About Flex Physical Simulation

Flex Physical Simulation product allows you to model flexible cables and to simulate their behavior with respect to their physical properties.

The following topics are discussed:

Flex Physical Simulation Overview

Flex Physical Simulation is a physics-based realistic cable solver that allows you to simulate the behavior of cables using integrated CAD-CAE tools during the product design process.

Components such as flexible tubes, hoses, wires, and electrical wires permit deformation; they are very flexible so that their shape adapts to the context in which they are used. This behavior is taken into account in design and simulation processes through Flex cable solver.

Important: Flex Physical Simulation provides the functionality needed to model flexible slender bodies (flex) from the Flex Definition to its complete Flexible Behavior during simulation. This functionality is available for Electrical Harness Installation, and Electrical Harness Simulation products. For more information, see Electrical Harness Simulation and Electrical Harness Installation User's Guides.

Flex Definition

A flexible slender body (flex) is constituted of a 3D curve/line called neutral fiber and a variable cross-section.

Example of a variable cross-section:

Cross-sections

Cross-sections are two-dimensional views of slices through objects. Only orthotropic cross-sections are supported by Flex. An orthotropic cross-section has two symmetry planes; the shear section has to fit with the centroid of the section.

The table below illustrates the various orthotropic cross-section types:

Circular cross-section

 Rectangular cross-section
Annular cross-section

 Arbitrary orthotropic cross-section (elliptic)

   

Material Properties

Flex Physical Simulation cable solver permits specific local deformation modes (Flexible Behavior) for the flex.

The deformation modes are as follows:


  • traction-compression mode (in axial direction)
  • torsion mode (around axial direction)
  • bending-shearing mode (in orthogonal planes containing axial direction)

Examples of more or less flexible flex cables subjected to gravity and imposed displacements at their extremities:







Flex Added Values

Flex cable solver allows you to model and simulate the realistic behavior of flexible cables (material and geometric properties).

Flex cable solver provides you with a strong realistic picture of the cable behavior as shown in this example below. In yellow, the standard solver is used. In blue, Flex solver is used.



Example of Flex usage with Electrical Harness installation product.The rigidity data materialized by a blue covering is used in the calculation:

Example of the cable's curvature when using Flex solver against the standard solver. In the left picture, the standard solver is used. In the right picture, Flex cable solver is used.