Category Archives: High Performance Computing

The ROI of Engineering Simulation

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It is always my pleasure to meet with our customers and learn about how they deploy engineering simulation software in their organizations. At ANSYS, we are fortunate to work in a field that holds so many exciting uses for engineering simulation. The industry has come a long way since those days when management was skeptical about the value of performing simulations. But are organizations getting a good return on investment, or ROI?

Today, when I ask customers what they see as their current challenges, many of them tell me that they are so reliant on simulations that they are now being asked to do even more with little or no increase in the human resources made available. And as organizations rely even more on engineering simulations, it is not surprising that simulation teams are being asked to show greater return on investment. What I find surprising is that even when organizations are asked to reduce overall expenses, we see an increase in budget for deploying engineering simulation! Continue reading →

From Supercomputers to Handhelds

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A couple of weeks ago, I attended the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics conference on Computational Science and Engineering (CSE13). There I listened to a number of presentations given by mathematicians and engineers, who talked about running software programs on some of the biggest supercomputers in the world. When ANSYS was first founded in 1970, finite element analysis (FEA) simulations were typically performed on large “mainframes” that filled entire rooms — these were the supercomputers of that era.

More recently, the distributed solver in the ANSYS Mechanical product family was developed to allow engineers to run FEA simulations on large clusters, which is the hardware of choice for today’s supercomputers. In fact, in 2008 several mechanical simulations were performed on one of the TOP100 supercomputers in the world using the distributed ANSYS capability with calculations reaching over 1 Teraflop (over 1 trillion calculations per second). However, the point I want to raise today is that while ANSYS Mechanical software supports such speed and complexity required for the most numerically challenging and hardware-resource-intensive simulations, the power of a supercomputer is now available in the palm of your hand. Continue reading →

Four Out of Top Six F1 Racing Teams Powered by ANSYS

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image of Red Bull Race Team

Team Red Bull Racing poses for the end of season team photo during previews for the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Carlos Pace on November 22, 2012 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Vladimir Rys)

If you’re like me — a passionate fan of Formula 1 — you were probably on the edge of your seat during the last race of the season in Brazil, during which either the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel or the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso could have won the championship. After a season of 20 F1 races, the fact that the contest was so close is a measure of the margins these teams work with. Anyone who has been to a race and witnessed these race cars firsthand knows exactly how close to the edge the cars and drivers are.

F1 Vehicles Most Technologically Advanced

F1 vehicles are the most technologically advanced in the world; they need to adapt each year to changing regulations. This often results in a team redesigning the car’s roughly 4,000 components to meet the demands of performance and safety. But not only that, engineering teams are continually improving performance between races — often having only two weeks between races to make a performance impact. With lap times for the leading cars differing by fractions of a second, improperly executing these changes from one circuit to the next can be the difference between being on the podium and not scoring any points. Continue reading →

CFD Drives Marussia Formula 1

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image of Marussia Formula 1I read my coworker Gilles’ blog last week week, the one where he discussed Formula One, wind tunnels and CFD. It brought to mind an article I’d read a few months back geared around how software engineers power Marussia. I thought I’d use this information to jump into Gilles’ conversation from a different angle.

While there are typically hundreds of people on a racing team who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make the car quicker, using a computer and the right software is an essential part of what it takes to win a race, much less a season of races. Continue reading →

Offering a New Paradigm Shift in CAE?

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What works for manufacturing companies also applies to engineering simulation software providers. In a competitive climate, we all must aim continually for innovation, listen to the voice of our customers, anticipate swiftly changing needs, identify buyer expectations and make appropriate changes. I strongly believe that the parametric licensing and capabilities newly introduced with ANSYS 14.5 are truly innovative, standing out from the rest. They could become a paradigm shift in CAE, as they will make extensive design exploration and robust design a reality.

Given the market forces for increased product performance and integrity, engineering simulation undoubtedly can help manufacturers to evaluate more design ideas and reach the “best” design, one  that works across a range of operating conditions. For that matter, many engineering simulation software providers today do offer design exploration and optimization tools. But despite the need, the adoption of these tools is relatively small. Our product manager for ANSYS DesignXplorer, Simon Pereira, regularly investigates the obstacles to further adoption, and, in each of his reports, the biggest hurdles appear to be unacceptable turnaround times, shortcomings in usability and lack of available licenses. Continue reading →

ANSYS 14.5 Engineering Simulation Software Released

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Earlier this morning, we announced that the latest version of our engineering simulation software, ANSYS 14.5, is available for download on the ANSYS Customer Portal.

As products become increasingly complex, it is now more challenging than ever for engineers to fully understand the performance implications of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of design variations.

That’s why ANSYS 14.5 is such an advancement in engineering simulation – it is designed to support an integrated and streamlined approach to design exploration and the creation of a complete virtual prototype. New technology enhancements are seamlessly brought together with our open ANSYS Workbench™ platform to deliver unmatched engineering productivity and innovation through comprehensive multiphysics analyses and HPC capabilities.

Image of 3-D composites close up

Composites pressure vessel with titanium caps

The ANSYS Workbench platform streamlines workflow among simulation applications. An innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through even the most complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. Continue reading →

Trends in (Computer-Aided) Engineering Driving HPC Innovation

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Last Friday, I gave a keynote talk at HP-CAST18 in Hamburg, Germany, about the trends in engineering that are driving HPC innovation. It was my first time joining HP’s worldwide HPC User Group Conference, and I was particularly impressed by HP’s detailed roadmap for new platforms, storage systems and low-energy computing, as well as their progress towards exascale computing.

I felt honored to be invited to speak in front of HP executives, HP technical staff, industry analysts, HP customers and partners. It’s a sign that HP seriously takes into account input from ISVs (independent software vendors, like ANSYS). Basically, my presentation identified some major challenges and trends in (computer-aided) engineering that are driving the demand for more HPC software innovations. Continue reading →

Aerospace Industry Simulation Experts Gather in Milan

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Last week, technical managers, IT managers and advanced users of CAE simulation software gathered at the Volandia Flight Museum in Milan, Italy, to discuss how aerospace industry simulation experts can effectively deal with the increasingly complex challenges they face.

ANSYS and Enginsoft, along with HP and Nvidia, came together to present a full overview that included not only software, but complete solutions made through a combination of software, hardware processes and knowledge. This event opened with Robert Harwood, Global Aerospace & Defense Director of ANSYS, discussing the trends in the aviation industry around the world. Continue reading →