CAE Survey 2021 by CFD SUPPORT

At the beginning of 2021, CFD SUPPORT surveyed CFD & FEA engineers and users in the CAE Survey about their behavior, customs, and workflow preferences.

The survey was run in January and February 2021. The survey was anonymous. No one knew the answers of others. The survey strictly avoided naming any brands and vendors. The survey was clearly focused on the users' opinions, wishes, and workflow behavior.

The number of surveyed people (214 responders by February 28, 2021) appears to be statistically very relevant because the results can be tracked back as they were developing in time. The tracking clearly shows that the overall survey results don't change anymore after about 50 responses and on.

1. How much of your job has to do with CAE simulations?

2. CFD vs. FEA

3. Repeating vs. Disposable (New) projects

4. How long takes your typical CAE project?

5. For what purpose do you use CAE simulations?

6. How much of your workload is PRODUCTIVE WORK versus testing, research & playing around?

7. What workflow parts do you find excessively TIME CONSUMING?

8. What parts do you find ENJOYABLE?

9. What parts do you find ANNOYING?

10. What part do you think is a BOTTLENECK?

11. What would significantly help you in your projects?

(Multiple answers were allowed here.)

49% Better understanding of the problem & theory

39.4% Training from experts in the field

31.7% More time, more tests & deeper analysis

27.9% Additional hardware

27.4% More software capabilities

25.5% Source-code available to see what is really inside

24% More integration of different software pieces

16.8% Additional software licenses

15.4% More engineers

12. Which trends do you find interesting?

(Multiple answers were allowed here.)

48.5% Parametric optimization

41.3% Automated CAD model creation from parameters

38.8% FSI (Fluid Strucutre Interaction)

36.4% Local Mesh Refinement

35.0% GPU Computing

32.0% Automatically created high fidelity meshes

31.6% Advanced multiphysics (phase change, erosion, chemical reactions, ...)

28.2% Advanced heat transfer options, 

27.2% Machine learning (large databases of pre-computed results)

26.7% AI for CAE

22.8% Acoustics

21.4% Adjoint optimization

17.5% Cloud Computing

17.0% Single one, highly integrated user interface

15.5% Combustion

15.5% LBM (Lattice Boltzmann methods)

13.1% Immersed Boundary

13. On how many PROCESSORS (cores) do you most typically run your simulations?

14. Of how many elements is the most typical CFD mesh for your productive simulations?

15. Of how many elements is the most typical FEA mesh for your productive simulations?

16. How are you satisfied with the level of ACCURACY of your results?

17. How are you satisfied with the ROBUSTNESS of your CAE software?

18. How much are you satisfied with the TECHNICAL SUPPORT of your CAE software?

19. What feature do you value most about CAE software in general?

https://youtu.be/IqKcn36Cyhc

Feel free to comment & discuss!