The automotive industry today is led by consumer perception, understanding, and expectations. With sustainability, AI, and efficiency being the reigning themes in almost every discussion, consumers are becoming increasingly aware, inquisitive, and critical of the vehicles they are purchasing, especially the younger, technically savvy generations. This is enabling particular technologies to rise in popularity and drive the market for at least the next decade.

These emerging technologies have led OEMs, and in turn Tier 1 suppliers, to buckle down and rush to optimize their processes so as not to miss out on market share. As consumer behavior gradually changes, vehicle sales are changing, too – determined by product quality [1], sustainability, purchasing experience, and brand. Moreover, these changes have gone further upstream to impact the design, manufacture, and supply of automotive parts and systems. That is why Tier 1 suppliers are racing to increase engineering efficiency and accelerate innovation.

This is where digital solutions like engineering simulation can play a significant role. And by leveraging the power of cloud computing and AI, the impact of cloud-based simulation on innovation and engineering efficiency can be significant. But let us first take a look at the automotive industry today and find out what trends and technologies are driving the market today.

The Four Trends Driving the Industry: ACES

As we are stepping into a new age of technology led by AI, digitalization, and sustainability, the automotive industry is going through a major transformation. Industry leaders are venturing into new avenues of design and manufacture, incorporating cutting-edge software and digital solutions that can help them keep up with the competition and the ever-growing demand.

As a result, multiple trends have emerged, which not only stem from technological advancements but also consumer perception of and willingness to adopt these technologies. The Center of Automotive Research (CAR) calls these trends ACES, which is an acronym for autonomous, connected, electric, and shared vehicles. Although we have seen major developments in other application areas, such as Hydrogen vehicles (which we will cover in another article), the ACES trends seem to have taken the lead, according to industry experts.

“[ACES] will enable new mobility paradigms, new companies, and new business and revenue models that have the potential to alter the way consumers interact with vehicles.”

Center of Automotive Research (CAR)

1. Autonomous Driving

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology has emerged as a transformative force in the automotive industry, driven by advancements in AI, sensors, and connectivity. Not only will AV change the way cars navigate the roads, but it will also have a significant impact on the design, manufacture, and supply of components and systems.

“15% of new cars sold in 2030 could be fully autonomous.”

McKinsey & Co. ^[2]

AV will result in a shift from traditional automotive components to advanced sensor systems, computing platforms, and communication devices, which would primarily impact Tier 1 suppliers. As vehicles become more autonomous, the demand for sophisticated sensors, such as LiDAR, radar, and cameras rises exponentially. Tier 1 suppliers need to adapt their product portfolios and the manner by which they design their products to meet the evolving needs of OEMs. For this, they must find solutions that would enhance their engineering efficiency and boost their innovation.

2. Connectivity

The advent of vehicle connectivity has made it possible to process data from a wide range of sensors located at the edge and in the cloud. As a result, the volume of data that connected cars are expected to generate will increase as autonomous driving increases.

“Data traffic from connected vehicles is expected to be over 1,000 times the present volume, exceeding 10 exabytes per month by 2025.”

T-Mobile ^[3]

As such, mobility will change as connectivity is further enabled, especially with the advent of machine learning (ML) and edge AI applications.

3. Electric Vehicles

EVs are arguably the most impactful and pivotal trends in the automotive industry today, marked by a departure from traditional internal combustion engines towards cleaner, sustainable alternatives. The electrification of vehicles is driven by a growing global emphasis on environmental sustainability and the need to reduce carbon emissions. As governments worldwide implement stringent emission standards, the automotive landscape is witnessing a surge in EV adoption.

“Over 55% of all new car sales could be fully electrified by 2030.”

PwC Autofacts ^[4]

With lower battery costs, increasingly available charging infrastructure, and growing consumer approval, EVs will continue to have a strong impetus in the market in the near future. This includes its hybrid, battery-electric, plug-in, and fuel-cell-powered vehicles. In order for automotive suppliers to succeed with EVs, they need to leverage partnerships, especially with service providers that are leading the technological landscape. They need to invest in solutions that enable them to accelerate their innovation and production.

4. Shared Mobility

Motivated by efficiency, sustainability, and social inclusivity, shared mobility has begun to take shape over recent years. Although consumers by large still want to hold on to their private vehicles, many are gradually embracing the concept of shared mobility. In other words, mobility becomes an on-demand service in the form of car sharing, ride sharing, or mobility as a service (MaaS).

“40% of consumers expect to commute using shared mobility services in the next 5-10 years.”

Ericsson ^[5]

This not only is economically viable, especially with the introduction of autonomous vehicles, but it could also lead consumers to become consistently aware of technological advances, given the short life cycles of shared mobility solutions. This would put pressure on OEMs and, in turn, Tier 1 suppliers to augment the upgradability of the vehicles and their technological features.

Race of the Decade: How to Lead the Auto Supply Market

With EVs, AVs, connectivity, and shared mobility driving the automotive industry, suppliers are required to innovate faster while increasing engineering efficiency in order to maintain their competitive edge.

To achieve both requirements, suppliers and OEMs need to transform their engineering workflow, starting as early as the design stage. This can happen by fully digitalizing the design and engineering system and enabling teams to collaborate quickly through multiple design iterations. As such, teams should leverage simulation as a decision-making catalyst that underpins the whole design process.

Here at SimScale, we believe simulating early and broad can transform the product design process as it would inform design decisions efficiently rather than merely validate designs at the end of every cycle.

“The key advantage of using SimScale for us is to extract fast design insights at the early stages. We can then arrive at a final design faster and have more confidence when moving to the physical prototyping stage.”

Massimo Savi, ITW

First to Cloud-Native Simulation Wins

In order to accelerate new product introduction while lifting engineering efficiency on legacy products, OEMs and automotive suppliers must iterate through design runs more quickly and efficiently. For that, they need to incorporate digital solutions that can minimize costs and maximize the speed of sound decision-making. Therefore, those who adopt cloud-native engineering simulation will be one step ahead of the competition.

