Simulation and Analysis Blog

This blog will be focused on simulation and analysis issues but will also give you a glimpse of what NAFEMS have been up to. We hope you enjoy it and if you have any feedback or suggestion or you want to contribute, please contact us at: marketing@nafems.org

Analysis Origins - OptiStruct

The origins and legacy of the renowned structural analysis code and early pioneer of simulation-driven design. from the analysis origins series In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the engineering research community began to buzz about a new concept called topology optimization. The

Analysis Origins - Fluent

from the analysis origins series This article chronicles the origins of Fluent, a pioneering Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code in the 1980s that became the dominant market leader by the late 90s and is today part of ANSYS Inc., one of the leading simulation software providers for

Focus on: Joints & Connections

As most structures involve some sort of jointing or connection, often running into many thousands, or even millions of connections in one individual body, the analyses involved can be among the most difficult an engineer can face. As you can imagine, there has been a significant amount of activity

Analysis Origins - MSC and NASTRAN

from the analysis origins series by Dennis Nagy Principal, BeyondCAE Birth, Growth, Success, Stagnation, and Re-Birth MSC’s 55-year history has been fascinating, exciting, and disappointing, all at the same time. This article attempts to highlight all those facets from the personal viewpoint

Focus on: Composites

NAFEMS has been engaged in activities related to the application of numerical methods to the analysis and assessment of composite materials for many years. We have produced a significant number of resources in the field, and we've collected some of these together here. Many of the resources below

Analysis Origins - KFX and FLACS

Modelling Explosions and Combustion and the Impact of Piper Alpha from the analysis origins series Introduction by Steve Howell The catastrophic loss of the Piper Alpha platform claimed the lives of 167 people. On 6 July 1988, a small explosion caused secondary damage that resulted in a second

Focus on: Simulation Data Management

The effective management of simulation data and process information is increasingly important as simulation becomes a core business practice and organizations rely on simulation results as the basis for business decisions. “Simulation Data Management (SDM)” is a technology which uses database

Analysis Origins - ABAQUS

from the analysis origins series by Lynn Manning In the first of this new regular series on the roots of some of the major players in the analysis world, we take a look at the origins of HKS and ABAQUS, from its beginnings in the 1970’s, to the present day. An Englishman, a Swede and an

Focus on: Computational Fluid Dynamics

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is now used for a huge range of applications across all industrial areas. Its use can provide insight that is difficult, dangerous or impossible to obtain from other methods, yet the complexity of the physics of interest and numerical methods used can prevent or

Focus on: Structural Dynamics

As you would expect, NAFEMS has produced a significant number of papers, articles, presentations and much more on the subject of structural dynamics. We've collected some of the more interesting pieces together here in this email. Many of the resources below are available free for you to download,

Focus on: Manufacturing Simulation

Manufacturing Simulation covers a multitude of processes, materials, techniques, and methods. Almost every engineered object in use in industry or in our homes has undergone a transforming process taking it from a raw material to a finished product. These processes change the shape and, in many

Focus on: Optimisation

Optimisation (or optimiZation, depending on where you're from..) is everywhere. If you're involved in a design, you're involved in the optimisation process. And if you think you're not, then you're probably mistaken... NAFEMS has long had a significant focus on optimisation in engineering

From Wind Tunnels to High Performance Computing

by The CAE Guy Back in the 1930s, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was created by congressional charter in May 1933 as a federally owned corporation in the United States and ultimately declared constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1936 [1, 2].The TVA was, in part, established as a way

Wind tunnels winding test engineers up

by The CAE Guy I confess to be continually surprised at the lack of understanding of Computational Fluid Dynamics by some (repeat, some) test engineers and managers. Not that they are not good at their jobs, but it comes up often enough that I have had to issue and edict that background

Hendrix, Van Halen, Newton and Einstein

by The CAE Guy Back in the 1980s, when I was 16 or 17, I was arguing/discussing the “best” rock and roll guitarist off all time with a high school classmate of mine. While I remember it was a heated “debate” where we agreed to disagree: Long story short [1], I was advocating for Eddie Van Halen

