Release

PreonLab 7.0 Released

• Improved accuracy: The primary motivation for the new higher-order thermal solver is to deliver higher accuracy in thermal simulations, particularly near boundaries where SPH methods face resolution limits due to computational constraints. Our previous solver provided a strong foundation and delivered good results, but it was less effective for heat-flux conditions, resulting in reduced precision in those critical regions. The higher-order thermal solver closes this gap, which enhances near-boundary quality across all thermal applications, resulting in more reliable overall simulation outcomes.
• Improved resolution convergence rate: The higher-order thermal solver achieves a higher rate of convergence, enabling well-converged results with coarser particle resolutions than before. The particle resolution does not need to be increased further – simulations can be re-run with familiar settings while delivering better results.
• Improved thermal post-processing: To align the boundary treatment with the new higher-order solver’s accuracy, we also upgraded the thermal sensors using a higher-order interpolation approach, enabling more accurate evaluation of heat transfer.

• Floating and Emergency Sinking: The new Floating feature allows for detachment of the wheels from the road when using FCSM, allowing for scenarios with amphibious vehicles and emergency sinking. This opens the door for entirely new applications.
• Motion Control: Alongside this, a new dedicated motion control section has been introduced, that includes toggles to considerroad gradient, fluid forces, and traction loss, to define which external factors can affect vehicle velocity during simulation. This means more granular control over which forces have an impact on the vehicle velocity of FCSM.
• Direction Control: Additionally, the new release removes the restriction of FCSM for driving along the positive x-axis and enables driving over 360° in the XY Plane with the new Heading feature. It sets the foundation for adding comprehensive cornering in the future.
• Distance-Based Profile Mapping: Furthermore, the velocity/acceleration input can now also be defined over the travelled distance of the car. Defining the velocity profile via the distance of the car to the water is often much more user friendly than getting the time until it reaches this point, especially for high-speed wading simulations, given the high degree of sensitivity involved.
• Driver Model (Experimental feature): PreonLab 7.0 opens a new chapter for realistic wading simulations that can adapt the vehicle trajectory as a driver would on a testbed. The feature introduces a PID-based driver model that adds configurable gains and reaction time for realistic driver behavior.

• Particle Shifting: Particle shifting introduces a smart new algorithm that moves particles to a better integration position along their physical trajectory. This reduces numerical noise resulting in improved density, velocity and pressure fields. A parameter called Shifting Strength controls how strongly particles are moved, higher values enforce uniformity – while lower values preserve original positions.
• Wall Confinement Handling: This feature offers better handling for particles that can get trapped between two solid surfaces, maintaining stability of the simulation. This is particularly useful for the behaviour of particles around the gear-teeth meshing region.
  So far, we’ve seen that combining Wall Confinement Handling with Particle Shifting has been highly effective in improving phase distribution and resolving particle leakage issues in challenging multiphase simulations, as well as in simulations involving non-Newtonian fluids such as grease.
• Maximum Velocity Constraint: A new maximum velocity constraint can be used to define the maximum velocity in a scene to improve simulation stability. It handles possible high velocity outliers, that can arise from numerical instabilities and can affect overall simulation stability. This can be particularly beneficial to air particles in multiphase simulations and can also improve phase distribution due to a less chaotic air velocity field.

• 3D Mouse Support: Experience smoother, more intuitive navigation with 3D mouse integration, improving interaction efficiency, precision, and comfort within the PreonLab GUI.
• Enhancements for Calculation Objects: Access statistical and property values at specific simulation times, ideal for computing derivatives and performing advanced analyses, and benefit from smart syntax display in the function editor for a better overview.
• Optimized Visualization: Enjoy richer visualization options, including enhanced camera controls, and arrow glyphs to represent particle direction and velocity. Additionally, users can try out a suite of stunning new rendering effects for surface materials with a new Cycles Renderer plugin, which is being introduced as an experimental feature with PreonLab 7.0.

PreonLab 7.0 is not the only product released today. It is joined by PreonDock 1.0, now officially available!

As the volume and complexity of simulation data grow, keeping everything organized, accessible, and actionable becomes a major challenge. That’s where PreonDock steps in! Your centralized, browser-based platform to manage, monitor, and compare simulation work more efficiently than ever. Access your PreonLab projects and simulations potentially from anywhere, in an intuitive web interface, using PreonDock. Stay tuned for more information about PreonDock soon!