“Companies that invest 25% of their R&D budget in software applications are rewarded with strong growth.”

PwC Autofacts ^[4]

With SimScale’s next-generation simulation that leverages the power of cloud computing and AI, automotive suppliers can circumvent the long lead times and siloed approach of legacy simulation. They can employ aggressive simulation by utilizing parallel testing, which can reduce lead time from weeks to minutes.

Contact us below for more information on how to adopt cloud-native simulation in your workflow, or visit SimScale’s Product Overview section to have a look for yourself.

The post The Automotive Race to Innovation & Efficiency appeared first on SimScale.

Pelton turbines are characterized by their distinctive spoon-shaped buckets that efficiently capture the momentum of high-velocity water jets in high-head hydroelectric projects. But what differentiates the Pelton turbine in the spectrum of hydroelectric technologies? And how are current technological advancements, particularly cloud-based simulation platforms, revolutionizing the design, optimization, and operational processes of Pelton turbines?

This article delves into the intricacies of Pelton turbines, tracing their origins, understanding their mechanics, and exploring the role of advanced computation simulations, such as those offered by SimScale, in enhancing their performance.

Understanding Pelton Turbines

What is a Pelton Turbine?

A Pelton turbine, also known as a Pelton wheel turbine, is an impulse turbine uniquely designed to convert the kinetic energy of water into mechanical energy. Unlike its counterparts – the Francis and Kaplan turbines, which are reaction turbines suited for lower-head and higher-flow applications – the Pelton turbine operates efficiently in high-head, low-flow conditions typical of mountainous terrains. It achieves this by directing high-velocity water jets at a series of buckets mounted around the wheel, known as the runner, capturing the water’s momentum with remarkable efficiency.

Historical Background and Modern Applications

Invented in 1880 by Lester A. Pelton, the Pelton turbine has become a cornerstone of modern hydropower technology [1]. With the global installed capacity of hydropower reaching 1330 GW in 2021 and expected to grow significantly by 2050, Pelton turbines are at the forefront of this expansion [2]. They are renowned for their high efficiency, which can reach up to 92%, and continue to be refined for even greater performance.

In modern applications, Pelton turbines are not just confined to large-scale hydropower plants. They are also instrumental in small-scale installations, particularly in remote and mountainous regions where their high-head, low-flow operation is optimal. Furthermore, they are increasingly integrated into smart grid systems, contributing to a more responsive and sustainable electricity network. Pelton turbines also play a pivotal role in managing environmental flows, ensuring that water usage for power generation balances ecological and human needs.

Key Components of a Pelton Turbine

• The Bucket Design: The buckets of a Pelton turbine are its defining feature. They are engineered to split the water jet, ensuring maximum energy transfer from water to the turbine and allowing for efficiencies to remain high, even when operating at part load.
• The Nozzle: The nozzle, or injector, is responsible for regulating the water flow rate. It is designed to maintain high efficiency across a range of operating conditions, ideally keeping Pelton turbine efficiency above 90% until the flow rate is reduced to 20% of the design flow rate [3].
• The Runner and Casing: The runner, with its mounted buckets, is enclosed within a casing to protect and streamline the operation. The turbine’s axis configuration, whether horizontal (with up to two injectors) or vertical (with as many as six injectors), affects the load distribution and efficiency. The design also includes a deflector for emergency shutdowns or to prevent damage.

Pelton turbines are adaptable to horizontal and vertical axis configurations, with the choice impacting the turbine’s load distribution and potential for energy loss due to friction and windage. Their ability to operate efficiently across a wide range of conditions makes them a versatile choice for hydropower installations, especially in areas with high heads and low flows, such as aqueducts or ecological flows from dams.

How Pelton Turbines Work?

Pelton turbines derive their efficiency from the basic principle of impulse, where pressurized water is directed through a penstock and expelled via a carefully sized nozzle to generate a high-speed water jet. The turbine wheel, featuring strategically positioned double-cupped buckets, efficiently captures and redirects this water jet. Upon impact, the water undergoes a rapid change in momentum, transferring its kinetic energy to the turbine wheel and inducing rotation. The rotating turbine wheel is connected to a generator, converting the mechanical energy into electrical power. This synchronized process ensures continuous and reliable power generation.

The hydraulic efficiency of a Pelton wheel turbine is typically calculated using the following formula:

$$ Hydraulic\:Ef\!ficiency = \left(\frac{Mechanical\:Power\:Out\!put}{Hydraulic\:Power\:In\!put}\right) × 100 $$
It is also referred to as the Power Coefficient and is expressed as follows:
$$ \eta = \frac{P_t}{P_w} $$

where \(\eta\) is the hydraulic efficiency, \(P_t\) is the turbine power output, and \(P_w\) is the water head (unconstrained water current).

This formula quantifies the efficiency of the turbine in converting the hydraulic power of the incoming water into mechanical power. The mechanical power output is the electrical power generated by the turbine, while the hydraulic power input is the energy carried by the water jet.

Pelton turbines, with their distinctive design and efficient water-to-wheel energy transfer, often yield hydraulic efficiencies in the range of 85% to 90%. This means that a significant proportion of the water’s kinetic energy is successfully harnessed to produce electrical power. Yet, this efficiency may drop or fluctuate depending on influencing factors, such as windage, mechanical friction, backsplashing, and nonuniform bucket flow.

Advancements in Pelton Turbine Design Through Simulation

The integration of engineering simulation technologies, notably Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), has transformed the design and analysis of Pelton turbines. This innovative approach allows for the detailed modeling of water flow dynamics within the turbine, providing engineers with the insights needed to enhance efficiency and precision in turbine designs. As we delve deeper into the specifics, we will explore how Pelton turbine simulation serves as a crucial foundation for design refinement, performance prediction, and, ultimately, the realization of more sophisticated and efficient Pelton turbine systems.

