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Volume Graphics Offers Best Volume Meshing of CT Data among Investigated Methods According to Safran Study
Safran, an international high-technology group and tier-1 supplier of systems and equipment in the Aerospace and Defense markets, benchmarked volume meshing solutions from different vendors to find out that the Volume Meshing Module for VGSTUDIO MAX 3.4.4 offered the best results among the investigated methods. The company has explicitly examined volume meshing of computed tomography (CT) data as part of a PhD thesis.
Safran’s goal is to find a new approach for nondestructive serial inspection of turbine blades based on a new automatic technology for lifetime prediction. One of the steps involved is the volume meshing of the CT scan of the inspected objects, which as to be fast and accurate.
The challenge was to translate a CT scan of a tensile rod into a volume mesh, with the rod having both sharp edges and a drill hole. Volume Graphics' software was best able to translate both into a volume mesh. Overall, the tetrahedral volume mesh generated with VGSTUDIO MAX 3.4.4 most accurately represented the geometry of the component and ranked ahead of the two competitors in the overall rankings. Volume Graphics delivered the best result in six of eight categories of the benchmark analysis.
“We are already users of Volume Graphics' software for analyzing and visualizing CT data. With the Volume Meshing Module, it is now possible for us to quickly create high-quality volume meshes from CT data,” explains Axel Aublet, NDT Engineer at Safran. “The Volume Meshing module is easy to use and delivers convincing results in no time,” says fellow NDT Engineer Clément Remacha.
The Volume Meshing Module was first introduced in version 3.3 of VGSTUDIO MAX, Volume Graphics’ modular software suite for the analysis and visualization of industrial CT data, and improved ever since. This allows users to cover the complete workflow from CT scan to volume mesh with VGSTUDIO MAX. The Volume Meshing Module can be used to create accurate and high-quality tetrahedral volume meshes from CT scans which can then be used for mechanical, fluid, thermal, electrical, and other FEM simulations in third party software. It is based directly on the subvoxel-accurate surface determination for single or multiple materials and requires no intermediate surface mesh—thus avoiding the loss of geometry information.
Users can export the generated volume meshes in the .pat (PATRAN®), .bdf (NASTRAN®), or .inp (Abaqus) format. Each cell of the generated volume mesh can be loaded with additional information which may be required for simulation, such as fiber orientations, fiber volume fractions, porosity volume fractions, or gray values.
The Volume Meshing module is available for VGSTUDIO MAX 3.4.4. More information about the software is available on the Volume Graphics website: https://www.volumegraphics.com/en/products/vgstudio-max/add-on-modules-for-simulation.html#VM
| Id | Criterion Name | Best |
| 1 | Aspect Frobenius | Competitor 1 |
| 2 | Aspect Gamma | Volume Graphics |
| 3 | Aspect Ratio | Volume Graphics |
| 4 | Collapse Ratio | Volume Graphics |
| 5 | Min Angle | Volume Graphics |
| 6 | Scaled Jacobian | Volume Graphics |
| 7 | Radius Ratio | Volume Graphics |
| 8 | Volume | Competitor 2 |
Volume Graphics delivered the best result in six of eight categories of the benchmark analysis.
| Id | Scoring | Rank |
| Volume Graphics | 7 | 1 |
| Competitor 2 | 1,5 | 2 |
| Competitor 1 | 0,5 | 3 |
Overall, the tetrahedral volume mesh generated with VGSTUDIO MAX 3.4.4 most accurately represented the geometry of the component and ranked well ahead of the two competitors in the overall rankings.
In the benchmark analysis by Safran, a CT scan of a tensile rod had be to translate into a volume mesh, with the rod having both sharp edges and a drill hole.
About Volume Graphics and Hexagon
Volume Graphics GmbH has been developing software for non-destructive testing based on industrial computed tomography (CT) for over 20 years. Customers around the world, e.g., from the automotive, aerospace, and electronics industries, use Volume Graphics software for quality assurance in product development and production. In addition to its headquarters in Heidelberg, the company has branches in the USA, Japan, Singapore, and China. Learn more at www.volumegraphics.com and follow us @volume_graphics.
Since 2020, Volume Graphics has been part of Hexagon. Hexagon is a global leader in sensor, software and autonomous solutions. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, and quality across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, safety, and mobility applications. Our technologies are shaping urban and production ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous – ensuring a scalable, sustainable future.
Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 20,000 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 3.9bn EUR. Learn more at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.