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Autodesk Ships Nastran 2015, Nastran In-CAD 2015

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There’s been a big push by simulation software vendors to get engineers and designers to start incorporating analysis tools into their product development processes. High-end simulation tools have traditionally been used by specialists or analysts who’s jobs are to run design geometry–created by engineers–through their paces using analysis tools to validate that designs will be structurally sound and will operate as intended once built.

The motive is obvious. There are many more design engineers than there are analysts so making their products more engineering-centric opens up much bigger potential markets for simulation vendors. There are also, however, many compelling reasons for engineers to use analysis tools early in the design process. Doing so speeds up development, cuts time to market, and helps them identify potential design flaws long before costly physical prototypes are built.

Autodesk Nastran is an industry-recognized FEA solver for analyzing linear and nonlinear stress, dynamics and heat transfer characteristics of structures and mechanical components.
Autodesk Nastran is an industry-recognized FEA solver for analyzing linear and nonlinear stress, dynamics and heat transfer characteristics of structures and mechanical components.

New versions of Nastran solver released

One of these high-end tools is Nastran, finite-element analysis (FEA) software now sold by Autodesk after its acquisition of NEi Software back in May. The goal of the acquisition was to expand the company’s structural analysis capabilities, and it follows similar strategic technology acquisitions in the computational fluid dynamics (CFD), plastics and composites solutions spaces.

Autodesk Nastran offers an industry-recognized FEA solver for analyzing linear and nonlinear stress, dynamics and heat transfer characteristics of structures and mechanical components. Nastran provides real-time results and changes in solution parameters while solving, which helps engineers and analysts gain accurate results to complex simulations.

Autodesk Nastran In-CAD 2015 is a CAD-embedded, general-purpose FEA tool powered by the Autodesk Nastran solver. The new Nastran In-CAD offers a wide range of simulation spanning across multiple analysis types, delivering another high-end simulation in a CAD-embedded workflow. The software works within both Autodesk Inventor and SolidWorks 3D CAD software systems.

Taking FEA to the Cloud

Autodesk Nastran Solver is available to customers using the Autodesk Simulation Mechanical and Autodesk Simulation Flex product offerings. Autodesk Simulation Flex, formerly Autodesk Sim 360 Pro with Local Solve, consists of:

* Autodesk Simulation Mechanical with cloud-enabled FEA tools for static stress, linear dynamic analysis and mechanical event simulations;
* Autodesk Simulation CFD Motion including Design Study environment and 3D CAD connectors with cloud-enabled CFD tools for fluid flow and thermal simulations; and
* Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis with cloud-enabled simulation for detailed analysis and code checking on a range of structures, including buildings and frame structures.

“We’ve been working with Autodesk tools since the acquisition of Algor and CFDesign and have seen first-hand how incredibly powerful the combination of strong numerical solvers and Autodesk’s advanced visualization, cloud and user interface tools can be,” said Dmitriy Tseliakhovich, Co-founder, CEO and CTO at Escape Dynamics. “Nastran is a great solver with very powerful non-linear and dynamic simulation capabilities so its integration with Autodesk’s front end and elastic cloud computing platform is extremely exciting.”

Autodesk Nastran and Autodesk Nastran In-CAD are now available. For more details about both products and licensing and pricing options, click here.

Barb Schmitz

Design Technology Behind the Scenes at 2014 World Cup

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Every four years, national soccer–or football as the rest of the world calls it–teams from across the globe duke it out to determine the best square on the planet. An estimated one billion viewers will be glued to their seats watching the action that kicks off today in Brazil, nearly 900 million more than who tuned in for this year’s Super Bowl.

With the excitement of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in full swing, I thought this might be a good time to remind everyone of the real unsung hero behind this year’s matches: technology! Here is a sampling of some of the technology behind the scenes at this year’s World Cup.

No more bad calls. Thanks to new wearable smartwatches, referees in Rio de Janeiro won’t have to trust their own eyes on whether the ball crosses the goal line. The smartwatches used in Brazil are made by a German company called GoalControl, which installed 14 cameras that track the ball around the pitch. The watches will vibrate and display the word “GOAL” each time the ball crosses the goal line. Good news for fans still enraged over the infamous bad call made during the 2010 in London when England was denied a score in a match against Germany, even though the ball had clearly passed the goal line.