Engineering simulations are pivotal during the early stages of the design cycle of Pelton turbines, acting as virtual proving grounds. They enable the testing of various design concepts, material choices, and operational conditions without the need for physical prototyping. This stage is essential for pinpointing potential design flaws and implementing improvements, thereby conserving time and resources.

Optimizing Pelton Turbine Designs with CFD

CFD simulations offer a robust framework for tackling fluid flow challenges, allowing for the creation of three-dimensional models of Pelton turbines. These models provide a window into the intricate interactions between water jets and turbine buckets, facilitating the optimization of bucket design, nozzle placement, and runner shape to achieve high turbine efficiency.

This is where a simulation tool like SimScale CFD plays a key role. Not only does this tool provide accurate simulation capabilities, but it also offers parallelization by leveraging cloud computing and storage. In other words, multiple simulations can run in parallel without limitations imposed by hardware constraints. This saves significant time during the design process and enables design parameterization and efficient testing. More on this is discussed below.

Dynamic Visualization and Performance Forecasting in Pelton Turbine Simulation

A key benefit of CFD simulations is the dynamic visualization of water flow through the turbine blades, offering more than just static imagery. Engineers can track the formation and impact of water jets on the buckets, observing the resulting flow paths. This dynamic analysis is crucial for identifying and rectifying inefficiencies. Furthermore, simulations enable turbine performance prediction across a spectrum of conditions, allowing engineers to anticipate real-world functionality and ensure the most efficient and dependable operation of a Pelton turbine.

Cloud-Native CFD to Accelerate Pelton Turbine Innovation

SimScale’s Subsonic Analysis for CFD Simulation of Pelton Turbines

In Simscale, the most useful CFD analysis type to simulate Pelton turbines is Subsonic Analysis. The Subsonic analysis type introduces an automated and robust meshing strategy tailored for fluid flow applications like Pelton Turbines. This approach generates hexahedral cells optimized for the underlying solver, significantly reducing mesh generation times. The resultant high-quality mesh requires fewer cells to achieve comparable accuracy, leading to faster convergence. It is important to note that this efficiency may come with a reduction in the feature set.

Key features of the mesher include body-fitted Cartesian meshing, cells suitable for finite volume discretization, and a highly parallelized meshing algorithm for rapid processing.

The Subsonic solver in SimScale is a Finite Volume-based CFD solver, employing a segregated pressure-velocity coupling mechanism. It stands out for its ability to simulate both incompressible and compressible flows, accommodating laminar or turbulent conditions all in one place. It also offers versatility by supporting both steady-state and extensive transient analyses. As for turbulence modeling, the analysis relies on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, employing the k-epsilon turbulence model for closure and proprietary wall functions for effective near-wall treatment, making it particularly suited for Pelton Turbines.

Enhancing Pelton Turbine Design with SimScale’s Predictive Analysis

SimScale’s simulation capabilities bring a new level of sophistication to the design and optimization of Pelton turbines. Across numerous projects hosted on the platform, SimScale users are harnessing the power of cloud-native CFD simulation to enhance the operational efficiency and reliability of these turbines.

One such project studied the water flow within a Pelton turbine, mapping velocity magnitudes throughout the turbine’s buckets. This analysis provided a detailed visualization of flow dynamics, enabling the identification of optimal flow conditions and guiding improvements to the turbine design for increased energy conversion efficiency.

In another study, the focus was placed on understanding the pressure distribution within the turbine. The simulations executed in SimScale offered a three-dimensional perspective on the pressure loads the turbine blades endure, which is fundamental for assessing the turbine’s structural integrity and ensuring its longevity under high-stress conditions.

Through these projects, SimScale has proven to be an invaluable tool for predictive analysis that is vital for the refinement of turbine designs. It enables engineers to virtually prototype and test their concepts, iterate designs with accuracy, and achieve a level of detail that significantly reduces the need for physical prototypes. Try it for yourself now by clicking on “Start Simulating” below. For more information about SimScale’s CFD tool, check out our Fluid Dynamics product page.

The post Pelton Turbine: Working Principle, Design & Simulation appeared first on SimScale.

Imagine a scenario where seconds can be the difference between life and death. Picture remote villages, disaster-stricken areas, and underserved communities where access to critical medical supplies is a challenge. In such settings, medical delivery drones are not just a technological marvel; they are lifelines. These drones have the power to transcend geographical barriers, overcome logistical hurdles, and bring much-needed medical relief to those in desperate need.

In this article, I want to highlight an inspiring drone design project by Frank Lucci, a high school student out of Texas, who used SimScale’s CFD simulation tool to design a medical delivery drone from scratch. The possibilities that cloud-native simulation like SimScale can provide students and designers with are endless, enabling them to design faster, iterate more, and accelerate their innovation in ways that are otherwise beyond reach.

The Promise of Medical Delivery Drones

The key factor that has accelerated the adoption of drones for medical delivery has been the recent surge in the need for such delivery of medications and vaccines on a global scale, characterized by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in areas facing geographical obstacles and a lack of reliable refrigerated transport.

One initiative by The World Economic Forum called Medicine from the Sky has been implemented in India, which is known for its diverse and hard-to-reach landscapes. The need for healthcare access in rural Indian regions has been a clear incentive for public and private organizations to invest in and push drone solutions. The initiative’s initial phase successfully conducted over 300 drone-enabled vaccine deliveries in Telangana, India, making it a pioneering initiative in Asia. The project then shifted its focus to the more complex terrain of Arunachal Pradesh, a Himalayan state characterized by challenging mountainous landscapes. In this phase, the initiative carried out over 650 drone flights and delivered over 8,000 medical products to 200+ patients across challenging terrains.

The challenges of medical delivery are multi-faceted. Time is often of the essence, and access to healthcare can be a matter of life and death. Traditional ground-based transportation systems may be slow and inefficient, especially in remote or disaster-stricken areas. This is where medical delivery drones step in. They offer the promise of faster response times, reduced costs, and improved access to healthcare, particularly in emergencies and underserved regions.

