LS-TaSC version 2.1 released

Release notes for LS-TaSC 2.1

Version 2.1, started in spring of 2011, is a refinement of version 2. It contains the following major new features:

Dynamic load case weighting to obtain a topology relevant for all design load cases
Forging geometry definition. This geometry definition is similar to a two-sided casting except that a forging thickness is introduced.

New minor features are:

Castings can have interior holes.
Pentahedral elements are supported.
The memory footprint is reduced more than a factor of 2 and an option is provided which can be set to reduce memory use by a further factor of 2.
*MAT_ELASTIC is supported for the design part.
Lightly used elements can be kept instead of deleted
The SIMP algorithm can be switched on and off.
Coordinate systems are no longer limited to only DIR=X.
Restarting was improved not to redo all LS-TaSC computations.
A fringe plot of the material utilization as considered in the design process can be viewed.
The fraction of the original number of elements used in the design can be viewed as a history.
The global constraint handling has been changed to consider only active constraints. If no global constraints are active anymore, then the algorithm will slowly return to the user specified mass fraction.

Many thanks are due to David Björkevik for the GUI design and implementation.

Valuable feedback from customers and co-workers is also acknowledged.

Remark: Login is "user", please ask LSTC or your local distributor for the password.