DHCAE Tools provides a graphical user interface (GUI) based modelling environment for the open source solvers OpenFOAM® and CalculiX. DHCAE Tools will support SMEs to overcome limited local hardware resources and to significantly reduce costs by using the cloud for their fluid flow problems and structural applications. This will result in a cost-effective usage of simulation ressources: The solving does not require software licenses, and the hardware in the cloud can be used on-demand and assigned directly to projects without fixed costs. The use case for this project will be conducted by the project partner ProcEng Moser GmbH. For the optimization process of rotor blades, a large number of CFD simulations and structure analyses is necessary to cover a large range of parameters. This will result in a fundamental database to understand and optimize the helicopters. Starting from the CAD system to build the geometry, the user can setup his case on the local desktop machine (typically Windows OS) with DHCAE Tools’ software CastNet. In the need of higher computational resources, the user can move the job onto the HPC CloudSME-server for a solving in the cloud. DHCAE Tools’ adapts software for a usage in the cloud, provides support for the use case and the use case itself.
Objectives:
With the user-friendly GUI based software provided by DHCAE Tools, the use of OpenFOAM® and CalculiX in the daily workflow is significantly simplified and the entry barrier to these technologies is reduced. Also customers which require an immediately available simulation environment on-demand can be addressed. The availability of the source code allows specific adaptations of solvers and utilities to SMEs’ needs.
SMEs will find a multi-purpose CFD/FEA environment including the solver extensions provided by DHCAE Tools. Specific tools for a convenient job control and solution monitoring will be made available (runGui).
An essential benefit for SMEs by using the cloud is the enormous potential to reduce costs and resource consumption. The simulation software is based on open source solver technology which results in very low license costs. The necessity of large hardware capacities is eliminated since computational resources are provided on demand. This allows to cope with order peaks as well, since additional resources are immediately available when needed. The allocation of costs to individual projects is simplified by the on-demand concept.
Especially the installation and maintenance of OpenFOAM® in a Linux environment is both complex and time-consuming. By transferring these tasks to the experts of the cloud computing provider, the usage of the simulation environment is greatly simplified.
If desired, SMEs can keep their complete workflow within their well-known Windows environment with DHCAE Tools’ software. The usage of the cloud based simulation software can be encapsulated from the SMEs entirely. On the other side, advanced users can access the functionality of the simulation environment on the cluster as well.
With the participation of DHCAE Tools in this project, a greater knowledge gain in the application of sliding mesh computations and fluid structure interaction (FSI) can be expected. With the strongly improved computational resources of the cloud, a more thorough understanding of the complex fluid flow in rotating systems will be achieved.
Description:
Use-case: Simulation of the flow field and rotor stresses in miniature helicopters
The target is to estimate the effects of rotor conditions and rotational speed on the helicopter. Considering all parameters, at least 40 cases have to be run to give a fundamental and sound database.
The simulations will be run by the simulation software provider DHCAE Tools in the cloud using OpenFOAM®, including DHCAE Tools’ extensions as solver and DHCAE Tools’ runGui as job control system.
DHCAE Tools supports ProcEng Moser in the usage of the simulations tools and in the integration of the cloud into ProcEng Moser’s workflow.
Results of DHCAE Tools’ software implementation will be a flexible CFD and FEA simulation environment for cloud usage and a multi-purpose and multi-physic analysis for flow problems and structural applications.
Manufacturing sector:
Mechanical and plant engineering, automotive engineering, aircraft industries, parcel delivery services (e.g.unmanned aerial vehicle systems and drones)
Involved entities:
ProcEng Moser GmbH, DHCAE Tools GmbH
Information source: cloudsme-project.eu
Project:
Enterprises:
ProcEng Moser GmbH, DHCAE Tools GmbH
Sector
Mechanical and plant engineering, automotive engineering, aircraft industries, parcel delivery services (e.g.unmanned aerial vehicle systems and drones)
Keywords
Modelling & Simulation
