The need for speed: Part 1 of 7 - Intro

How can I make my FEA simulation run faster?
Ask less of your computer, use more of your computer, or use a faster computer(s).

Once you've meshed the geometry, applied the material properties, applied the loads, assemble the load cases, and the model runs sometime today, doing more work to make the model run faster is probably the last thing on your mind. Tuning parameters and measures of the solution difficulty of a model can seem dauntingly complex, and the payoff from a model that runs faster may not seem worth it. However, a working knowledge of how to manage the detail and run times of a model can have some major payoffs:

• knowing ahead of time if a model has surpassed the ability of a computer to quickly solve
• minimizing storage and archiving requirements
• ability to run the same model several times to assess design sensitivities and optimize the performance of a design

This final advantage is oftentimes the most important reason to put effort into minimizing run times. The ability to analyze a design more than once in the time available can make the difference between a high performing design and and an inadequate design.

In a series of posts, I'll outline the practical steps an analyst can take to speed up their run times. This is obviously an extremely complex topic to fully cover.  Fortunately, a little knowledge can go a long way, and I will focus on the topics that typically have the largest impact.  Upcoming posts will cover:

Use more of your computer:

• Performance tuning parameters: Common Topics
• Performance tuning parameters: Abaqus and Optistruct/Radioss
• Performance tuning parameters: Nastran
• A faster computer: performance metrics

Asking less of your computer

• Reducing output requests
• Optimizing model detail and solution type