This paper on "Reliability and Optimization for Virtual Product Development" was presented at the NAFEMS World Congress on The Evolution of Product Simulation From Established Methods to Virtual Testing & Prototyping - 24-28 April 2001, The Grand Hotel, Lake Como, Italy.

Abstract

The ongoing reduction of development cycles leads to a change in the business processes to develop new products based on virtual prototypes. These virtual prototypes are complemented by physical prototypes only in the very last phase before shipping the product. Hence, the time is not sufficient to correct basic problems. Up to now, most of the simulations are based on deterministic data ignoring uncertainties with respect to loads, physical, material properties and geometric tolerances.
This is especially an issue for optimized products, that may be sensitive to parameter changes. The presentation will address the combination of reliability analysis and optimization with advanced finite element analysis. The background is the work performed in the scope of the ASRA-HPC project (see [1]). The generality of the approach and its capabilities are demonstrated by some practical examples dealing with different problems.