Advanced Numerical Simulation Methods: From CAD Data Directly to Simulation Results

This book is an entertaining, easy to read introduction to advanced numerical modeling. The aim of the book is to lead the reader on a journey towards the 'holy grail' of numerical simulation, namely one without the requirement of mesh generation, that takes data directly from CAD programs. On this journey readers will discover the beauty of Non-uniform Rational B-Splines or NURBS and see how well they are suited for describing geometry, discover how CAD programs work and how their data can be used for simulation. The implementation of NURBS-based simulation is discussed using Finite Element and Boundary Element technology. This is a hands-on book with emphasis on implementation and examples of programming in a higher level language are given. It has been written for users of simulation software, so they can understand the benefits of this new technology and demand progress from a somewhat conservative industry, for software developers, so they can see that this is a technology with a big future and for researchers, in the hope that it will attract more people to work in this exciting new field.