Smartwatches and 14 cameras will determine whether the ball crosses the goal line at this year's World Cup matches.
Smartwatches and 14 cameras will determine whether the ball crosses the goal line at this year’s World Cup matches.

Crowd control. With tens of thousands of excited soccer fans descending upon the Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha stadium in Brazil, crowd safety is of utmost importance. With past tragedies in mind, the structural integrity of the facility is critical. Fortunately the stadium has been analysis validated that the fierce Brazilian winds won’t impact the safety for spectators and teams. Simulation specialists at ANSYS channel partner ESSS used ANSYS CFD software to predict airflow around the stadium and pressure on the stadium roof. The specialists also used ANSYS FEA software to study the combined effects of wind, stadium infrastructure and a traditionally rowdy crowd. Engineers completed the analysis in two weeks – about one-tenth the time required for traditional wind-tunnel validation – for 66 percent lower costs compared to physical testing methods.

Bend it like Beckham. The curl obtained with the inside of the soccer cleat, or football boot, which was made somewhat famous by David Beckham, and the curl with the the outside of the cleat, is due to the Magnus effect. The effect, named after the scientist who first observed the effect in a lab in the 1850s, explains the side-force on a sphere that is both rotating and moving forward. Check out this blog by COMSOL to see how the company used its multi physics software to analyze the World Cup match ball.

This show the velocity and pressure fields around the rotating forward-moving ball and a rotating cylinder. The velocity at the equator is much higher on the side of the ball that rotates with the direction of the ball, as it slides the air past its surface. On the other side of the ball, its rotation and forward movement work in opposite directions.
This show the velocity and pressure fields around the rotating forward-moving ball and a rotating cylinder. The velocity at the equator is much higher on the side of the ball that rotates with the direction of the ball, as it slides the air past its surface. On the other side of the ball, its rotation and forward movement work in opposite directions.

Turf wars. Real turf fields are pretty to look at, but high-maintenance costs lead to the investigation into alternative artificial surfaces. The first attempt in 1981 in London failed miserably. The surface brought on odd bounces and an increased likelihood of injuries. In 1996 a successful hybrid grass system was introduced, featuring millions of synthetic fibers injected into natural grasses. These hybrid systems can take up to three times more wear and tear than natural grass and can be installed in as little as three weeks. A Dutch company METAL Machinebouwers used Solidworks CAD software to design the machines used in the first stage of the installation process: creating the artificial fibers that will be planted into the ground.

PDF3D Developers Release ParaView Plus for Visualizing Complex Data

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For many years, engineers and designers have struggled on the best way to safely share design data with others. Security is an issue. Bandwidth limitations yet another as files containing engineering data are often gargantuan. Yet another roadblock is all the various types of file formats that engineering data is saved in. On the CAD side, each system saves its data in different proprietary formats, making opening and using other’s CAD data problematic, at best.

PDF3D to the Rescue

PDF3D is a 3D visualization and technical publishing platform that offers engineers, scientists and developers a better way to communicate and share complex data and 3D models with others in a universally accessible format. The technology under the hood of PDF3D provides the fastest and easiest-to-use, high compressed 3D PDF conversion available for a wide variety of formats and tools, making it perfect for CAD users.

ParaView Plus facilitates visualizations of engineering data

After working closely with engineers in several industries, the developers of 3D PDF have released a new version of the ParaView plug-in for 3D PDF conversion. Called ParaView Plus, the open source app was designed to visualize both large and complex scientific data on super computers as well as laptops and PCs. The new app now offers animated, interactive 3D PDF publishing features, enabling engineers to better and more easily visualize complex simulation results and share them with others.

ParaView Plus plug-in enables engineers to visualize complex data in a wide range of files and formats, including 3D CAD, GIS grids shapefiles and images, COMSOL analysis results, Point Clouds and OpenFOAM CFD data.
ParaView Plus plug-in enables engineers to visualize complex data in a wide range of files and formats, including 3D CAD, GIS grids shapefiles and images, COMSOL analysis results, Point Clouds and OpenFOAM CFD data.

