From the end of November to the end of March I had the opportunity to do my secondment at CentraleSupélec, working in close contact with Dr. Damien Durville and ESR 6 Ali Saadat. My secondment was focused on simulation of bending and torsion experiments of cables using the code Multifil.

I visited the premises and the labs of the department and I had a first training where I learned the basics of Multifil, focussing on cable geometry and boundary conditions definition and contact formulation. The rest of the time was then dedicated to practical simulations of experiments.

The results have then been compared with the ones obtained by one of my colleagues at ITWM who performed the same experiments with the software Ansys, and with experimental data. My secondment was split in short visits, and this allowed me to periodically update and improve my work, by having fruitful discussions both at ITWM and at CentraleSupélec.

This challenge was very interesting to me, and gave me the opportunity to learn a lot of concepts that I wouldn’t have encountered had I not spent some time in CentraleSupélec. On one hand, I improved my knowledge regarding modelling and simulation of contact-friction interactions in assemblies of rods, on the other hand, I had the chance to experience how different simulation tools require different approaches, and this improved my ability to see the same problem from different points of view.

During those weeks, it was also very nice to spend some time in Paris, which to my eyes remains one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

Contributed by Davide Manfredo (ESR 11)