| The SWAU Report, Issue 43 | Friday, March 28, 2008 |
Introduction
SWAU — pronounced “swah-oo” — is the Southwest
ANSYS Users (SWAU), an organization of ANSYS users and people interested
in ANSYS, who are located in the Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico,
Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Western Kansas, and El Paso). The goal of
the organization is to provide a sense of community for ANSYS users
in the region, to serve as a means of communication about ANSYS,
and to provide technical and peer resources to those interested in
becoming ANSYS users.
News!
PADT - Wants You!
PADT is looking for a highly motivated individual to join our team in the following positions:
- FE Analysis Engineer
- Medical Lab Manager
For more information please visit the Job Opportunities page on our website.
Become an APDL Master with PADT's APDL Guide
Teach Yourself ANSYS Customization with PADT's APDL Guide
This guide is a compilation of course notes from PADT’s very popular ANSYS Customization with APDL class. By popular demand, PADT has turned these notes into a 288-page guide that steps new and experienced ANSYS users through all of the details of APDL scripting. Its 12 chapters include reference information, examples, tips and hints, and eight workshops. The guide, available in hardcopy only, is an invaluable resource to anyone who wants to start using APDL or become an ANSYS “power user”. At $75 plus shipping, this manual will quickly pay for itself by saving you hours of research and trial-and-error.
For more information on this guide or how to purchase, please visit our website
Join us at the 19th Annual HP CAE Symposium
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ANSYS Sponsors Dinosaurs Exhibit at Carnegie Museum of Natural History
ANSYS, Inc. announced that it is a sponsor of the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibit at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. This is the first permanent exhibit in the world to feature scientifically accurate, immersive environments that are composed of original fossil specimens. It is unique in that the dinosaurs are posed in active, engaging stances based on modern scientific conceptions, rather than the long-held notion of lumbering, tail-dragging, cold-blooded, lizard-like creatures.
To view full article, please click here:
Applied Math Modeling Partners with ANSYS to Distribute and Support CoolSim
Modeling Airflow with CoolSim Improves Data Center Thermal Efficiency, Reduces Costs and Helps Eliminate Heat-Related Equipment Failures
Applied Math Modeling Inc . announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with ANSYS, Inc. for the distribution, support and ongoing development of CoolSim TM, a product focused on modeling the thermal environment of data centers. CoolSim is a hosted product that utilizes advanced ANSYS ® CFD solvers to compute the temperature, pressure and airflow within a data center. With the recent increased focus on data center cooling and efficiency, CoolSim has shown to be an effective tool for predicting the effect of changes in the data center.
To view full article, please click here:
ANSYS Ranked No. 9 On WSJ Shareholder Scoreboard
Simulation Software Developer Among the 10-Year Best Performers
ANSYS, Inc. announced that it has been listed among the top performers on the 2007 Shareholder Scoreboard compiled by The Wall Street Journal. The Scoreboard is the newspaper's annual ranking of 1,000 companies in 75 industries, based on their stock performance over the past year as well as over the past 3-year, 5-year and 10-year periods. ANSYS was ranked #9 on the best performers' 10-year list, with a 36.8 percent average annual return for a decade
To view the full article, please click here:
Featured Article: Movement to System Models
By Eric Miller
A lot has changed in the world of Finite Element Analysis in the last 21 years that I’ve been familiar with it. Tetrahedral elements, GUI’s, non-linear material models, new solvers… and the list goes on. Yet one area of significant change, which is still being developed, is the ability to model complex mechanical systems as true systems.
Important Steps
The first important development made on the path to system models was the introduction of generalized contact. Before generalized contact, if you wanted to model two parts interacting, you used simple gap elements, coupled them together, or glued them together with Constraint Equations. This was a pain because the couples and gap elements required that your mesh line up, something that was very difficult to do. Additionally, the constraint equations significantly slowed down the solution. I could ramble on about this incredible capability, but I won’t. 
