The 2021 SIMULIA Champions come from locations around the world, as well as from a variety of industries. Several of them have agreed to share their stories about how they are using simulation and what led them to the engineering field.

David Scholtz is a Principal Engineer at Wood in Perth, Australia. His work involves offshore and subsea elements, and he uses Finite Element Analysis, particularly Abaqus, for everything relating to pipelines, structures and mechanical components. He has been using Abaqus for about 15 years, having first been introduced to it by a colleague at a previous job.

Scholtz graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. The university had an advanced FEA group, and Abaqus was well-known, so Scholtz had early exposure to the technology that he would use for the majority of his career. After graduating, he moved to the United Kingdom where he worked in the automotive industry, particularly automotive electronics; he helped to develop some of the first radar systems that are seen in most vehicles today. After four years, he returned to South Africa and continued to work for the automotive industry, as well as in the marine sector that included offshore diamond mining.

He became proficient in Abaqus after his colleague introduced it to him, and that expertise was what eventually led him to the oil and gas industry, where the technology is used extensively. It is a difficult industry to become a part of, Scholtz says, and his simulation knowledge set him apart and eventually led him to Australia and his current position.

Outside of work, Scholtz enjoys spending time with his two children, as well as sports and old cars – he has a 1987 Maserati that he is currently fixing up, learning as he goes along.

Learning as one goes along applies to the field of engineering as well, and Scholtz’s advice to new users of Abaqus involves commitment and dedication, as well as perseverance and a methodical, precise approach. Abaqus is very complex, he says, but a user has to start somewhere – he advises being clear on what you are trying to do and working to understand what the answer is telling you.

“As you grow and gain experience, use it to understand what the software is actually telling you,” he says. “Through that, you become a better engineer as well.”

He recalls someone once telling him that engineering is not a career, it is a vocation. It is something to explore for those who enjoy the sciences and the practical side of things, and the field is so broad that there is something for everyone.

“Engineers are born and not made, to a certain degree,” he says. “If you enjoy the sciences and STEM, then definitely pursue it. If you are doing engineering instead of pure science, then you tend to be more marketable when you graduate.”

Every day at work is both a challenge and a learning experience, according to Scholtz, but he thoroughly enjoys those challenges and credits Abaqus with helping him to be able to solve them. He works mainly with design, but also some integrity issues. Both of these areas are highly complex and require solutions in a short period of time. Simulation, he says, is invaluable in delivering those solutions.

“I love simulation because it allows me to gain a greater understanding of engineering activities that we undertake, and gives us insight into the design and integrity of components that we wouldn’t be able to achieve any other way,” he says.

Scholtz believes that his company makes the world, and the lives of its clients, a better place because, by simulating reality, they can make pipelines and offshore facilities safer and more energy-efficient. In the future, he hopes to train up young engineers as well as keep learning and growing in his own career.