Case Study: Baker Hughes achieves 60–70% fewer prototypes and 60% faster, lower‑cost Expandable Liner Hanger development with Altair CAE simulation

CAE Simulation driven Product Development of Expandable Liner Hanger

Baker Hughes, a global oilfield services leader, needed to develop an Expandable Liner Hanger capable of hanging heavy liners in deep‑water, subsalt and deviated wells while meeting stricter environmental and reliability demands. To predict hanging capacity, sealing integrity and setting forces and to reduce time and cost to market, Baker Hughes engaged Altair for CAE simulation‑driven product development using large‑scale FEA and integrated validation workflows.

Altair implemented a seven‑step CAE methodology—FE model building (models >6M elements), verification, lab validation, DOE optimization and reliability assessment—to optimize the liner hanger design. The work increased hanging capacity by ~40% with an optimized slip ring, reduced prototype tests by about 60–77%, cut development time from 65 to 26 months, delivered cost savings of roughly $1.2M–$1.44M (60–65%), and demonstrated ~95% reliability at the target load, delivering a faster, lower‑cost and more reliable product development outcome.

Baker Hughes

Ganesh Nanaware

Staff Engineer