Analysis Solutions
Optimize product performance faster with integrated design analysis in CATIA.
Domain Objective
CATIA V5 Analysis provides realistic design simulation capability within the CATIA design environment, allowing designers to perform analysis directly on their master reference model in CATIA. Since there is no transfer of geometry, data integrity issues are avoided. The generative capability of the CATIA Analysis product suite enables design-analysis iterations to be performed rapidly from simple parts to complex assemblies. Unbeatable ease of use makes CATIA Analysis particularly suitable for designers looking to accurately size their designs and quickly evaluate their real-world performance.
Analysis Domain Overview
User-friendly environment
CATIA Analysis provides designers and analysts with an intuitive user interface that meets their varied needs. Since the user interface is a natural extension of that in CATIA, it is particularly easy for CATIA users. They obtain a realistic understanding of the mechanical behavior by quickly reviewing design characteristics in a digital mockup (DMU) environment. The CATIA V5 tools and environment that are common to all CATIA applications, Abaqus for CATIA, and partner solutions, eliminate the problem of lost productivity associated with using multiple applications.
Fast design-analysis loops
CATIA Analysis is an integral part of CATIA. The analysis specifications are an extension of the part and assembly design specifications, and the analysis is performed directly on the CATIA geometry. It is, therefore, simple and convenient to perform an analysis to help size parts and compare the performance of different design alternatives. The impact of design changes can be rapidly assessed with automatic updates. Designers using CATIA Analysis will naturally use analysis as part of their design process, affording them a greater understanding of how their designs perform and improving their ability to deliver the right design the first time.
Multidiscipline collaboration
CATIA Analysis supports concurrent engineering, allowing users to work closely together and avoid rework. Designers and analysts can collaborate since they have access to the same environment, eliminating data transfer, rework, and the need to maintain multiple applications for design and analysis. The CATIA Analysis environment also allows method developers to create templates that designers can routinely use to perform standard types of analysis.
Knowledge-based optimization
The CATIA Analysis products leverage the native CATIA knowledge-based architecture. They allow designs to be optimized by capturing and studying the knowledge associated with part design and analysis. The reuse of analysis features and the application of knowledge-based rules and checks ensure compliance to company best practices. Automation of standard analysis processes through the use of knowledgeware templates dramatically improves the efficiency of the design-analysis process.
Industry-proven performance
The speed with which analyses can be performed with CATIA Analysis often surprises designers and simulation experts familiar with other applications. The time it takes to create the finite element model, solve it, and display results can be a matter of minutes. The robust, built-in finite element solver and mesh generators balance both accuracy and speed. The adaptive meshing capability automatically adjusts the mesh to obtain accurate results without time-consuming manual involvement.
Analysis Product List
Product Overview
Nonlinear Structural Analysis (ANL) extends the capabilities of GPS to include more advanced analysis effects, such as large displacements and permanent material deformation. Material plasticity, typical of metals, can be modeled, as well as the nonlinear elasticity in hyperelastic materials like rubber. ANL also provides more advanced contact capabilities, such as friction at contacting surfaces and the automatic detection of contact surfaces based on their proximity. When ANL is used in conjunction with Thermal Analysis (ATH), a new class of analysis problems can be tackled. Nonlinear structural analysis can be performed including the effects of the temperature distribution calculated by ATH, which can cause parts to expand and contract and also affect their material properties.
Learn More: CATIA – Nonlinear Structural Analysis
Product Overview
Thermal Analysis (ATH) extends the capability of GPS, allowing designers to understand the thermal behavior of their designs. The steady-state or transient temperature distribution can be calculated in response to direct heating of a surface, the flow of a fluid past a surface, or the specified temperature of the surface. The thermal material properties can be temperature dependent. When analyzing assemblies, the conductivity across the interface between contacting parts can be specified.
When ATH is used in conjunction with Nonlinear Structural Analysis (ANL), a new class of analysis problems can be tackled. Nonlinear structural analysis can be performed including the effects of the temperature distribution calculated by ATH, which can cause parts to expand and contract and also affect their material properties.
Learn More: CATIA – Thermal Analysis
Product Overview
Rule Based Meshing (RBM) extends the capabilities of FMS to enable automated and higher quality surface meshing for all workflows that use CATIA meshing tools. RBM gives the user a means to specify globally the desired meshing treatment of entities such as holes, fillets, and beads. RMB also gives the user a means to specify acceptable element quality criteria, such as minimum edge length, aspect ratio, and skewness. Once the complete set of meshing rules has been specified, no additional user involvement is necessary, as the actual mesh generation is completely automated.
Learn More: CATIA – Simulia Rule Based Meshing (RBM)
Product Overview
Generative Part Structural Analysis 1 (GP1) allows designers to understand how their designs behave and to accurately calculate the displacements and stresses within the part under a variety of loading conditions. Analyses can be performed on volume parts, surface parts, and wireframe geometries.
