The strongly anisotropic nature of composite materials, as well as the peculiar behavior of some elastomers, requires great attention and sensitivity in the design and analysis of components that use them.

For example, a large number of composite materials have characteristics of lightness and strength that make them highly sought after in both the automotive sector, for the pursuit of extreme performance, and in industrial sectors, for weight reduction and the consequent increase in machinery processing speeds. However, to avoid material shrinkage during autoclave curing process, it is necessary to prepare suitable mold geometries from the early design stages and to provide correct ply-book definition to reduce waste and avoid dangerous delamination.