Industry Summary Articles

MSC Software Corporation announced the debut release of the MSC CoSim engine that has been developed in order to provide a co-simulation interface for the direct coupling of different solvers/disciplines within a multiphysics framework. This version, V1.6, enables engineers to set up co-simulation models between Adams (MBD), Marc (FEA) and scFLOW (CFD) and it covers a wide range of industrial scale applications including washing machine drum vibration to fuel tank sloshing for FSI and MBD; moving diaphragm valves to non-standard fans and pumps; dynamic windshield wiper blades to hydraulic actuators; and non-linear rubber door seals to vehicle bushes.

Holistic Multiphysics Co-Simulation
With a strong pedigree stretching back to the early NASA moon landing project, MSC Software has been providing world-class multiphysics CAE solutions with its best-in-class products to engineers globally for well over a decade now. Co-simulation matters to a CAE engineer: it provides a unique, more complete & holistic performance insight by coupling together multiple simulation disciplines.  Everything from acoustics to multibody dynamics (MBD), to CFD, to structural analysis, and explicit crash dynamics can be connected together in toolchains today.

Multiphysics Co-Simulation delivers Increased Accuracy, Precision & Performance
Co-simulation helps to avoid inaccurate assumptions, and therefore leads to a better correlation between CAE simulation and physical testing, so engineers gain a richer insight into the performance of the actual product without over-design. Co-simulation can provide a higher level of simulation accuracy with realistic engineering analysis demands inside real world engineering design timescales. For example, to simulate a full vehicle hitting a curb with the lower control arm undergoing plastic deformation, it could take engineers weeks to finish one simulation if the entire system is simulated in a nonlinear FEA environment. However, with MBD-FEA co-simulation, engineers can capture the same level of fidelity in a matter of hours rather than days or weeks.

Co-simulation technologies that are already supported by MSC Software enable engineers to solve CAE problems that could never have been solved before. Multibody Dynamics (MBD) codes like Adams are being used extensively for industrial grade co-simulations around the world today as a matter of course, and Adams has open connections to a vast array of commercial and open-source CAE software, such as the market leading Discrete Element Modeling software, EDEM, from DEM Solutions, VIRES Virtual Test Drive (VTD) for ADAS and autonomous vehicle drive simulation, and MATLAB & SIMULINK (from MathWorks) for 1D systems and controls modeling.

Commenting on MSC's Co-Simulation capabilities, Dr. Steve Jia, the Chief Engineer, Litens Automotive Group notes that the "Adams-Marc co-simulation capability more than satisfies our guideline of 'reasonable results in a reasonable time.' With up to a 90% reduction in computation time, optimization using advanced nonlinear FEA becomes practical. Such a development provides a great benefit and is crucial for our product development and we are proud to work together with MSC in advancing the technology."

Paolo Guglielmini, CEO of MSC Software speaking about the release of the new MSC CoSim Engine said: "We are super excited about this product release which is the culmination of many years of development of co-simulation technologies inside MSC Software. I genuinely believe that this is pushing the boundaries of true multiphysics simulation and it raises the bar for the uptake of CAE co-simulation in the real world to the masses of engineers today who can benefit from it."

To view the original press release, please click here.

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