Co-simulation - Overview

“Co-Simulation” (co-operative simulation) is a simulation methodology that allows individual components to be simulated by different simulation tools running simultaneously and exchanging information in a collaborative manner.

The type of information exchanged during co-simulation may be boundary conditions such as pressure, flow rate and temperature, or simulation parameters such as time steps or control signals..

Adopting co-simulation within the Product Development Process allows companies to choose best in class simulation tools for each discipline and provides engineers with the ability to create virtual prototypes of entire systems

Co-simulation offers a range of advantages by uniting the speed and robustness of 1D System Simulation modelling with the complexity and sophistication of 3D CFD.

As components interact within a system, so too can many different types of systems interact in a complex product. Traditionally the effects of these interactions have only been investigated through physical prototype testing later in the design cycle. However, with simulation tools modelling the various systems and coupling them together it is now possible to produce a full virtual prototype and understand the effects of these interactions at an early stage.

"We chose Flowmaster, as our fluid systems simulation package, due to its ease of use and its ability to successfully integrate with our current 3D-CAD and CFD design packages. Flowmaster has also given us the ability to link to a mooring simulation package, completing the Wavegen Design Suite."

Henry Jeffrey, Design & Development Engineer, Wavegen Design Group