I want (CAE) candy!

by The CAE Guy Springtime is in the air here in the Midwestern US, which means there is a transfer happening from indoor to outdoor activities. For me, that means the end of coaching volleyball to attempting to find time to ride my bicycle more (one of my New Year’s resolutions …), and playing

The CFD interview

The CFD interview by The CAE Guy Now that I have a few months to further settle in to the aero-thermal department manager role, I have had the chance to think more about expanding the role of Computational Fluid Dynamics within the department and potentially within the rest of the company as

Recent live NAFEMS on-site classes and other updates

by Tony Abbey, FE Training March was a hectic month - with three customized training classes in England and Scotland. First stop was Atkins Ground Engineering Group in Epsom, with a tailored Dynamics Analysis Course for some of the Geotechnical Engineering Staff.. Next up , Jaguar Land Rover

Big Time Manager

by The CAE Guy This is now what our two teenage daughters call me occasionally.Mostly in the context of when they think I am trying to get away with something. Such as: Oh, Dad thinks that since he’s a Big Time Manager now, he can do what he wants and not follow the rules. For teenagers, this

They've Found it! Beagle 2 Lander Found on Mars after 12 Years

They've Found it! Beagle 2 Lander Found on Mars after 12 Years Well time makes fools of us all. It didn't return calls, we didn't see it around - it was as if it had disappeared off the face of the planet (well, it had technically...), but the UK led Beagle 2 lander, which touched down on Mars on

Boyhood

by The CAE Guy Usually, when a movie is trying to convey the passage of time, say by a flashback to a character’s childhood, a young actor is used that someone, perhaps the casting director, has determined bears some resemblance to the adult actor. “Boyhood” is the story of growing up as seen

Simulation Driven Design: Just How Far Have We Come?

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insights It's time for a litmus test, isn't it? We've been talking about this issue for well over a decade now. Simulation has traditionally been used for verification and validation right before testing begins. Its a great way to avoid

Shot-Peening Over Coffee and Pie

Shot-Peening Over Coffee and Pie by Tony Abbey, FE Training Firstly, I must make an apology for yet another aviation related blog intro. On Saturday I was offered, out of the blue, a ride in an open cockpit Stearman biplane from 1942. It has a 220 hp engine, but is quite a heavy plane at just

Unwind With A Little Post-Crash Mozart

Unwind With A Little Post-Crash Mozart by Tony Abbey, FE Training I had the privilege of attending the NAFEMS World Congress in Salzburg in June. It was a busy time for myself and my e-learning colleague Kamran Fouladi as we gave a series of short classes to act as tasters for the full courses

Clyde Cessna's Famous Photo

Clyde Cessna's Famous Photo by Tony Abbey, FE Training Every Saturday when I am in town I work as a part time volunteer at Yank’s Air Museum in Chino, California. If you are in the area please come and check it out, it is rather special. If I am there don’t forget to say hello. One of the

Interview with Ralph Sundermeier

Dr Ralph Sundermeier works in the Technical Design Department of Volkswagen, where he is responsible for the interior calculation within car projects and mainly for the development of calculation methods. Dr Sundermeier was Keynote speaker at NAFEMS recent World Congress in Salzburg, Austria . His

Continuous Systems Validation- Implications for Software Solutions

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insights Continuous systems validation brings a whole new level of complication to simulation. In my first post in this series, we looked at how designs progress in various engineering disciplines. In the second one, we looked at how

Continuous Systems Validation- Progressive Design Representations

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insights I now have no doubt left in my mind: system simulation is now all the rage. A few weeks ago, I hopped on the bandwagon to write on the topic. I published a post titled Systems Simulation: Far-off Future or Feasible Now? here

The Implications of the Cloud for Simulation

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insights Is the cloud that big a deal for simulation anymore? I mean, we basically know what it means. Run simulation sin the cloud. Leverage all that compute horsepower up there. Get lots of results way faster. Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

