Model-Based Systems Engineering at the Heart of SCADE System 2.0

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Traditional systems engineering practices are no longer good enough to help you fully realize your smart product promise. To manage the complexities of today’s product architectures and truly understand and manage the countless dependencies across subsystems, the practice has evolved to model-based systems engineering — a concept that is the foundation of the latest ANSYS product release, SCADE System 2.0. More on that later.

Today, an accurate system definition is no longer a set of static text-based design documents, the kind that served traditional systems practices. The evolved model-based systems engineering practice consists of a living model, a model that provides a thorough understanding of the dependencies and interfaces between the various subsystems. The method represents large amounts of information in more sophisticated, interrelated ways. In addition, you can easily share and communicate models across teams. Models are more amenable to change management, and they support automated and comprehensive traceability from stakeholder requirements to implementation. Models also allow for automated verification of design rules, customized to match the methodology defined for the project. Continue reading →

ANSYS Webinars This Week

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ANSYS Webinar Learning EventsDue to popular demand, this week our ANSYS webinar schedule includes some added sessions on three Ask the Expert topics: advanced post-processing in ANSYS Mechanical 14.5, best practices for FSI and system coupling simulations, and the ANSYS electric machines design toolkit.

Also, there’s a new addition to our Webinar Series: Recent Advances in Automotive Simulation you won’t want to miss. Keep reading for full descriptions and links to register for these webinars!

May 22 Ask the Expert: ANSYS Electric Machines Design Toolkit
May 22 Ask the Expert: Advanced Post-Processing Features in ANSYS Mechanical 14.5
May 23 PCA Engineers Limited Accelerates the Evolution of Turbochargers via Numerical Optimization and Advanced Simulation Techniques
May 23 Ask the Expert: Best Practice for Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) and System Coupling Simulations

ANSYS Webinars Complete Descriptions

Ask the Expert: ANSYS Electric Machines Design Toolkit

Wednesday, May 22, 2013
4:00 P.M. EDT, 8:00 P.M. GMT (REGISTER)

The computation of efficiency maps is critical but can be laborious for the design of a PM motor. ANSYS has introduced a user-friendly electric machines design toolkit that is completely integrated into ANSYS Maxwell. The toolkit allows for the computation and display of torque speed curves and efficiency maps for PM machines. It integrates various effects such as skewing, DC/AC winding resistance, end-turn winding inductance, frequency-dependent core loss coefficients, and mechanical loss. Furthermore, an efficiency map computation is compared with measurements for a permanent magnet synchronous machine that includes the complete torque-speed operating region. The validated simulation model allows an investigation into reducing the permanent magnet size for which the impact on the efficiency map and machine performance is further quantified, and design changes are simulated to maintain the desired efficiency over the operating range.

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Ask the Expert: Advanced Post-Processing Features in ANSYS Mechanical ANSYS 14.5

Wednesday, May 22, 2013
9:00 A.M. EDT, 1:00 P.M. GMT (REGISTER)

Across many industries, significant effort is expended to create detailed virtual models to ensure accurate structural simulations. However, high-fidelity simulations are of little value if you are not able to efficiently extract the results in a usable format. ANSYS Mechanical 14.5 contains many advanced features, such as user-defined results, path operations, and probes that provide the user with a robust post-processing toolset. To efficiently utilize Mechanical 14.5, you must understand these tools.

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PCA Engineers Limited Accelerates the Evolution of Turbochargers via Numerical Optimization and Advanced Simulation Techniques

Speakers
Chris Robinson, Ph.D., Managing Director, PCA Engineers Ltd.
Brad Hutchinson, Ph.D., Vice President, Industry Marketing, ANSYS, Inc.

Thursday, May 23, 2013
Noon EDT, 4:00 P.M. GMT (REGISTER)

Turbocharging the automotive internal-combustion engine has become highly topical, with the trend to downsize engine capacity toward lower emissions without compromising the driver’s perception of performance and transient response. This webcast illustrates the implementation of a design-by-analysis approach in a modern, fully integrated design environment, illustrated by examples of compressor and turbine designs for small gasoline engines. Automated, numerical optimization is an emerging technology that can be deployed within such a system on several levels to eliminate much of the manual iteration, and its usefulness and implementation are described. Also, illustrations of higher-fidelity simulation are included along with their roles in the design process. In addition, future prospects are discussed. To what extent can an empirical background in turbomachinery design become redundant in the designs of new machines? What are the major technical challenges for developers of advanced design and analysis techniques? Webcast attendees are invited to interact with the speakers during the program’s live Q&A segment.

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Ask the Expert: Best Practice for Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) and System Coupling Simulations

Thursday, May 23, 2013
1:30 A.M. EDT, 5:30 A.M. GMT (REGISTER)

As engineers increasingly rely on simulation during the product design cycle, the need to simulate designs using multiple physics is growing rapidly so that real world behavior can be simulated. System coupling in ANSYS Workbench provides tight integration of ANSYS Fluent and ANSYS Mechanical to allow the most complex fluid-structure interaction phenomena to be simulated in a single environment.

