SIMULIA Resource Center

The computation of the aero-thermal loads on a re-entry vehicle, taking into account all the physical phenomena depending on different flight conditions, is one of the key tasks in the design of such type of vehicles, mainly for those activities dealing with the Thermal Protection and Control System design. The paper presents a methodology implemented in TAS-I that, starting from any reference trajectory, is able to compute the aerothermal loads on the whole surface of a reentry vehicle and for any time step of the trajectory, taking into account all the inaccuracies affecting the trajectory itself (i.e. entry conditions, atmosphere model, Aerodynamic Database, etc.). The whole process used to elaborate those data, coupling GNC and Aerothermodynamics analyses, has been implemented in Isight environment.

Customer Papers

A recent breakthrough in the development of shape memory materials has demonstrated promising applications for completion products in the oil and gas industry. In one of the targeted applications, shape modification is a major step toward commercialization of this technology. Efficiently and effectively reshaping the material is a key element for final production. The goal of our technical team is to design and optimize the reshaping equipment so as to enable production quantities of tools while maintaining material properties. This paper will cover the concepts, challenges, and finite element modeling of reshaping shape memory materials.

Customer Papers

A local finite element strain smoothing process also known as smoothed finite element method (SFEM) is proposed for the resultant eight-node solid shell element applied in non linear analysis. Only displacement degrees of freedom are used to define the element kinematics. The strain smoothing process of membrane and bending terms is presented in a local Cartesian basis and results in modified strain operators which contain the product of element shape functions and normal vectors to the edges of the resultant quadrilateral element in the shell mid-surface. Cartesian derivatives of shape functions are thus no more required and the integration is performed on the resultant element along the edges of the subdividing cells located in the midsurface of the initial eight-node hexahedral element.

Customer Papers

At the Cranfield University, a tool named AirCADia has been developed. It enables the dynamic assembly of hierarchical computational processes from sub processes and/or from atomic models. The analyst selects the input variables and specifies the output variables for a particular design study. AirCADia then assembles the necessary simulation sequence automatically, based on the models available in it’s library. In addition, AirCADia enables the dynamic application of relevant numerical treatments, such as multi-objective and robust optimization.

Customer Papers

Endovascular aneurysm repair involves insertion of an introductory component called guidewire through native vessels to help with the guidance of the delivery catheter. Guidewire tends to alter the vessel geometry due to its higher stiffness compared to the vessel wall. Very limited data is available to understand such interactions. Investigation of interaction between guidewire and native vessels could provide useful insight into vessel stresses and guidewire deformation in-vivo. This could further help in understanding the initial conditions for delivery catheter and device performance testing to improve deliverability in tortuous anatomy. So, in this study, we evaluated the vessel deformation during guidewire insertion using 3-D finite element analysis with undeformed vessel geometry developed from patient specific Computed-Tomography (CT) scans.

Customer Papers

The brief for the boat, v-39 Albatross is to set a new world outright sailing speed record at Portland Harbor, UK by 2013. The boat is configured to add at least 10 knots to the current record by setting a speed above 65 knots (120 km/h). At speed the boat hulls will fly above the surface using a wing in ground effect. The pilot is able to sail on both port and starboard tack and can actively control the craft in speed, roll and height as well as direction.

Customer Papers

To enhance the fatigue life of metal components, frequently compressive stress is introduced to the surface layer. Although procedures such as shot peening have been practiced for many decades in other industries, an improved understanding of the fundamental mechanics that leads to the improved performance is desired. From a continuum mechanical point of view, the interaction between the crack and the stress intensity field is the factor determining whether the crack will propagate.

Customer Papers

Cellular structures like metal foam have several interesting attributes to mimic the properties of human bone for designing orthopaedic implants. A finite element method analysis of the forging process of a simple-shaped metallic foam billet is carried out using mathematical models in order to obtain a 3D geometry of a complex form. In particular, the deforming behaviour of a metallic foam and the development of density gradients are investigated in order to produce a selected portion of a hip prosthesis, for replacement of human bone.

Customer Papers

Composite materials are increasingly being used for aeronautic primary structures such as wing components or fuselage panels. However, their major drawback is their vulnerability against transversal impact loads, which may lead to internal delaminations or intralaminar fiber/matrix failure. Such loads may arise from numerous impact scenarios, with bird strikes being one of the most relevant load cases. The focus of the current study is on the numerical modeling and simulation of high velocity impact loads from soft body projectiles on composite structures with ABAQUS/explicit.

Customer Papers

Composite lattice structures manufactured with Advanced Fiber Placement are a promising weight saving solution for replacing the current aluminum and traditional composite structures for aerospace applications. A virtual testing procedure for designing lattice structures using FE commercial program Abaqus v6.9 was developed and used to design a composite cylindrical lattice for aerospace applications.

Customer Papers

Abaqus is used by PSA Peugeot Citroën car company in order to dimension and validate engine and chassis components. As physical parameters influence the mechanical resistance, these parameters have to be chosen into the right range for a reliable product design. The PSA solution is to use the design of experiments directly & easily on Abaqus models in order to deliver better-quality products through accelerated evaluation of design alternatives. The users define the parameters of the Isight simulation process flow in the SIMULIA Execution Engine Webtop. This application is called OPEN Abaqus.

Customer Papers

Offshore wind energy plants promise to become an important source of energy in the near future. It is expected that within 10 years, wind parks with a total capacity of thousands of megawatts will be installed in European seas. The foundation of such offshore wind energy plants plays an important role in the stability of these structures. High demands have to be made concerning foundation design and construction methods to find economical and technically optimal solutions.

Customer Papers