Pod Insights Big Ideas Lab DYNA3D About this episode What does designing hurricane-proof buildings have to do with heart surgery and light beer? Surprisingly, the answer lies in a groundbreaking computer code developed more than 50 years ago: DYNA3D.
Transcript 0:00 Speaker 00 Looking for a career that challenges and inspires? Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is hiring for a power grid dynamics engineer and a transmission grid engineer, along with many other roles in science, technology, engineering, and beyond. At the lab, every role contributes to groundbreaking projects in national security, advanced computing, and scientific research, all within a collaborative, mission-driven environment. Discover open positions at llnl.gov/careers, where big ideas come to life.
0:43 Speaker 01 Hurricane Ian officially made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds at 150 miles per hour.
0:50 Speaker 00 Question: What does designing buildings that stand up to hurricanes have to do with heart surgery? And light beer?
1:05 Speaker 02 Thousands die every year in car accidents because they don't buckle up.
1:09 Speaker 03 Vince, we're dummies. We don't wear safety belts.
1:11 Speaker 00 And a couple of crash test dummies from the 90s.
1:14 Speaker 02 Hit it!
1:15 Speaker 00 Yeah! Well, the answer is a small section of code written more than 50 years ago. Code that automakers use in car crash simulations, beer manufacturers have used to design cans, surgeons use to understand how fluid flows through the heart, and meteorologists use to understand how structures will hold up to weather events. Code that was shared collaboratively with experts and hobbyists, and set the model for open-source movements like Wikipedia, GitHub, and even AI development. This is the story of Dyna3D.
1:56 Speaker 00 You are listening to the Big Ideas Lab, your weekly exploration inside Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Hear untold stories, meet boundary-pushing pioneers, and get unparalleled access inside the gates. From national security challenges to computing revolutions, discover the innovations that are shaping tomorrow, today.
2:25 Speaker 00 Picture an egg in your hand. What do you think would happen if you threw that egg into a wall? You could safely assume that the eggshell will shatter into hundreds of pieces and the yolk will splatter all over the wall. Sure, but what if you had to predict where every crack would form in the shell? Or where every piece of it would land on the ground? You would have to make calculations on the fragility of the shell, the force of impact with the wall, and model the fluid movement of the yolk. That would be pretty tough. But this was the same problem that engineers were facing at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
3:07 Speaker 00 Except on a scale that was hundreds of millions of times larger and more complex. They were designing a bomb that would be dropped at low altitude at high speed. Would the warhead survive the crash landing intact without damage? Where would it and its debris land? They had no way to affordably test this, and needed to test it through a simulation code that would give accurate predictions for a lot of possible crash landings.
3:35 Speaker 04 My start date at the Lawrence Livermore Lab was more than 50 years ago. I think it was March 17, 1973.
3:43 Speaker 00 The problem? It was the 1970s. The 70s were rich in disco, bold colors, and rebellious fashion. But what wasn't nearly as abundant? Advanced simulation systems. The technology at the time was far too limited to provide accurate solutions to the questions Lawrence Livermore needed to be answered. After all, they had to build a computer model of a highly complex bomb when we were still two years away from Pong being played on your home television.
4:21 Speaker 00 Meet John Holquist, the inventor of Dyna3D.
4:26 Speaker 04 When I first joined the lab, it was in the Nutrile Test Engineering Division, where they were looking at vulnerability of protective structures such as missile silos and so on. And in that role, I was a analyst, running some finite element codes. And then, after I found out that none of those codes, they never gave correct answers. They were developing a new one-megaton bomb that was going to be dropped from about 120 feet above the target at a very high speed. They had absolutely no way to analyze the impact.
5:10 Speaker 00 When modeling the behaviors of objects in physical space, computer scientists and mathematicians break up the space into sections using the finite element method. This might sound complicated, but do you remember in art class when you'd lay a grid over a drawing and then recreate the drawing square by square? It's kind of like that. All those grids, in this case, millions of them, recombine to give you a full picture. Each of those grids is called an element. And just like a drawing, when John joined them all up, the models were stuck in two dimensions.
5:48 Speaker 04 They were using two-dimensional codes, which really can't model a 3D impact. So they wanted to develop a new code to look at the impact of this weapon on a hard target. That's how Dyna3D got started.
6:04 Speaker 00 At that point, computers could only process finite elements in two dimensions. As the name suggests, Dyna3D operates in three dimensions, allowing supercomputers, like those at Lawrence Livermore, to simulate the effects on structures in a way that mirrors the real world.
6:22 Speaker 05 John was by far the most productive and creative software engineer that I've ever seen.
6:29 Speaker 00 That's the lab's Senior Advisor for Innovation and Partnerships, Roger Werny, who has spent more than 30 years of his career at Lawrence Livermore. He has seen firsthand the evolution of Dyna.
6:40 Speaker 05 The unique feature of Dyna 3D was is that it was able in three dimensions to model the folding collapsing of metal structures on themselves. Until he did this, a finite element code could not model a structure that collapsed on itself. They would just pass through one another in a non-real way. Well, John's algorithm was able to do this to metal structures.