MediWing: A Medical Delivery Drone Design Project

Frank Lucci is a student at the BASIS San Antonio (Shavano) High School in Texas, an ardent learner of fluid dynamics and aerospace, and a member of the SimScale community. In his effort to participate in a science fair competition, Frank took the COVID-19 pandemic as a motive to design, build, and fly a drone that delivers medical payloads. Thus, his project MediWing was born.

After considering the design requirements of a medical delivery drone, including range, speed, payload weight, and modes of flight, he used some rough estimates to come up with an initial base design. The design involved a drone with airfoil-shaped wings. So, he created an initial CAD model and used SimScale to simulate and reiterate the design numerous times until he reached the optimal design. He, then, developed a detailed CAD design for a half-scale model and constructed a physical prototype using CNC and 3D printing technologies. He went on to test and tune the prototype until the drone was able to fly autonomously.

Here’s what Frank had to say about his prototype:

“The package mechanism and everything else seemed to work except for the range, which was half of the predicted and desired range. Eventually, I came to understand that all the building defects, circular flying patterns, and high wind speeds cause a huge efficiency decrease. I vowed to construct the next model way more aerodynamically efficient and overestimate the drag predicted from the simulations. After one year, hundreds of hours of work, thousands of errors and failures, and one Top-300 middle-school science fair project in the nation, Version 1 was done.”

However, Frank was not done there. He went on to design a second version of the MediWing, seeking a VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft design. Frank is currently working on optimizing his design to accommodate and fix the plane’s VTOL transition and is even considering building a full-scale version.

Frank’s use of SimScale CFD to analyze and visualize the airflow around the drone has helped him fine-tune his design effectively and facilitated his ability to innovate faster. This is exactly what SimScale offers: Unparalleled accessibility and seamless integration. With more and more students finding significant value in SimScale, SimScale continues to support academics, engineers, and designers to build the future and innovate faster and better.

Read more about Frank’s story in his entry in the SimScale Forum.

CFD Simulation for Medical Delivery Drones

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) plays a critical role in shaping the design and functionality of medical delivery drones. By leveraging CFD simulations, engineers can predict and analyze how a drone will perform in various conditions, including different wind speeds, temperatures, and altitudes. This enables them to optimize the drone’s aerodynamics, stability, and payload-carrying capacity before a physical prototype is even built.

CFD simulations provide crucial insights into the airflow around the drone’s body, rotor design, and other components, allowing for fine-tuning of the design to maximize efficiency and safety. The result is a well-engineered drone that can reliably transport life-saving medical supplies to those in need.

Drone design projects like Frank’s MediWing rely on CFD simulations to ensure the drone meets stringent design requirements, complies with safety regulations, and performs optimally in challenging real-world scenarios.

The real-world implications of such innovative projects can be profound. With initiatives like that from the World Economic Forum, we do not need to imagine anymore. We are getting closer to a world where medical supplies, vaccines, and even organs can be swiftly delivered to remote areas, disaster-stricken regions, or areas with limited infrastructure. As such, lives can be saved, critical treatments can be administered on time, and healthcare access can be extended to the farthest corners of the world. The successful deployment of medical delivery drones not only addresses the challenges of today but also paves the way for a more equitable and efficient global healthcare system.

The post Wings of Hope: CFD-Enabled Design for a Medical Delivery Drone appeared first on SimScale.

Electromagnetics (EM) simulation is an advanced technique to investigate the performance of electronic devices and systems virtually, minimizing the need for expensive and time-intensive legacy physical prototyping. With cloud-native simulation capabilities, engineers can go even further and eliminate their reliance on expensive hardware and complex installations of software by simply running all their simulations in parallel directly in their favorite web browser — no installation required. This not only accelerates the design cycle but also enables engineers to innovate faster, collaborate more easily in real time, and apply multiple physics simulations all in one place.

A Deeper Look into SimScale’s Electromagnetics Simulation

Electromagnetic fields play a pivotal role in countless technological innovations, from motors and transformers to medical devices and beyond. That’s why it’s crucial for engineers and designers to have access to state-of-the-art analysis tools that enable them to explore, understand, and optimize electromagnetic phenomena with unprecedented precision.EM systems often present challenges of different scales, particularly when it comes to frequency ranges. In our first roll-out, SimScale is offering low-frequency electromagnetics analysis capabilities with a dedicated magnetostatics solver powered by our partner, EMWorks. This will enable various low-frequency applications, such as linear actuators, sensors, and motors.

The SimScale EM solver enables engineers to visualize and analyze various electromagnetic parameters in magnetostatics, including:

• Magnetic flux density
• Magnetic field strength
• Current density
• Linear and non-linear magnetic permeability
• B-H curves
• Permanent magnets
• Inductance matrix
• Coil resistance
• Forces and torques

Thanks to the power of cloud computing, engineers can run as many simulations as needed at the same time and iterate on their designs following the results of their simulations to reach the optimal design.

Simulate Magnetostatics in SimScale

Magnetostatics is a model that describes magnetic fields when currents are temporally constant (stationary) or approximately constant. It has numerous applications in engineering and science that can be used in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, consumer products, healthcare, electronics, and more. Of these applications, one can utilize the magnetostatics analysis type to answer various design questions on:

• DC machines
• Electromagnetic brakes and clutches
• Magnetic levitation devices
• MEMS
• Motors and generators
• Permanent magnet motors
• Relays
• Sensors
• Solenoids

In SimScale, engineers can simulate various low-frequency electromagnetics by simply using the electromagnetics solver, as shown in the figure below.

Electromagnetics Simulation Examples in SimScale

Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM)

Switched Reluctance Motors (SRMs) are distinct electric motors operating on the principle of variable magnetic reluctance. Yet, they do suffer from the presence of torque ripples, which result from the abrupt switching of currents during motor operation. These lead to vibrations, noise, and undesirable mechanical stresses.

With SimScale’s electromagnetics solver, engineers can run magnetostatics simulations that provide a comprehensive understanding of the torque generation mechanisms, torque ripple effects, and efficiency of the motor under different operating conditions.

