Fraunhofer ITWM at the »SMM 2024« in Hamburg

MESHFREE Simulates Highly Dynamic Processes in Shipping

Press Release / August 27, 2024

Together with four other Fraunhofer Institutes, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM will present its current research results live at this year's world's leading trade fair for the maritime industry SMM (Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology) from September 3 to 6, 2024 in Hamburg. In Hall B6 at Booth 327, the researchers will be presenting their solutions that support shipping companies, shipyards, ports, logistics service providers and the maritime supply industry.

Under the motto »Excellence in Maritime Research«, the Fraunhofer exhibits cover a wide range:

AR/VR technologies in nautical systems
Mobile ship simulator
Solutions for lightweight material construction for ships
intelligent shipyard planning approaches to increase flexibility
Innovative simulations of highly dynamic processes and systems
Process monitoring using smart, energy-independent sensors

Researchers from the Fraunhofer ITWM present the MESHFREE tool, which simulates complex processes with great time savings and thus cost-effectively.

Digital Twins for Marine Applications

Simulations and digital twins are indispensable for many companies. However, conventional software reaches its limits when the processes to be mapped are highly dynamic and complex. For this reason, researchers at the Fraunhofer ITWM have developed the MESHFREE tool, a solution that works without a rigid computational grid and is capable of mapping such processes quickly and therefore cost-effectively. MESHFREE simulations cover a wide range of processes - from water management to avalanches and foam formation. With a focus on maritime applications, MESHFREE is particularly suitable for the simulation of moving ships and their interaction with waves, tank sloshing, spray cleaning, flooding or floating bridges for disaster control.

Flexible Method for Dynamic Processes

Traditionally, the finite element method is used for simulations: engineers construct a grid suitable for the respective geometry and calculate the changes in each individual element based on this. Even setting up the grid structure is very time-consuming, and it has to be repeatedly adapted during the simulation. In contrast, the MESHFREE software combines the generalized finite difference method for solving the conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy with efficient algorithms for solving linear systems of equations, which were co-developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing SCAI – a huge advantage, as the numerical point cloud used is able to adapt flexibly to moving geometries. There is no need for time-consuming corrections in the computational grid. Dr. Jörg Kuhnert and Dr. Isabel Michel have been awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize 2024 for their development, which can replace real tests.

Identifying Optimization Potential in Shipping at an Early Stage

Virtual prototyping has become indispensable for maritime applications due to the often extremely large dimensions of ships or individual components and the associated costs. Many processes are characterized by a complex interaction between a structure and a fluid with a free surface. »When waves hit a ship and cause sloshing movements in the fuel tanks, these are highly complex processes,« explains Dr. Isabel Michel, mathematician at Fraunhofer ITWM. »With the help of our MESHFREE simulations, we can also simulate such processes and identify optimization potential at an early design stage.«

More Information

Fraunhofer Waterborne at SMM

The Fraunhofer Transport Alliance pools the transport-related expertise of its member institutes and works in various working groups within the individual transport sectors. The Fraunhofer Waterborne institutes will be exhibiting together at SMM.

to the SMM 2024 Website (cml.fraunhofer.de)

Simulate Flood Scenarios and Identify Risks

Flooding scenarios are another application of MESHFREE. »More and more 3D geometry data of cities is becoming available – including houses and terrain,« says Dr. Jörg Kuhnert, head of the MESHFREE team at Fraunhofer ITWM. »Our MESHFREE software supports the common data formats and the tool can simulate a flooding scenario in just a few simple steps. This allows us to identify areas with a high risk of flooding and analyze the forces acting on the structures.«

Video About the MESHFREE Software

Award-Winning Software Tool

MESHFREE meets a large number of industrial challenges extremely successfully and thus addresses business needs that urgently require a simulation solution. Both SMEs and large companies are now using the technology to solve their problems. The team led by Dr. Jörg Kuhnert and Dr. Isabel Michel was awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize 2024 for their work. The criteria for the research award include the novelty of the scientific and methodological approach, the progress made in terms of knowledge and the implementation of the scientific results in the application.

Image for download: The interaction of waves and a ship is a highly complex process. MESHFREE is used to simulate such processes and identify optimization potential at an early design stage. [ JPG 1,92 MB ]

MESHFREE Use Cases – Maritime Industrie

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Flooding Scenarios

Flood Scenarios

More and more 3D geometry data of cities is available - including houses and terrain. Our MESHFREE software supports the common data formats and the tool can simulate a flooding scenario in just a few simple steps. Users can use MESHFREE to identify areas with a high risk of flooding and analyze the forces acting on the structures.