It is sufficient to say that if you have parts that touch each other, ANSYS offers a ton of options to capture that interaction.
The next big change, and one that ANSYS, Inc. cannot take credit for, is the huge increase in affordable compute power and storage space. If you look back at what was available 20 years ago if you had a huge budget, and what you can buy for your desktop now, it is staggering. A quick browse of the Computer History Museum’s time line (http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?category=cmptr) shows this clearly. ANSYS can take credit for staying on top of these advancements and working with hardware vendors to make sure they stayed at the crest of the wave, but not for the change itself.
Moving beyond the obvious, users should all be aware of the improvements being made in the area of Component Mode Synthesis. This is a methodology that has been around for a long time in other FEA packages, but is relatively new to ANSYS. It allows users to create substructures that include the dynamic characteristics of a part. When this is linked with joints (Yes that is an intentional pun.) and rigid body modeling, you have a collection of tools that let you simplify a system while still remaining fairly accurate.
Some other steps worth noting are: the circuit modeler, expanded rigid link capabilities, direct CAD import of assemblies, cables, remote loads and better visualization. But don’t forget Multiphysics, a huge advantage for the ANSYS user. Next time you are browsing through the manual, think about how many things have been added to the program in order to make system modeling a reality.
What this has Enabled 
Those of us who live and breathe FEA often forget that new features should not be lauded simply because they are new; they should provide some greater capability to users. Improvements for system modeling have had a profound effect on the accuracy of the information produced by FEA. In short, without system modeling you are forced to make so many assumptions about loads and how they are transferred between objects that simulations are often just a guess based upon assumptions. Now, with system modeling, engineers can be more accurate and understand how components in their systems interact. This is a major improvement that is so crucial, it is actually difficult to describe. As simulation has become a leading tool in product development, the ability to model assemblies and other systems has made the information produced more than useful, it is now required.
In Conclusion
The journey is not complete though; looking at the product development process there are still many questions remaining that can currently only be answered by test. And looking at failure analysis, there are still many questions of “why” or “how” that simulation can’t answer because it still cannot model things completely enough. But a lot of progress has been made and system level modeling is now a fairly common task for FEA users. ANSYS as a program overall has been an industry leader in this area and shows no signs of slowing down.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.
Visit us @ www.padtinc.com or call us at (480) 813-4884 or (800) 293-PADT
GOT CFD?
GOT CFD?
Whether you feel you need to start implementing CFD into your engineering analysis or you are looking for increased compute power, PADT, Inc. can assist you! We use two of the best and most comprehensive CFD tools available, FLUENT and CFX, which are unmatched in their breadth and depth of capability when solving the toughest or even the simplest CFD problems.
PADT, Inc. has CFD experienced engineers who are very familiar with FLUENT, CFX and a host of other CFD codes. This experience enables us to quickly assess an application, understand the challenges and provide you with timely, accurate and detailed results.
Give us a call or send us an email if you:
- Want to bring CFD into your engineering design and analysis and don’t currently have the expertise
- Don’t have the compute power to solve larger CFD problems
- Have purchased CFX or FLUENT and want some help, such as mentoring or services to get up to speed quicker
- Need a CFD job done now
- Or just need additional CFD resources
To speak with someone about your CFD and other engineering needs, please contact Stephen Hendry at: steve.hendry@padtinc.com or call 1-800-293-PADT (7238).
To view PADT’s CFD webpage, click here.
Promotions!
For a limited time, PADT is offering a 20% discount on parallel license keys that will be used on a new Windows CCS cluster. In addition, we can provide you with specially configured and discounted solutions that come bundled with Windows CCS. Contact the PADT Sales Team today to learn more.
Questions?
For more information or questions about these promotions, please contact PADT Sales.
PADT Training
Courses Offered in April, May, and June
SWAU Seminar Series
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| 4/30/2008 | ANSYS Design Modeler Boot Camp |
| 5/28/2008 | Home |
| 6/25/2008 | PADT, Inc. - Seminar Series for June 25, 2008 |
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