NVIDIA Helps Makes Real-Time Simulation Real

Earlier this month, ANSYS announced the publicly available technology preview of its new multiple physics design simulation exploration tool, Discovery Live. A Windows-based application also offered in a cloud version, ANSYS Discovery Live leverages NVIDIA's GPUs (graphics processing units) and CUDA parallel computing and programming technologies. The result is an interactive, CAD-agnostic application intended to help designers and engineers explore and refine product designs in real time early and often.

The ANSYS Discovery Live multiple physics exploration application is intended for designers and other engineers who do not normally use upfront simulation. It leverages the massive parallel processing power of NVIDIA GPUs (graphics processing units) to deliver a design environment where simultaneous visualization and simulation are possible. Image courtesy of ANSYS Inc.

“ANSYS Discovery Live unleashes the power of NVIDIA GPUs and CUDA parallel computing to make the first-ever real-time design environment with simultaneous visualization and simulation possible,” said Bob Pette, NVIDIA's vice president of professional visualization in a press statement. “We have a long history of working with ANSYS and look forward to our continued collaboration to advance breakthroughs in the way new products are designed and created.”

ANSYS Discovery Live is designed to provide an easy-to-use, upfront design exploration tool where engineers who are not experts in simulation can examine the impact of their design changes immediately. ANSYS Discovery Live's ability to produce instantaneous visualization and simulation results is possible because it deploys newly designed solvers that have been built to exploit NVIDIA CUDA and GPU technologies to process massive amounts of data in parallel. From the user's perspective, this means that operations such as geometry cleanup, meshing, solving and displaying results are handled automatically and immediately.

In a blog post, Baskar Rajagopalan, who leads NVIDIA’s strategy for simulation software, explains “by making use of CUDA, Discovery Live shortens design-simulation workflows from days and hours to minutes and seconds. This helps engineers make faster and smarter design decisions and, for the first time, means real-time engineering simulation is now used as a design tool.”

The ANSYS Discovery Live technology preview runs on mobile or desktop workstations with a dedicated NVIDIA GPU and at least 4GB of memory. For optimal visualization results, NVIDIA recommends a professional-level Quadro graphics solution such as its GP100 visual computing accelerator shown here. Image courtesy of NVDIA Corp.

“Leveraging the power of CUDA and NVIDIA’s GPU architecture, ANSYS developed new simulation solvers that engineers can use for design exploration,” wrote Rajagopalan in an email exchange with DE. “In partnership with NVIDIA, ANSYS is bringing Discovery Live to the market, for the first time, with real-time interactive multiple physics simulation including structural, thermal and fluid dynamics.”

In addition to its simulation and multiple physics capabilities, the ANSYS Discovery Live has integrated direct modeling design tools as well. Discovery Live resides in the ANSYS 3D design product family and is complementary to the ANSYS SpaceClaim 3D modeling application and ANSYS AIM simulation environment.

The technology preview runs on mobile or desktop workstations with a dedicated NVIDIA GPU and at least 4GB of memory. NVIDIA as well as ANSYS recommend a professional-level Quadro P5000, P6000 or GP100 GPU for optimal visualization results. NVIDIA notes that Discovery Live will boost simulation fidelity automatically when more GPU memory is available.

NVIDIA adds that ANSYS Discovery Live technology preview users can contact their PNY Technologies representative to learn how to receive a discount on the purchase of new Quadro graphics processors.

Read Baskar Rajagopalan's blog here.

Go here for details on NVIDIA Quadro GPUs.

See ANSYS Discovery Live at NVIDIA's upcoming GPU Technology Conferences.

Read DE contributing editor Beth Stackpole's report on ANSYS Discovery Live.

Go here to learn more about ANSYS Discovery Live.

See why DE's Editors selected NVIDIA CUDA and GPU technologies for ANSYS Discovery Live as their Pick of the Week.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.

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