trials

Workflow combined modeling and limited physical testing to confirm final design integrity

Market overview

SCR methodology note

Vendor landscape

Leaders

Implementation considerations

Important consideration

Original Source

Vendors mentioned in this report

No items found.