ANSYS announced earlier this month (though it just showed up on their website, which is vexing) that Alinghi, the Swiss sailing team that has twice run the America’s Cup, is going to be using their software to support vessel design and analysis.
Applying ANSYS software to structural simulation, Alinghi’s goal is to build the lightest, strongest boat possible. The team will use ANSYS fluid dynamics simulation primarily on the hulls, appendages, sails and masts. “With the sheer size and speed of the class of yacht we’re designing, the loads have become enormous. We need to have confidence in our simulations, because if something breaks people may be hurt. We also need our shapes to be optimal for fluid drag and lift purposes, so while the structural engineers want everything to be shaped like an I-beam for optimal structural properties, the fluids people want everything to be streamlined and skinny. Somewhere in the middle is the optimum, and this is where the ANSYS software is so useful. Doing full simulation using the same family of codes within the ANSYS Workbench environment really makes our life easier,” Bungener added.