Early Simulation with Abstract Modeling at General Dynamics Land Systems

Ora Research Letter on Digital Prototyping, Simulation & Analysis October 21, 2008

By Bruce Jenkins, CEO

How to bring simulation earlier in the product design process has been discussed for years but few have been able to overcome the technical and work-process barriers to doing so. Companies need early simulation to avoid wasting cycles on doomed concepts and to make better decisions early in the design process when the cost of change is low. General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has launched a process where automation through templates with abstract modeling technology creates a seamless modeling/simulation process. By eliminating manual steps and allowing engineering and analysis processes to be built around an abstract model, this new process condenses project timelines – in a project piloting the new technology, extracting data from a CAD model and using it to populate an analysis database was slashed from an all-day job to just two hours. Even more, the new process makes it feasible to begin analysis early in design, while alternative geometries and product configurations are still being evaluated.

Before GDLS implemented the new process, information needed to set up a simulation was manually extracted from a Pro/ENGINEER model, then reentered into a spreadsheet. Each time there were significant changes in the CAD database, the engineer had to extract this information again and re-enter it into the spreadsheet tool. Analysis models were developed by a select few analysts for specific purposes, often resulting in more rework, less integration and a lower-quality data pedigree.

The team at GDLS implemented a new process where its Pro/ENGINEER CAD system and internally developed MATLAB-based tools work seamlessly within a unified performance-engineering workspace based on abstract modeling technology from Comet Solutions, Inc. to automatically generate models for analysis. By working in one workspace, GDLS reports it can now make more effective use of its existing CAD and CAE tools. Easy-to-use templates let designers – not just analysts – import and parametrically manipulate CAD geometry, specify and execute engineering analysis processes, launch multiple CAE tools from within the workspace, and assimilate simulation results. An approach called “abstract modeling” allows analysis processes to be developed before CAD geometry even exists. These processes can be of multiple fidelities, and are updated as the CAD geometry becomes available and matures. The workspace keeps track of all the analysis iterations and CAD information, ensuring clear project data pedigree for each stage of the design process. Design alternatives can be evaluated, with a clear history of each iteration and result.

Authoring the necessary templates and implementing the new process took some six weeks – about 240 hours of funding including documentation, interface document development, training and testing – and the GDLS team had results to share almost immediately after implementation. Once implemented, the new process reduced model development time from hours for the manual process to a matter of minutes with the automated process.

Now GDLS is expanding its implementation of this technology from vehicle dynamics into thermal analysis, and expects to compress what is currently a 3- to 10-week model development process to just 1 to 2 weeks. Ultimately, the company envisions implementing a Comet-based environment that automates analysis processes in many different domains – freeing its expert analysts to develop automated processes that then become available to all designers for automated execution.

Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited, GDLS approved, log 2008-74, dated 09/15/08. Research funded by Comet Solutions.

Excerpted from Ora Research’s new white paper, General Dynamics Land Systems Achieves Early Simulation in a Unified Performance-Engineering Workspace Based on Abstract Modeling. Request the complete white paper