Anecdotal Evidence

by Tony Abbey, FE Training My Uncle started as a River Pilot on the English Humber River; a treacherous place with strong currents and constantly changing sandbanks. He then served in the Merchant Navy and was torpedoed twice. Post war he captained a survey and salvage ship for the Royal Air

The “Usual Suspects”

by Tony Abbey, FE Training I have been living in the US now for 13 years and occasionally I get a little nostalgic for the TV shows I grew up with in the UK. I found a DVD catalogue which included what in the US we call Cop Shows. The English vernacular I remember is Police Dramas. I ordered some

Systems Simulation: Far-off Future or Feasible Now?

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insights Move over multi-physics. There's now a different field that qualifies as the bleeding edge of technology in simulation: system simulation. Many organizations are just starting to broach this field in an effort to better

Growing Pains

by Kamran Fouladi, President of InfoMec Commercial marketplace for CAE software is undoubtedly similar to any other marketplace where competitors vie for increased market share. Add to this landscape, organizations and individuals who believe in open source environments and the landscape becomes

Pre-CAD Simulation: Where True Engineering Occurs?

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insights This last week, I attended the Council on the Future of Engineering Software (COFES) in Phoenix AZ. It's a great event that brings together many of the leaders of the industry from the ranks of software providers, journalists,

A Train of Thought

by Tony Abbey, FE Training Earlier this year I travelled from London to Glasgow for a meeting. That gave me the opportunity to ride on a railway train for the first time in Britain since the era of British Rail. My memories are of a system that was starved for funds with much neglect and decay.

The Four ROIs of Simulation

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insights A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post titled The Key to Championing Simulation here on the NAFEMS blog that looked at the best way to move the simulation capabilities of an organization forward. The key, I said, was to befriend

The Best Simulation Toolbox: Integrated Suite or Granular Apps

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insight Everyone likes a good debate, right? Well, as a co-host for the web show Tech4PD , I have to admit that I am a little biased. The idea behind the web show is that Jim Brown, another Industry Analyst, and I debate various topics

Excuse me, how do I switch it on?

by Tony Abbey, FE Training One of the most enjoyable aspects of the training that I carry out is the travelling involved. I have been very fortunate to teach in many countries around the world and to visit many interesting places. Often this involves flying into an airport, picking up a rental

Does Multiphysics Make Fools of Us All?

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insights Quite a long time ago, I remember the first time I visited a hard-core simulation analyst's group. It was at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and I, fresh out of college, was showing them some new simulation technology. There

FEA for Managers & Reviewers - Q&A

by Tony Abbey, FE Training This week I presented a very short free webinar to a mainly US based audience on the topic ‘FEA for Managers and Reviewers’. This was a collaborative effort between NAFEMS and Desktop Engineering (DE). DE is a US based magazine focussing on CAD, CAM and CAE and I write

Stick Forward, Full Opposite Rudder

by Tony Abbey, FE Training As you may have guessed from the title, this week’s blog has an aviation theme. Many years ago I used to be a flying instructor and I spent most weekends, when the weather was good, teaching people to fly. I was reminded of all this a few days ago when browsing through

Key to Championing Simulation

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insights Quick poll: do you know the most requested presentation topic for NAFEMS events? Anyone. Think quick. I guess the title of this post might be giving it away, but when I talked with Michelle Ringrose about my presentation for

Exploding Dough And Fun With Carrots

by Tony Abbey, FE Training Welcome to my first blog for NAFEMS and an unusual title. It has been a very busy two weeks travelling and teaching the NAFEMS “Introduction to FEA” class in the UK and Holland. As usual each class was very different - depending on the background of the client company

Hello NAFEMS Folks

by Chad Jackson, President and Principal Analyst of Lifecycle Insights Let me first say welcome the new NAFEMS blog. I'm excited that we'll now have a blog focused on simulation issues. I think many of us will get a lot of value from it. As you might have guessed, I'll be one of the contributors

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