Today, users segment specific physical phenomena and perform structural, thermal, or fluids analysis. In reality, the product is going to be subjected to a number of physical realities simultaneously during its duty cycles. The first step in addressing this situation will be to continue enhancing multiphysics simulation capabilities. While the capabilities of single-physics analysis will continue to progress, so, too, will coupling between numerous physical phenomena. Fluid-structural interaction appears to be the most common example of this situation, but it carries into almost every form of simulation.
Products go through complete duty cycles over their operating lives.
The real world also tends to be far less deterministic than a typical analysis would be. Materials, geometry, anticipated loads, and manufacturing all contain uncertainties. Pinning down those uncertainties via tolerances can be a costly endeavor. In some cases, the sensitivities to those tolerances are not that important. Tools that allow for the stochastic and probabilistic variances in all facets of the product will allow for design within a range of envelopes.