SHD Sim Acoustics
Noise, and where it comes from
Structure-borne and air-borne noise on the same mesh path as everything else — and the aeroacoustic half already exists inside the CFD module.
This module is available.
What it runs on
Established open-source solvers, bundled or provisioned — the same approach as the CFD module, where the case for paying is the hours the interface saves rather than a solver nobody else has.
Elmer
Helmholtz for duct and cavity modes, and vibro-acoustics
code_aster
Structural acoustics where the structure is the hard part
OpenFOAM
Aeroacoustic sources — already shipping today
Analysis types
4 of them, in 2 groups, each with the backend that serves it. Naming the backend per row is deliberate: it is what tells you whether a capability is a setting away or a different solver entirely.
Structural and cavity
The Helmholtz problems. One Elmer integration brings these alongside electromagnetics and thermal rather than as a separate project.
| Analysis type | Backend | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vibro-acoustics | Elmer or code_aster | Structure-borne noise, radiated sound |
| Duct and cavity acoustics | Elmer | Modes and transmission loss |
Aeroacoustics
The one part of this module waiting on nothing: Curle, Proudman and acousticFoam are in the bundled solver set now, and DES gives them an unsteady field to work from.
| Analysis type | Backend | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aeroacoustic sources | OpenFOAM | Curle, proudmanAcousticPower, acousticFoam — available today |
| Far-field propagation | our own post-processing | No good open-source FW-H integration exists; it would be ours over OpenFOAM surface data |
What you would use it for
Written as questions because that is how the work arrives. Nobody sets out to run a modal analysis; they set out to find whether the thing will resonate.
How loud is this, and where does it radiate?
Vibro-acoustics couples the vibrating structure to the air around it, so the answer is radiated sound rather than surface velocity.
What does this silencer actually remove?
Duct acoustics gives transmission loss against frequency, which is the specification a silencer is sold on.
Which cavity mode is ringing?
Helmholtz modes in a cavity, with the frequencies and the shapes that go with them.
Where is the aerodynamic noise coming from?
Curle and Proudman surface sources over an unsteady DES field — available in the CFD module today, not waiting on anything.
Who asks these questions
- Automotive NVH
- Building services and HVAC
- Aerospace
- Consumer appliances
- Rail
- Industrial equipment
Sectors where this analysis is routine — not a claim that we have customers in them.
How to get it
Add Acoustics on the pricing page, choose named or floating seats, and the same licence unlocks local solving, paid-tier scale and eligible SHD Cloud workflows for this module.