Commercial Aircraft Design
Design faster, safer, and more sustainable aircraft with SIMULIA on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform — integrating high‑fidelity multiphysics simulation and MODSIM.
Engineering the Future of Commercial Aviation
Commercial aviation is undergoing a fundamental shift. As the industry moves toward carbon neutrality, higher production rates, and new aircraft architectures, it must innovate faster, without the cost and schedule overruns that have defined past programs.
This demands a new engineering approach, where high-fidelity simulation is embedded into digital development from the start. SIMULIA enables this shift through advanced structural simulation with Abaqus, aerodynamic analysis with PowerFLOW, and electromagnetic simulation with CST Studio Suite. Integrated on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, SIMULIA connects simulation with design and requirements, enabling multi-physics insight, full traceability, and confident decisions at scale.
Key Benefits of SIMULIA's Commercial Aircraft Solutions
Avoid Program Delays
Enable high-fidelity simulation earlier in the development process to avoid costly late-stage failures
Reduced Physical Testing
Smarter testing with hybrid connected Virtual & Real testing processes to empower Certification by Analysis
Unified Modeling and Simulation
Simulation on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform enables MODSIM: unifying design and modeling under a common data model
Multiphysics Simulation Capabilities
Enhance prediction accuracy through automated coupling of structural, aerodynamic and electromagnetic simulations
Community Noise Prediction
Aircraft entering service in the coming decade will face much stricter noise regulations. Novel architectures and propulsion concepts, such as open rotors, make compliance increasingly difficult and require new approaches to noise assessment.
Noise must be addressed from the earliest design stages using high-fidelity aeroacoustic simulation. SIMULIA PowerFLOW, built on more than 15 years of collaboration with NASA, captures airframe and engine noise sources and predicts community noise impact with certification-relevant accuracy.
MODSIM on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform
Modern commercial aircraft development demands faster, more collaborative workflows as digitalization expands modeling and simulation across the entire lifecycle.
MODSIM (Modeling and Simulation), powered by the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, unifies modeling and simulation in a single environment, enabling concurrent, simulation-driven design through a shared source of truth that reduces risk and accelerates innovation.
Smarter Testing Towards Certification by Analysis
Aerospace certification has traditionally relied on physical testing, with simulation in a supporting role. Hybrid testing is changing this. High-fidelity simulation now works alongside physical tests to support compliance by:
Enabling earlier simulation use
Reducing reliance on some large-scale tests
Improving traceability between tests and models
The 3DEXPERIENCE platform connects physical and virtual analysis to reduce certification risk and late-stage delays.
Simulation Governance and Data Management
Simulation Process and Data Management
Commercial Aircraft demand high performance and reliability, generating vast simulation data that must be managed effectively. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform streamlines SPDM by:
- Unifying data with project management.
- Ensuring traceability and compliance.
- Enabling collaboration and reducing uncertainty.
- Optimizing workflows for faster mission readiness.
SPDM ensures efficient, reliable, and scalable simulations.
Simulation Governance and Model Management
As simulation tools grow in scale and complexity, managing multidisciplinary interdependencies and diverse data threads requires advanced solutions. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform enhances simulation governance by:
- Managing content lifecycles and relationships.
- Supporting physical and virtual test campaigns.
- Aligning with ISO 10303-243 (MoSSEC framework) for improved traceability and collaboration.
This ensures better decision-making and streamlined workflows.
Commercial Aircraft Design Workflows
- Aerodynamics
- Electromagnetics
- Structural Analysis
High-Lift Aerodynamics
High-lift aerodynamics are critical to wing design and airworthiness certification. Deployed landing gear, flaps, and slats introduce complex, separated flows that define stall behavior.
PowerFLOW delivers industry-leading high-fidelity simulation of high-lift configurations, accurately predicting lift and drag while replacing thousands of wind-tunnel test hours and reducing flight-test and certification risk.
Iced Wing Aerodynamics
Wing icing is a major driver of airworthiness certification, requiring safe operation under severe conditions.
PowerFLOW accurately simulates complex ice shapes and icing-induced performance degradation, enabling early assessment, reducing development risk, and minimizing reliance on costly icing flight tests.
Community Noise
With tightening noise regulations from certification authorities and airports, predicting aircraft noise during takeoff and landing is a critical design requirement. Traditional wind-tunnel and late-stage flight tests offer limited insight and make late changes costly.
