New features in Simcenter FLOEFD 2306 and 2312

Last year did spoil us with two new releases for Simcenter FLOEFD, version 2306 and 2312. In these two releases there were many updates and improvements of the software, especially when it comes to the modules for electronic cooling and structural dynamics. In this blog post we will provide an overview of the most exciting new features and how they can help you with your simulations in Simcenter FLOFED. Topics that will be discussed are: 

• Computational speed-up: Smart cell, and Faster CFD meshing for tessellated geometries. 
• Electronic cooling center (ECC): Smart PCB with higher fidelity and speed, Reflow template for PCB simulations, Thermal territories within EDA bridge. 
• Simcenter FLOEFD SC (structural): Non-linear (Nastran) solver, Tolerance-based contacts. 
• Batch mode simulations: How to export post-processed data without a GUI open. 
• User experience: New color bar scheme to match the other Simcenter products. 
• License server management: The new license server SALT. 

Mesh speed–up 

Simulation speed-up is always welcome, and Siemens has managed to provide significant speed-up due to new meshing features in both version 2306 and 2312. One improvement in each version has been introduced. Improved Smart cell generator for Cartesian mesh in 2306: An optimization for the mesh generator has been proven to speed up the meshing process, especially for the scalability on a higher number of cores (32 cores). The speed-up is as large as around 10 times faster. Faster meshing for convergent, faceted and STL geometries in 2312: Previously, the Simcenter FLOEFD mesher was only optimized for solid geometries (body representation). An improvement for faceted geometries, to handle tessellated (CAD) models, was implemented to accelerate mesh generation for tessellated bodies. In the test case used, a car was meshed with 62 million cells (see picture below), the mesh generation time went from 2 hours to 12 minutes when comparing to previous version (2306). 

Electronic cooling center (ECC) 

The Electronic cooling center is a combination of several modules related to electronic cooling simulations. This package consists of Electronics cooling, EDA bridge, BCI-ROM, Package creator and T3STER autocalibration. In version 2312 of Simcenter FLOEFD there have been several great features to include more possibilities for your electronic cooling simulations, some of these features are explained in detail below. Smart PCB with higher fidelity and speed in 2312: The Smart PCB feature allows you to model your thermal simulations for PCB calculations with automized workflow. Methods for capturing detailed material distribution and easy import of geometry and data are some of the strengths for this module.  In version 2312 the solver has been optimized to carry out both faster and more accurate simulations. The number of tiles (divisions) for a PCB can now be set to 300 instead of 100, and with the “Fine” modelling option a speed-up of 1.5 to 8 can be expected even when having increased the resolution from 300 to 100. You have thereby both faster and more accurate solutions, as seen in the picture below. Reflow template for PCB simulations in 2312: Manufacturing PCB using ovens to heat and cool the product needs to have the possibility of changing the boundary condition and modify parameters transiently. In version 2312 there is now a template that allows for easy setup of such a study with transient boundary conditions to mimic the behavior in the over process. The video below illustrates how to set up the simulation, and also how the transient results will be for a typical PCB simulation, where the inlet flow will have pulsating behavior.  EDA bridge – thermal territories in 2312: Thermal territories are usually used in PBC simulations, meaning the possibility to define thermal properties and control the settings in regions which have high impact on the simulation. Previously, the possibility of defining these thermal territories was limited to defining parameters based on the components/geometries included in the simulation. From version 2312 and onwards you can now create a thermal territory freely by specifying the location and size of the area of interest. 

Simcenter FLOEFD SC (structural) 

Version 2306 Simcenter FLOEFD provided several new important possibilities when it comes to structural analysis. The most important possibility is that Simcenter FLOEFD can now utilize the non-linear Nastran solver, which is used in Simcenter 3D. This requires a license for the non-linear Nastran solver. Non-linear solver (Nastran) in 2306: For many types of structural applications, a non-linear solver is required to capture the physics. Since there is a non-linear solver available in Simcenter 3D (Nastran solver 401) the infrastructure for utilizing this solver within Simcenter FLOEFD is now implemented. If a license for this solver is present at the license server there will be an option to Analysis type as Nonlinear in the wizard (general settings) in Simcenter FLOEFD. The non-linear solver unlocks the possibility of including physics like: 

• Large displacements, meaning large displacements can be modelled with higher accuracy, which was introduced in 2306. 
• Large strain modeling, meaning large deformations can be modelled with higher accuracy, introduced in 2312. 
• Non-linear materials, meaning that in the Engineering database materials can be defined with stress-strain curve that are not linear, introduced in 2312. 
• General contacts, meaning non-penetrating parts in contact, introduced in 2312. 

Tolerance-based contacts in 2306: Another type of contact, which was introduced in version 2306 and does not require an additional license, was the tolerance-based contacts. This type of contact is needed when modelling contacts for overlapping bodies with gaps between them – one example of that type of model is ball joints. The model will use either: 

• Linear and angle tolerances for contacts. 
• Glued contact between bodies with gap. 

See the video below for how to implement the settings and how typical results can look like.  

Batch mode post-processing 

To ease the process of post-processing results in Simcenter FLOEFD exporting your results using batch scripts (with .xmlconfig files) was introduced in version 2312. In the video below, provided by Siemens, you see how to: 

1. Select which data to export: by ticking in post-processing features in Batch results processing. 
2. Export the script: by exporting Command-line run export under Calculation control option. 
3. Running the batch command: <path to efdsolver.exe> /m /s /config:<path to .xmlconfig file>. 

The exported files will end up in the project folder.  

User experience 

Comparing results is always important and from version 2312 this is now even easier since there is a new color bar introduced in Simcenter FLOEFD that is used over the complete Simcenter portfolio. The means that you can easily compare the results between software like Simcenter 3D, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ and Simcenter FLOEFD. See picture below for the new color bar. 

License server management 

As of version 2306, Simcenter FLOEFD uses the new Siemens SALT license server 2.2.0.0. This license server was created to simplify the set-up for licensing. For version 2306, and newer, the SALT license server will be required to use Simcenter FLOEFD. Note: We at Volupe have seen that if you have several Siemens software which uses different license servers there can be interference between the servers if they are located on the same server computer. If you experience this problem, you are welcome to contact us, and we will show you how to solve this issue.  With all these new features we hope that the 2023-releases of Simcenter FLOEFD will provide you with a lot of improved simulation experiences. And if you have any technical questions, you are always welcome to contact us via support@volupe.com.  

Author

Christoffer Johansson, M.Sc. support@volupe.com +46764479945