Why Simerics CFD Software

“Simerics-MP has enabled our engineering team to accurately simulate performance of GenShock and its internal design features. It is delivering more accurate results for our hydraulic pump and valve modeling efforts than previous CFD packages we have utilized, saving us time and money. A couple data points: our latest generation GenShock demonstrated empirical performance within 1.7% of our un-calibrated predictions. The ability to accurately simulate design features enabled us to rapidly hone in on design enhancements, delivering a 3x improvement in system efficiency over the previous generation. ”

We acquired Simerics-MP in order to examine a cavitation damage issue in one of our pumps. We were able to witness a correlation using the cavitation intensity model and the location of our actual damage. We examined several pump hardware changes and witnessed a reduction of calculated intensity with a reduction or elimination of actual damage. The new geometry configurations were easily imported and set up to run within one hour. Trends in the solution were apparent within a few hours of run time while converged solutions at cavitation conditions would normally take an overnight run. The tutorial was sufficient to get us started and requests for support and advice on improving our modeling techniques were quick and succinct. Streamline visualizations revealed fluid paths that we had only dreamed of or never imagined. Rapid turnaround of proposed modifications prevented us from building hardware that was unlikely to solve our problems. The use of Simerics-MP has validated the solution to our cavitation issue and provided us with a greater understanding of the dynamic fluid stresses within our pumps.

I’m pleased to let you know that CFD engineers in my section at Transmission & Driveline Engineering (TDE), Ford Motor Company have been successfully using the CFD package, Simerics-MP+, developed by your company to support the transmission oil pump design and release. We found that Simerics-MP+ is easy to-use, fast, and very robust in creating pump virtual models to predict the flow performance exhibited in gerotor and vane pumps. The applications of Simerics-MP+ have effectively helped us eliminate many technical bottlenecks and increase our analysis throughput. We are thrilled about the opportunity to support our engineering team to investigate more design alternatives and sort out potential design weaknesses analytically. I can see that in a shorter term, the final design of our pumps will be more robust, the concept decision will be made faster in response to system demands. In a longer term, I expect that we will be able to translate many innovative ideas of pump designs to positive customer perception of the superiority of our vehicles’ NVH quality.

I just wanted to let you know how pleased I have been with the Simerics-MP+ CFD code. I’ve been using the code now for about 6 months to provide fluid flow and heat transfer analysis for my primary client, and this tool has exceeded my expectations. Although originally designed for pump analysis, I have found the code to be exceptionally well suited for the analysis of valves, which in my case included the accommodation of cryogenic fluids and multi-phase flow. Having used other CFD codes in the past, I was expecting a steep learning curve and a lot of down time to be able to get the results I needed. Instead, I found Simerics-MP+ to be easy to use, well thought-out, robust, and fast. In addition, I have found the technical support from Simerics to be superb. My questions and difficulties were answered quickly and effectively, usually the same day. This turned out be especially important for the analysis I was doing, which required considerable interaction with the client. The overall capability and utility of Simerics-MP+ has allowed we to provide excellent analytic support to my clients, and I plan on using this code as my primary CFD tool.

In designing a pump targeted to the mining and dairy slurry industries, we learned that more radical designs, such as a very high head, two vane impeller, absolutely require a transient analysis in order to produce accurate results. The speed of Simerics-MP+ enabled us to perform full transient simulations over-night, with the result that original design point was achieved and bettered by about 15 feet, and the efficiency was around the anticipated 78%. By comparison, the steady-state predictions, which can only approximate the effects of dynamic pulsations, were well off the mark. Had we made the decision to go with either of the other two CFD packages we looked at transient simulations would have not been feasible, and, as the designer, I would still be in a funk and scratching my head. What I hope is that, during your sales efforts for this software, you will share this anecdote and stress, while it works much of the time, a steady-state analysis, alone, might very well leave a designer scratching his head!

There are many CFD tools to choose from; however, there is no doubt that Simerics-MP+ is the perfect CFD tool for multiple automotive applications. Hyundai successfully uses Simerics-MP+ for the analysis of cavitation and pressure fluctuation in its fluid power systems, and specifically, its pumps and valves. Simerics-MP+ is impressive because it is able to simulate transient fluid dynamic effects for automotive pumps; plus, I am very satisfied with the cavitation modeling capabilities of Simerics-MP+. It is uniquely suited to deal with very small gaps where cavitation can occur. I look forward to utilizing Simerics-MP+ even more in the future as new developments are released.

The Powertrain Control Research Laboratory (PCRL) is a research group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. We are using Simerics-MP to evaluate preliminary changes to new hydraulic pump designs for a unique high-speed application. This software allows us to identify the most promising changes, given our goals. Simerics-MP clearly indicated the cavitation and pressure effects of numerous modifications to the pump housing and gears. Development utilizing simulations decreases the design time by negating the need to test each design via a prototype thus severely limiting the required time. Each prototype that is not required for testing eliminates approximately $2,000 toward the development cost. The GUI is simple to use and a single general approach is required to apply a proper mesh and the appropriate set-up parameters. The time required to set up a simulation is approximately 30 minutes. The support provided by Simerics is excellent, top notch, professional, and prompt.

Simerics-MP for me has surpassed all expectations: 3D model preparation – 2 hours maximum, 1 hour on average. No problems with mesh creation – always created and there are no errors in the calculations because of the quality of the grid. Calculation of the first characteristic point is no more than 10-30 minutes, which is 10-30 times faster than our main program. Accuracy of the calculation for the pressure and for the efficiency in the range of 1% to 3% max (in the operating range of feeds, and for one pump and throughout the feature). To sum up the total: a great program for the engineer; quick and easy; Overall evaluation of 9 out of 10 (with 10 being a perfect virtual [Score])

Magna Powertrain, Engine Technologies Group, Concord Ontario acquired the simulation software Simerics-MP+ in 2006 to support its oil pump development team whose main responsibility is the design of gerotor and vane pumps. The team has proved that the code provides accurate results with the pre-processing/setting time reduced to as low as two hours using the Simerics-MP+ templates and the automatic mesh generator. Simulations were performed in a short period of time which allowed us to compare three or four design options back to back and to make the best possible decision before building the prototypes. Simerics-MP+ was very useful in addressing issues related to cavitation discovered in the first stage design. The cavitation was either eliminated or reduced to a minimum in the second stage design. Overall, Simerics-MP+ has proved to be a very useful, user-friendly tool designed especially for pump designers to help them make the best possible design decisions to meet or exceed the customer expectations.