TECHburgher :: Putting some sizzle in the Pittsburgh technology sector.

I don’t think there’s a problem that ANSYS software can’t analyze. Case in point:

ANSYS, which is a developer of  simulation software and technologies designed to optimize product development processes, announced today that its software is helping aixprocess, a German engineering consultancy, to explore process improvements that will make cement manufacturing more profitable and more environmentally responsible. The business has been investigating replacing traditional fossil fuels — which are becoming increasingly difficult to extract, expensive to use and are of limited quantity — with alternative fuels. The efforts of aixprocess are part of a collaborative project sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, aimed at using fluid dynamics modeling tools to identify process improvements needed to help cement manufacturers remain competitive in today’s business world.

Cement manufacturing is a complicated, resource-intensive process in which limestone and other materials are crushed and milled, preheated to separate glass from solids, and then heated in a kiln at temperatures up to 1,450 degrees Centigrade (C). Large quantities of fuel are needed for preheating raw materials and keeping kiln temperatures high enough to produce the calcium silicate and aluminates that represent modern cement mixtures. Traditionally, the fuels used in cement making have been coal, oil and gas. However, due to the increasing financial costs associated with fossil fuels — as well as the negative environmental impacts — cement manufacturers around the world are beginning to explore the use of nontraditional fuels such as scrap tires, paper waste and plastic waste.