Integrating CAD and analysis

– The cooperation between Jotne EPM Technology and SINTEF started with the EU-sponsored PRODEX- project ”Product Model Exchange Using STEP” (1992-1995) in the ESPRIT 3 program. SINTEF helped Jotne EPM Technology to be integrated as a partner in the project. Jochen Haenisch, now an employee of Jotne EPM Technology, was the project manager for the SINTEF activities in PRODEX in close cooperation with me, says Dr. Tor Dokken, Chief Scientist in the Geometry group of the Applied Mathematics Department in the SINTEF ICT Institute.

In the years following there have been a close contact between Jotne EPM Technology and SINTEF. SINTEF has been assisting Jotne EPM Technology to address challenges related to quality of geometry in STEP-models. The close contact identified a need for more basic research within CAD-quality to improve product data management and better integrate CAD-models in industrial processes. Discussions were started between Kjell Bengtsson and Dr. Dokken to establish such a project with support from the Research Council of Norway.

Parallel to this Trond Kvamsdal from SINTEF Applied Mathemtaics stayed half a year at the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Austin, Texas learning about iso-geometric analysis where NURBS-elements replace traditional FEM-elements in simulation systems. Tor Dokken points out that when returning to SINTEF Kvamsdal’s new knowledge was disseminated and triggered a further focus on the need for research within CAD-model quality. Iso-geometric representation and analysis has the potential of establishing a close integration between CAD and analysis, thus removing a tight and troublesome bottleneck in design optimization and reuse of previous design models and results.

The iso-geometry project, http://www.sintef.no/iso-geometry, is funded by the Research Council of Norway under the structure of Knowledge Based Projects within User Participations. Such projects are granted to research institutes or universities with at most 80% funding from the Research Council of Norway, at least 20% funding should come from industry. To increase the industrial basis of the project a number of Norwegian companies was approached for financial support. This resulted in Aker Solutions MH supporting the project in addition to Jotne EPM Technology.

– The main focus of the iso-geometry project is to address the challenges of the integration of CAD and analysis to open up for the use of isogeometric analysis in industry on the broad scale. As a successful integration is dependent on high quality CAD-models, the results of the LOTARproject are a natural starting point for the work in the iso-geometry project, Dokken answers when EXPRESSway asks about the LOTAR connection.