SIMULIA

SIMULIA
Name	SIMULIA
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Software
Founded	2005
Founder	Dassault Systèmes
Headquarters	Vélizy-Villacoublay, France
Products	Abaqus, Isight, fe-safe, Tosca, Simpack
Parent	Dassault Systèmes

SIMULIA

SIMULIA is a brand of engineering simulation software developed by Dassault Systèmes providing finite element analysis, multibody dynamics, optimization, and durability tools used across engineering fields. Its portfolio integrates with CAD and PLM platforms and is adopted by aerospace, automotive, civil engineering, energy, and life sciences organizations for virtual prototyping and predictive analysis. Major corporate collaborators and users include Airbus, Boeing, General Motors, Ford, Toyota, NASA, ESA, Rolls-Royce, Siemens, and IBM.

Overview

SIMULIA delivers simulation solutions grounded in computational mechanics and numerical methods, including finite element, boundary element, and meshfree techniques. The platform complements design ecosystems such as CATIA, ENOVIA, SolidWorks, and 3DEXPERIENCE while interfacing with solver frameworks used by ANSYS, MSC Software, Altair, and Autodesk. It serves sectors that engage with complex systems like Airbus, Boeing, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Agilent Technologies, and Philips.

History and Development

The brand emerged from acquisitions and internal development within Dassault Systèmes, combining technologies from research groups and companies including HKS, Research Institutes, and academic labs at MIT, Stanford, ETH Zurich, Imperial College London, and Politecnico di Milano. Early solver roots trace to institutions such as CNRS, ONERA, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and to commercial tools with lineage to companies like HKS, Abaqus Inc., and SIMULIA predecessor technologies. Over time, collaborations with NASA, ESA, JAXA, Boeing, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Fiat, BMW, Daimler, and PSA Peugeot Citroën advanced capabilities in nonlinear mechanics, crash simulation, and multiphysics.

Products and Technologies

Flagship products include Abaqus for nonlinear finite element analysis, Isight for process automation and design exploration, Tosca for topology optimization, fe-safe for fatigue analysis, Simpack for multibody dynamics, and CST Studio integration for electromagnetic simulation. The suite incorporates solvers, pre/post-processing, meshing, and optimization engines comparable to ANSYS Mechanical, MSC Nastran, Altair Radioss, LS-DYNA, OpenFOAM, and COMSOL Multiphysics. Core technologies leverage algorithms from numerical analysis developments at Princeton University, Caltech, University of Michigan, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Applications and Industries

SIMULIA is applied in aerospace by Airbus, Boeing, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman for structural integrity, thermal analysis, and aeroelasticity; in automotive by General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen Group, Fiat Chrysler, and Tesla for crashworthiness, NVH, and durability; in energy by Shell, BP, Chevron, Siemens Energy, and GE Power for offshore structures, turbines, and subsea equipment. In civil engineering, firms like Arup, Skanska, and Bechtel employ it for seismic and structural assessments; in biomedical and life sciences, organizations including Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Stryker, and Boston Scientific use it for implant design and biomechanics. Other adopters include Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, Samsung, Sony, Intel, AMD, Bosch, Continental, Valeo, and SKF.

Integration and Interoperability

SIMULIA integrates with PLM and CAD ecosystems such as 3DEXPERIENCE, CATIA, SolidWorks, ENOVIA, PTC Creo, Siemens NX, and Teamcenter, and data exchange standards like STEP and IGES. Interoperability extends to multiphysics coupling with electromagnetic solvers from CST, thermal CFD software like Fluent and STAR-CCM+, and control system tools such as MATLAB/Simulink. Partnerships and connectors exist with HPC vendors and services including IBM, HPE, Dell, NVIDIA, AMD, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Cray for distributed computing and GPU acceleration.

Licensing and Support

Dassault Systèmes offers SIMULIA through perpetual, term, and cloud subscription licensing models, with technical support, training, and consulting services provided by Dassault Systèmes, Value-Added Resellers, and global systems integrators such as Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, PwC, and CGI. Enterprise customers often combine license management with services from training partners and research collaborations involving universities like MIT, Stanford, ETH Zurich, Delft University of Technology, and KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Academic and Research Use

SIMULIA tools are used in academic research and teaching at institutions including MIT, Stanford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, TU Munich, Politecnico di Milano, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, Seoul National University, and University of Sydney for projects spanning structural mechanics, biomechanics, materials science, and additive manufacturing. Research collaborations and validation studies frequently cite comparative work with ANSYS, COMSOL, OpenFOAM, and Abaqus-derived solvers in conferences such as ASME, AIAA, IUTAM, ECCOMAS, and ICEM, and journals like Journal of Applied Mechanics, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, and Computational Mechanics.

Category:Computer-aided engineering