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Find out more about Simulation and Modelling 2022 at the event website.
Please briefly explain your current role and involvement in simulation and modelling technologies.
Ben Murcott (BM): Murcott Energy is an engineering consultancy that provides FEA consultancy services and is also producing a vertical axis wind turbine called the Murb. The Murb is for temporary power applications, primarily in construction and utilities but is also applicable for remote locations and energy crisis situations.
As the Director of the company I am the lead Finite Element analyst. I take a project from enquiry level, perform the analysis project, and then present the results to the client with discussion on solutions for any design issues identified. I have specialised in FEA for 15 years and currently use Siemens FEMAP. I have however worked ANSYS products such as Workbench and Classic (APDL).
What is the number one challenge holding back the integration of simulation and modelling?
BM: Awareness amongst the engineering community is still a challenge, where many still do not understand the capability and value of simulation and modelling. Instead, they look to older methods that they are familiar with such as real testing or hand calculation. I see a large variation across companies in how simulation and modelling methods are employed and relied upon in their design and product development activities.
What are the most common gripes you hear from engineers in the deployment of digital twins?
BM: Reliability of the digital twins is primary gripe I hear, which can in some situations be justified as the output of the digital twin is directly dependent on the method by which it was created.
A secondary gripe would be the cost, time and resource required to make it
What key topics are you excited to discuss at this year's conference?
BM: Digital twins and how they are developing and becoming more reliable/valuable.
What can engineers expect from your presentation at the event?
BM: An outline of the design journey the Murb wind turbine has taken with FEA, and how the method allowed us to quickly achieve an optimised design, with performance and cost in mind.
Who else are you most interested in hearing from on the programme?
How the different industries are adopting digital twins, particularly for climate change.
What key development/s in simulation and modelling are you most interested in for the future and why?
BM: Greater ability to be able to verify and validate the output from simulation and modelling techniques against real world data, such that methods can be refined and made more reliable /accurate.
Why is it important for engineers to join this event?
BM: It's important to get up to date with the latest developments. I expect a lot of engineers will benefit from acquiring a better understanding of digital twins and other methods that are going through development.