I need your feedback on a new project idea!
Dear Experts,
I would love your feedback on a new project idea. Any guidance that you can provide to me would be extremely appreciated!
I am currently working on a series of booklets (to be converted into a published book in the future) that will address engineering computer modeling problems that R&D professionals are currently facing in the industry.
The idea is to help engineers in the industry to do their job better with the help of computer simulations.
In order to make sure that we are covering things that will be of interest to you, and the rest of the engineering community, I would very much appreciate your replies to these questions. (comment on this post, or email me directly: masha@mvpmodelingsolutions.com ).
1) What industry do you specialize in (auto, gas turbine, materials, oil, energy…etc)?
2) What are some challenges, if any, have you experienced with engineering computer modeling (CFD, 0D/1D, chemical modeling, CAD, FEA, etc). These problems can be anything from “experimentalists don’t take me seriously” to “management does not understand modeling results” to “there are no decent software tools available” or any others.
3) If a book was to be written on engineering computer modeling, what topics, examples, etc would you like to see it cover, in order for the book to be helpful in your line of work?
4) Do you currently have any books/materials on computer modeling that have been of a use to you? What are they?
Your feedback would be immensely helpful to me! Thank you in advance!
-Masha
1)”Auto” for agricultural and turf applications (tractor, mowing equipment, etc.)
2)Benchmarking the models. Ideally we should be able to reduce testing through modeling (this has been successfully applied to some fields where real scale testing is not affordable such as structural engineering). Most of the time I use modeling to guide testing. It would the great to take that leap to a full virtual model. It won’t happen while tests are not that expensive. Also when the model becomes extremely complex there is a need to make assumptions and simplifications. So testing is used to benchmark the approach. Sometimes I have the feeling that we are constantly reinventing the wheel. Gathering all the existing knowledge in an easy to use form would be valuable but I undestand it is an enormous task. And this brings us directly into your next question…
3) I am not sure a book is the right approach. A subscription website (similar to what NAFEMS does) or a e-book that could be purchased and then updated a limited number of times for a very small fee makes more sense to me. I say this because a book, if it goes beyond basics and wants to cover most recent advances in the field (which is what would interest me) it will become obsolete very quickly. A more general approach could be attempted but I am not sure that is what your customers want. A more realistic approach is to make companies understand the value you can add to the field and have them invite you to do some training. Your book would me the training material that supports your course. Many companies outsource training to preferred consultants. Note that these consultants tend to be very specialized and recognized experts in their fields.
4) Mostly software manuals because they partially cover what I need. Unfortunately some of these manuals have a limited number of very simple example. They are slightly better when they are customized to fit your needs (some companies do that for a consulting fee). This is an area worth exploring (going back to question 3), specially if software suppliers were willing to outsource it. There are sucessful examples with simple programs such as Word, Excel, etc. A few days ago I purchase a book that covered Excel macros because I needed to write them. With very few companies (ANSYS, SIMULIA, etc.) surviving a very competitive enviroment and buying the little “guys”, this has on one hand become easier to do, and on the other hand has increased the demand.
I may borrow a book from a university library if I need to dig deeper into the theory behind a certain field, but I don’t think that is the type of book you are referring to.
My back ground is CAD and Engineering Standards. I’ve worked in the defense and automotive industries, as well as consulted in the defense and electrical(power generation and distribution) industries.
Currently may schools fall short of teaching the realities of industry as it realtes to models. Models are great for looking at concepts in 3D, but they do not represent the “real” product. More needs to be done to teach designers and engineers to consider variations which will result from tolerances, and capability limitations in the manufacturing process. I’ve worked with several companies that use “CAD - CAM” or “Direct manufacturing” practices because they’ve ended up frustrated with the actual product due to these variations. When the product tolerances are not considered FEA, CFD, and Thermal analysis are all off, sometimes substantially. In addition fits and functionality are often less than desired because the designer did not consider the effects of manufacturing variations. However when the desiner consider these variations and creates a design robust enough to permit manufacturting varaiations the model can be a very valuable source of analysis and manufacturing data.