Simulation and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) are the cornerstones of modern product design. These tools allow engineers to virtually test and optimize designs before physical prototypes are built. For years, SOLIDWORKS Simulation has been a trusted companion and continues to be one, offering a robust set of capabilities. SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium can solve a wide variety of problems including nonlinear static and nonlinear dynamics problems.
However, as the problem complexity increases with intricate geometries, contact conditions, and complex materials models and physics, SOLIDWORKS Simulation solver may not solve as expected. When SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium capabilities might start feeling a bit constrained, SIMULIA apps on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform are the default next step. You can simulate simple physics to complex nonlinear structural problems much faster with unwavering confidence.
Simulation roles on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform
There are different Simulation roles on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for solving linear static, linear dynamics, nonlinear static, and nonlinear dynamics problems.
3DEXPERIENCE SIMULIA Roles
While this article is in no way favoring one simulation product over another, it is just comparing solver responses for nonlinear structural simulations that are solved in both SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium and Structural Mechanics Engineer roles on 3DEXPERIENCE.
Simulation Example
One of the examples used here is a simulation of top load on a thin-walled plastic bottle of approximately 0.25 mm thickness. In SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium a nonlinear dynamics study is setup for the plastic bottle that is placed on a rigid steel plate. The top load is applied via prescribed displacement of 15mm on a steel that is in direct contact with the bottle top. Contact interactions are defined without friction. The cap of the bottle is excluded.
The Plasticity von Mises material model is used for the bottle. Shell mesh with triangular elements is used for the bottle and tetrahedral solid mesh for the rigid plates.
On running the analysis solver encountered numerical difficulties. Few of the default options were modified to improve the chances of convergence, however, the loss of stiffness due to buckling led to errors about large incremental strain.
Solver
Increasing the value of the singularity elimination factor did not help the solver to converge. This is where the robust Abaqus solver available with SIMULIA roles on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform helps. Using the Structural Mechanics Engineer Role, the same analysis model runs to completion within forty minutes. The study can be transferred with a few of the setup definitions using the connector, Collaborative Designer for SOLIDWORKS.
The Structural Mechanics Engineer Role offers a wide variety of material models and element types. For this analysis, a Surface Quad element was used for the plastic bottle and top rigid plate. The 3D hexahedral (brick mesh) elements were used for the base. Contacts with friction of 0.05 were defined for all contacting surfaces. Explicit dynamics step was used for analysis type. The study solved successfully in less than an hour. This shows the ease with which SIMULIA apps on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform can efficiently handle complex physics simulations.
Analysis results
SIMULIA apps powered by robust Abaqus solver technology can solve complex contact interactions more accurately with less user intervention. To illustrate this, the collapse of a stack of blocks was simulated using a nonlinear dynamics study. Blocks were stacked on top of a stiff plate and prescribed displacement was applied to the bottom blocks to initiate collision. Contact interaction was defined between all the blocks. While the study solved to completion in SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium, the contact interactions were not captured accurately.
Simulation of block collapse in SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium
The same study setup solved for the interactions correctly in the Structural Mechanics Role using an explicit dynamics analysis procedure. Instead of tetrahedron mesh, hexahedral mesh was used in the SIMULIA app.
Simulation of Block Collapse in Structural Mechanics Engineer Role
Go beyond SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium’s capabilities
Similar to CAD associativity capabilities in SOLIDWORKS Simulation, SIMULIA roles maintain CAD associativity, ensuring seamless design-to-simulation transitions. Whether it’s complex contact interactions or intricate geometries, SIMULIA roles can handle them more efficiently. When SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium capabilities begin to feel limited, take the leap to explore SIMULIA roles that are tailored to elegantly solve complex simulation challenges.
