Trenitalia, the Italian railway operator, was facing challenges in managing the development, construction, and maintenance of the rail transportation system in the country. The Technical and Research Department of Trenitalia was using ANSYS Mechanical for design optimization, stress strength structural checks, and maintenance engineering planning. However, the need for larger analysis models and shorter computer response times led Trenitalia to evaluate new calculation solutions. The primary issues they had to overcome included limitations in model size due to the amount of real memory used by 32-bit finite-element programs, long solution times resulting from using a single-processor platform, and hardware architecture bottlenecks in memory and storage sub-systems that increased elapsed solution times. To address these issues, Trenitalia began investigating 64-bit technology, with efficiency requirements suggesting a scalable SMP architecture.

PIAGGIO, a leading manufacturer of motorized two-wheeled vehicles, was facing a significant challenge in analyzing complex geometry under test conditions. The company lacked information about the critical areas, which made the model require a high level of detail everywhere. The detailed features, such as rounds, could not be neglected. This situation posed a significant challenge as it required a meticulous and time-consuming process to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the test results.

TRW Automotive, one of the world's largest automotive suppliers, faced a significant challenge in the design and validation process of brake rotors. Vehicle manufacturers require both virtual and empirical validation for design proposals, and the maturity of these proposals often determines the awarding of new business contracts. To remain competitive, suppliers like TRW Automotive must become more efficient in their design and validation processes. This need for efficiency has driven the automotive supplier base to further leverage and expedite upfront Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE). However, the traditional CAE process, which involves a sequential approach to pre-processing, solving, and post-processing, was proving to be too long and inefficient. This process had to be repeated for each design concept and across various analysis types. If the final analysis did not meet performance targets, the process had to be started over, wasting valuable time.

Jet Towers, a small startup company in Brazil, faced a significant challenge in providing internet service in rural areas of the country where optical fiber was not economical due to low population density. The company aimed to address this market with tower-mounted Wi-Fi, which required a lower initial investment. However, the company needed to quickly build a large number of towers to start earning a return on their investment. The management had the idea of a modular line of towers based on components that were designed and built in advance. These components could then be assembled and installed in a fraction of the time required to design and build each tower from scratch. The modules needed to be optimized from both a fluid flow and structural perspective so they could be used to construct antennas with a wide range of heights and load-supporting capabilities while keeping total installation costs to a minimum. This represented a potentially overwhelming task for a company with only one design engineer and no analysts.

Connecticut Reserve Technologies (CRT) faced a significant challenge in the development of microturbines for compact cogeneration units. These units, designed to provide economical and reliable power for manufacturing plants and other facilities, relied on advanced structural ceramics like silicon nitride. While these ceramics allowed the microturbines to operate at higher temperatures than conventional metal alloys, leading to significant fuel savings and emissions reductions, they also exhibited large variations in fracture strength. This was particularly true when considering the inherent flaws resulting from various surface treatments. The challenge was to account for these complex statistical strength distributions to make more accurate predictions of expected component life. Another challenge was defining and implementing a method that establishes Weibull distribution metrics for silicon nitride suppliers based on the particular component. This required combining service stress states from the various treated surfaces of a rotor blade with a stipulated component reliability to develop material performance curves.

The design of an aircraft engine combustor is a complex, multidisciplinary process that involves aero CFD, combustion, heat transfer CFD, dynamics, thermal, mechanical, and life prediction. GE Global Research Center, in collaboration with GE Aircraft Engines, was tasked with developing advanced combustor design technologies to meet aggressive new product introduction (NPI) analysis requirements. A significant challenge in this process was the generation of high-quality meshes in an automatic fashion. The mesh quality plays a critical role in the automated design process, affecting the analysis accuracy. Moreover, the meshing procedures needed to be scriptable, without human intervention. An all-hex mesh was required for the full combustor sector model to ensure analysis accuracy.

Air Science & Engineering was approached by a client in the metalworking industry who was grappling with the issue of metal fumes from a large torch cutting operation. These fumes were escaping into adjacent work areas, bypassing an existing ineffective side-draft hood, and contaminating the work environment. The challenge was to develop a hood design that would effectively capture and contain the process fumes while minimizing the required exhaust flow rate. The new hood also needed to be designed in a way that it would allow parts to be loaded by an overhead crane and accommodate the existing high-velocity push jet necessary to prevent the buildup of flammable gases under the workpiece.

