Altair > Case Studies > Enhancing Sports Impact Simulations with HyperWorks: A Case Study at Loughborough University's STI

Enhancing Sports Impact Simulations with HyperWorks: A Case Study at Loughborough University's STI

Applicable Industries

Apparel
Equipment & Machinery

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development
Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Onsite Human Safety Management
Visual Quality Detection

Services

Testing & Certification
Training

About The Customer

The Sports Technology Institute (STI) at Loughborough University is a world-leading research group in sports engineering and the largest in the UK. Founded in 2007, the STI has established links with a wide range of leading global brands and strategic commercial partners in the sporting goods industry. The institute's facilities are located on one site in state-of-the-art laboratories, where the team can progress from initial concept through to finished product. The STI has the capability to design, develop, prototype, test, and optimise a range of products, and also has the skills to create bespoke equipment designed to achieve the aims of a particular research project.

The Challenge

The Sports Technology Institute (STI) at Loughborough University, a leading research group in sports engineering, was faced with the challenge of generating complex human surrogate models to simulate sports impact scenarios. These scenarios are crucial for the development and testing of personal protective equipment (PPE) in sports. The human body, with its intricate tissue structures and complex anatomical geometries, is incredibly difficult to replicate accurately. The challenge was further compounded by the need for high-quality meshes that could provide a good description of these complex geometries. The quality of a mesh significantly affects model behaviour, making it a key factor in the research. The institute needed a solution that could handle these complexities and provide accurate, high-quality models for their research.

The Solution

The STI turned to Altair's HyperWorks for its enhanced meshing capabilities. HyperMesh, a component of HyperWorks, was used primarily to clean up scan geometries and provide high-quality meshes. The software's geometry editing tools enabled efficient clean-up of inconsistencies introduced when a scanned geometry was imported. This was particularly important given that all human structures used in surrogate evaluations are non-standardised shapes and often embody some missing detail. HyperMesh also provided enhanced control over features, making mesh refinements easier to conduct and manipulate for further iterations. The software proved to be a valuable tool in generating high-quality meshes that accurately described complex anatomical geometries in a computationally efficient manner. HyperWorks is expected to play an integral role in future research projects at the STI, particularly in modelling increasingly complex geometries and impact scenarios from different regions of the body.

Operational Impact

The use of HyperWorks and its component HyperMesh has significantly improved the STI's ability to simulate sports impact scenarios. The software's enhanced meshing capabilities have allowed the institute to generate high-quality meshes that accurately represent complex human anatomical geometries. This has been integral to the development of human surrogate models for sports PPE research. The software's geometry editing tools have also proved invaluable in cleaning up inconsistencies in scanned geometries, ensuring the accuracy and consistency of the models. Furthermore, the enhanced control over features provided by HyperMesh has made mesh refinements easier to conduct and manipulate for further iterations. This has not only improved the quality of the models but also the efficiency of the modelling process. The software is expected to play a key role in future research projects at the STI, particularly in modelling increasingly complex geometries and impact scenarios.