Editor’s Pick: ANSYS 13.0 Engineering Simulation Suite Launched

By Anthony J. Lockwood

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

I’ve never bought that old paranoia about 13 being an unlucky number, and I can tell you that ANSYS Corporation certainly doesn’t either. It just released version 13.0 of its ANSYS engineering simulation suite of products. Engineering efficiency – or productivity if you prefer – is the theme here, and it unfolds in three ways: a bunch of new solvers, better integration of multiple physics, and a handful of new technologies that improve performance. Having watched this analysis system evolve over the years, I’d say this sounds like a most interesting release.

Some new things on the solver front are electromagnetic transient solver, a hybrid solver for high-frequency electromagnetics problems that bridges finite element and integral equation methods, and an embedded large eddy simulation solver for modeling turbulence in fluid environments. That last one is interesting. It applies LES to complex areas of interest and faster-solving Reynolds average Navier–Stokes to the rest of the solution,  which should get you a solution faster than before.

Some efficiency enhancements: 3D rezoning functionality in the structural mechanics arena that lets you stop a simulation as your mesh distorts, re-mesh the material, then resume the simulation. The HFSS transient solver now has automatic adaptive mesh refinement and what’s called a “local time-stepping procedure” that ANSYS says accurately represents your geometry and fields while optimizing runtime, stability, and efficiency. ANSYS 13 also has a new application of variational technology that could reduce harmonic analysis solution times by a factor of five to 10.

Multiphysics: If I have this right, release 13.0 better leverages the ANSYS flexible architecture. This, in turn, lowers any remaining barriers to engineers with different physics specialties working collaboratively, exchanging data, and developing simulations incorporating multiphysics. A cool new capability is integration with Microsoft Excel. This will let you interact with spreadsheets that contain analytic representations of models and parameter table definitions.

As always, when a major system like ANSYS comes out in a new release, there’s more to it than I can get to in the few hundred words I’m allotted here. You’ll find a bunch more details on some of new features in ANSYS 13.0 in today’s Pick of the Week write-up. The link at the end of the write-up takes you directly to ANSYS and its what’s new in 13.0 web page, where there are even more links for you to dig into. I recommend that you spend the time to learn about the latest release of ANSYS because this 13 just might be your lucky number.

Thanks, pal.—Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood
Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering

Read today’s Pick of the Week write-up.

This is sponsored content. See how it works.