Altair has announced the release of HyperWorks 13.0. The new release promises to improve the productivity of engineers in four focus areas: solver performance, weight reduction workflow, lead-time and access to new technologies.

Solver Improvements

HyperWorks hopes to parlay their solvers and multiphysics improvements into an easier user experience.

As such, the first solver enhancement is that OptiStruct can now operate as a nonlinear solver. This allows OptiStruct to simulate large displacements and hyper-elastic materials. Additionally, the solver has been enhanced to accept new response types and multi-model optimization. These tools will allow the solver to discover a single optimized solution for a component which can then be used in many different designs.

“A variety of other OptiStruct capability in this release include rotor dynamic and non-linear heat transfer. This is bridging the gap of linear analysis and explicit analysis,” said Jeff Brennan, Altair’s Chief Marketing Officer.

Another solver sporting improvements is AcuSolve. The solver is now able to assess air flow and other fluidic simulations more accurately. This increase in accuracy is attributed to the solver’s ability to couple with MotionSolve. This coupling allows for mechanical systems/aerodynamics multiphysics simulations. An example of such a simulation might be the slats and flaps on an aircraft wing.

“With an even sharper focus on tools for the analysis and design of composite structures, it facilitates processes for the mass customization of products. HyperWorks continues to offer a broad array of advanced solvers enabling engineers to simulate a wide range of physics, from the analysis of linear and nonlinear phenomena in structures to fluid flow, thermal, and electromagnetic behaviors,” said James Dagg, Chief Technical Officer of Altair.

Optimization, Weight Reduction

A key factor in weight reduction is the use of new materials like composites. Therefore, to aid in lightweight designs, Altair has improved the visualizations for the pre/post processing of composite simulations. Users can now visualize elements of the composites, such as assessing the stresses on a single ply layer. To further aid these simulations, new failure criteria and material laws are included in the logic of laminated composites and polymers.

Brennan mentioned that, “In aerospace and many other industries the use of composite materials and substitutions is as important to lightweighting as material reduction … In HyperWorks 13.0 we have a lot of enhancements in preprocessing 3D entities that work with composite in HyperMesh … Post processing has also had improvements [in] selectability. You can even go down to the fibre level due to how interactive the tools is.”

Another interesting composite advancement comes from HyperForm. The tool which is known for metal forming is now able to assess the forming of composite materials. HyperMesh will now assess the thickness and angle variations caused by draping composites over a forming mold.

Limiting Lead Time

Altair is looking to reduce the time engineers spend on their simulations. To achieve this time saving goal, HyperWorks 13.0 has a few updates that focus on model production and post-processing.

The first tool to reduce model production was a rewrite of the part-replacement tool. The tool will now automatically update all the part connections when they are exchanged using a geometry import. Additionally, Altair has introduced a tool that can combine or compare CAD and FE geometries. Similarly, they upgraded HyperMesh’s abilities to control a part’s shape. This means that users don’t have to go back into CAD for updates like adding a ribbed surface.

Brennan said, “An interesting capability of Optistruct is multi-model optimization … If you have a single vehicle platform and you want a common optimized structure for that platform you make that. This is a request from automotive and we achieved that with a really elegant algorithm.” This new multimodel optimization should work nicely with the reworked part replacement tool.

As for post processing, Altair has created a unified Entity Editor. This Editor can communicate with HyperMesh, HyperView and HyperGraph. The editor allows for entries to be created more efficiently as they are all referencing the same entity library. For added control, the editor can also access solver documentation.

New Technologies

HyperWorks and the Altair Partner Alliance are constantly incorporating new tools into their product offerings. Currently, the APA has access to over 50 third-party tools accessible through token-based licensing.

One example of a recent technology is solidThinking, available through the HyperWorks suite. This FEA solution is designed to make simulation easier for non-experts. The latest release takes advantage of the OptiStruct solver to simplify a part’s geometry.

Chad Zamler, Marketing Manager of solidThinking explained, “Based on the loads, supports, design space, and maximum volumes, the OptiStruct solver will generate the optimal shape and material placement for the part. The process can start with an imported CAD geometry or by directly sketching an original part using Inspire’s interface. All the meshing and FEA happens behind the scenes making the software easy for new comers. We find the resulting optimized parts tend to have a very organic bone-like look to them. However, manufacturing constraints are also available to optimize the part’s shape for the loads and a production method. These tend to give parts a more traditional look.”

Some HyperWorks improvements include:

• RADIOSS’ crack-propagation and airbags simulations improved by extended finite element method (XFEM)
• Excel integration into HyperStudy and OptiStruct
• Bidirectional communication between HyperWorks desktop and PowerPoint
• Bi-directional communication to more PLM software such as Windchill and Total Materia
• Industry specific tools for NVH, drop test simulation and wind tunnels

Source Altair