Electromagnetic-Toothed Brake

The electromagnetic-toothed brake is a sophisticated braking mechanism that operates through the manipulation of magnetic forces to control its engagement and disengagement. It shares structural similarities with the conventional power-on brake, but it boasts a distinct advantage in terms of static torque, which stems from the interlocking teeth between the driving and driven components. By incorporating these teeth into its design, the toothed brake achieves a notably higher torque capacity compared to devices of similar size, thus offering precise and efficient control of motion. When the coil is energized (power-on), the toothed brake engages to provide effective braking, making it a valuable tool for halting the rotation of a load when electrical power is applied.

In the image below, we provide a visual representation of electromagnetics simulation results in SimScale, illustrating the magnetic toothed brake in action. The image showcases both the engaged and disengaged states of the brake.

Linear Solenoid (Actuator)

Linear solenoids are electromagnetic devices that generate linear push or pull motion using magnetic fields. By adjusting the number of coil turns, material properties of the parts, or the applied current through the solenoid, engineers can optimize the stroke length of a linear direct-pushing solenoid. In other words, by controlling the magnetic field, engineers can tailor the solenoid’s stroke to suit specific application requirements, such as valves, locks, actuators, and other linear-motion devices.

More Electromagnetics Simulations Coming Soon

Low-frequency electromagnetics is just the beginning for SimScale. In the near future, we plan to introduce additional modules that will enable simulations of AC magnetics, transient magnetics, electrostatics, AC electrics, and high-frequency applications at last.

All these modules contribute to the multiphysics capabilities that SimScale provides, enabling engineers to run all the necessary simulations and analyses to ensure proper testing and validation before the need for any physical prototyping.

SimScale’s EM simulation software is the new kid on the block, but it is a game changer in terms of minimizing go-to-market time and costs for electromagnetic products.

In our effort to enable engineering organizations to deploy simulation broadly while maintaining central control over simulation knowledge and usage, SimScale is integrating electromagnetics into its comprehensive suite of simulation tools, delivered via a single consistent GUI and API.

The post Low-Frequency Electromagnetics Simulation — Now in Your Browser appeared first on SimScale.

This is where SimScale steps in. SimScale is a cloud-native simulation platform that seamlessly integrates with SOLIDWORKS, offering a rich array of advanced engineering simulation capabilities and computational power in the cloud. Leveraging the advantages of cloud computing, SimScale not only ensures a seamless CAD-import workflow for SOLIDWORKS users but also enables access from anywhere directly in their web browsers and allows for parallel simulations, empowering users to run multiple simulations at the same time. But that’s not all. There is a secret sauce, a key advantage all engineers and designers on SOLIDWORKS would benefit from massively.

In this article, we will look through the SOLIDWORKS Simulation and Flow Simulation tools, and then we will explore the seamless and proven CAD-import workflow between SOLIDWORKS and SimScale, highlighting its secret sauce in how it allows users to easily simulate native SOLIDWORKS parts and assemblies.

SOLIDWORKS Simulation and Flow Simulation Tools

SOLIDWORKS provides two robust, in-house simulation tools, SOLIDWORKS Simulation for FEA and SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation for CFD. These integrated tools help engineers perform structural, thermal, and fluid flow analyses in their familiar SOLIDWORKS environment.

SOLIDWORKS Simulation

Engineers and designers can make use of SOLIDWORKS Simulation to perform structural analysis and predict how a design would behave under particular conditions. Some of its highlights are:

• SOLIDWORKS FEA capabilities for structural analysis
• Linear, non-linear static, and non-linear dynamic capabilities
• Easy-to-use interface for setting up simulations
• Easy integration with CAD models

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation extends the simulation capabilities into the realm of CFD. With this tool, engineers can analyze the behavior of fluids (liquids and gases) within or around their designs. Some of its highlights include:

• SOLIDWORKS CFD capabilities that utilize the Finite Volume Method (FVM)
• Simulation of fluid flow, heat transfer, and radiation
• Usability in application areas like HVAC and electronics cooling
• Parametric studies for design optimization

The Bridge to SimScale

While SOLIDWORKS offers useful simulation tools, there are scenarios where advanced analysis options, extensive computational resources, or specialized features are required. SimScale bridges this gap by providing access to a cloud-powered, comprehensive suite of simulation solutions that reinforces SOLIDWORKS’ CAD capabilities. In other words, designing in SOLIDWORKS has become significantly more powerful by leveraging the proven workflow with SimScale.

Key Benefits of Using SimScale for Simulating SOLIDWORKS Models

Here are some key reasons why engineers turn to SimScale in order to simulate their SOLIDWORKS CAD models:

• Cloud-Based Power: SimScale leverages cloud computing, eliminating the need for high-end hardware and reducing simulation time. Users can access SimScale instantly from anywhere, and collaboration becomes effortless, as team members can easily work together on the same simulation and design project directly in their web browsers without any special hardware and with unparalleled, real-time, in-app support from simulation experts.
• Advanced Solvers: SimScale offers highly reliable and advanced solvers for FEA, CFD, and thermal analysis, enabling engineers to tackle complex problems efficiently. These include non-linear analysis, modal analysis, multiphase flow, conjugate heat transfer, transient simulations, and more.
• Automation and Optimization: Parametric studies, optimization, and design exploration are simplified in SimScale. Engineers can explore multiple design variations by simulating them in parallel (multiple simulations at the same time) to achieve optimal results. There is no limit to the simulation size, number of parallel simulations, and storage.
• One Platform, Broad Physics: SimScale offers a single platform with broad physics capabilities for both early-stage and late-stage simulations.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Simulating in SimScale minimizes the total cost of ownership, making it economically viable for everyone from single users up to hundreds of seats.

