Case Study: Loughborough University achieves accurate, efficient sports impact simulation with Altair HyperWorks

Accurate Simulation Modelling of Sports Impact Scenarios using HyperWorks

Loughborough University’s Sports Technology Institute needed to develop accurate human surrogate models to study sports impact scenarios and evaluate personal protective equipment. The core challenge was discretising complex, scanned anatomical geometries for finite-element (FE) analysis—something that exceeded the capabilities of generic FE pre-processors. To address this, Loughborough University partnered with Altair and adopted the HyperWorks suite, in particular HyperMesh, for enhanced meshing and geometry preparation.

Altair implemented HyperWorks/HyperMesh to clean up scan data, apply mesh biasing and diagnostics, and generate high‑quality, computationally efficient meshes. The solution delivered better discretisation and more reliable impact-response predictions than generic tools, reduced the need for costly physical prototyping, and accelerated surrogate development and iteration. Altair’s software therefore produced clear improvements in model quality and modelling efficiency, supporting ongoing and future sports‑engineering research.

Loughborough University

Sean Mitchell

Lecturer