Today’s interview is with Professor Paul Ronney from University of Souther California.

Here are the questions that Paul, very kindly, agreed to discuss with me during this interview. (If you are having trouble listening to the interview, simply  install a Quicktime plug-in for your web browser).

Talking about what’s new at MVP and more info on CKS software from IBM. (Cant see the video? View it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxb11X61WGo)

(for more on CKS see this post)

Brief Overview of Sculptor from Optimal Solutions

http://www.optimalsolutions.us/

Today, I want to give a brief background on a cool software tool, called Sculptor from Optimal Solutions. The guys at Optimal Solutions were very helpful in providing me with a webinar and demo of Sculptor in real time. (Thanks John and Taylor!)

Disclaimer for this post: This is not a full review but simply a brief introduction to the software. To learn more, visit http://www.optimalsolutions.us/ .

So what is Sculptor? From Optimal Solutions website:

“Put simply, Sculptor is shape deformation software. It can arbitrarily deform the shape of a computerized object whose shape is defined by the points of a grid. The grid is defined by a CFD [or an FEA] code”

One of the features of Sculptor is its’ geometry optimization ability. Figure below demonstrates really well how this software can save a lot of time and money during the engineering design process.

Figure courtesy of Optimal Solutions:

Sculptor takes out the need to go back and change geometry in CAD itself. The engineering design process becomes much more efficient, since the optimization feedback loop is now much shorter and less complex (see figure above). In addition re-meshing in CFD or FEA is not as complicated as changing geometry in CAD.

The engineer at Optimal Solutions told me that Sculptor works with virtually any CAD, CFD, and FEA software available.

This is a tool designed to save engineering time and company money, while making the design process more effective.

I just found out that my American Chemical Society courses have been officially added to the ACS spring schedule:

Computer Simulation of Reactive Flows: http://www.proed.acs.org/courses/course_overview.cfm?course_code=RFWEB

Essentials of Chemical Kinetics: http://www.proed.acs.org/courses/course_overview.cfm?course_code=KNWEB

This inspired me to write on the subject of teaching – specifically, why most engineering courses are taught in such boring ways, and what can be done about it.

Read more »

Hello all,

Happy, though rather belated, Thanksgiving. Hope everyone enjoyed a good meal and time with family.

I was traveling all last week and am just digging myself from underneath work that piled up during my absence. So I apologize for not getting a post up last week.

Recently I discovered a software tool for chemical kinetic modeling. It’s called the Chemical Kinetic Simulator (or CKS) from IBM Almaden research lab. The code has not been updated since mid-1990s, and I probably would not have given it much thought except for an interesting feature of this software.

The authors claim that CKS does not integrate sets of coupled differential equations to predict the time history of a chemical system. Instead the code uses a stochastic algorithm (type of Monte Carlo calculation) to propagate a reaction.  The authors claim that the stochastic method is much faster for stiff systems.

The  question is, if the stochastic method is much faster for solving reactive systems, why are most other software tools (e.g. Cosilab, Chemkin, DARS, FlameMaster, Chemical WorkBench) use solvers that integrate coupled systems of equations instead of using some form of a stochastic algorithm to solve chemically reactive systems?

I am determined to figure it out. In the next week I’ll be doing some research on the two solver methodologies , the CKS code and other related software. If you are dealing with anything that is chemically reacting,  stay tuned!

On the other hand, if you have some information on CKS OR stochastic vs. integrator methadologies that you would like to share with our readers, either comment below or contact me directly: masha@mvpmodeling solutions.com.

I will be sure to give due credit to everyone contributing information!

Best,
Masha

Why should you care?

If you and/or your colleagues are looking for clean, fast, reliable way to model  an engineering problem (s), contact me. Although not for everyone, outsourcing CFD, CAD and other CAE work might be a great solution for you and your company.

I will be involved in all of your communications with EURO/CFD to make sure that you get the highest quality service and the best possible solution to your problem.

Some stats on EURO/CFD:

Client List:  General Electric, Siemens, INRS, Saint-Gobain PAM, Alcatel, Arcelor Mittal, Constructions Métalliques Florentaises, EDF,  PSA,  TI Automotive, and Valeo. Read more »

The numbers of USA scientists and technologists are dwindling. Our teachers are underpaid and 40% of them are teaching in the areas for which they are not qualified. These factors are directly impacting our industrial innovation.

The Franklin Foundation, a new non-profit organization, is on a mission to change that and you are invited to help lead it (and build your professional resume in the process). Read more »

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

As some of you know, Mathew Ladzinski from www.NAFEMS.org has invited me to give a webinar last week entitled: Contributing to the Bottom Line with Computer Modeling.  For those of you who have missed it, the recording is available only to Nafems members and MVP blog readers!

I encourage all of you to download this chart of  a Successful Modeling Process, that I explain during the webinar. It is applicable to virtually any engineering simulation project. Print it out and hang it above your desk. Next time you fire-up your work station to run a CFD or a CAD simulation, as yourself  ”Where does what I am about to do fit in on this chart?” If the answer is “nowhere”, maybe it’s time to re-think you modeling strategy.

Enjoy the webinar and please post comments below.

Go to:

https://nafems.webex.com/nafems/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=1542942&rKey=f4a54f682ada77df

Password is: web090209

Cheers,

Masha

Dear Readers,

Today we have a great post by a guest author - Jeff Waters. Jeff has been involved with CFD and 3D modeling industry for quite sometime.  He has been kind enough to share with us his tips for “recession proofing your CFD work.” As you read this piece, you will probably see a lot of similarities between Jeff’s point of view and my own. Interestingly enough, we  each wrote our posts independently. What does that tell you about paying attention to how simulation is being used in your company? Read more »

Are you finding it easy to get funding for projects that involve computer modeling? Or is it rather difficult to get budgets approved for new software licenses, and computer workstations? This article in Product Design and Development on-line might be of use to many of you. Please share with us your experience by posting comments!

Read more »