SOLIDWORKS and SimScale Associativity: The Key to a Seamless Workflow

The workflow between SOLIDWORKS and SimScale is designed to be seamless and user-friendly. The standout feature of this workflow is CAD associativity. This means that changes made to the original SOLIDWORKS CAD model automatically propagate to the SimScale simulation setup, eliminating the need for manual updates and ensuring that the simulation always reflects the latest design iteration.

When you design a product in SOLIDWORKS, every modification, no matter how minor, triggers an update in the associated SimScale simulation. This dynamic link ensures that engineers can make design improvements iteratively based on simulation results, leading to a more streamlined and efficient design validation process.

How It Works: Extending Your Design Capabilities with Simulation

The powerful synergy between SOLIDWORKS and SimScale unlocks a world of possibilities for engineers, making it possible to harness the full potential of their designs. With SOLIDWORKS providing high-quality 3D modeling capabilities and SimScale extending these capabilities with robust and comprehensive simulations in the cloud, users can achieve a higher level of design validation, optimization, and collaboration.

Simply, here is how the SOLIDWORKS-SimScale workflow works:

• Native format support: You can save SOLIDWORKS parts and assemblies in their native file formats and directly upload them to SimScale with no translation losses.
• Cloud-native simulation setup: You can set up sophisticated multiphysics simulations in SimScale by leveraging its broad-physics capabilities all on one cloud-based platform.
• Continue to design: You can continue to freely use your local computer for design work while the simulations are running in the cloud.
• Seamless design update: New design versions are associatively imported into SOLIDWORKS, retaining simulation settings for a fast iterative design process.

By seamlessly transitioning between these tools, engineers can bring innovative products to market faster and with greater confidence, all while continuing to design in SOLIDWORKS on their local computers and simulating in SimScale in the cloud. This integrated workflow truly showcases the simulation capabilities of SimScale and enhances the SOLIDWORKS experience for engineers across various industries.

Explore the SOLIDWORKS-SimScale proven workflow and sign up to SimScale to simulate your SOLIDWORKS CAD parts in the cloud.

Explore SOLIDWORKS-SimScale Workflow

The post SolidWorks Simulation: Seamless Proven Workflow with SimScale appeared first on SimScale.

Evidently, this is reflected in the market. The global simulation market has grown massively over recent years thanks to its facilitating engineering organizations to increase top-line growth and simultaneously drive bottom-line savings, all while improving the sustainability of products and processes. In fact, several reports have shown that analysts expect a market rise of 13% CAGR over the next five years, closing in on the USD 30 billion mark by the end of the decade [1-3]. Particularly, the cloud simulation segment has shown explosive growth and is estimated to drive the highest growth in the coming years. This is mainly because cloud-native simulation allows the use of engineering simulation earlier in the design process and broader across physics while reducing the cost and technology footprint.

From CFD analyses of aerodynamics, turbomachinery, and urban microclimates to FEA simulations of structural mechanics in automotive and consumer products, all the way to thermal analyses for indoor environments and electronics cooling, the applications for engineering simulation are numerous and can involve multiple physics. In this article, we dive into cloud simulation and CAE and find out how it strategically impacts business growth and helps optimize financial resources, enabling sustainable growth and profitability while minimizing risks. We explore in numbers how various companies from different industries have benefited from SimScale’s cloud-native simulation platform and how you can, too.

Accelerating Innovation with Cloud-Native Simulation

SimScale’s cloud-native simulation harnesses the power of cloud computing to execute complex engineering simulations, modeling scenarios, and data analysis with unprecedented speed and efficiency. This approach has profound implications for businesses, particularly in the engineering domain, where traditionally time-intensive and resource-demanding processes have been a barrier to rapid innovation.

In essence, it provides engineers with rapid access to the cloud’s high-performance computing resources, enabling them to conduct multiple simulations simultaneously and iterate designs swiftly. This accelerates the development of new products, allowing for the exploration of a broader range of design possibilities and advanced features.

Not only does cloud-native simulation drive innovation, but it also ensures prudent and strategic financial management of the R&D process, as it delivers quantifiable financial benefits that arise from reduced physical testing, optimized resource utilization, faster time-to-market, and more. By reducing the reliance on physical prototypes and enabling virtual testing, cloud simulation promotes cost-effective experimentation, leading to breakthroughs in product performance and functionality. Additionally, the data-driven insights derived from simulations enable informed decision-making, further fueling innovation and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in engineering and manufacturing.

Fundamentally, cloud-native simulation maximizes business value by enabling earlier, broader, and more intense simulation use while having no IT/Capex footprint. The table below clarifies how cloud-native simulation compares to traditional computer-aided engineering (CAE) use and mere physical testing without simulation.

	No Simulation	Traditional Simulation	Cloud-Native Simulation
Simulation Use	Physical testing only	Late-stage validation	Continuous
Simulation Users	None	Few CAE experts	Designers, Engineers, Experts
Possible Design Space	Narrow	Broad	Significantly broad
R&D Cycle Time	Long	Short	Minimal
IT/Capex Footprint	High	Significant	None

The impact of SimScale’s cloud simulation can be realized on two levels: top-line growth and bottom-line savings. In the following sections, we look deeper into each level and explore case studies of companies from industries like automotive, AEC, electronics, energy, and others that have already benefited substantially from cloud simulation.

Top-Line Growth with Cloud-Native Simulation

SimScale supports business revenue growth by reinforcing strategic approaches to accelerating innovation. This can be exemplified by boosting product performance and expediting time-to-market. Figure 2 displays the quantifiable benefits of many SimScale customers that have boosted their top-line growth with cloud-native simulation. Let’s dig deeper and learn more about some of these case studies.

Higher Product Performance

Using cloud simulation, engineers and designers can conduct complex simulations that were once computationally prohibitive, which enables them to develop and validate advanced product features more efficiently to reach higher product performance. This can result in higher end-customer satisfaction and enables companies to push design boundaries, innovate faster, and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

SimScale enables broad simulation across different physics and applications with a full-stack simulation technology that empowers users to boost their products’ performance and validate faster and better using scalable cloud-computing power. With its powerful solvers for fluid dynamics, structural mechanics, thermal analysis, and electromagnetics, SimScale allows for integrated, complex, and large-scale simulations, generating a wealth of data that reinforce decision-making and product development strategies, leading to better opportunities for establishing a stronger presence in the market.

