MSC announces updates to its nonlinear FEA package and adds J-turns and other mad driving skills to its vehicle dynamics software.
Simulation giant MSC Software Corporation made a couple of new announcements this past week, promising to add yet more functionality to its already powerful simulation packages.
First up from the California-based CAE megalith are a bunch of new features to its Marc 2017. Marc is MSC’s nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) software solution that not only simulates manufacturing, but can also predict damage such as fatigue and crack propagation. It combines a multiphysics engine that allows users to simulate not just in the mechanical/material realm but over a wide range of domains such as acoustics, electromagnetics, piezoelectrics and mechanical/thermal (to name but a few).
The recent release adds more functionality by introducing enhanced material data fitting, adaptive meshing, material modeling and new contact functions. In short, the new enhancements are designed to add accuracy to simulation via extensive empirically driven data, as well as make the experience more users friendly.
You can see details of the new product enhancements in Marc 2017 here.
The second announcement MSC made is for the multibody dynamics simulation package Adams 2017.2, which provides enhanced functions to its Adams Car feature, as well as boosts speed for the Adams solver.
Adams Car, as you would expect from the name, is a multibody simulator feature for simulating automotive structures and dynamics. The recent update adds multiple vehicle configurations, aerodynamics forces and cross-wind events, as well as new open-loop steering events such as Fishhook, Grist Mill, Hands Free and J Turn. Other new events include Double Lane Change, Throttle on in Turn and Brake Drift.
All of these new additions are obviously aimed at providing users with a more realistic simulation pallet to work with—because real-life driving behavior is not limited to driving in a straight line on a calm, windless day. Hurrah for advanced driving handling simulations.
You can get more details of the latest upgrades to Adams 2017.2 at this link.