Multi-Physics Analysis and Engineering Simulation
Senior simulation engineers utilising CFD, FEA, thermal, combustion and system models to explain what is really governing your design.
Speak with PTL’s analysis and simulation team led by Riccardo Meldolesi, Technical Director.
You may already know that you need CFD, FEA, thermal analysis, combustion simulation or system modelling. PTL is here to make sure the work answers the right technical question.
You will work directly with experienced engineers who can understand the system, challenge its assumptions and select an analysis approach proportionate to the decision you need to make.
Whether your requirement calls for GT-SUITE or GT-Power system modelling, Ansys structural analysis, FEMFAT durability assessment, CONVERGE combustion simulation, Ansys Fluent or STAR-CCM+ CFD, or Matlab Simulink-based dynamic modelling, you are in the right place.
Analysis that reflects the complete engineering system
Complex engineering products rarely operate within an isolated environment.
Temperature changes material properties. Pressure creates structural loading. Fluid flow determines cooling performance. Mechanical response influences control stability. Combustion conditions affect heat transfer, component temperatures and durability.
PTL combines the appropriate analytical methods to identify the interactions controlling real system performance. The purpose is not to produce more plots or unnecessarily large models. It is to explain why the system behaves as it does, where its limitations sit and which parameters are key to producing a viable, successful product.
Call us today on 01273 466 666 or send us an email.
System and performance simulation
GT-SUITE and GT-Power support thermodynamic, mechanical, hydraulic and multi-domain system modelling.
They allow PTL’s engineers to assess how individual components interact across a complex system, or subsystem, within a representative operating environment. This can include studies such as system response, system optimisation and efficiency, and control-system strategy and interaction.
System simulation is particularly valuable when a local change could create an unintended effect elsewhere in the architecture. It can also provide a faster and more proportionate starting point than detailed three-dimensional analysis when the first requirement is to understand the wider system behaviour.
Structural, thermal and durability analysis
PTL uses Ansys to investigate structural loading, deformation, contact behaviour, heat transfer and coupled thermal-mechanical effects.
Where repeated loading and component life are central to the decision, FEMFAT can be used to assess fatigue behaviour under representative load histories. Taking the assessment beyond a simple maximum-stress result.
A component may initially survive its peak static load while remaining vulnerable to thermal cycling, vibration, or high duty cycles. PTL considers the operating history and failure mechanism that matter to the given application.
Software used:
CFD, combustion and advanced fluid-flow analysis
PTL uses CONVERGE, Ansys Fluent and STAR-CCM+ to investigate airflow, combustion, cooling effectiveness, pressure loss, internal passages, heat transfer and multiphase flow. The choice of software depends on the geometry, physical behaviour, and modelling and output requirements.
A CFD result is only useful when its boundary conditions and operating conditions credibly represent the interaction of the modelled domain with the wider system. PTL places equal emphasis on defining those interactions correctly and interpreting what the analysis outputs mean for the whole system.
Dynamic systems and controls interaction
Matlab Simulink and GT-SUITE can be used where timing, stability, actuator response or control interaction influence performance. This may include motor-driven systems, electro-hydraulic mechanisms, thermal-management controls, automated test equipment or machinery that operates across rapidly changing conditions.
The modelling can help distinguish between a physical limitation and a problem that can be addressed through controls. It can also identify where the actuator, sensor or mechanical architecture must change before further software development will create a meaningful improvement.
Where PTL can support you
You may be assessing an early concept, trying to understand why a prototype is underperforming or comparing several potential architectures.
You may have test data that does not agree with an existing model. A component may be overheating, failing prematurely or operating outside its predicted performance range. Physical testing may be too costly, disruptive or unable to replicate real world conditions.
We will help you define what needs to be understood, identify the evidence already available and establish the most efficient route to establishing defensible engineering conclusions.
From assumptions to an engineering answer
Every assignment begins by defining the decisions that the analysis must support.
PTL establishes the model boundaries, operating conditions, material data, load cases and required durability. Where information is incomplete, engineering judgement is applied and their influence on the result is considered. The model is developed to the level of infidelity required to answer the engineering questions.
For an early concept, that may mean first-principles calculations and 1D system modelling. For a mature product, it may require detailed CFD, structural analysis, fatigue assessment or correlation against measured data. Results are reviewed for sensitivities, uncertainty and limitations before conclusions are drawn.
What you receive
The final output is structured to support action. It will normally explain the model basis, assumptions, governing physical behaviour and principal findings. Where relevant, PTL can compare design alternatives, identify operating limits, explain likely failure mechanisms and recommend design changes.
Where uncertainty remains, we will define the physical testing or additional evidence needed to resolve it. You receive an engineering conclusion, not unexplained software output.
Relevant experience
PTL’s experience includes analysis and development work across engines, powertrains, fuel systems, pumps, valves, hydraulic equipment, thermal machinery, electric motors, drivetrains, actuators and energy-conversion systems.
Past programmes include ultra-high-pressure fuel injection, industrial heat-pump development, cooling-system evaluation, advanced battery cooling, multiphase pumping and dynamic actuation.
Riccardo Meldolesi
Technical Director
Riccardo leads PTL’s R&D activity and oversees analysis and simulation work. His experience includes Maserati, Ricardo and Southwest Research Institute, supported by published technical papers and patented engineering developments. Riccardo is the lead technical contact for motor, precision control and multi-physics programmes.
Call today on 01273 466 666 or send us an email.
Speak with PTL’s analysis and simulation team, led by Riccardo Meldolesi, Technical Director
Riccardo leads PTL’s R&D activity and oversees the analysis and simulation team, with experience spanning Maserati, Ricardo and Southwest Research Institute.
Send the team the design information currently available, the operating conditions and the decision the analysis needs to support. We will help you identify the appropriate analytical tools, model fidelity and evidence required to reach a technically defensible conclusion.
