Optimisation: Re-invigorating smoke stack industries
Robert Roe investigates the use of optimisation software in modelling and simulation and its power to
re-invigorate traditional manufacturing methods C
asting and moulding are some of the oldest industrial processes. But a process that to this day seems to be the embodiment of old-style ‘smoke-stack’
industry is being reinvigorated by optimisation soſtware that allows engineers to define the manufacturing constraints early in the design process. Computer aided engineering (CAE) that
performs this kind of multi-objective simulation provides engineers with a much higher level of precision earlier – ultimately leading to a cheaper better performing product. Traditionally the design of a product and its
manufacturing where two separate processes; in larger projects this would oſten be handled by two completely separate teams with different levels of specialisation in their given fields. Ultimately, this meant that it was down to the experience of the users to identify potential problems that might arise later in the product development process. It is not an efficient strategy, for it costs companies time and money as they have to redevelop models or make several iterations of a design that would otherwise have been unnecessary.
38 SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING WORLD Now CAE engineers can apply manufacturing
constraints imposed by a specific process into the design phase of the product, which leads them to make better decisions about material distribution and how the design will transition from the simulation to a physical part or component in the real world. One aspect of this which has been successful
for all sectors of engineering is topology optimisation. Tis approach optimises a material layout within a given design space, allowing engineers to analyse a material distribution based on realistic physical loading, allowing them to reduce weight significantly, or increase overall structural performance for a given loading. Dr Uwe Schramm, the chief technical officer
for Altair’s solvers, optimisation and smart multi-physics solutions and strategy, said: ‘Topology optimisation gives you the optimal material distribution for a given loading; it is a kind of load path analysis.’ Schramm explained that if a user wants to
use a specific manufacturing process – for example milling or casting – then they must
acknowledge the manufacturing constraints introduced by using this process. Altair has put considerable time into developing its soſtware package Optistruct, part of the HyperWorks soſtware platform, so that users can include specific manufacturing constraints at the beginning of the optimisation process. HyperWorks is a multidisciplinary CAE soſtware platform that includes modelling, linear and nonlinear analysis, structural optimisation, fluid and multi-body dynamics simulation, visualisation, and data management. Schramm stated: ‘Doing a topology
optimisation at the beginning of your design process gives you a material layout that gives you the opportunity to have fewer design iterations.’ He went a step further by explaining that,
although a designer or engineer may have a specific idea for the basic shape of the part, topology optimisation can define a true representation of the necessary geometries for a given part. ‘We know of certain geometry conditions where if you make one wrong decision in your geometry, you can chase that wrong decision forever’ said Schramm. For this reason it is important that CAE designs include topology optimisation as early in the initial design phases as possible, so that a particular design does begin on the wrong path. In addition to applying topology optimisation
to understand a given loading and the impact that that will have on the final design, it can also be
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