Release

PreonLab 6.2 Released

PreonLab now features a more advanced Full Car Suspension Model (FCSM), elevating the capabilities of the original Car Suspension Model (CSM). The FCSM calculates deflection forces for each wheel individually, factoring in not only fluid forces but also acceleration, deceleration, weight shift, and real road interaction. By shifting from an axle-based approach to a Full Car Suspension Model, this new model allows for more precise simulation that can be beneficial for fast water wading applications as well as to simulate driving on uneven terrain including slope change and road banking, where independent wheel movement is critical.

Rather than being “glued to the ground,” the tires interact with the ground depending on vehicle movement and road conditions. All relevant parameters including the vehicle’s velocity profile can be inputted in the GUI directly, without the need for an external script. Additionally, users will benefit from additional statistics for each wheel, leading to more insights into simulation results. 
The FCSM is designed to work seamlessly on both CPU and GPU, ensuring efficient performance regardless of the hardware setup.

Thermodynamics, multiphase, and snow solver have all undergone notable upgrades. 

• Thermodynamics: A new model-based approach enhances prediction accuracy while optimizing performance under computational constraints. This is further complemented by improvements to the heat flux boundary condition and the added ability to calculate bulk temperature within a fluid directly using the sensor plane.
• Multiphase: Enhancements to interface tension forces effectively minimize particle dispersion, resulting in stabilized fluid interfaces. These refinements will especially benefit multi-resolution scenes where Continuous Particle Size (CPS) is used. Additionally, updates to the CSS model aim to reduce dispersion and benefit simulations with high density ratios and high particle resolutions.
• Snow Solver: Upgrades to boundary handling address particle penetration issues and eliminate artificial momentum, resulting in more accurate snow behaviour. Enhanced force prediction capabilities further improve the precision of force measurements. Additionally, the new Lateral Adhesion Model for snow optimizes interactions in soiling scenarios, yielding better results for automotive and environmental applications.

PreonLab 6.2 introduces an experimental implementation of a linear elastic deformable solver specifically designed for simulating fluid-structure interactions (FSI). Our implementation is entirely based on the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) formulation and features two models: the Corotated Linear Elasticity model and the St. Venant-Kirchhoff model.

The unified SPH-based linear solver offers significant advantages, as it elegantly accounts for complex phenomena such as self-collisions, phase transitions, and multiphase fluids. The introduction of this elastic solver will not only enhance the maturity of existing applications but also unlock a variety of new possibilities. For instance, it paves the way for simulating the deformation of underbody panels, wiper blade deformations, and the tightness of doors and windows, as well as for conducting comprehensive sealing analysis.

Carreau-Yasuda Model for Non-Newtonian Fluids

We are thrilled to introduce the Carreau-Yasuda model which allows simulating a wider range of non-Newtonian fluids. This model is particularly useful for industries dealing with fluids that exhibit shear thinning or shear thickening behaviour. Whether it’s blood flow modeling, beverages, food products, or other industrial materials, this model expands your fluid simulation possibilities.

Calculation Objects

For some studies, it may be necessary to measure quantities that are derived as a combination of other quantities, e.g., the Reynolds number (determined by fluid density, fluid velocity, and fluid viscosity), the drag coefficient (determined by the force acting on the body, fluid density, and fluid velocity), and the power loss of gears (determined by gear RPM and resistive torque).
The latest version of PreonLab offers the capability to create custom statistics for such quantities in the scene with Calculation Objects. Instead of relying on external tools like Excel or Python scripts, users can now directly calculate and analyse these statistics within PreonLab. This feature streamlines the workflow, allowing for faster, more efficient computation of desired quantities, greatly improving overall usability for users.

PreonLab 6.2 also introduces a range of other additions, including GPU support for dynamic rigid bodies, improved pathlines, Q-criterion visualization and additional sensor statistics. For a complete overview of all changes, please refer to the changelog.

To learn more about the new features, have a look at the updated manual. We hope you will enjoy working with PreonLab 6.2 and are looking forward to your feedback.