7:04 Speaker 00 John was working late nights and weekends dedicated to his mission to complete the code. And in 1976, the hard work paid off. The very first version of Dyna 3D was released, a breakthrough in the modeling capabilities for the time.
7:20 Speaker 04 By 1976, the first version was completed.
7:24 Speaker 00 But John wasn't satisfied.
7:26 Speaker 04 It was implemented on a CDC 7600, which had 65,000 words of fast memory and 256,000 words of slow memory. We could only run 2,000 elements, maybe 5,000 to 10,000 elements. We could perform basic simulations, but nothing all that complicated. But in 1978, we received a Cray1 computer, which was revolutionary. So at that time, I completely recoded the code so it was almost 100% vectorized, and we could start looking at real impact problems.
8:07 Speaker 00 But then, the original project that John had been working on was canceled.
8:12 Speaker 04 But the bomb that we were developing was canceled at that time. We received additional funding to pursue the development of Dyna 3D for other types of structures used in defense. And they funded it then for the next few years. And the software started to be used quite a bit by the engineers within the lab for virtually all applications.
8:40 Speaker 00 While the weapons program that prompted the need for Dyna3D was canceled, John Holquist realized the potential for his code, which he believed could handle complex 3D simulations for industries beyond just the military.
8:54 Speaker 04 In 1978, I applied to have the code released into the public domain.
9:01 Speaker 00 Suddenly, technology born in a nuclear lab would be accessible to everyone.
9:13 Speaker 00 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is hiring. If you're passionate about tackling real-world challenges in science, engineering, business, or skilled trades, there's a place for you at the lab. Right now, positions are open for a Senior Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Engineer and a Senior Business Operations Specialist. These are just a few of the more than 100 exciting roles available. At Lawrence Livermore, you'll work on projects that matter, from national security to cutting-edge scientific advancements. Join a team that values innovation, collaboration, and professional growth. Explore opportunities at llnl.gov/careers,
9:58 Speaker 00 where your next career move could make history.
10:10 Speaker 00 Software engineers around the world were quick to get their hands on Dyna3D. These early adopters played a vital role in helping not only evolve this massive and still-growing software package, but explore never-before-tested use cases for the code. It was a foundational moment in the open-source code movement.
10:31 Speaker 05 In those days, software was available for the taking. We would share the software widely with universities. And the requirement we had was if you make an improvement to it or you find a bug in the code, you send it back to us and we'll fix it or do an improvement thereof. So we had a group of users in the outside world, you know, 50, 60, 70 of them, who gave us feedback on this thing on a regular basis.
10:53 Speaker 00 By allowing Dyna3D to be open source, the code was free to use, modify, and apply across any use case by any company or organization. That kind of sharing and transparency are core principles of the digital revolution, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory established them from the very beginning.
11:13 Speaker 05 Of course, we had users inside who were using the code as well. Let's say I was running a problem, and I would find a bug in the code, something wouldn't work. So I'd take the code to John and show him the problem, and the next day it would be fixed. And that happened throughout the lab community and throughout the outside community. When he found a bug in the code, he would work all night fixing that code so that the next day you could go back and do your calculations. And I think John took that ability to rapidly fix problems and make the user more productive by not having to wait weeks to fix the bug. I mean, it was done in days. That was a huge benefit to the outside world because, you know, to the outside world, commercial world, time is money.
11:57 Speaker 00 Thanks to the flexible and scalable nature of the code, Dyna3D quickly evolved with the help of a dedicated and loyal following. The codebase grew to 10 times its original size and began popping up across a diverse set of industries.
12:13 Speaker 05 Dyna3D became the workhorse for crash simulation in the automobile industry. It saved the automobile industry billions of dollars per year. They no longer had to do many, many real full-time crashes. They could model the crash on a computer, do the changes they need in order to strengthen the structure, the autostructure, and then do a final test crash to validate the models that they had developed.
12:41 Speaker 00 In the early 1980s, Holquist recognized the code's importance to these industries.
12:47 Speaker 05 So it's a huge success. From the standpoint of our impact on the commercial world, it may very well be one of the biggest successes we've had.
12:56 Speaker 00 So John decided to take his work to the private sector, forming the Livermore Software Technology Corporation.
13:03 Speaker 04 I thought that if things really didn't work out, I would move to Michigan and work for one of the tier-one suppliers to the automotive companies. At that time, I knew a lot of people. So I figured the worst thing that could happen is we wouldn't survive and I would move out of California. But it seemed to me that there was a huge market that wasn't being addressed.
13:31 Speaker 00 But John would still face stiff competition in the private sector. So as part of an effort to update the original code, John enhanced the software and reintroduced it as LS Dyna.
13:44 Speaker 04 ESI and HKS were the two big competitors. And there's also a company called Mechalog. And Mechalog and ESI both worked with Find a 3D from 1981. I wasn't so sure that we could beat out ESI because they had almost 100% of the automotive crash market at the time. But eventually, we took over about 90% of the crash market.
