No
holds barred flat out performance is the design criteria. Fusion M is
the first sail built using an adaptable, “smart” sail structure. Fusion
M is not a “load path” sail. Fusion M smart structure integrates
loadings throughout the whole sail so that loadings are shared evenly.
Gone is the principle of trying to place fibers along primary stress
paths. Fusion M is an adaptable sail structure that transfers loads as
they increase instead of allowing loads to concentrate in high load
areas and distort sail shape. It is the first sail to strain
proportionately (isostrain), so that the design, or initial mold shape
does not distort. This makes Fusion M mainsails faster, easier to trim
thorugh a wider wind range, and preserves sail shape over the long
haul.
Fusion M is custom engineered on a sail by sail basis, and is the first
sail made using an entirely new approach. Instead of being built using
the traditional “load path” model, Fusion M mainsails utilize an
integrated fiber network that addresses sail loadings as a whole,
instead of attempting to place fiber as efficiently as possible along
the primary load paths. Fusion “m’s” smart structure uses a more
sophisticated finite element analysis, which recognizes the ever
changing nature of sail loads, and the need to adapt to a wide range of
changes and demands on the sail structure. Fusion “m” addresses the
reality that loads exist in all directions at any given point in the
sail.
It also relies on a new understanding of the way the fiber
network works together to support overall sail loadings, including
those along the primary load path. Fusion ‘ms” complex, dense, fiber
matrix allows each part of the structural system to support the rest,
keeping any one part of the sail from becoming overloaded and
distorted. Fusion M's smart structural system is “isostrain” instead of
load path, which means there is no distortion, but instead, consistent
deformation in all directions. Sail shape changes evenly and uniformly,
making trim easier, and there is no localized distortion to permanently
deform and degrade sail shape. The result is a sail that is easier to
get the most out of, which lasts longer Available in aramid and
carbon/aramid blends, Quantum FUSION M membrane mainsails are
engineered like no other sail in the world.
For more on the Fusion M process, check out the Fusion M Movie.