Learning Forum

[marketing]

UPC Space Program (UPCSP) is a team from the Polytechnic University of
Catalonia whose aim is to build drones, rovers and rockets. The team is run by the
students themselves with a clear goal in mind: to build the best, most reliable and
affordable prototypes we can. Since the incorporation of Ansys software, UPCSP
has gained insights into critical design considerations that were previously extremely
hard to calculate, test and, therefore, integrate.

Designing and building competitive and affordable prototypes means the team has to
work with complex systems with little room for error. This arises the need for a
powerful, user-friendly and reliable software that is able to provide accurate results
no matter the complexity or size of the model.

Ansys software is a key tool in the project architecture as it provides the means to
perform structural and CFD simulations. Using Ansys Fluent the team can calculate
the drag forces and coefficients of all its high speed prototypes, which helps
determine the thrust needed and possible launch trajectories. Ansys Mechanical
makes it possible to determine whether or not the structures and materials proposed
for the different vehicles are suitable for the mechanical stresses that they will have
to endure.

Ansys’ simulation software is giving UPCSP the tools needed to test our designs
before committing to building a physical prototype. By enabling multiple rapid
iterations to confirm our predictions and structural choices Ansys makes it possible
for the team to be confident that the designs will work as desired without unexpected
events. Moreover, having hands-on experience with multiple Ansys tools has
developed the team’s members into industry-ready engineers.