ParaView 4.1, now works seamlessly with a range of files and formats, including 3D CAD, GIS grids shapefiles and images, COMSOL analysis results, Point Clouds and OpenFOAM CFD data, to pull information directly into fully interactive, high resolution, animated scientific visuals in 3D PDF.

“As with every product in the PDF3D suite, our sole aim is to make life easier for those working with highly technical, complex data. The technology used by engineers and scientists, whether that be CAD software or data visualization systems like ParaView, is moving at an incredible rate. Our job is to keep adapting our PDF conversion tools to enable our users and developers to turn their data into information that can be viewed and shared by anyone, no matter how technologically advanced their own software is.”

ParaView Plus is available to download now from the PDF3D website.

Barb Schmitz

Autodesk Partners with FOX Sports on Wind Simulation for Super Bowl Broadcast

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To give fans an idea of how tough the conditions will be on the field for this year’s Super Bowl on Sunday, FOX Sports has partnered with Autodesk to use simulation software to calculate possibly adverse weather conditions–specifically wind–inside MetLife Stadium during the big game. The New Jersey Meadowlands, home of MetLife Stadium, has long been know for its unpredictable, swirling winter winds. Traditionally fans have relied on goal-post flags to gauge the direction and speed of the wind during critical moments.

Simulation technology will let at-home fans “see the wind”

Simulation software from Autodesk will enable fans watching from home to see actual, precise weather conditions inside the stadium. Visual representations of wind direction via the wind simulation results will be superimposed by FOX Sports over the actual broadcasted view. The technology, dubbed FOX WEATHER TRAX for the game, will illustrate dynamic in-stadium dynamic airflow patterns using Autodesk Flow Design simulation software.

Fans watching this year's Super Bowl will be able to "see" wind conditions on the field, thanks to Autodesk simulation technology.
Fans watching this year’s Super Bowl will be able to “see” wind conditions on the field, thanks to Autodesk simulation technology.

“Wind is obviously an invisible factor that can directly affect the outcome of a game,” said Zac Fields, vice president, Graphics & Technology, FOX Sports, who is working directly with the Autodesk team on the project. “Since the wind has a notorious reputation in the New Jersey Meadowlands, and given the magnitude of the game, we looked for and found a great tool to depict this phenomenon in excellent detail which should help the more than 100 million viewers actually ‘see the wind.'”

Simulation technology is regularly used by designers, architects and engineers to investigate “what-if” scenarios, explore new ideas and gain deeper insight into how an everyday product, a building or stadium behaves during day-to-day use.

This new and easy-to-use technology has radically improved the design process by allowing Autodesk customers to test and analyze designs digitally before physical production and perhaps best of all, the digital computation takes place unobtrusively behind the scenes – similar to spellcheck in a word processing application.

How it Works

For the first time ever, home viewers will have an insider’s view of the wind and airflow patterns at the stadium, but how exactly does it work?
Step 1 – A digital model of the stadium is constructed using 3D modeling software.
Step 2 – Simulation software interacts with the digital stadium model. The user alters wind speed and direction to suit the game day conditions and sees how the air flow patterns inside the stadium are affected.
Step 3 – The simulation graphics are then played out over a live camera to show the viewer the wind paths in relation to the field.

For more information on Autodesk’s line of simulation solutions, check out the company’s web site.

Barb Schmitz

CFD mesh quality: understanding accuracy and convergence

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A simple demonstration of how a poor mesh from a cell geometry perspective (right) results in lower discretization error than one with “perfect” cells (left).

An excellent article on CFD meshing by John Chawner, from blog.pointwise.com:

“We know embarrassingly little about how the mesh affects the CFD solution,” said Prof. Carl Ollivier-Gooch of the University of British Columbia.

That statement is counter to what we all know to be true in practice, that a good mesh helps the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver converge to the correct answer while minimizing the computer resources expended. Stated differently, most every decent solver will yield an accurate answer with a good mesh, but it takes the most robust of solvers to get an answer on a bad mesh.

