Context Sensitive Design Analysis

A crucial step in the application of simulation methods in the product development process is the evaluation of products on the basis of simulation results. Only if the results are visualized in a suitable form and interpreted correctly, valid statements can be derived which may help in the functional validation and optimization of the design. Such an assessment requires both proper knowledge in the field of simulation and wealth of experience, which is only available in specialized calculation departments. To justice the growing product demands as well as the increasingly shorter development times, product developers should be enabled to safely perform and evaluate simulations without specialized training or long-term experience in the field of FE simulations.

The early use of simulation methods can optimize product features and characteristics and secure them in development at a time at which changes can still be carried out comparatively inexpensive. The Focus of the research project is on the early phases of product development. The results of the developed methods and process models are implemented in a software demonstrator. The overall aim is to enable product developers to perform valid simulations and evaluate the results correctly at an early design stage, which is currently only done by experienced specialists working at capacity. The focus of the research project is on linear and nonlinear structural mechanics.