Efficient & Smart Solutions for Large Structural Simulations from ANSYS
Structural engineers face new challenges due to an increase in the size of simulation models. Typical challenges include:
- Solving models that can't be solved on a single CPU in a reasonable amount of time
- Investigating design variations of large assemblies when only on a small part of the assembly changes
- Computing models that are 90 percent linear and 10 percent nonlinear, so it must be decided if there is a real need to compute the entire model in a nonlinear way
- Computing detailed results on only small portions of interest
Many reasons justify an increase in model size, including the level of detail in CAD models of larger assemblies, the need for highly accurate results, robustness, and the speed of meshing algorithms. The availability of CPU power on the desktop or via clusters is another key factor.
Current trends in simulation show an increased need for
efficient computation of large models.
While solving with multiple CPUs is the most obvious solution when dealing with large models, other techniques are available to help engineers solve large models in smart ways. Model reduction techniques and software acceleration are efficient in solving large models.
ANSYS has a strong commitment to high-performance computing (HPC) and offers a wealth of new and enhanced solver technologies. In 2004, ANSYS became the first company to solve a 100M degrees of freedom model for structural analyses. Since then, distributed solutions using ANSYS software have evolved and can help users take advantage of hardware — including the latest advances in GPUs.
Solver speedup with increasing number of cores
Reduction techniques include the use of component mode synthesis (CMS) or submodeling techniques. Submodeling is used to perform very detailed analyses on just a geometric portion of a model with a more refined discretization than the entire model. CMS is used to reduce the size of the model drastically by condensing parts of the model. This technique is especially valuable when multiple structural engineers, even from different companies, exchange models.
ANSYS offers software acceleration techniques. The proprietary variational technology provides speedup factors of five to 10 and can be used to perform design variations on long transient runs in a very efficient way.
Speedup achieved by variational technology applied to
cyclic modal analysis (80 sectors)
ANSYS provides all three methods in a single structural mechanics solution. From HPC to reduction techniques to software acceleration techniques, structural engineers can choose the best method for the case at hand.