The crux of the issue is what precisely is meant by “a good mesh.” Syracuse University’s Prof. John Dannenhoffer points out that we are much better at identifying a bad mesh than we are at judging a good one. Distinguishing good from bad is clouded by the fact that badness is a black-white determination of whether the mesh will run or not. (Badness often only means whether there are any negative volume cells.) On the other hand, goodness is all shades of gray – there are good meshes and there are better meshes. <more>

If you’re a CFD person, I think you’ll enjoy this article.  Here are a couple of summary points from the article that are fun and interesting:

“One researcher was able to show a complete lack of correlation between mesh quality and solution accuracy.”

“Use as many grid points as possible… In many cases, resolution trumps quality.”

 

Racing team relies on suite of software products

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Australia-based racing team, Kelly Racing, has been using Autodesk products for a range of uses – from precision design to validating new car components — all without hitting the track for physical testing. Given that the period between races is often a window of less than three weeks, Autodesk Inventor Professional, Autodesk Simulation CFD, Autodesk Simulation Multiphysics, and Autodesk Vault Professional software are crucial to enabling Kelly Racing to turn around new components in a timely manner and secure wins in half the time of most racing teams. “It is critical for us to be fast and efficient in every facet of our business,” said Rick Kelly, team racer and co-owner.

“Autodesk provides the technology and expertise to streamline our entire design process, so we can beat our competition on the track and in the marketplace. Now that we have incorporated Autodesk Product Design Suite, it has enabled us to further enhance our workflow.”

Following a race weekend, the drivers brief Kelly Racing’s in-house design and engineering team on what precisely went right and wrong during the race. The designers then set to work with Inventor Professional software to make modifications to the existing car parts that can enhance performance and save the team time. For example, improvements to the front end of the car, in particular the suspension assembly, has increased traction and grip by 8%, leading to faster lap times or shaving 1% of total car weight through design and material optimization.

Even the most minor modifications play a vital role in a sport where a fraction of a second can be the difference between first and 21st place. Engineers then test revised designs with Autodesk Simulation CFD to optimize aerodynamic performance and ensure the components are able to perform at speeds of up to 300 kilometers (188 miles) per hour. Autodesk Simulation Multiphysics software is also used to predict and validate the mechanical performance of the new components. Autodesk Vault Professional data management software helps manage the design process from initial concept to final release, providing the engineering team with greater control over the design process right up until the component or part is manufactured, released to the race department and put on the car.

Embracing Digital Prototyping has been a winning strategy for Kelly Racing. A new racing team typically takes six or more years to register its first win, but just barely into its third season, Kelly Racing has already scored two victories along with nine podium finishes.

Autodesk, Inc.

www.autodesk.com

CFD software helps streamline Toyota’s Prius hybrid

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SimuTech Group, the largest ANSYS channel partner across North America, performed a computational fluid dynamics analysis (CFD) test for Toyota and its supplier Tiercon. SimuTech used ANSYS CFD software to conduct aerodynamic comparison studies on the new PLUS Performance Package for Toyota’s hybrid vehicle. SimuTech engineers performed simulations to determine optimum airflow across the vehicle’s outer body. As a result of using the software, the engineers verified that the ground effects kit developed for this new package provided an overall improvement in aerodynamic drag.

Toyota-Prius

According to Alan McKim, SimuTech vice-president of customer service, “We were pleased to work with Toyota and Tiercon to assure they achieved the results they were looking for. SimuTech is ideally positioned to help other companies realize that upfront analysis in the design process helps them save time and money, as well as optimize designs. ANSYS’ advanced physics modeling capabilities combined with engineering expertise can eliminate the need for trial and error testing. Though the majority of our work is providing engineering technical support and guidance to our ANSYS software users, were more than happy to work the Tiercon and Toyota by providing advanced consulting services for this particular analysis.”

SimuTech Group
www.SimuTechGroup.com

Analysis linked to CAD

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Comsol’s latest update to its flagship multiphysics software Comsol 4.2a includes enhanced LiveLink capability. The new associativity to between Comsol and Creo packages means any changes to a feature in the Creo CAD model automatically updates the geometry in Comsol Multiphysics while retaining physics settings.