PowerFLOW delivers high-fidelity aircraft noise prediction within 1–2 dB of flight tests. By capturing noise from high-lift devices, engines, and landing gear, it enables early compliance, reduces program risk, and avoids costly redesigns.
Connected Aircraft Experience
Seamless connectivity improves safety, enables predictive maintenance, and enhances the passenger experience. Installed antennas can be affected by platform effects and co-site interference if discovered late.
Capabilities:
Antenna performance across aircraft bands (VHF–Ka)
Co-site interference analysis
Mitigation with filters and RF components before prototypes
Tools: 3DEXPERIENCE, CST Studio Suite, Antenna Magus, Filter Designer 3D, FEST3D, WASP-NET
Benefits: Faster convergence, fewer antenna relocations, and less physical prototyping.
Inflight Safety Experience
Civil aircraft must withstand lightning indirect effects, HIRF, and onboard EMI, especially as CFRP structures reduce natural shielding. SIMULIA enables early, model-based assessment tied directly to the aircraft geometry and harness topology.
Capabilities:
Lightning, HIRF, and EMI scenario setup from CAD and harness data
Hazard-aligned solver selection
Field, cable, and pin-level analysis against avionics susceptibility limits
Tools: 3DEXPERIENCE, CATIA, ENOVIA, CST Studio Suite, EMC Wizard
Benefits: Earlier insight, lab testing focused on validation, fewer late redesigns.
Certification by EM Analysis
EM hazard certification relies on testing, analysis, and similarity, but late issues are costly. Combining physical testing with EM simulation extends confidence from ground to in-flight conditions by linking measured and simulated responses.
Capabilities:
Ground-to-flight correlation using measured and simulated surface currents
Validated aircraft models for targeted mitigation studies
Traceable reporting for engineering and compliance reviews
Tools: 3DEXPERIENCE, CST Studio Suite
Benefits: Stronger certification evidence, fewer late design changes, fewer test surprises.
3DEXPERIENCE EM Digital Thread
Aircraft EM problems span millimeters to meters and scale to millions of unknowns, while geometry and assumptions evolve continuously. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides a single source of truth and digital thread, eliminating error-prone handoffs as changes propagate across teams.
Capabilities:
Unified data backbone for geometry, requirements, and simulation
Hybrid multi-solver methods for multiscale EM analysis
GPU/HPC acceleration, including cloud burst compute
Tools: 3DEXPERIENCE, CATIA, ENOVIA, CST Studio Suite
Benefits: Less rework, lower prototyping risk, faster engineering iteration.
Strength and Integrity Analysis
Aircraft structural design and certification require accurate prediction of strength and durability under flight and ground loads. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) remains the industry standard for internal load redistribution, damage tolerance, and stress–strain evaluation.
Abaqus on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform supports linear and non-linear analysis with:
Advanced material models and large-scale fastener representation
Best-in-class contact and mechanical interaction modeling
Proven method, including load case superposition, sub-structuring, and VCCT for strength and durability assessment
Aerospace Fasteners & Mechanically Fastened Connections
Analysis of mechanically fastened connections in aerospace structures requires automation and ideation to balance scale with predictive accuracy. Finite element analysis remains the dominant technique for strength and integrity predictions.
- Point and Assembled Fastener Technology in Abaqus: Sets the industry benchmark for fastener modeling and analysis.
- 3DEXPERIENCE Platform: Enhances MODSIM capabilities with:
- Automation, design traceability, and associativity.
- Fastener locations and simulation attributes driven by upstream design specifications.
- Management of multiple fastener ideations to meet varying analysis requirements.
Composite Materials & Structures
The drive for lightweight aerospace structures has increased the use of composites, requiring careful integration of manufacturability and performance. Early design phases benefit from efficient macroscopic ideations, with higher model fidelity introduced as designs mature.
- Abaqus and Abaqus/CAE: Provide robust simulation for layered and non-layered composites, addressing non-linearity, advanced failure criteria, and delamination.
- Composites Modeler for Abaqus/CAE: Enhances ply modeling, ensures manufacturable designs, and integrates analysis, design, and manufacturing.
- 3DEXPERIENCE Platform: Elevates MODSIM capabilities with multidisciplinary integration, design traceability, and reuse. It supports:
- Seamless consumption of composite design data from CATIA.
- Exploration and sizing of composite cell arrangements for initial design proposals.
Industry Processes for Commercial Aircraft Design
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