14:13 Speaker 00 If you ever watched a car safety test, you know with the crash test dummies.
14:21 Speaker 00 You'll usually see a computer screen in the background with a simulation of the crash on screen. More likely than not, that simulation is LS Dyna. John's journey from government researcher to entrepreneur expanded the code's application from impact simulations to aerodynamics. Kim Bedill, the director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, tells us more.
14:45 Speaker 06 We've used those tools to do things like model the aerodynamics of trucks. So trying to make big semi-tractor trailers more fuel-efficient on the road by designing the cowl-ing and the shielding that goes on the truck so that the air flows more smoothly. So we're saving emissions by making our trucking fleet more efficient.
15:04 Speaker 00 After widespread success in the automotive industry, the technology really took flight.
15:10 Speaker 04 Oh, aerospace is a big one, of course. At LSDC, we had... Usually two meetings a year with the jet engine manufacturers Boeing and the FAA because the engine manufacturers were certifying modifications to the engines without doing testing and they wanted to use the simulations to justify the changes because the testing costs millions and millions of dollars to change and the FAA was interested because they wanted to understand how analysis could be used to make design changes without doing
15:51 Speaker 04 the physical test afterwards. So I think we had almost all the world's manufacturers of jet engines using LS Dyna for that type of work and usually it's a bird impacting the outer fan blades and then being adjusted into the turbine blades and they'd model the entire engine and do the simulation.
16:24 Speaker 00 In the 1990s, even the Coors Brewery turned to the Dyna code for the company's high-speed production lines, using the code to determine exactly how much material they needed to use for their cans.
16:39 Speaker 00 Explosives, automobiles, airplanes, even light beer. The use cases for Dyna reach far and wide, and new applications for the code are being discovered every day.
16:51 Speaker 05 One of the features that I think LS Dyna has done is they've modeled a combination of structural performance and heat transfer characteristics within the model because you can do both simultaneously. You can actually do chemical kinetics as well. And I know that battery technology, in which you look at the failure of a battery due to the heating of the battery components and the eventual destruction of the battery. I know there are companies who are using LS Dyna in battery modeling and it turns out to be a very valuable thing. The coupling of electromagnetics, heat transfer, and structural response via these codes is turning out to be a very valuable new feature.
17:32 Speaker 00 Perhaps the most important potential application of Dyna to date has been the promising work done in the healthcare industry. Today, bioengineers employ the code to model impacts during various surgical procedures and bodily injuries, and even to design medical equipment.
17:51 Speaker 05 Dyna 3D and various other codes have been used to model the impact on human bodies. For example, you make a skeletal structure, you make the tissue structure of the human body, and then if it's in an automobile and hits a steering wheel, or hits an airbag, you can study the impact of that structure.
18:11 Speaker 04 I was really aware of this work where they were looking at their pacemakers, which then requires a complete model of the heart, and then the fluid flowing through the heart, as well as a very complex constitutive model to model the behavior of the heart. You know, you have to have muscles modeled that contract and pump, just like the heart does. And then the electromagnetics capability is needed to model the pacemaker, and the electrical current hits a muscle and the muscle has to contract.
18:46 Speaker 00 Because Dyna 3D is open source and available to all, it would be a daunting task to calculate how many companies or individuals are using it. In recent years, it was discovered that Dyna-based code was prominently used by 18 aerospace companies, nine atomic energy firms, 13 automakers, 37 research labs, and 25 engineering corporations. Every one of them using this code to simulate crucial tests in their research. Dyna, once designed for a singular purpose, has evolved into an unsung hero, safeguarding us in the skies, on the roads, and in our bodies.
19:27 Speaker 00 Exceeding the confines of early computing, it was able to simulate the intricacies of the real world, a feat that laid the foundation for advanced 3D simulations we rely on today. From its origins in public funding to its current success in the private sector, Dyna has transcended its initial purpose, becoming an essential tool for industry, academia, and research alike. It is intertwined with the very fabric of modern engineering. As one engineer interviewed put it, "Dyna is to finite element codes what Hershey is to chocolate bars and Kleenex is to tissues."
20:07 Speaker 00 Whether it's modeling the bladder of an egg, understanding the impact of a nuclear device, or digitally replicating the human body, Dyna is a staple in the engineer's toolkit. As we look to the future, Dyna is poised to enable breakthroughs we can scarcely imagine today, from designing safer vehicles to unraveling the mysteries of protein folding. Its relentless optimization and incredible versatility ensure Dyna will continue to expand the boundaries of the possible for decades to come.
20:52 Speaker 00 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is hiring. If you're passionate about tackling real-world challenges in science, engineering, business, or skilled trades, there's a place for you at the lab. Right now, positions are open for a Senior Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Engineer and a Senior Business Operations Specialist. These are just a few of the more than 100 exciting roles available. At Lawrence Livermore, you'll work on projects that matter, from national security to cutting-edge scientific advancements. Join a team that values innovation, collaboration, and professional growth.
21:32 Speaker 00 Explore opportunities at llnl.gov/careers, where your next career move could make history.
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Next El Capitan Page updated November 7, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated