Serving the Numerical Simulation community since 1989
ESRD’s flagship software product, StressCheck®, is an advanced FEA tool having numerous unique technical capabilities and inherent structure to support verification and validation (V & V).
Our Simulation Technology
It is the first and so far only FEA software product designed to support Simulation Governance and V & V.
FEA + Simulation Governance = Verifiable Solutions
We take V&V and Simulation Governance seriously.
Our verifiable solutions are made possible by implementing the requirements of Simulation Governance. Simulation Governance controls and standardizes the simulation process much like Corporate Governance controls and standardizes the functioning of a corporation.
The yardstick that measures successful implementation of Simulation Governance is validation of the model and verification of the solution. As these terms can be misused in practice, the Dictionary & Terms glossary was developed to help us speak the same technical language.
Our Approach to Numerical Simulation
StressCheck®‘s Simulation Technology, or Sim Tech, is based on higher-order hierarchic finite element technology, the result of decades of R&D on numerical simulation advancements.
StressCheck®‘s engine has inherent differentiators which support verification and validation of FEA solutions.
We keep our element library simple, our solutions hierarchic and our post-processing unrestricted.
How We Benchmark
How can you tell if your current FEA code can guarantee reliability? If you submit a result to management and you can tell them that the margin of error for your prediction is within, say, 2% and you can back it up, then you are using a code that guarantees reliability.
Without verification, benchmarking is moot. We only benchmark with verified FEA results.
Learn MoreWhat Powers Our Simulation Technology
StressCheck® Professional is based on the p-version finite element method. Because the p-version is a more comprehensive implementation of the finite element method than the more traditional h-version, StressCheck® Professional can be operated in both the “h-mode” (least efficient) and “hp-mode” (most efficient).
Additionally, higher-order (p-version) FEA converges at least twice as fast as the lower-order (h-version, what other FEA codes typically have). Use fewer degrees of freedom to get higher solution quality. But it gets even better: with proper meshing the error of approximation decreases exponentially. A problem that takes hours to solve with a traditional h-code will only take minutes with StressCheck®.
Also, StressCheck® is the only FEA program in existence today which was designed for controlling both the errors of discretization and idealization.
- The errors of discretization are the errors controllable by the finite element mesh and the polynomial degree (h- or p-extensions).
- The errors of idealization are the errors associated with the restrictions incorporated in mathematical model.
This allows StressCheck® to support numerical simulation like no other FEA product.
Key Benefits of Our Simulation Technology
Convergence
What supporting evidence does the analyst have that he converged to the right solution?
Using traditional FEA codes the analyst is forced to refine the mesh in areas of interest, rerun the solution, and compare two or three solutions to check for convergence.
With StressCheck® the analyst creates one mesh, runs an automatic sequence of solutions of increasing polynomial orders, and reviews supporting evidence that he has converged to the right solution.
Validate the model. Verify the solution. Back it up with the solution set. If your analyst doesn’t have the right tool, he can’t guarantee reliability or is spending way to much time trying to.
Superconvergent extractions increase the speed to arrive at a more accurate prediction for, say, stress intensity factors or energy release rates.
Mesh Independence and Hierarchic Modeling
In StressCheck® the modeling errors are treated separately from the errors of approximation so that the analyst can validate the model and verify the result independently.
Other FEA programs typically have hundreds of elements where StressCheck® would have just one. To us a quadrilateral is a quadrilateral; why would you need more than one?
StressCheck® treats the attributes of the element separately from the topology of the element unlike any other code. Switching between heat transfer and elasticity, for example, does not require changing elements or remeshing.
That’s what we call hierarchic modeling. With hierarchic modeling our formula is simple:
1 Mesh + 1 Mapping + 8 Polynomial orders = Guaranteed Reliability
Standardization
As managers are promoted or re-assigned and as experienced engineers retire or leave for other opportunities they take with them valuable assets of the corporation: experience and know-how forged from countless design changes and analyses. These intellectual assets can be preserved and re-purposed with the CAE Handbook powered by StressCheck®.
The proper application of numerical simulation procedures requires subject expertise and expertise in computational engineering that are not common or readily available.
However, it is possible to leverage both kinds of expertise through standardization of recurring analysis tasks just like handbooks and manuals have provided the expertise of specialists in applied mechanics to mechanical, aerospace, and structural engineers for decades.
The essential difference is that classical handbooks present results for parameterized problems solved by classical or empirical methods, whereas standardized CAE Handbook procedures rely on verified FEA solutions of parameterized models. This allows standardization of models that are of much greater complexity and focus to be treated as entries in a parameterized electronic handbook with guaranteed reliability.
Need More Information About Our Simulation Technology?
Click below for FAQ’s and Selected References about our Simulation Technology, Numerical Simulation, Finite Element Modeling, Mathematical Modeling, Simulation Governance and more.
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