Production-level implementation of SDM for an Automotive OEM Crash/Safety Team

In today’s CAE simulations, complex structures that consist of several sub-assemblies are handled with the aid of “include files”. This technology enables the subdivision of a complete simulation model in smaller units, each being an individual solver keyword file, and the reassembly of the complete model by the solver during the simulation. The big advantage of this working method is that different simulation engineers can focus on certain areas of interest and only update the keyword files concerned. Provided that certain rules are followed during these updates, the integrity of the complete model is maintained. Simulation model handling with include files is the industry standard for crash and safety teams that usually deal with highly complex models of fine resolution and a big number of simulated loading conditions and regulations. Still, despite of the benefits offered by the modularization of the model with the aid of includes, there are still important challenges that hinder the efficiency and performance of crash and safety teams. First is the lack of traceability. With the file-system storage of data, there’s no actual link between the CAD model used, the input files and the results of a simulation. Scaling this up to the few thousands of simulations conducted by each team for each program and release makes it very hard, even for highly skilled engineers, to do the right associations. Second, it’s the lack of documentation. What was the model origin? Who updated the materials and why? Which loadcase parameters were used? Which are the differences between these two versions of the simulation? Which run is the final run? Last, it’s the limited adaptability to the evolving needs of product development. Simulation engineers have a hard time keeping up with the growing number of model and loadcase variants with traditional tools. Furthermore, lead time reduction targets render the need for synergies and collaboration between engineering teams more than necessary. In this work we discuss how the implementation of a file-based simulation data management solution helped the crash and safety teams of an automotive OEM address these issues and reach their goals for improved efficiency and better quality of deliverables. Key-takeaways from this activity are presented, together with the future plan for scaling the solution to Enterprise-level.