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Terminate “Trial & Error” Prototypes are indispensable, but at each stage, they only show the status quo: works or doesn’t work. Where is there potential for optimization? Our simulations make it visible and provide the physical basis for well-founded decisions in the product development process.

Statics

Of all simulation disciplines, structural mechanics is the oldest. It has grown historically, is the most widespread, and answers the following questions regarding product performance:

Typical Questions:

  • Can the component withstand the loads?
  • Where and how much material can we save?
  • Do we need to stiffen the structure locally?
  • Are sufficient safety margins present?
  • Are deformations kept within limits?

Numerica provides concrete answers:

  • Deformations. Stresses. Strains
  • Optimal wall thickness distribution
  • System stiffness, contact behavior
  • Stability (buckling / bulging)
  • Long-term creep behavior

Dynamics

Dynamics not only describes what drives us at Numerica; it generally investigates forces as the cause of movements. It revolves around mass, stiffness, damping & co. Both implicit and explicit calculation approaches raise many questions about system behavior:

Typical Questions:

  • Where do maximum forces & moments occur?
  • Should the system be vibrationally decoupled?
  • Does machine dynamics impair your product quality?
  • At which frequencies is resonance imminent?
  • Can the product withstand collisions?

 

Numerica provides concrete answers:

  • Dynamic behavior of components / assemblies
  • Natural frequencies and modes
  • Response to harmonic excitations
  • Random vibrations
  • Spectral response behavior
  • Structural behavior during crash / drop test

FATIGUE STRENGTH

With our authority-compliant strength verifications, you are safe… Period! Our numerical simulations support your product development regarding safe and standard-compliant component design in accordance with the following norms and guidelines:

  • FKM Guideline
  • Pressure vessels according to EN13445, AD2000, ASME, etc.
  • Bolted connections according to VDI 2230 (Sheets 1 & 2), optionally Eurocode 3
  • Welded connections according to IIW, FKM, DVS, etc.
  • Rail vehicles according to DVS, EN12663, IEC61373
  • Crane construction according to EN13001

Typical Questions:

  • What are the component safety factors, utilization rates, or reserves?
  • Is the component fatigue-resistant or limited-life?
  • Which load case combination is most unfavorable for the component?
  • How many load cycles can be endured until crack initiation?
  • Do the screws guarantee a secure component connection?

Numerica provides concrete answers:

  • Safety factors and utilization rates across all load cases
  • Number of cycles endured, service life
  • Fatigue strength / Limited-life strength

Temperature Field Analyses

As a rule, temperature field analyses form the basis for subsequent calculations. In a second step, we determine, for example, resulting stresses and deformations (classical one-way coupling).

Typical Questions:

  • What are the maximum temperatures on the surface?
  • How much heat is dissipated from the component?
  • Does radiation have a significant influence?
  • When and how are the target temperatures reached?
  • What is the damage contribution of thermal loading?

 

Numerica provides concrete answers:

  • Temperature distribution in assemblies / on the surface
  • Influence of insulation and environment
  • Conduction, convection, radiation components
  • Mitigation of thermal hotspots
  • Answers to temperature-dependent material behavior

Fluid Dynamics

In fluid dynamics (CFD), most applications focus on the physical quantities of pressure, velocity, and density – depending on temperature and phenomena such as turbulence, phase change, and particle transport.

Typical Questions:

  • Is the volume flow sufficient?
  • How can we minimize pressure loss?
  • Where do particles settle?
  • Do phase changes occur?
  • When is a steady state reached?
  • How do liquids mix?

 

Numerica provides concrete answers:

  • Flow velocities
  • Pressure conditions and pressure losses
  • Condensation and evaporation
  • Particle transport and sedimentation
  • Coupled heat transfer
  • Phase distributions

Coupling

Real processes usually consist of complex interactions between structure and flow. To accurately represent the physics, coupled simulations are necessary. Through the interaction of structural mechanics, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics (FSI), such multiphysical processes can be precisely analyzed and understood.

Typical Questions:

  • How does the pressure in the fluid affect my structure?
  • Does the interaction generate critical vibrations?
  • What heat exchange occurs between structure and fluid?
  • Is sufficient cooling provided by the flow?
  • Is natural convection sufficient, or must it be forced?

 

Numerica provides concrete answers:

  • One-way coupling: Transfer of, e.g., pressure or temperature fields from CFD to the structure. Visualization of the resulting stresses and deformations.
  • Multi-way coupling: Analogous to one-way coupling, a reciprocal equilibrium is iterated in several steps.