URS Corporation, a leading full-service engineering, planning, design, and construction company, was tasked with performing a comprehensive structural stability evaluation of the McKelvey Lake Dam in Mahoning County, Ohio. The dam, a 77-ft.-high concrete arch structure with a crest length of approximately 350 ft., forms a water reservoir with a maximum storage capacity of 4,345 acre-ft. The challenge was to ensure that repeated freeze-thaw cycles had not compromised the dam's integrity for increased flood loads. Traditionally, such an analysis would involve extensive field investigations to collect concrete and foundation rock samples for laboratory testing. However, this process was time-consuming and costly, especially for dams located in remote areas. Furthermore, the creation of numerous computer models and running a wide range of individual simulations to thoroughly analyze all interrelated variables added to the complexity and cost of the project.

The Rotorcraft Research Group at Carleton University, which integrates research efforts in rotorcraft aerodynamics, aeroelasticity, aeroacoustics, blade dynamics, and smart structures, faced a significant challenge in their research process. The group's main research program, the SHARCS project, aimed to prove the concept of an actively controlled 'smart' helicopter rotor for the simultaneous reduction of noise and vibration. This required the use of complex CFD simulations that could take weeks of computation time. The solver required a high-quality structured multi-block hexahedral mesh with advanced mesh distribution. However, creating these advanced grids was a difficult and time-consuming task. If each student had to manually create a mesh for each variant being studied, it would significantly limit the research potential and quality. The challenge was to eliminate the manual Hexa meshing burden for the researchers, thereby maximizing their research potential and quality.

RAETECH Corporation, a company specializing in automotive design and analysis with a focus on the Motorsports arena, was involved in projects from the design and analysis phase through prototype and testing of the finished product. Their experience involves almost every type of automotive component and system. Their structural analysis routine generally includes linear, nonlinear and fatigue analyses, and they also utilize Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) where appropriate, especially in engine component designs and A to B comparisons. They firmly believe in closely coupling the design and analysis phases, followed by properly validating the real physical parts. However, they faced challenges in bringing data through the CATIA V4 importer or the Solidworks plug-in, and in creating both solid and surface meshes using Tetra.

Dana Corporation, a leading supplier of parts and assemblies to the automotive industry, faced a significant challenge in designing suspension systems and other assemblies for heavy trucks. The task was formidable due to the heavy loads, harsh environments, and long life requirements of these components. Historically, these components were over-designed and heavier to meet reliability requirements. However, in the current economy, the weight of commercial trucks and its impact on vehicle cost, ride, and fuel economy became a significant concern for both truck manufacturers and end users. The challenge was to design these parts with minimal material yet still maintain adequate strength and stiffness. This had to be achieved while meeting tight budgets and product launch schedules that ruled out building and testing numerous hardware prototypes.

Grantec Engineering Consultants Inc. was tasked with the development of a water quality monitoring float designed to carry a sensor for capturing environmental data. The engineering team faced challenges in minimizing drag and ensuring stability of the float, as well as developing specifications for the mooring system and structure. The original design of the float had a bow that would have been driven below water, primarily due to a moment generated by current loading on the sensor. This posed a significant problem as it would affect the float's performance and the accuracy of the data collected by the sensor.

Archus Orthopedics, a biomedical company, was faced with the challenge of predicting the nonlinear motion of the spine when fitted with an implant. This is a crucial aspect in the development of their Total Facet Arthroplasty System™ (TFAS®), a patented spinal implant designed to treat spinal stenosis. The traditional method of determining this motion was through cadaveric testing, a process that was not only time-consuming but also ineffective for performing design iterations on new motion-restoring spinal implant designs. The company needed a more efficient and accurate method to simulate the quality of motion of the natural spine and predict the nonlinear motion of the spine with an implant.

Cranfield University at the Defence College of Management and Technology (DCMT) within the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, formerly known as the Royal Military College of Science (RMCS), is tasked with educating the armed forces in defence related technology. A significant part of this education involves the study and understanding of weapons effects. This is a complex field that involves highly dynamic phenomena, requiring both theoretical and practical understanding. Numerical simulations are used to provide insight into these phenomena, complementing experimental studies and demonstrations. However, the challenge lies in enhancing student understanding of numerical analysis techniques and applying these techniques to a range of applications.

