How Better HPC Leads to Faster Simulation Results in CFD and Structural Analysis Software

Numerical simulation software, particularly in areas like Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and structural analysis, demands significant computational resources to handle intricate models and produce timely results. High-Performance Computing (HPC) plays a crucial role in augmenting these tools by offering the necessary hardware and software optimizations for accelerated simulation turnaround times. This post delves into how enhanced HPC capabilities directly contribute to improved performance in leading CFD and structural analysis software.

Leveraging hpc for ANSYS Fluent, for instance, allows engineers to tackle larger, more complex simulations with finer detail and more sophisticated physics than previously possible on standard computing resources. Ansys’s suite of tools, including Ansys Fluent for CFD and Ansys Mechanical for structural analysis, are designed to scale efficiently on HPC clusters. This scalability, facilitated by parallel processing and distributed solving, dramatically reduces the time required to complete simulations – often from days or hours down to minutes. Furthermore, HPC enables more extensive design exploration by allowing engineers to run a greater number of simulations and analyze more design variations rapidly. The integration of GPU acceleration within hpc for Ansys further enhances performance for supported solvers. By utilizing advanced computing resources through HPC, users of CFD and structural analysis software can achieve faster, more accurate, and more insightful simulation results, ultimately accelerating innovation and improving product development cycles.

What is High-Performance Computing (HPC)?

What is HPC? High-Performance Computing involves utilizing supercomputers or clusters of powerful computers to tackle computationally intensive tasks that are beyond the reach of standard workstations. For software used in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and structural analysis, HPC accelerates the processing of large datasets and complex equations, such as intricate fluid flow simulations or detailed structural stress analysis. It achieves this speedup by distributing workloads across powerful hardware components like multiple CPUs, GPUs, ample RAM, and fast storage systems.

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How HPC Enhances CFD Software

CFD software simulates fluid flow, heat transfer, and other phenomena, often requiring significant computational resources. Better HPC directly translates to faster simulation results in the following tools:

ANSYS Fluent

• Overview: A leading CFD software for modeling fluid dynamics in applications like aerodynamics, combustion, and multiphysics simulations.
• HPC Benefits:
  • Scales across thousands of CPU cores for parallel processing of large meshes (e.g., millions of cells).
  • Supports GPU acceleration for specific solvers, reducing simulation times by up to 50% in transient flow cases.
• Example: Simulating airflow over an aircraft wing can be completed in hours instead of days with HPC.

Siemens Simcenter STAR-CCM+

• Overview: A multiphysics CFD tool used in industries like automotive and aerospace for complex simulations.
• HPC Benefits:
  • Excellent parallel scaling across HPC clusters, handling large-scale models efficiently.
  • GPU support for certain solvers speeds up computations, such as turbulent flow analysis.
• Example: A car aerodynamics simulation with millions of elements runs significantly faster on an HPC cluster.

OpenFOAM

• Overview: An open-source CFD platform customizable for academic and industrial applications, such as wind turbine flow or urban airflow studies.
• HPC Benefits:
  • Designed for HPC environments, scaling across multiple nodes and cores.
  • Parallelization reduces time for iterative simulations, though it lacks native GPU support out of the box.
• Example: A large-scale simulation of ocean currents can be processed quickly with an HPC setup.

How HPC Enhances Structural Analysis Software

Structural analysis software uses finite element analysis (FEA) and other methods to evaluate stress, vibration, and deformation in structures. HPC improves performance in these tools:

ANSYS Mechanical

• Overview: A powerful FEA tool for simulating structural behavior in applications like machinery, bridges, and aerospace components.
• HPC Benefits:
  • Distributed computing across HPC clusters accelerates large models with millions of elements.
  • Parallel solvers reduce computation time for complex analyses like nonlinear stress or dynamic simulations.
• Example: Stress analysis of an entire aircraft structure completes faster with HPC resources.

Abaqus

• Overview: Known for nonlinear FEA, used in crash testing, material fatigue, and other advanced structural simulations.
• HPC Benefits:
  • Scales efficiently on HPC systems, leveraging multiple CPUs for parallel processing.
  • Optimized for large datasets, speeding up simulations of detailed assemblies.
• Example: A car crash simulation with intricate material models runs quicker on an HPC cluster.

COMSOL Multiphysics

• Overview: A multiphysics platform excelling in structural analysis, often coupled with other physics like fluid-structure interaction.
• HPC Benefits:
  • Parallel computing support reduces time for multiphysics simulations across HPC nodes.
  • Efficient handling of coupled equations benefits from increased CPU and RAM capacity.
• Example: Simulating a bridge under wind and structural loads is faster with HPC optimization.

Key Hardware Components Driving HPC Performance

HPC’s impact on simulation speed stems from advanced hardware:

• CPU: More cores and higher clock speeds enable parallel processing, critical for solving equations in CFD and FEA.
• GPU: Accelerates parallel tasks (e.g., matrix operations), with software like ANSYS Fluent and STAR-CCM+ benefiting significantly.
• RAM: Large, fast memory supports complex models, preventing slowdowns from insufficient capacity.
• Storage: NVMe SSDs speed up data I/O for iterative simulations and large result files.

Software Optimization: The HPC Advantage

Beyond hardware, software must be optimized to leverage HPC:

• Parallelization: Tools like OpenFOAM and ANSYS Mechanical split tasks across cores or nodes, maximizing efficiency.
• GPU Utilization: Fluent and Abaqus use GPUs for specific workloads, enhancing speed.
• Scalability: STAR-CCM+ and COMSOL scale seamlessly across HPC clusters, handling larger models faster.

Why Invest in Better HPC?

• Speed: Simulations that once took days can finish in hours, accelerating design cycles.
• Accuracy: HPC supports larger, more detailed models for better results.
• Innovation: Faster iterations enable more experimentation, driving breakthroughs in engineering and research.

Conclusion

Better HPC transforms numerical simulation software by delivering faster results in CFD and structural analysis. Tools like ANSYS Fluent, Siemens Simcenter STAR-CCM+, and OpenFOAM for CFD, and ANSYS Mechanical, Abaqus, and COMSOL Multiphysics for structural analysis, showcase how advanced hardware and software optimization reduce simulation times. By investing in HPC, engineers and researchers can tackle complex challenges more efficiently, paving the way for innovation and superior designs.