 

This Week’s Top 5 Engineering Technology News Articles

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Happy Friday, folks! This week’s roundup of interesting engineering technology news articles includes a few cool videos – a computer simulation of how foamy bubbles pop and the other of a steer-by-wire car – and a slideshow of 22 people you probably didn’t know were engineers.

Oh, and here’s a bonus feature this week — With the premiere of Star Trek: Into Darkness (I plan to visit my local theater this weekend, by the way), I felt it was only appropriate to re-visit a blog we wrote last year on Trek tech.

In last year’s blog, we didn’t really address teleportation, but given the technological progress we’ve seen at ANSYS in the last 12 months (working with Astrobotic to design “Lander” and other cutting-edge space technology) it certainly doesn’t seem far off now. However, it might mean that when James T. Kirk is born in the 22nd century, his Enterprise might be an antique!

Anywho, enjoy this week’s top 5!

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Software Tools for the Development of Embedded Code

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In today’s ultra-competitive environment, product differentiation increasingly depends on embedded software. From automobiles to airplanes to medical devices, systems architecture and embedded software are important parts of product development cycles. Being able to manage these processes effectively so that you get the desired results is becoming a differentiator.

Today, the cars that we drive have more that 10 million lines of code! Can you imagine the hours it takes to come up with the definitions of what the car should do and how it should do it — let alone implement all this correctly through software code? It’s a time-consuming process, and getting it right the first time is challenging. We’ve all seen examples of what happens when the code isn’t correct. Incorrect code can cost companies millions of dollars, and more importantly, it erodes customers’ trust in that brand.

By using model-based, production-proven software tools for the development of embedded code, products can be developed in a faster and safer manner. And, when coupled with a certified automatic code generator, compliance for standards like DO-178B/C in aerospace, ISO 26262 in automotive and EN 50128 in rail is more rapidly achieved. Continue reading →

Transferring Forces from Fluent to System Coupling

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A common question I hear from System Coupling users, particularly when using an operating pressure in ANSYS Fluent other than atmospheric pressure, is “Which pressure is used when transferring forces from Fluent to System Coupling and how do I change it?”.

The simple answer is that the forces passed to System Coupling are based on the gauge (or solved) pressure in Fluent by default. More accurately, the gauge pressure minus the Reference Pressure is used, but the Reference Pressure is zero by default so this is equivalent to the gauge pressure.

Before going further let’s review the Operating Pressure, Reference Pressure and gauge pressure.

The Operating Pressure in Fluent should be set to a typical absolute pressure in the system. Pressures set at boundary conditions are then specified relative to the Operating Pressure. Often the Operating Pressure is set to the absolute pressure at an outlet, and then a relative (gauge) pressure of zero is set at the outlet boundary condition(s). Continue reading →

ANSYS Webinars This Week

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ANSYS Webinar Learning EventsHappy Monday everyone! Before I share this week’s listing of ANSYS webinars, I wanted make sure you all remembered to show your Mom some extra appreciation over the weekend in celebration of Mother’s Day. (If you forgot, now might be a good time to pick up the phone.) Did you know that, while this holiday was first celebrated in the U.S. in 1908, 160 countries have adopted the tradition, celebrated at various times of the year?

Okay, on to the ANSYS webinars for this week. From advanced post-processing to FSI, don’t delay.. register today!
May 15 Ask-the-Expert – Advanced Post-Processing Features in ANSYS Mechanical 14.5
May 15 Ask the Expert – Best Practice for Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) & System Coupling Simulations
May 15 Ask the Expert: ANSYS Electric Machines Design Toolkit
May 16 Using Optimus with ANSYS to Get the Best Value from Your Simulations

ANSYS Webinars Description and Registration Continue reading →

“Bring Your Child to Work Day” at ANSYS

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This year, my two sons David (8) and Michael (7) had the day off school on the same day as our “Bring Your Child to Work Day” at ANSYS so I brought them in to the Ann Arbor office for the morning. As it turned out, I was the only one to bring in any kids that day — although there were organized events at the larger offices — so I decided I would just let them play with our software in the training room.

Neither boy had used SpaceClaim or ANSYS Mechanical before so I started by giving them some step-by-step guidance, but I rarely touched the mouse after the first 5 minutes. They each used their imagination and made multiple models. David’s first model started looking like a top hat, so he tried to make something reasonably reminiscent of the head of Uncle Sam.

His second model was more of an abstract solid that used a lot of push/pull fillets, which are easy to create and adjust in SpaceClaim. It looked very interesting under load. He was creating the fillets one at a time at first, but then really got going when I showed him how to hold down CTRL for multiple edge select. Continue reading →

This Week’s Top 5 Engineering Technology News Articles

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Happy Friday, folks! This week’s breakdown of interesting engineering technology news articles includes a sound camera that can pinpoint the trouble spot under the hood of your car and a 15 year old who wants to be the first astronaut on Mars.

Enjoy!

Continue reading →