PNNL-13501 - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Study Control Number: PN00093/1500
Virtual Modeling and Simulation Environment
David A. Thurman, Kristine M. Terrones, Alan R. Chappel
The shift in the automotive industry toward lightweight materials, such as aluminum and magnesium, requires the
development of new metal forming, joining, and assembly methods. Accurate and efficient analysis of these process
histories, using the finite element method, is necessary to ensure that forming processes are within material forming
process limits, and that the vehicle satisfies crashworthiness standards. Successful development of a virtual modeling and
simulation capability will lead to the increased use of lightweight materials in transportation systems—resulting in
significant energy savings.
Project Description
This research project developed a prototype virtual
environment to support collaborative manufacturing
design. This research developed the Virtual Modeling
and Simulation Environment (VMSE), in which
multistage processing history can be reviewed, annotated,
and modified by manufacturing designers. We took
advantage of the finite element common data format, data
transformation, and model remeshing and remapping
tools produced earlier under the Integrated Modeling and
Simulation project.
Using a combination of open source software, publicly
available Web-browser plug-ins, and locally developed
software applications, we developed a virtual
environment in which automotive engineers can
collaboratively review the results of multistage finite
element modeling and simulation. The virtual
environment enables design engineers to view results
produced by traditional finite element codes (MARC,
Abaqus, PAM-STAMP), even when they do not have
access to the codes themselves, to collaborate with other
engineers, and to see how steps in a multistage modeling
and simulation process contribute to differences in the end
result. The virtual environment gathers critical processing
history, or “data pedigree” information, and attaches it to
modeling results, ensuring that an accurate lineage of the
modeling and simulation effort is kept throughout the
entire multistage process.
Introduction
The Virtual Modeling and Simulation Environment
project is focused on a problem experienced by research
engineers who use finite element analysis software in
their daily work, particularly those engaged in multistep
modeling and simulation that involves the use of multiple
commercial finite element analysis packages. As shown
192 FY 2000 Laboratory Directed Research and Development Annual Report
in Figure 1, an example of this approach is the application
of multiple analysis codes to the automotive
manufacturing problem of forming a structural assembly,
welding two or more assemblies together, and then
assessing their performance in a crash simulation. The
basic problem is that the commercial finite element
analysis products each use proprietary file formats, and
few are compatible with the others. Thus, engineers who
do not have access to the application in which a
simulation was carried out cannot review the results,
greatly hampering efforts at collaboration. The Virtual
Modeling and Simulation Environment project is focused
on producing an environment that will not only facilitate
the viewing of modeling results regardless of the
commercial tool in which they were produced, but also
support the collection, viewing, and annotation of
processing history or data pedigree information in
multistep simulation efforts.
CAD
Model
Approach
Forming Remeshing Welding Remeshing
Data transformations not
supported by FE codes.
Crash
Sim ulation
Final
Result
Figure 1. Illustration of multistep modeling and simulation
process and critical data transformation steps that are not
supported by commercial finite element software
applications
The initial approach focused on using the Virtual
Playground, a collaborative environment test bed
developed at this Laboratory in cooperation with the
University of Washington, as the baseline environment.
The plan was to develop “plug-ins” that enabled
commercial finite element software applications to be
used within the Virtual Playground environment. This
approach was abandoned, however, after analysis showed