Simulation Time Reduced by 80%
9 Projects Completed with SimScale
Doron Shalev Engineering LTD. specializes in various fields and facets of engineering including Civil Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Structural analyses of any type of mechanical response in the broad meaning of the concept of structure. They provide expertise in finite element analysis, dynamic analysis, linear/non-linear analysis, aeroelasticity, and computational fluid dynamics. Doron supports its customers with deep insight into their product’s performance, from airplane wings to buildings.
Be’er Sheva (Israel’s fourth-largest city) in the south of Israel plans to inaugurate a new large shopping center. As part of this development, it will construct a covered pedestrian walkway connecting the new development to the existing Be’er Sheva river park. The walkway will be over 200 meters long and with a height of approximately 15 meters. Due to the gusty nature of the region, concerns were raised regarding the wind conditions for pedestrians, particularly the cyclists which will have their own dedicated path, and regarding the structural loads on the protective canopy. The municipality approached Doron Shalev Engineering LTD. requesting their analysis of the situation.
To tackle this problem, Doron Shalev looked towards simulation as wind tunnel testing would be costly and could not provide the needed degree of insight. The combination of a large external flow domain due to the sheer size of the bridge, plus the need of capturing detailed flow across gaps only 0.2 meters wide in some areas makes the project a challenging proposition for traditional CFD. SimScale’s lattice Boltzmann Method solver was a great fit though, specifically optimized for large external flows.
Doron ran simulations considering both the transversal and longitudinal flow across the bridge. Each simulation taking about 50 minutes to complete and 0.4 GPU hours. The pressure loading across the protective canopy was of key concern as any compressive loads would cause it to buckle and flap in the wind, decreasing its life span and generating additional structural loads on the structure.
Doron extracted pressure distribution across this canopy and located any possible areas of concern. They also extended this work with structural analyses and aeroelasticity analyses to trap flutter velocity determining the margin of safety between flutter speed and the actual critical wind velocity. Furthermore, it was found that the wind conditions across certain sections of the bridge were highly turbulent and gusty, creating less than ideal conditions for cyclists.
Armed with this new knowledge Doron’s client is able to take informed mitigation measures and tweak their design.
SimScale enormously enhanced our capabilities in wind flow design. The model for the analysis is immediate, compared to other software that we have used in the past, which its preparation time was 2-3 months! Run time is reduced to half mainly due to the gigantic computer resources at hand. The overall feeling about using SimScale is fantastic in any parameter.
Doron Shalev
CEO, Doron Shalev Engineering LTD
There is a saying in Israel: If a building is under 25 floors the critical design is for earthquakes, if it is above 25 floors, the critical design is for wind. As the trend of urbanization leads to more vertical growth, wind constraints are governing building design in Israel meaning Doron Shalev continues to be tasked with an increasing number of complex projects.
Using the LBM solver, Doron has been able to cut their simulation times by approximately 80%. This has helped them achieve a faster project turnaround and, in turn, take on more work. As such, Doron Shalev has completed 9 projects with SimScale so far this year with many more projects planned in the near future, tackling challenges such as stadium wind analysis, and exploring the impact of a helipad on the roof of a commercial building.
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