Simulation Software

One hundred years ago, Alberto Santos-Dumont flew one of the first heavier-than-air
machines in Europe. Recently, a team of Brazilian students used the ANSYS ICEM CFD
and CFX software to analyze and understand airflow around that plane’s surface.

For the CAD model of the 14-Bis students meshed surfaces using hexahedral elements
and represented volumes with a tetra/prism mesh. ANSYS ICEM CFD software created
both high-quality surface and volumetric meshes.

Santos-Dumont was an aircraft pioneer. On October 23, 1906, he flew his aircraft, named
the 14-Bis, almost 200 feet at Bagatelli Field in Paris, France, witnessed by officials from
what would become the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. The 14-Bis consisted of
a long neck at the front of the craft with wings in the rear. The pilot maneuvered the
plane from a standing position.

The students used modern engineering simulation to demonstrate the 14-Bis’ ability to
fly. By analyzing drag and lift as well as engine thrust, the team simulated the flight
speed of the aircraft, nearly matching the recorded values.

Qualitative analysis of the pressure field was provided through the ANSYS CFX
computational fluid dynamics software.

The plane model was developed using historic pictures, plans and discussion. Due to
complex geometry, the team used ICEM CFD software to create both high-quality
surface and volumetric meshes. CFX computational fluid dynamics tools simulated the
airflow around the aircraft.

The students also studied the influence of engine power on flight performance.

Santos-Dumont first flight attempt failed, but in his second attempt, he increased nominal
power to 50 hp. With simulated drag, lift, and engine thrust data, the students estimated
possible angle-of-attack of around 5 degrees and flight speed ranging from 12 to 14 mps.
The value of 11 mps is generally quoted as the ground-related speed. The discrepancy
could be due to the presence of wind or ground effects during the centennial flight, which
were not taken into account in the simulation.

“The CFD 14-Bis project was very much a forensic analysis for ANSYS, arming
engineers and designers with a better understanding of cause and effect of equipment
performance,” said Chris Reid, vice president, marketing at ANSYS, Inc. “It is
fascinating to see the validation of flight designs from 100 years ago with the cutting
edge simulation and modeling tools of today.”

Ansys, Inc.­
www.ansys.com

 

A normal active childhood can elude small children and infants with defective heart valves. Soon, however, that may change thanks to LaunchPoint Technologies, a venture-engineering firm specializing in incubating startups and developing new technology. This company is researching a Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device (Pediatric VAD) that, if successful, will aid infants and small children with congenital or acquired cardiac disease. Children receiving this device will be able to run and play like other children, yet obtain the ventricular assist they need. This device would be the first designed specifically to provide long-term cardiac support to these special patients.

 
This prototype of the Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device was developed using CFD software from Ansys Corp.

Thorough computational fluid analysis plays a critical role in the design of the PediaFlow. The researchers must analyze the complex blood flow field and find the right blood flow path through the pump that will maximize hydrodynamic performance while minimizing any induced damage to the blood.  

Each component was modeled to ensure maximum blood flow through the tiny heart valves with as little damage as possible.

The CFD program the researchers chose is ANSYS CFX. They have integrated it with their own internally developed design tools — geometric models, automatic mesh generators, and mathematical blood damage models.

When
implanted, this device, which is a little larger than a 25-cent coin
will help infants and small children lead more normal lives.

The CFX program is intuitive to set up and delivers quick and accurate results, which are a few of the reasons why LaunchPoint chose the software for its Pediatric VAD.   

Ansys Corp.
www.ansys.com

:: Design World ::

SANTA ANA, Calif. – MSC.Software Corp., a leading global provider of enterprise simulation solutions and services announced that Brunel GmbH, a Germany-based provider of technology and management consulting, has selected SimXpert to deliver faster, more accurate, cost-efficient results to customers within the automotive and aerospace industry. With SimXpert, Brunel can leverage a fully integrated, multidisciplinary mechanical simulation environment for its automotive and aerospace customers.

Auto manufacturing is one of the most significant industries to the German economy, and German automakers face fierce global competition, making technical innovation and cost efficiency critical. To reduce development time and enable its engineers to test multiple variables simultaneously in a collaborative environment, Brunel selected SimXpert.

“Brunel has a long history of providing the most innovative technical consulting in the industry. We selected SimXpert because we want to bring our customers the greatest value and most advanced technology on the market,” said Carsten Siebeneich, general manager of Brunel in Germany. “MSC. Software is the leader in the multidiscipline simulation space, so choosing them made perfect sense for our growing practice.”

“The partnership between Brunel’s world-class domain expertise and MSC.Software’s multidiscipline simulation technology is the ultimate win for customers,” said Amir Mobayen, Senior Vice President, EMEA for MSC.Software. “We are proud to work with Brunel to deliver the best-of-breed solutions to customers within the German automotive industry.”

About SimXpert accelerates the speed and accuracy of simulation; automates simulation processes and tasks; captures knowledge; and radically improves the analysis process.  SimXpert provides the tools needed to extend global engineering processes to the enterprise and supply chain level through SimXpert’s Template Studio, SimTemplate.  Once created, SimTemplate can be managed by SimManager and be shared with a variety of role-based users.

About Brunel
Brunel specializes in the support of development and innovation projects for the industry, with an interdisciplinary team of engineering and management experts. One of the focal points of the globally active company is the processing of technology and management issues as a project. Depending on the customer’s requirements, the corresponding Brunel specialists become active and supplement the existing project team within the customer’s company with their expertise.

In Germany, Brunel offers engineering and management expertise of 1,650 experienced engineers from 50 locations. In so doing, the company is primarily active in the automotive, IT, electronics, telecommunications, aerospace, mechanical engineering and plant constructions, railway technology and shipbuilding sectors.

For more information, visit www.brunel.de/english.

About MSC.Software Corporation
MSC.Software is the global leader of enterprise simulation solutions, that help companies make money, save time and reduce costs associated with designing and testing manufactured products.  MSC.Software works with thousands of companies in hundreds of industries to develop better products faster by utilizing information technology, software, services and systems.  MSC.Software employs more than 1200 people in 23 countries.  

MSC Software Corporation
2 MacArthur Place
Santa Ana, CA 92707
USA Tel: (714) 540-8900
Fax: (714) 784-4056
For more information, visit www.mscsoftware.com.

:: Design World ::