Aside from the group’s expertise in manufacturing and testing, the Group of Aeronautical Structures also has substantial knowledge in computational methods. Two types of computational procedures are frequently used by the group. The first involves numerical simulations via finite element analysis, and the second involves the post-processing of experimental data through Digital Image Correlation and data processing.
The group is equipped with a high-performance Dell® workstation used for numerical simulations. The computer features two Intel® Xeon® processors at 2.40GHz, providing a total of 32 processing cores (physical and virtual) for parallel simulations, 128GB of RAM, and four dedicated NVIDIA® GPUs of 4GB each. Additionally, three other dedicated computers are used to gather mechanical testing data from the universal testing machine, data from dynamic tests, and to manage the control system of the kiln.
The main computational tool used by the group is the finite element software Abaqus®, which is widely used in both academia and industry. A wide range of applications are employed, including Modal Analyses, Impact Simulations, Homogenization Procedures, Cohesive Models, Contact, Piezoelectric Phenomena, High Order Plate Theories, and more. The group also has expertise in developing subroutines linked to the Abaqus solver, such as UMAT, VUMAT, UEL, and VUEL. These subroutines are written in FORTRAN® and extend the software’s capabilities to meet the group’s specific needs. By using these subroutines, the group can develop its own material models, finite elements, and overcome many of the limitations inherent to Abaqus®.
Another widely used feature by the group, linked to Abaqus®, is Python scripting. This allows for the automation of the entire analysis procedure, making it very easy to vary any feature of the analysis, which is crucial in sensitivity analysis. Additionally, scripting allows for easy access to external mathematical libraries and other software, such as Matlab®.
Besides the use of Abaqus®, the members of the group are also encouraged to develop in-house softwares in any programming language.