 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
 |
|
|||
 |
|
September 2008 |
||
|
|
||||
| Klaus Wolf, Deputy Head of Department Simulation Engineering Our Code Coupling interface MpCCI is an open interface which allows to combine various FEM structural codes with other CFD codes to run a Fluid-Structure-Interaction (FSI) application. Most popular combinations so far are FLUENT-Abaqus and STAR-CD - Abaqus. MpCCI is used at 10-15 automotive users in Europe - most of them OEMs, around five are Tier Ones. Most of our automotive users do thermal coupling for engine compartments, engines cooling, or underhood exhaust systems. In contrast to the established way of mapping medium thermal values from a CFD simulation as loads onto a structural stress analysis (one-way one-step coupling) the new MpCCI approach now allows a two-way and n-step iterative coupling between two running codes. The results are much more accurate and realistic - especially if local effects are expected in the models. And coupling fluid and structural software also often means that at end-user sites two (separate CFD and FEM) departments now have to share knowledge, models and software! Our major task is to support more and more of the leading and also the smaller codes. Currently MpCCI can couple FEM packages: Abaqus, Ansys, MSC.Marc, Permas. And CFD packages: Fluent, STAR-CD Others include: RadTherm (Radiation), Flux3D (EMAG), Indeed (Stamping), Flowmaster (1D Flow) And we're working on around five more codes for this year... In nearly all cases we are in a strong collaboration with the software vendors who have recognised that code-coupling is one efficient way to improve functionality of heir own codes. Multi-disciplinary simulation probably is NOT a simple way -- but it helps to provide more realistic models if you take care of all relevant physical effects in your application. The different design and analysis departments need to cooperate and get aware of the complexity of the 'other' side: CFD <--> FEM The first step towards a multidisciplinary simulation is to start a strong interactive working between the different established design/analysis departments inside the company. As long as structural people see CFD effects just as a static load (or the CFD guys only see the structure as a wall around their flow field, multidisciplinary working will not get good results. Our software is not yet a mass product for simulation - but in most cases is used by experts of CFD and FEM who know enough about the modelling complexities. As we are an interface company our next goal is to ease to work of adapting own inhouse codes to our interface. This would enable then to couple e.g. Abaqus to an inhouse CFD code. My feeling is that the big CAD companies will try to buy the relative small simulation vendors to offer integrated Design&Simulation tools. Many end-users like these integrated solutions - but also would like to avoid to be bound to a single provider... |
LINKS Ansys: multi-physics analysis pays off. Read more... Integrated: Electromagnetic CAE tools that combine FEA and simulation. Read more... Lotus: vehicle dynamics made quick and easy. Read more...
|
|||