3Discovered, an exchange platform for commercial-grade 3D printed parts and products, was facing a challenge in finding a 3D modeling software package that fit their startup budget. They needed a solution that could quickly turn around designs for printing and handle models in a variety of formats or design them based on 3D scans. The company was also dealing with the issue of reverse engineering, as they often received work from design owners and customers that required this process before they could work with a 3D print house. The existing software solutions they had tried, such as Inventor or SolidWorks, were not designed to handle the large number of facets involved in reverse engineering and would often crash.

Energy Absorption Systems, Inc., a global leader in the design and manufacture of crash cushions, impact attenuators, and other energy-absorbing safety devices, faced a challenge with their TMA-180 truck-mounted attenuator. This device, consisting of a hinged steel frame containing energy-absorbing air-filled aluminum baffles, extends from the back of parked construction vehicles to protect people and equipment in highway work zones from vehicle traffic impacts. The company found a more reliable and economical supplier for the hydraulic cylinder that powers the rotation of the frame. However, the differences in cylinder geometry and loading necessitated a redesign of the clevis linkage connecting the cylinder to the frame. The challenge was to execute this redesign as quickly and reliably as possible to reduce the time to market for the improved product.

Kato Engineering, a company that designs and manufactures a complete line of precision-engineered, high-quality AC generators, motor-generator sets, and controls for prime, standby, and peak-shaving power generation, faced a significant challenge. The subtransient reactance of an electrical generator, which is the generator internal impedance element that is effective during the first few cycles of a transient load event, was difficult to predict. This reactance is typically determined through factory testing of new generator designs after the design process is finished. This method was not only time-consuming but also inefficient as it delayed the identification of potential issues until after the design process was completed.

Apollo Engineering was tasked with the challenge of re-engineering the aging, four-person wheeled-bobsled vehicles at Park City, Utah, which were providing a rough, uneven ride to the customers. The original design of the bobsled consisted of a two-piece fiberglass body connected by a steel yoke bolted to both pieces. The body design necessitated a long and poorly supported yoke. The challenge was further complicated by significant changes to the wheels and suspension system of the bobsled, including the removal of an axle in the middle of the vehicle, to produce a smoother ride. This meant that the yoke had to be redesigned and the forces on it had to be re-evaluated to ensure that it could withstand the stress, strain, and fatigue for safety purposes.

e3k, an Australian mechanical engineering consultancy, was tasked with optimizing the efficiency of a multi-nozzle Pelton wheel hydroelectric power station design. The challenge lay in the intricate examination of the branching distributor manifold, the nozzle design, and the rotating runner to extract maximum useful energy from the known head and flow conditions. The dynamic interaction between water jets and the runner created a particularly complex unsteady, multiphase flow field. This complexity made it difficult to identify areas for improvement and to understand the effects of potential design changes.

Atelier Normand, a French SME, manufactures complex wooden structures including advanced platforms. The company is faced with the challenge of quickly designing and manufacturing structures with more functionalities such as storage, evacuation routes, phone booths, etc., while still adhering to safety regulations such as Eurocode 0, 1, and 5. The company needed to identify potential weaknesses in their designs, validate their compliance with safety codes, and address safety questions related to the addition of components like guardrails. The challenge was to do all this quickly and efficiently, which was difficult with traditional methods.

HyPerComp Inc., a leading software company in the aerospace industry, specializes in the development and dissemination of high-performance computational technologies. These technologies employ parallel computing code/hardware architectures and physics-based mathematical models to solve a wide range of problems in both defense and commercial applications. The company's technology strengths include general geometry CAD modeling and repair, unstructured hybrid gridding, user-friendly GUI-based preprocessing, domain decomposition tools for fine-grain parallel architectures, higher order accurate space and time discretization for solving linear/nonlinear partial differential equations, solution acceleration techniques, and knowledge-based expert system shells. However, the company faced challenges in converting customer-provided geometries from IGES format into internal ICEM CFD formats for subsequent processing. The need for a solution that could generate high-quality grids with minimum pre-processing and setup requirements was evident.

HyPerComp Inc., a company that develops high-performance computing technologies for defense, energy, and commercial product design, faced a significant challenge in accurately simulating the various linear and nonlinear processes that govern a physical phenomenon. The company's work involves complex, multidisciplinary physical processes, and a high-quality mesh is a critical necessity for these simulations. The company usually receives geometries in IGES format, which are then imported into their system. However, the existing process was not efficient enough, and the company needed a solution that could provide high-quality meshes suitable for the most demanding higher order solvers.