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Physical Sciences & Engineering

CFD (fluids), FEA (structures), multibody dynamics, acoustics, astrophysics

36 articles

News

MathWorks R2026a: Simulink Copilot, Agentic Toolkits, and FMU Builder Transform Model-Based Design

MathWorks has released MATLAB and Simulink R2026a, introducing Simulink Copilot for AI-grounded model assistance, the MATLAB and Simulink Agentic Toolkits for autonomous agent-driven workflows via MCP, and the new Simulink FMU Builder for streamlined model exchange. The release marks a significant step toward AI-native simulation environments for embedded systems and control design.

By Jeff 25 views
News

SimScale Launches Engineering AI Agents and Open Workflows Platform for Autonomous Simulation Orchestration

SimScale has opened its Engineering AI agents to all enterprise teams and launched SimScale Workflows, an open platform architecture enabling any solver or custom method to be integrated natively. Together, these releases enable fully autonomous, end-to-end simulation pipelines where AI agents manage the entire engineering process — from CAD preparation to validated reporting — without human handoffs.

By Jeff 71 views
News

AVL Simulation Suite 2025 R2: GPU-Accelerated Battery Safety, Hydrogen Electrolyzer Modeling, and AI-Driven Design Exploration

AVL has released its Simulation Suite 2025 R2, introducing GPU-accelerated battery thermal runaway simulation in FIRE M, a new PEM electrolyzer generator in CRUISE M for hydrogen system modeling, and AI-driven design exploration tools. The update targets electrification and sustainable propulsion development with enhanced fidelity and workflow automation.

By Jeff 66 views
News

MathWorks Launches MATLAB Copilot and Redesigned Desktop in 2025a Release

MathWorks has released MATLAB and Simulink 2025a, introducing MATLAB Copilot—a generative AI assistant for code generation, debugging, and test automation—alongside a fully redesigned desktop environment. The release also delivers major Simulink enhancements including a Python Code Block, local solvers for model references, and a new Simulink Scope, making it one of the most feature-rich updates to the platform in recent years.

By Jeff 80 views
Article

MSC Nastran SOL 200: Gradient-Based Design Optimization for Structural Engineers

MSC Nastran SOL 200 is the integrated gradient-based design optimization solver, coupling finite element analysis with mathematical programming to automatically find the optimal structural configuration that satisfies engineering constraints. This article covers design variables, responses, constraints, and objective functions, along with practical workflow guidance for wing rib thickness optimization and multi-disciplinary structural optimization across static, modal, and buckling subcases.

By Jeff 44 views
Article

SimScale Lattice Boltzmann Method: High-Fidelity External Aerodynamics at Cloud Scale

SimScale cloud-native Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) solver delivers wind-tunnel-quality external aerodynamics simulation without the geometry preparation burden of traditional CFD. Using a Very Large Eddy Simulation (VLES) turbulence closure on a hierarchical Cartesian lattice, it achieves drag coefficient predictions within 1-3% of wind tunnel measurements while natively coupling aeroacoustic analysis. This article covers LBM theory, SimScale setup best practices, Variable Resolution Region configuration, and a head-to-head comparison with RANS-based solvers for automotive and building wind applications.

By Jeff 44 views
Article

ANSYS Mechanical: Mastering Contact Mechanics for Nonlinear Structural Simulations

Contact mechanics is one of the most numerically demanding aspects of FEA. This article covers ANSYS Mechanical's contact formulations—Pure Penalty, Augmented Lagrangian, Lagrange Multiplier, and MPC—along with friction modeling, normal stiffness tuning, convergence best practices, and post-processing of contact results for bolted joints and press-fit assemblies.

By Jeff 49 views
News

COMSOL Multiphysics 6.4 Delivers 5x GPU Speedup, New Granular Flow Module, and LLM-Assisted Simulation

COMSOL releases version 6.4 of its flagship multiphysics simulation platform, featuring NVIDIA cuDSS GPU acceleration delivering 5x speedups, a new DEM-based Granular Flow Module for pharmaceutical and chemical processing applications, a time-explicit dynamic analysis framework for impact and crash simulations, and optional LLM-assisted simulation via GPT-5, DeepSeek, and Google Gemini.

By Jeff 188 views
Article

LS-DYNA Implicit Solver: Best Practices for Nonlinear Structural Analysis

LS-DYNA's implicit solver is a powerful but often overlooked complement to its explicit dynamics engine. This article covers configuration strategies, Newton-Raphson convergence tuning, contact formulations, and adaptive time stepping for quasi-static, springback, and eigenvalue analyses.

By Jeff 91 views
News

Neuromorphic Computing Breakthrough: Brain-Inspired Chips Solve Complex Physics Equations with Unprecedented Energy Efficiency

Sandia National Laboratories researchers have developed the NeuroFEM algorithm, enabling neuromorphic computers to solve partial differential equations with a fraction of the energy required by traditional supercomputers. This breakthrough could revolutionize high-performance computing for climate modeling, aerospace simulations, and national security applications.

By Jeff 81 views
News

Ansys 2025 R2 Introduces AI Engineering Copilot for Intelligent Simulation Workflows

Ansys releases its 2025 R2 software update featuring the Engineering Copilot, an AI-driven virtual assistant that provides real-time guidance and enables physics-based simulations up to 1000x faster than traditional methods. The release integrates AI capabilities across the entire Ansys portfolio, democratizing advanced simulation for engineers.

By Jeff 114 views
News

Altair HyperWorks 2026 Delivers AI-Powered Simulation at Enterprise Scale

Altair's HyperWorks 2026 release introduces geometric deep learning, GPU-accelerated reduced order modeling, and integrated multiphysics capabilities, enabling engineers to achieve simulation results up to 1,000 times faster than traditional methods while managing complex assemblies at enterprise scale.

By Jeff 96 views