GP1 is intended for designers who are not experts in finite element analysis. The analysis specification is an extension of the design specification and the analysis is performed directly on the design geometry. The user interface is a natural extension of that in the CATIA design workbenches. This makes it intuitive and natural for designers to use GP1 to ensure that their parts meet their design requirements.
Learn More: CATIA – Generative Part Structural Analysis 1 (GP1)
Product Overview
Generative Part Structural Analysis (GPS) allows designers to understand how their designs behave and to accurately calculate the displacements and stresses within the part under a variety of loading conditions. It also allows the vibration characteristics of parts to be assessed by calculating the natural frequencies and the associated mode shapes. Analyses can be performed on volume parts, surface parts and wireframe geometries.
GPS is ideal for designers who are not experts in finite element analysis. The finite element mesh automatically adjusts to ensure accurate results without manual intervention. The analysis specification is an extension of the design specification and the analysis is performed directly on the design geometry. The user interface is a natural extension of that in the CATIA design workbenches. This makes it intuitive and natural for designers to use GPS to ensure that their parts meet their design requirements.
Learn More: CATIA – Generative Part Structural Analysis 2 (GPS)
Product Overview
Generative Assembly Structural Analysis (GAS) extends the capability of GPS, allowing designers to analyze assemblies as well as individual parts. The analysis of assemblies, including an accurate representation of the way the parts interact and are connected, allows for more realistic and accurate simulation. The designer does not have to make simplifying assumptions about the loading and restraints acting on an individual part. Instead the part can be analyzed within the environment that it operates with the loading automatically determined based on the way the part is connected to and interacts with surrounding parts.
GAS supports hybrid assemblies that include solids, surface, and wireframe geometry, as well as “assemblies of analysis”, namely assemblies made up of parts that include analysis specifications. A comprehensive set of tools is available to model the interaction of the different parts in an assembly including frictional contact, welding, and user-defined connections. In addition, the seamless integration of design and analysis allows connection properties from any V5 application, such as Assembly Design (ASD), to be used.
The ability to perform assembly of analysis is one of the concurrent engineering practices enabled by PLM. The time to analyze complex assemblies is reduced by allowing several designers to work on analyzing individual parts which can then be combined into an overall analysis assembly.
Learn More: CATIA – Generative Assembly Structural Analysis (GAS)
Product Overview
While GPS and GAS allow designers to understand the vibration characteristics of their designs by calculating the modes and natural frequencies, GDY takes this a step further by allowing users to study the response of their designs to dynamic loading. This allows designers to ensure early in the design phase that their designs do not suffer from resonance and other dynamic effects.
GDY provides both transient and harmonic analysis. Transient analysis allows the response of the structure to be determined for loading that varies quite generally with time. Harmonic analysis allows the response of the structure to be calculated for loading that varies with frequency.
Learn More: CATIA – Generative Dynamic Response Analysis (GDY)
Product Overview
CATIA – Elfini Structural Analysis (EST) extends the capabilities of the GPS product to include multiple analysis cases for static, frequency, and buckling analysis. This product is more tailored to the needs of specialists, while maintaining a consistent user interface between specialists and design engineers. This common user interface promotes the teamwork between various disciplines to shorten the design analysis turnaround time.
Learn More: CATIA – Elfini Structural Analysis
Product Overview
FMS provides advanced meshing capability for complex surface and wireframe parts. Meshes generated on geometry are fully associative with the geometry and FMS provides more control and more sophisticated meshing algorithms than the standard surface meshing capability in GPS.
FMS is intended for the specialist that wants to mesh complex surface and wireframe geometry quickly and efficiently, while retaining a lot of control over the resulting element quality and the number of elements in the mesh. The sophisticated meshing algorithms allow complex parts to be meshed automatically, but manual mesh editing tools are also available for the user that requires ultimate control of the meshing process. FMS respects assembly joints when creating the mesh, including spot and seam welds and other types of fasteners. Various pre-defined and customizable criteria for mesh quality can be displayed.
Learn More: CATIA – FEM Surface 2 (FMS)
Product Overview
FMD provides advanced meshing capability for complex solid parts. It is fully associative with the geometry and provides more control and more sophisticated meshing algorithms than the standard solid meshing capability in GPS.
FMD is intended for the specialist that wants to mesh complex solid geometry quickly and efficiently while retaining a lot of control over the resulting element quality and the number of elements in the mesh. FMD provides a tetrahedral filler meshing algorithm and provides tools to create hexahedral meshes. Various pre-defined and customizable criteria for mesh quality can be displayed.
Learn More: CATIA – FEM Solid 2 (FMD)