One example is ITW, a global design and engineering firm and a leading global supplier of auto parts. Using SimScale, ITW engineers conducted nonlinear static simulation and analysis to accelerate the development of plastic automotive fastening components, allowing them to minimize the insertion force of their fasteners by up to 85% while saving 10% of their R&D costs.

Another example is Samco, a semiconductor and materials company out of Japan. One of Samco’s main principles is providing durable and highly reliable equipment, and that’s why they opted to use SimScale’s CFD, mechanical, and thermal simulation capabilities. With its ease of use and low cost compared to on-premises-based solutions, SimScale was an attractive choice for Samco’s design team, especially being first-time users. Using SimScale early in the design phase of a vacuum chamber enabled them to make small but rather effective design modifications, increasing their product lifetime by no less than ten times to exceed a million operating cycles.

Faster Time-to-Market

Shorter development cycles facilitated by cloud simulation can lead to earlier product launches, capturing market opportunities ahead of competitors and increasing revenue streams. In fact, one of the most impactful aspects of SimScale’s cloud-native simulation is parallel simulations. Engineers and designers alike can conduct multiple simulations in parallel with no limit on simulation size, number of simulations, or storage. This not only accelerates time-to-market but also increases scalability and eliminates the need for multiple steps and hand-offs between teams.

With SimScale, you can shorten your design cycle time and fix design issues earlier by benefiting from parallel simulations, faster data processing, rapid prototyping, easier collaboration and accessibility, and reduced administrative overhead. Simply, any authorized team member can access the simulation projects anytime, anywhere, directly in their web browser, and run parallel simulations that can cut design cycles from weeks to days and even minutes.

This is exactly what Withings was able to do using SimScale. This consumer electronics company leveraged the SimScale platform to conduct structural analysis of its health monitoring equipment. Running multiple simulations in parallel allowed them to reduce their design-to-prototype cycles by no less than seven times, enabling them to test new designs and push their products to market much faster.

“By using the novel mechanical simulation based in the cloud offered by SimScale, we engineers at Withings have been able to reduce our design-to-prototype cycles from weeks to days. This tool widens our possibilities to test new designs, materials, and techniques and anticipate possible failures, as well as gains in mechanical performance within a few clicks.”

Victor Pimenta – Mechanical Engineer at Withings based in Paris, France

Another company that shortened its design process significantly is Rimac. This visionary electric car manufacturer made use of SimScale’s thermal simulation tool to study the cooling of their battery pack. They easily managed to conduct 30 simulations in parallel, allowing them to save up to 96% in time savings and run ten different parameter variations. This shortened their time-to-result by 20x.

Bottom-Line Savings with Cloud-Native Simulation

SimScale’s cloud-native simulation enables companies to ensure substantial savings on operational costs, improve profit margins, and increase net income by lowering R&D and engineering costs and minimizing costs of goods sold (COGS). These cost-cutting measures and efficiency improvements can have a significant bottom-line impact, enabling companies to enhance their financial health and profitability. Figure 6 showcases how SimScale customers have leveraged cloud simulation to improve their bottom-line savings.

Lower Engineering and R&D Costs

With SimScale, you can replace a large chunk of your physical prototyping efforts, enabling you to reduce the costs of prototyping and hardware significantly. In some cases, you wouldn’t need to run any physical testing until the end of your testing process for final validation because simulation can provide accurate data and results that enable you to run design iterations faster and, evidently, at lower costs. This reduces your R&D turnover and supports the company’s strategic and financial efforts, not to mention the reduction of costs associated with compliance and safety standards.

Johnson Screens, a global supplier of industrial products in the AEC industry, has leveraged SimScale’s cloud-native CFD tool to conduct airflow analyses instead of conducting physical experimentation. As a result, they were able to save up to $15,000 in engineering costs and months of preparation per experiment.

“To get the same results with a physical test, it would take us months and would cost anywhere from $7k to $15k, even for this project, which is actually very small in scope. With SimScale, we could just run a virtual test at the office, which took only 18 minutes.”

Daryn Bertelson – CAE Engineer at Johnson Screens – Aqseptence Group

Lower COGS and Product Costs

Another bottom-line advantage of cloud simulation is the minimization of COGS and costs associated with materials, energy consumption, and warranties. With virtual prototyping, the need for physical prototypes is reduced, saving time, energy, and material costs during the design phase.

One example is Kichler, a residential lighting supplier out of the US. Kichler has opted to adopt an entirely cloud-based engineering software stack, which has resulted in faster product innovation and lower hardware and software costs. Using SimScale, they managed to entirely eliminate prototyping costs and save significantly on material costs.

“The total material cost saving was 44%. We eliminated testing and prototype costs on this project entirely. It usually takes 1-3 weeks of prototyping time and another 1-3 weeks for all the testing normally done. Overall this project was successful and it helped achieve our goal of reducing cost and keeping within the project timeline.”

Josh Levine – Lead Engineer in Value Engineering Department at Kichler Lighting

Another one is Axens, a solution provider for the conversion of oil and biomass to cleaner fuels. By embracing cloud-native simulation with SimScale, they were able to optimize their design and save up to 20% in energy consumption. They also saved about €27,000 in external simulation costs by opting to do the simulation work in-house rather than outsourcing it.

Sustainable Product Growth with Robust R&D Savings

Cloud simulation stands as a transformative force in engineering and manufacturing, offering the promise of accelerated time-to-market, heightened innovation, and cost-efficient operations. By harnessing the power of the cloud with SimScale, organizations can navigate the complex landscape of product development with greater agility, achieving top-line growth through rapid innovation while simultaneously bolstering bottom-line savings through optimized processes and resource utilization.

