See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/326979187

A Coupled CFD-FEM Analysis to Simulate Blast Effects on High Security Vehicles

Using Modern Hydrocodes

Conference Paper · August 2017

CITATIONS READS

0 170

3 authors, including:

Hendrik Rothe
Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg
61 PUBLICATIONS   224 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Defence Systems View project

Defense Technology View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Burghard Hillig on 11 August 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

SIMUL 2017 : The Ninth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation

A Coupled CFD-FEM Analysis to Simulate Blast Effects on High Security Vehicles

Using Modern Hydrocodes

Arash Ramezani, Burghard Hillig, Hendrik Rothe

Chair of Measurement and Information Technology
University of the Federal Armed Forces
Hamburg, Germany
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract—The present time is shaped by a variety of religious, for the efficient use of the simulation tools. This has been
political and military conflicts. In times of asymmetric warfare established as a standard in the automotive industry, so that
and constantly changing sources of danger from terrorist almost every part of a vehicle can be constructed by using
attacks and other violence based crimes, the personal need for CAD. These complete and realistic vehicle models can be
protection continues to rise. Aside from military applications,
analyzed virtually by available simulation software.
there is a large area for the use of high security vehicles.
Outwardly almost indistinguishable from the basic vehicles, The two leading software providers for CFD / FEM
security vehicles are used for protecting heads of state, as well calculations are ANSYS (Canonsburg, USA) and Abaqus
as individuals. To remain state of the art it is necessary for FEA from Dassault Systèmes (Vélizy-Villacoublay,
security vehicles to permanently continue to develop protection France). Although both providers offer software with
against modern weapons and ammunition types. It is similar features available, their performance is characterized
enormously cost intensive to check any new technology by by different spreads and focuses. For example, Abaqus and
firing or blasting of real vehicles. Therefore, more and more CATIA, a CAD software, which is also distributed by
calculations of new security concepts and materials are carried Dassault Systèmes, is predominantly used by the automotive
out by numerical computer simulations. However, product
industry and provides excellent opportunities for the
simulation is often being performed by engineering groups
using niche simulation tools from different vendors to simulate simulation and modelling of complete vehicles. This
various design attributes. The use of multiple vendor software includes screwed and adhesive connections. On the other
products creates inefficiencies and increases costs. This paper hand, ANSYS offers a wide range of sophisticated
will present the analysis and development of an interface simulation capabilities in the field of CFD, which includes
between the most common Computer Aided Engineering the modelling and simulation of explosive detonations and
(CAE) applications ANSYS Autodyn and Abaqus to exploit the the subsequent propagation of shock waves. The different
advantages of both systems for the simulation of blast effects. focuses of the performance of ANSYS and Abaqus yield to
a mixed, demand-based use of the software in the research
Keywords-CFD-FEM coupling methods; fully automatic
structure analysis; high-performance computing techniques;
and development area, so that different software is used
blast loading; vehicle structures. even within the same company on the same project in
different areas of activity. This circumstance is amplified by
I. INTRODUCTION the fact that product simulations are performed by
Since the 1960’s, the simulation of physical processes engineering groups using niche simulation tools from
has been a steadily growing and integral part of CAE. different vendors to simulate various design attributes.
Especially, the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Unfortunately the leading software providers avoid the
the discretization of complex models using the Finite effective interaction of their simulation tools due to mutual
Element Method (FEM) have made an impressive competition. This complicates the development effort and
development from individual highly specialized applications results in longer development times in research and
to the standard of industrial product development. This industry.
process was supported by the progressive development of Particularly, in the area of armored security vehicles, it
increasingly powerful and less expensive computer is necessary to remain state of the art and to constantly
hardware. Together with specialized software, a triumph of consider the ongoing development of modern weapon and
the simulation of physical processes in everyday technical ammunition types. Experimental tests of the harmful effects
work has emerged. Positive effects due to the use of of new technologies by blast or impact is associated with
simulation tools have been shorter development times, enormous time and financial costs.
lower production costs, more innovative products, improved In order to exploit the full potential of ANSYS and
security and higher quality. The previous modelling of Abaqus, we have developed an interface between these two
components and objects of the real world by Computer software platforms [1]. This interface allows an iterative
Aided Design (CAD) software is an important prerequisite transfer of the blast simulation of ANSYS to the structural

Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-61208-594-4 74

SIMUL 2017 : The Ninth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation

mechanic solver of Abaqus, which simulates the effects on work is experimental and may cause tremendous expenses.
the vehicle model and vice versa. Analytical approaches are possible if the geometries
This paper reports on the development of this interface involved are relatively simple and if the loading can be
between ANSYS and Abaqus, which will enable combining described through boundary conditions, initial conditions, or
the strengths of the two leading software providers with the a combination of the two. Numerical solutions are far more
aim of generating synergies that result in short development general in scope and remove any difficulties associated with
times and lower costs. geometry [3].
After a brief introduction and description of the different For structures under shock and impact loading,
methods of space discretization in Section III, there is a numerical simulations have proven to be extremely useful.
short section on ballistic trials where the experimental set- They provide a rapid and less expensive way to evaluate
up is depicted, followed by Section V describing the new design ideas. Numerical simulations can supply
analysis with numerical simulations. The paper ends with a quantitative and accurate details of stress, strain, and
concluding paragraph in Section VI. deformation fields that would be very expensive or difficult
to reproduce experimentally. In these numerical simulations,
II. STATE-OF-THE-ART the partial differential equations governing the basic
A first step in developing an interface between ANSYS physical principles of conservation of mass, momentum,
and Abaqus has already been reported in [1]. The developed and energy are employed. The equations to be solved are
interface allows accessing a set of data and passing them to time-dependent and nonlinear in nature. These equations,
Abaqus. Python was used as a programming language. together with constitutive models describing material
ANSYS provides the data records for the interface as .txt behavior and a set of initial and boundary conditions, define
files. These files contain data points with Cartesian the complete system for shock and impact simulations.
coordinates, which describe the propagation of shock waves The governing partial differential equations need to be
after blasting. The interface takes this data and splits it into solved in both time and space domains. The solution over
separate information. In a further step, the data is stored in a the time domain can be achieved by an explicit method. In
list, linked with the corresponding time points, pressure data the explicit method, the solution at a given point in time is
and coordinates. It is also possible to use a set of data and to expressed as a function of the system variables and
interpolate between the time points to produce a larger data parameters, with no requirements for stiffness and mass
set. After the data has been written and saved in a linked matrices. Thus, the computing time at each time step is short
form, the interface retrieves the CAD model. Subsequently, but may require numerous time steps for a complete
the explosion data can be projected onto a selectable surface solution. The solution for the space domain can be obtained
of the model. Then, an iterative loop realizes the coupling utilizing different spatial discretization, such as Lagrange
between CFD and FEM simulations. This approach for a [4], Euler [5], Arbitrary Lagrange Euler (ALE) [6], or mesh
coupled CFD-FEM analysis is called “strong coupling.” In free methods [7]. Each of these techniques has its unique
another approach, the “semi-strong coupling,” a smaller capabilities, but also limitations. Usually, there is not a
amount of data is used and mathematically interpolated for a single technique that can cope with all the regimes of a
sufficient approximation. The third concept is a “weak problem [8]. The crucial factor is the grid that causes
coupling” solution. Here, neural networks and deep learning different outcomes. More details are discussed in Section
can be used to replicate blast effects on different vehicle IV.
structures. Until now, the basic functionality of the interface Due to the fact that all engineering simulations are
could be validated on different models, including the model based on geometry to represent the design, the target and all
of a safety vehicle. its components are simulated as CAD models. Real-world
engineering commonly involves the analysis and design of
III. FUNDAMENTALS OF SIMULATION complicated geometry. These types of analysis depend
In the security sector, the partly insufficient safety of critically on having a modeling tool with a robust geometry
people and equipment due to failure of industrial import capability in conjunction with advanced, easy-to-use
components are ongoing problems that cause great concern. mesh generation algorithms [9]. It often is necessary to
Since computers and software have spread into all fields of combine different simulation and modeling techniques from
industry, extensive efforts are currently being made in order various CAE applications. However, this fact can lead to
to improve the safety by applying certain computer-based major difficulties, especially in terms of data loss and
solutions. To deal with problems involving the release of a computational effort. Particularly the leading software
large amount of energy over a very short period of time, providers prevent an interaction of their tools with
e.g., explosions and impacts, there are three approaches, competing products. But to analyze blast loading and its
which are discussed in [2]. effects on vehicle structures, different CAE tools are
As the problems are highly non-linear and require needed. Therefore, it is important that an interface is
information regarding material behavior at ultra-high provided that allows a robust interaction between various
loading rates, which are generally not available, most of the applications. Using a CAD neutral environment that

Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-61208-594-4 75

SIMUL 2017 : The Ninth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation

supports direct, bidirectional and associative interfaces with Even complicated geometries can be formed with these
CAE systems, the geometry can be optimized successively elements. Each FEM element has a certain number of nodes,
and analysis can be performed without loss of data [10]. which are located at its corners and have known spatial
coordinates. The displacement of these nodes represents the
IV. MATERIALS AND METHODS unknowns of the partial differential equations to be solved.
Various approaches are possible when it comes to There are multiple, different spatial discretization methods
solving problems that involve the release of large amounts related to FEM, such as Lagrange, Euler, Arbitrary
of energy in very short periods of time, which then Lagrange Euler (ALE) or mesh free methods. Each of these
methods can be used independently, but some specific
propagate as shock waves or act as impact on structures.
problems need a combination of different discretization
Analytical solutions offer a very powerful way to describe methods.
such a process. Unfortunately, their applicability is
1) Lagrange
restricted to problems with simple geometries and few The Lagrange method divides an object into a spatial grid
boundary and initial conditions. In contrast, numerical where the grid is fixed to the object and moves with it. The
simulations offer much more general applications with material components within an element do not change. If
complex structures and feasible solutions. forces are acting on a node, it is displaced, and thus the
The underlying physical model of numerical forces are transmitted to its neighboring nodes, similar to a
simulations is provided by physical conservation laws, the spring-mass system. This results in deformations of the grid.
equation of state and the constitutive model. Partial The nodes of the edge elements of an object remain
differential equations for the conservation of energy, unchanged so that the boundary and interface conditions can
momentum, and mass form the physical conservation laws. be easily applied. Clear material boundaries are also
Furthermore, the equation of state combines the internal available so that space outside the material does not require
energy or temperature and the density or volume of a an extra grid and therefore the conservation of mass is
material with the pressure. As a result, changes in the automatically satisfied. Figure 1 shows two objects with its
density and irreversible thermodynamic processes such as mesh as an example of the Lagrange method. Two objects
shock-like heating can be considered. In addition, the consisting of different materials represented by the colors
constitutive model includes the influence of the material to blue and green before (left side) and after impact (right side).
be simulated and describes the effect of deformation, i.e. The green object has an initial velocity in the direction of the
changes in shape and material strength properties. blue object. The right side of the figure shows the
Together, these equations form a set of coupled, time- discretization dependent deformation after the impact with
the Lagrange solver. The mesh is bound to the objects and
and location-dependent, highly non-linear equations, which
divides them into multiple elements. After an impact the
can be solved by computer calculations. The governing objects deform due to the deformation of the elements. A
partial differential equations need to be solved in both time weak point of the Lagrange method is a strong distortion of
and space domains. The solution over the time domain can the mesh in heavily loaded regions, as shown in Figure 1. in
be obtained by an explicit method, which is an iterative the area adjacent to the green and blue object. In general, the
method and leads to a step by step solution in the time Lagrange method is best suited for complex geometries and
domain. Software for numerical simulation of shock and structures, projectiles and other solids. A disadvantage of
impact processes is called a hydrocode [11]. Lagrange is the occurrence of strong distortions of mesh
element at high loads. Such a distorted element can adversely
A. Methods of Space Discretization
affect the temporal solution of the simulation since the time
All existing structural dynamics and wave propagation step is proportional to the size of the smallest element.
codes obtain solutions to the Differential Equations (DEs)
governing the field by solving an analogous set of algebraic
equations. The governing DEs are not solved directly,
because currently only a handful of closed-form solutions
for DEs are available. The equations of structural dynamics,
being a coupled set of rate equations, which account for the
effects of severe gradients in stress, strain and deformation,
material behavior ranging from solid to fluid to gas,
temperatures from room temperature to melt temperature are
highly nonlinear and do not lend themselves to closed-form
solutions in the general case.
To get a solution over the spatial domain a discretization
of the material with a mesh is necessary. FEM uses such a
discretization by dividing the problem space into separate
elements. These elements can have different shapes: In two
dimensions, the shape of quadrilaterals or triangles, in three
dimensions hexahedrons and tetrahedrons are usually used. Figure 1. Lagrange method example.

Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-61208-594-4 76

SIMUL 2017 : The Ninth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation

In general the Lagrange method is best suited for 3) ALE

complex geometries and structures, projectiles and other The Arbitrary Lagrange Euler (ALE) method is a mix of
solids. A disadvantage of Lagrange is the occurrence of Lagrange and Euler method. ALE allows an arbitrary
strong distortions of mesh element at high loads. Such a redefinition of the mesh on each calculation step. Different
distorted element can adversely affect the temporal solution predefined grid motions can be specified, such as free
of the simulation since the time step is proportional to the (Lagrange), fixed (Euler), equipotential, equal spacing and
size of the smallest element. others. As an advantage distortions can be avoided. On the
2) Euler other hand, additional computation steps are necessary to
In the Euler method the coordinates of the nodes are move and to convert the grid. An example of ALE is shown
fixed and form the entire mesh of the region to be solved. in Figure 3. Two objects consisting of different materials
The material flows through the mesh as a function of time represented by the colors blue and green before (left side)
and changes the value of the element, while the spatial and after impact (right side). The blue object has an initial
coordinates and the nodes remain fixed. This is the reason velocity in the direction of the green object. The right side of
why no element distortion is possible in the Euler method. In the figure shows the discretization dependent deformation
contrast to Lagrange, boundary nodes do not necessarily after the impact with the ALE solver. In comparison to the
coincide together with material boundary conditions. pure Lagrange method (Figure 1. ), no lattice distortions
Thereby difficulties can arise with the application of occur here.
boundary and interface conditions. Figure 2. shows two 4) SPH
objects and the mesh as an example of the Euler method. Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics is a method which is
Two objects consisting of different materials represented by not based on a fixed topological lattice but on a finite set of
the colors blue and green before (left side) and after impact particles. These particles are embedded to the material
(right side). The mesh fills the whole space. The green object similar to the nodes of the Lagrange method, but their
has an initial velocity in the direction of the blue object. The connections are not fixed. However, the particles represent
right side of the figure shows the discretization dependent not only mass points, but also interpolation points for the
deformation after the impact with the Euler solver. The mesh calculation of the physical variables. The calculations are
is not bound to the objects like in the Lagrange frame. based on the data of the neighboring particles and are scaled
Instead the mesh fills the whole space with the objects and by a weighting function. Unlike Lagrange, no grid distortion
empty space between them. During the simulation the can occur at SPH, since no grid exists. Related to the Euler
material of the objects is transported through the mesh of the method, SPH has the advantage that all material boundaries
space. After an impact the mesh stays clear but its content is and interfaces are clearly defined. Figure 4 illustrates two
partly deformed. objects consisting of different materials in the SPH frame
In general the Euler method is used to model the represented colored particles before (left side) and after
propagation of gases and fluids as a result of an explosion or impact (right side). The green object has an initial velocity in
impact. In the investigation of solids, the Euler method has a the direction of the blue object. The right side of the figure
disadvantageous effect, since additional calculations are shows the discretization dependent deformation after the
needed to transport the stress tensor and the history of the impact with the SPH solver. As seen in Figure 4. two
material through the lattice. In this case Euler needs more objects consist of small particles in the SPH frame. Their
computing performance and smaller elements to resolve the behavior before and after an impacts differs from the
occurring shock waves. solutions in the Lagrange, Euler or ALE frame.

