Membrane Displacement Calculated by ixForten 4000
Model: courtesy of SobreSaliente Ltda,
Cp data source: Caedium Professional
By the time this is out, the next version of Caedium will be able to perform a CFD simulation of a tensile membrane structure and then export surface pressure coefficient (Cp) data for structural analysis in ixForten 4000. This exciting development will allow ixForten 4000 users to perform non-linear stress analysis to better determine membrane displacement with more precise wind pressure loads than previously available, leading to more cost efficient structures and supports.
As an example of the new capability, Gerry, first exported the original membrane, from ixForten 4000 using the Wavefront file format (.obj). Next Gerry imported the Wavefront geometry into Caedium, configured the flow volume and physics, and then ran the CFD simulation.
Caedium v4 Membrane CFD Simulation: Streamlines
Caedium v4 Membrane CFD Simulation: Surface Pressure Coefficient (Cp)
Next Gerry exported the Cp surface data and corresponding surface mesh from Caedium for import back into ixForten 4000.
Membrane Cp Displayed in ixForten 4000
As the final stage of the process, Gerry ran a non-linear structural analysis in ixForten 4000 using the Cp data as the boundary loads for the membrane. The results from the ixForten 4000 simulation are shown as displacement contours in the image at the top of this post.
The results have been quite encouraging and Now, the CFD module has slowly been integrated in the gold version of the software.