All parameters specified in Creo can be interactively linked with your simulation geometry which enables multiphysics simulations involving parametric sweeps and design optimization to sync up with the CAD program. The LiveLink for Creo includes all the capabilities of the Comsol CAD Import module and enables import and defeaturing of CAD files from all major CAD packages.

In addition, the Parasolid geometry kernel from Siemens PLM Software is now the default geometry kernel for those who use the CAD Import module and the LiveLink products for CAD. Parasolid enables the handling of more advanced geometry objects for any of the LiveLiink products, including versions for AutoCAD, Inventor, Creo Parametric, Pro/E, SolidWorks, and SpaceClaim.

Comsol

www.comsol.com

Designing a better heart valve

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PhD candidate Ahmad Falahatpisheh at the University of California is doing research on artificial heart valve development to improve bioprosthetic heart valves. With the help of Tecplot 360 CFD visualization software to view and analyze his digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) data, he is helping develop the first bileaflet bioprosthetic mitral valve with dynamic saddle annulus designed to mimic the natural mitral valve.

Tecplot 360 is a numerical simulation and CFD visualization software that combines engineering plotting with advanced data visualization in one product. The software allows you to plot, animate, and analyze data, arrange multiple layouts, and communicate results.

Falahatpisheh has been evaluating bioprosthetic heart valves assembled in an artificial heart flow simulator to examine the transvalvular flow with the help of high-speed DPIV techniques. Using Tecplot 360, he is able to visualize the data related to the flow passing through a valve and identify potential anomalies, clearing the way for the design and development specifically for their dynamic, bileaflet mitral bioprosthetic heart valve.

The use of CFD to study artificial heart valves gives insight to the details of the flow which can be beneficial to the heart valve design process. The challenge is to implement the proper boundary conditions which may lead to the deviation from the physical and realistic solution.

Falahatpisheh imports DPIV data to Tecplot to obtain streamlines which are essential for identifying abnormalities in the flow. This enables him to visualize the streamlines, determine how the flow is structured and moves through time, and gather related information.

Specifically, Falahatpisheh uses Tecplot 360 to look at the vortex patterns and identify valve dysfunctions to help diagnose between a normally functioning heart valve and an abnormal one. The analysis at this stage is critical: it is essential that an asymmetrical vortex pattern is achieved within the flow through the valve. If it shows a symmetric pattern, it means the flow pattern is not optimized to properly transfer the momentum and energy from the heart chamber to the aorta.

Tecplot 360 helps Falahatpisheh identify these flow abnormalities and determine how and where to alter the design to ensure a proper flow pattern. If this portion is inaccurate, all the work and research that takes place after the tests will also be inaccurate. The end goal of his research is to aid in the development and production of a safer, better bioprosthetic heart valve that helps physicians save more lives and improve the quality of life for many others.

Tecplot

www.tecplot.com

 

CFD Updates

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Pointwise announces the latest release of its Pointwise computational fluid dynamics (CFD) meshing software with a set of new tools.

The surface meshing formulation of the T-Rex (anisotropic tetrahedral extrusion) hybrid meshing algorithm first developed for Pointwise’s Gridgen software now is available in Pointwise version 16.04. At the other end of the meshing spectrum, a new tool has been added for moving individual grid points. Other notable new features include the ability to split and join faceted geometry models and the extension of the CAE plugin API for writing your own CAE solver export to structured grid formats.

The new release also includes 64-bit support on Mac OS X, annotation entities, printing to PNG, TIFF, and BMP files, and 11 new or updated CAE software interfaces.

Pointwise, Inc. is solving the top problem facing engineering analysts today – mesh generation for CFD. The company’s Gridgen and Pointwise software generates structured, unstructured, and hybrid meshes; interfaces with CFD solvers, such as ANSYS FLUENT, STAR-CD, ANSYS CFX, and OpenFOAM as well as many neutral formats, such as CGNS; runs on Windows (Intel and AMD), Linux (Intel and AMD), Mac and Unix, and has scripting languages that can automate CFD meshing.

Pointwise, Inc.

www.pointwise.com

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