Figure 2. Euler method example. Figure 3. ALE method example.

Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-61208-594-4 77

SIMUL 2017 : The Ninth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation

constantly, and when it is too high one should replace the

Lagrangian with an Eulerian code.
The goal of this paper is to evaluate an interface
between different hydrocodes, computational tools for
modeling the behavior of continuous media. In its purest
sense, a hydrocode is a computer code for modeling fluid
flow at all speeds. For that reason, a structure will be split
into a number of small elements. The elements are
connected through their nodes (see Figure 5. ). The mesh
divides the object into small elements connected by its
nodes.
The behavior (deflection) of the simple elements is
well-known and may be calculated and analyzed using
simple equations called shape functions. By applying
coupling conditions between the elements at their nodes, the
overall stiffness of the structure may be built up and the
deflection/distortion of any node – and subsequently of the
whole structure – can be calculated approximately [12].
Therefore, several runs are necessary: From modeling to
calculation to the evaluation and subsequent improvement
Figure 4. SPH method example.
of the model.
Hydrocodes, or wave propagation codes, are a
The SPH method has proven especially useful in the valuable adjunct to the study of the behavior of metals
simulation of impact processes on brittle materials [2]. It subjected to high-velocity impact or intense impulsive
should be noted that the modelling of the material as loading. The combined use of computations, experiments
particles leads to significantly higher computing effort per and high-strain-rate material characterization has, in many
time step. cases, supplemented the data achievable by experiments
For problems of dynamic fluid-structure interaction alone at considerable savings in both cost and engineering
and impact, there typically is no single best numerical man-hours.
method which is applicable to all parts of a problem. A large database exists of high-pressure Equation-Of-
Techniques to couple types of numerical solvers in a single State (EOS) data. Considerable data on high rate deviatoric
simulation can allow the use of the most appropriate solver behavior exists as well although, unlike EOS data, it is not
for each domain of the problem. collected in a few compilations but scattered throughout a
One of the more important issues, which have to be diverse literature. Experimental techniques exist for
carefully considered is the issue of mesh size. Different determining either EOS or strength data for materials not yet
results are obtained if the number of cells per unit length is characterized under high-rate loading conditions.
not adequate. For example, it was found that for penetration By contrast, computations with non-metallic materials
studies with eroding long rods, the number of cells on the such as composites, concrete, rock, soil and a variety of
rod’s radius should be at least eleven. The same density of geological materials are, in effect, research tasks. This is
cells should be kept in the target, at least for several due to several reasons: lack of definitive computational
projectile radii around its symmetry axis. In order to save models for high strain rate–temperature–pressure response;
computing time, the cell size at farther zones can be lack of a database for EOS and high rate strength data for
gradually increased according to their distance from the such materials; lack of test methodologies for anisotropic
symmetry axis. The mesh cell size depends on the specific materials subjected to high-rate loading.
problem. As an example, a small cell size should be
considered in cases where there is a fracture in the projectile
or target. It is recommended that while preparing the code
for its final runs, the numerical convergence with respect to
mesh cell size should be checked. Another important issue,
especially when material elements are expected to deform
considerably, is the issue of erosion with Lagrangian codes.
At large deformations the code may run into trouble when
treating heavily deformed elements. The use of the erosion Figure 5. The left side shows the cross-section of a bullet over millimeter
threshold condition is then necessary in order to eliminate paper, which could theoretically divide the bullet into multiple elements.
The right side shows an example of a mesh in the numerical simulation.
elements at a predetermined value of the plastic or Different parts are color coded in the representation of the bullet.
geometric deformation. The erosion should be monitored

Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-61208-594-4 78

SIMUL 2017 : The Ninth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation

A large number of ad hoc models exist for explosives, deformations associated with gas and fluid flow. The
geological materials, concrete and other non-metallics. structure is modeled with the Lagrangian frame in Abaqus.
Many of these lack a firm theoretical foundation. This is an Abaqus supports familiar interactive computer-aided
area where considerable research is required, both to devise engineering concepts such as feature-based, parametric
appropriate test techniques to measure material response modeling, interactive and scripted operation, and GUI
under high strain rates, elevated temperatures and high customization [15].
pressures as well as to develop appropriate constitutive First, every possibility of transferring the data from
models. ANSYS outputs to Abaqus inputs has to be detected. A
summary of this process is shown in Figure 6.
B. Interface
ANSYS will provide the data by generating a data set
In general, an interface connects systems that have for the blast loading. Figure 7. shows the color coding of
different properties with the purpose of exchanging the shock wave goes from low pressures (0 hPa) in blue to
information. For computers, this is mainly the case between high pressures in red (> 3500 hPa). The last picture shows
software, hardware, peripheral devices and humans. the shock wave when the simulated vehicle is reached. This
Communication at the interface can be either in one data set will include snapshots of given points in time. At
direction, such as a remote control or keyboard, or in both this stage there is a data set of five points in time, between
directions, such as a touch screen or a network adapter [13]. 0.0291s and 0.0475s (after detonation). Related to the points
In the context of numerical simulation of blast and in time this data set includes the pressure values with
impact processes, an interface is necessary to ensure an Cartesian coordinates based on the simulation of the spread
effective coupling of CFD / FEM simulations between the of explosive materials. A script is coded to read the blast
software Abaqus and ANSYS. For our research, ANSYS is loading data in Abaqus. This script, coded in Python, uses
to be used to provide data from simulated explosions using the line interface in Abaqus directly. First, a blast loading
Euler-Lagrange coupling. On the other hand, the structure, data is generated in ANSYS and saved as a normal text file
which is affected by the blasting is simulated by Abaqus. in .txt format. The data set will be split to separate the
The developed Interface has the task of conveying the data different types of information. After that, a list will be
between ANSYS and Abaqus, so that the individual created to save the data and connect the related time points
simulation steps can be performed successively with respect to the coordinates and pressure values. At this point, there is
to the successive transfer of data. a possibility to use linear interpolation between the five time
points to generate a larger data base. After reading and
V. EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
saving the data set, the script will load the model used for
In computing, an interface is a shared boundary across impact tests in Abaqus. A surface of the model must be
two separate components of a computer system exchange selected to project the blast data on it.
information. The exchange can be between software, The goal is to investigate the impact of the blast data on
computer hardware, peripheral devices, humans and a full vehicle model in Abaqus. This work (in progress)
combinations of these. Some computer hardware devices starts with a less complex model to validate the function of
such as a touchscreen can both send and receive data the script and the interface itself. The first model was a
through the interface, while others such as a mouse, basic rectangle to be strained by the pressure data.
microphone or joystick operate one way only [13]. Afterwards, two more complex models were tested
Coupled FEA/CFD analysis is an alternative technique, successfully. This approach will lead to a surface similar to
where separate FEA and CFD codes are used for solid and the silhouette of high security vehicles (see Figure 8. ).
fluid regions, respectively, with a smooth exchange of
information between the two codes to ensure continuity of
blast loading data. The main merit of the approach is to
enable users to take full advantages of both CFD and FEA
capabilities.
The objective of this work is to develop an interface
between ANSYS Autodyn and Abaqus. The software
ANSYS is used to solve linear and non-linear problems of
structural mechanics, computational fluid dynamics,
acoustics and various other engineering sciences [14]. Here,
ANSYS will provide data from the simulation of blast
effects. The capability to couple Eulerian and Lagrangian Figure 6. Inputs and outputs for an interface between Ansys and Abaqus.
frames in ANSYS is helpful in blast field modeling. The Blast data consisting of several files is exported by Ansys and read via a
python script in Abaqus.
Eulerian frame is best suited for representing explosive
detonations, because the material flows through a
geometrically constant grid that can easily handle the large

Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-61208-594-4 79

SIMUL 2017 : The Ninth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation

Figure 7. Progressive expansion of a blast in ANSYS Autodyn with a

repr-esentation fo a vehicle on the rigth side.

Figure 8. Testing structure in Abaqus with the coarse appearance of a

vehicle.

The coupling is realized through an iterative loop

between the FEA and CFD simulations, with
communications ensuring continuity of shock compression
data across the coupled boundaries between the FEA and
CFD models. In the coupling process, intermediate
individual FEA and CFD solutions are obtained in turn with
dynamically updated boundary conditions.
To avoid exceptional deadlock of the individual CFD
simulations, appropriate maximum numbers of iterations are
assigned for each CFD model.
Testing means that the spatially discretized model is
loaded with pressure. The change over time is decisive. An
example is shown in Figure 9. . The unarmored SUV model
was loaded with a typical explosive charge. The load on the
vehicle is made visible by color coding from low strain
(blue) to very high strain (red). The deformation on the
sheet metal body parts is clearly shown. This data can be
used to simply analyze vulnerabilities. The goal is, however,
to use complete vehicle models and to carry out realistic Figure 9. Simulated test structure (unarmed SUV) and deformation
investigations. process after 3, 5, 10 and 20 ms (images arranged from top to bottom in
order of increasing time).

Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-61208-594-4 80

SIMUL 2017 : The Ninth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation

VI. OUTLOOK experiments alone at considerable savings in both cost and

There are a variety of approaches in implementing the engineering man-hours.
coupled FEA/CFD analysis. One is generally called “strong
coupling,” where data have to be transferred between REFERENCES
ANSYS Autodyn and ABAQUS in every single time step.
[1] E. Hansen, N. Ehlers, A. Ramezani, and H. Rothe,
A “semistrong coupling” can get along with a smaller set of “Developing an Interface between ANSYS and Abaqus to
date, using mathematical interpolation for a sufficient Simulate Blast Effects on High Security Vehicles,” The
approximation. The third concept is a “weak coupling” Eighth International Conference on Advances in System
solution. Here, neural networks and deep learning can be Simulation (SIMUL 2016) IARIA, Aug. 2016, pp. 73-76,
ISBN 978-1-61208-442-8.
used to replicate blast effects on different vehicle structures. [2] A. Ramezani and H. Rothe, “Investigation of Solver
These approaches are going to be tested in a next step. Technologies for the Simulation of Brittle Materials,” The
Furthermore, a larger blast loading data set has to be Sixth International Conference on Advances in System
created in ANSYS. This will allow a more accurate Simulation (SIMUL 2014) IARIA, pp. 236-242, Oct. 2014,
ISBN 978-61208-371-1.
illustration of blast effects on vehicle structures. Smaller
[3] J. Zukas, “Introduction to Hydrocodes”. Elsevier Science,
time steps will enable a linear interpolation with a higher 2004.
accuracy. Different explosives are going to be tested to [4] A. M. S. Hamouda and M. S. J. Hashmi, “Modelling the
expand the data base. The next step will be a model for the impact and penetration events of modern engineering
reflection of blast waves and dynamic changes of pressure materials: Characteristics of computer codes and material
values. Using a full vehicle model will provide important models,” Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol.
56, pp. 847-862, Jan. 1996.
information about the behavior of armored structures under
[5] D. J. Benson, “Computational methods in Lagrangian and
blast effects. But to validate the results of the simulation, Eulerian hydrocodes,” Computer Methods in Applied
more ballistic trials are needed. Based on the difficulties of Mechanics and Engineering, vol. 99, pp. 235-394, Sep. 1992,
full vehicle model simulations, the implementation of an doi: 10.1016/0045-7825(92)90042-I.
automatic surface detection has to be taken into [6] M. Oevermann, S. Gerber, and F. Behrendt, “Euler-
Lagrange/DEM simulation of wood gasification in a bubbling
consideration. This could be helpful if a large number of fluidized bed reactor,” Particuology, vol. 7, pp. 307-316, Aug.
different vehicles are investigated. In order to create a user- 2009, doi: 10.1016/j.partic.2009.04.004.
friendly interface it is possible to generate the script as a [7] D. L. Hicks and L. M. Liebrock, “SPH hydrocodes can be
plug-in which can be started from the Abaqus user surface stabilized with shape-shifting,” Computers & Mathematics
directly. with Applications, vol. 38, pp. 1-16, Sep. 1999, doi:
10.1016/S0898-1221(99)00210-2.
By using pre-defined blast data to create forces as
[8] X. Quan, N. K. Birnbaum, M. S. Cowler, and B. I. Gerber,
vectors on our vehicle structures, the proposal can be “Numerical Simulations of Structural Deformation under
generalized. Then, FEA analysis can be done with other Shock and Impact Loads using a Coupled Multi-Solver
software suites as well. Right now, the concept is not Approach,” 5th Asia-Pacific Conference on Shock and Impact
Loads on Structures, Hunan, China, Nov. 2003, pp. 152-161.
applicable to other systems. This is a major disadvantage
and part of our future work. Furthermore, a parallelization [9] N. V. Bermeo, M. G. Mendoza, and A. G. Castro, “Semantic
Representation of CAD Models Based on the IGES
of the problem should be considered. Standard,” Computer Science, vol. 8265, pp. 157-168, Dec.
2001, doi: 10.1007/ 978-3-642-45114-013.
VII. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK [10] J. Sarkar, “Computer Aided Design: A Conceptual
A technique for efficiently coupling FEA/CFD for the Approach,” CRC Press, December 2014.
simulation of blast effects is described. An interface [11] C. E. Anderson, “An overview of the theory of hydrocodes,”
International journal of impact engineering, 5.1-4, pp 33-59,
between ANSYS and Abaqus was created to provide blast 1987.
data sets. The data sets from ANSYS include snapshots [12] G.-S. Collins, “An Introduction to Hydrocode
from the blast simulation saved at different points in time. Modeling,” Applied Modelling and Computation Group,
The interface is coded in Python and also contains the Imperial College London, 2002.
possibility to use linear interpolation on the data sets. [13] IEEE 100 – “The Authoritative Dictionary Of IEEE Standards
A good agreement of blast load test data and simulation Terms,” NYC, NY, USA: IEEE Press, 2000, pp. 574-575,
ISBN 0-7381-2601-2.
results was observed. Furthermore, it is shown that the [14] ANSYS. CAE. Structures: FEA Simulation. [Online]. Available
coupled solutions can be obtained in sufficiently short turn- from: http://www.ansys.com [retrieved: May, 2017].
around times for use in design. These solutions can be used [15] Abaqus Complete Solutions for Realistic Simulation. [Online].
as the basis of an iterative optimization process. They are a Available from: http://www.3ds.com/products-
valuable adjunct to the study of the behavior of vehicle services/simulia/products/abaqus/abaquscae/ [retrieved: June,
2017]
structures subjected to high-velocity impact or intense
impulsive loading. The combined use of computations,
experiments and high-strain-rate material characterization
has, in many cases, supplemented the data achievable by

Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-61208-594-4 81

View publication stats