### 2.3.1. HDF5 Composite CAE Format

HDF5 Composite CAE is a vendor independent specification to allow an accurate exchange of composite lay-ups between different CAE and CAD packages. The specification uses HDF5 to store the data. HDF5 is an open and widely-used file format to efficiently store binary data.

For information on exchanging composite model information using the HDF5 Composite CAE format, see Import From/Export to HDF5 Composite CAE File.

#### Export

The effective ply lay-up in ACP is extracted during the HDF5 Composite CAE export. For example, this means the ply’s thickness distribution is exported instead of taper definitions that have an effect on the ply’s thickness. Information on the ply’s material, coverage, dimensions, thickness distribution, and reference direction field as well as the overall ply sequencing are stored in the .H5 file. The shell reference surface is not exported.

This information can be imported into a program such as FiberSIM for further design and production management.

#### Import

The HDF5 Composite CAE import maps the lay-up information onto an existing reference shell in ACP. The ply material information is transferred to the Material Data object in ACP. Oriented Selection Sets are generated based on ply coverage. Thickness distributions and reference direction fields are stored in Look-up Tables which in turn are used to define the modeling plies required to reconstruct the lay-up.

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