Hyperelastic Materials | SimScale Platform Update 06/2015

We have added several new features to the SimScale platform since our last product update in May, including hyperelastic materials. You can find out more about this SimScale platform updates below, or test them directly yourself. We hope they provide you with the simulation results you need to help you build great products!

Hyperelastic Materials

Hyperelastic materials behavior can now be simulated using one of the seven available material models for running a solid mechanics analysis with the finite element method. This significantly broadens the spectrum of applications that can be analyzed with SimScale.

The simulation of rubber/elastomer is one of the most common applications for hyperelastic material behavior. The image below shows an application example where the structural response of elastomeric bridge bearings to the load and movement of the bridge was simulated.

Advanced Fluid Properties

Support for non-Newtonian fluid behavior has been added to enable the simulation of fluids with the shear rate viscosity changes. This sort of fluid behavior is relevant in many different industrial applications, such as:

• Food Processing (e.g., yogurt or jam)
• Biomedical Engineering (e.g., blood or saliva)
• Consumer Goods (e.g., soap or cosmetics)
• GeoSciences (e.g., lava or magma)
• Process Engineering (e.g., cement slurry or paper pulp)

The five new viscosity models allow calibrating the fluid behavior for many different industrial applications.

More FEA Boundary Conditions and Constraints

Many users requested additional boundary condition types so they could be more flexible in the simulation setup of different load scenarios. Therefore, among others, a cyclic symmetry constraint is now available that greatly simplifies the simulation of applications with a rotational symmetry.

A typical example application can be found in turbomachinery, where rotational symmetry is frequently found. The images show a stress analysis of a turbocharger fan. The analysis is only carried out on one segment of the fan, which means that only a fraction of the computing power and time is necessary. This is especially helpful when dealing with a larger simulation project. The image below illustrates how the result can then be assembled to reflect the whole simulation result.

Furthermore, a “fixed support” and a “rotating motion” boundary condition have been added to provide even more flexibility and capabilities during the simulation setup. These boundary condition types significantly simplify the early stages of FEA simulations on SimScale.

New Post-Processing Options

When it comes to new applications where the interaction across a contact between two parts is particularly important, new result control items are available to facilitate a more detailed analysis of the contact region.

The image above shows two parts that are in contact and the simulation results in the contact region are visualized. The left visualization indicates whether the parts are sliding (2 – red), sticking (1 – green) or are not in contact (0 – blue). The right visualization indicates the contact pressure (blue being high, red being low pressure) within the contact region.

Many Smaller Improvements

Each week we receive numerous feature requests, suggestions and insights from our users, which helps us to work on improving the ease-of-use, robustness, and capabilities of the SimScale platform. Therefore, apart from the features highlighted above, numerous smaller improvements have been implemented in the user interface, simulation setup logic, the viewer and the backend. Thanks again for all the valuable feedback! We would love to hear more from you to steer the future development of SimScale. Happy Simulating!

To discover all the simulation features provided by SimScale, download the document below.