This dynamic synergy positions companies not only for immediate success but also for sustained, long-term growth, ensuring their competitiveness in an ever-evolving marketplace while maintaining financial prudence and operational efficiency.

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But that’s not all. In this article, we will explore how simulation can not only help study mechanical phenomena but also enable better-informed decision-making early in the design process. In other words, we will see how engineers can benefit from one particular aspect of simulation that provides them with more accessibility, collaboration opportunities, and efficiency in both time and money.

What is Solid Mechanics?

Solid mechanics is a branch of physical science that focuses on studying the movement and deformation of solid materials under external loads such as forces, displacements, and accelerations. These loads can cause different effects on the materials, such as inertial forces, changes in temperature, chemical reactions, and electromagnetic forces. This field plays a critical role in various engineering disciplines, including aerospace, automotive, civil, mechanical, and materials engineering.

Solid mechanics focuses on understanding the mechanical properties of solid materials and their response to different types of loading. These materials include metals, alloys, composites, polymers, and others. By studying how materials behave under different conditions and in different environments, engineers can gain insights into designing and optimizing structures, components, and systems to ensure their safety, reliability, and performance.

In solid mechanics, there are two fundamental elements:

• The object’s internal resistance that acts to balance the external forces, represented by stress
• The object’s deformation and change in shape as a response to external forces, represented by strain

The relationship between stress and strain is described by Young’s Modulus, which states that strain occurring in a body is proportional to the applied stress as long as the deformation is relatively small – i.e., within the elastic limit of the solid body. This can be visualized in the stress-strain curve shown below.

What is Solid Mechanics Used for?

The importance of solid mechanics lies in its practical applications and contributions to engineering and the industry. The key reasons why solid mechanics is not only practical but crucial for engineers can be categorized as follows:

• Design analysis
• Failure analysis and prevention
• Material selection and optimization
• Structural safety and load-bearing capacity
• Performance optimization and efficiency

Design Analysis

Solid mechanics provides the foundation for designing and analyzing structures and components. By applying principles of solid mechanics, engineers can assess the structural integrity and performance of systems and ensure they meet design requirements and safety standards.

It enables them to predict and understand factors such as stresses, strains, and deformations, which are vital in designing structures that can withstand expected loading conditions and environmental factors.

Failure Analysis and Prevention

Solid mechanics helps engineers investigate and analyze failures in structures or components. By understanding the causes of failure, such as excessive stress, material fatigue, or deformation, engineers can improve design practices, materials selection, and manufacturing processes to prevent failures and enhance the reliability and durability of products.

Material Selection and Optimization

Solid mechanics plays a significant role in material selection and optimization. Engineers need to evaluate the mechanical properties of different materials and assess their suitability for specific applications.

By considering factors such as strength, stiffness, toughness, and fatigue resistance, solid mechanics helps engineers choose the most appropriate materials to meet performance requirements while considering factors such as weight, cost, and manufacturability.

Structural Safety and Load-bearing Capacity

Solid mechanics allows engineers to assess the safety and load-bearing capacity of structures and objects. Through analysis and simulations, engineers can determine the structural stability, response to external forces, and ability to withstand static and dynamic loads.

This knowledge is essential in ensuring the integrity of critical structures, such as bridges, buildings, and aircraft, where failure could have severe consequences.

Performance Optimization and Efficiency

Solid mechanics helps engineers optimize designs to improve performance and efficiency. By analyzing stress distributions, material usage, and structural behavior, engineers can identify areas for improvement, reduce unnecessary material and weight, and optimize designs for enhanced strength, rigidity, or energy efficiency. This optimization process leads to cost savings, improved product performance, and reduced environmental impact.

Using Simulation in Solid Mechanics

Understanding how solid materials behave under different conditions is crucial for a wide range of engineering and design applications. By simulating the behavior of solid materials, engineers and designers can optimize their designs and reduce the need for costly physical prototyping.

Using simulation software, engineers and designers can create virtual models of their designs and analyze their performance under various conditions. They can simulate stresses, strains, and deformations in solid materials.

The example below is a structural analysis of a wheel loader arm. This simulation project enabled the design engineer to study the relative movement between the components and assess the stress performance simultaneously. This assessment was done by calculating the Von Mises stress distribution within the arm. Such an approach almost eliminates the need for physical prototyping in the early stages of the design process.

Finite Element Modeling in Solid Mechanics

Knowing that most engineering cases of solid mechanics are nonlinear by nature, analyzing them with analytical solutions may not be feasible. That’s where numerical modeling comes into play.

To simulate solid mechanics cases and assess the material behavior, engineers use finite element modeling (FEM), a numerical method upon which a simulation technique called Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is based.

FEA involves dividing a complex solid model into a finite number of smaller, interconnected elements to approximate the behavior of the structure. By applying appropriate boundary conditions and material properties, FEA can simulate the response of the structure to different loads, allowing engineers to assess stress, strain, displacement, and deformation patterns.

To further understand the details of FEA, check out our dedicated guide to Finite Element Analysis (FEA).

The FEA software in SimScale, for instance, helps engineers and designers virtually test and predict the behavior of solid bodies. This enables them to solve complex structural engineering problems under static or dynamic loading conditions.

Yet, with all this, you might still be wondering what exactly the single aspect of simulation benefiting engineers today is. Well, it goes beyond the mathematical side of simulation and capitalizes on the integration of another technology: the cloud.

Simulating Faster with SimScale

SimScale combines the capabilities of simulation with the benefits of cloud computing to enable engineers to analyze accurately, collaborate better, and innovate faster.

Using SimScale’s cloud simulation, you can access your simulation projects anytime, anywhere. All you need is a web browser. You simply sign up to SimScale, import your 3D design, and start simulating.

Furthermore, not only are your projects accessible to you, but you can also very easily share them with your colleagues and teams to collaborate on them, improve your designs quickly, and shorten your workflow significantly.

For example, the global engineering and manufacturing company Bühler uses SimScale to enable the collaboration between 15% of its mechanical and process engineers spread across 25 departments in ten business units on four continents.

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