Engineering Reality - The Power of Simulation & Digital Prototyping
with Derik Cloete, Senior Engineering Solutions Manager at LEAP Australia

What if simulation wasn’t just about reducing prototypes, but about expanding how we think as engineers?

In this episode of The Structural Intelligence Podcast, Owen Keenan is joined by Derik Cloete to explore the creative and technical frontier of simulation. From digital twins to fluid-structure interaction, from CFD and FEA to the flow of blood through a virtual heart, this is a conversation about how physics, curiosity, and compute are changing the way we model, design, and decide.

You’ll hear how Derik and his team at LEAP Australia use multiphysics tools to support sectors from mining and defence to biomedical and optics, and how simulation is helping engineers ask better questions before anything gets built.

🔍 Topics include:

• Why systems thinking is central to modern engineering

• How simulation enables virtual testing at scale

• The role of tools like CFD, DEM, and digital mission engineering

• The shift from gut-feel to data-driven design intuition

• What it means to “prototype reality”

📍 Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
00:57 Derek Cloete's Early Career and Passion for Engineering
03:28 Transition to a Soft Technical Role
04:23 Role at LEAP Australia and Customer Interactions
05:47 Exploring Simulation Technologies
06:32 Diving into Physics and Simulation Applications
10:48 Three-Letter Acronyms in Engineering
11:24 Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
14:04 Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) and Digital Mission Engineering (DME)
18:28 Electromagnetics and Real-World Applications
21:30 Simulation Technology Development and Industry Applications
23:07 Empirical Standards in Engineering
23:46 The Role of Communication in Engineering
24:03 Engineering Morality and Standards
26:07 Exploring Simulation in Engineering
28:50 Practical Applications of Simulation
34:21 Parameter Studies and Design Optimization
39:15 The Future of Simulation and AI
39:47 Building a Community of Engineers
45:16 Final Thoughts and Summary

🎧 Follow the podcast to get new episodes as they drop
👤 Connect with Derik Cloete: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derikcloete/
🏢 Learn more about LEAP Australia: https://www.leapaust.com.au

#simulation #digitalengineering #FEA #CFD #designoptimisation #engineeringmindset #virtualtesting #prototyping #systemsengineering #multiphysics

When you look at a building, you see walls, floors, and roofs. But what you don’t see is the silent choreography of forces keeping it all standing.

In this AI Short, we break down the concept of the load path the invisible route every force takes from roof to foundation. You’ll learn:

• Why load paths are essential for structural safety and resilience

• The difference between gravity and lateral loads

• How load paths play out in a timber house, a concrete high-rise, and a steel portal frame

• The role of modern software in optimizing designs in real time

Based on insights from ClearCalcs’ article on load transfer, this episode makes a fundamental engineering principle accessible and memorable whether you’re a student, designer, or site engineer.

In this episode, Owen Keenan sits down with Brooks Smith, Chartered Structural Engineer, open-source contributor, and Head of Engineering R&D at ClearCalcs.

Brooks shares his unconventional career journey, from testing software at Ansys to conducting forensic investigations at the Empire State Building, before moving into cold-formed steel design and engineering platform development. Together, they explore how the engineer’s toolkit is evolving, from spreadsheets and hand calcs to cloud-based systems, AI-driven workflows, and data-informed design standards.

Whether you’re a design engineer, software-savvy practitioner, or just curious about the future of engineering, this episode dives into the mindset and tools shaping our profession.

⏱️ Episode Timestamps:

• 0:00 – Introduction

• 1:20 – Brooks Smith’s background

• 5:40 – Open-source projects and programming journey

• 7:20 – Transition into structural engineering

• 10:20 – Evolution of engineering tools over time

• 17:50 – How tools have improved practice

• 22:01 – Defining AI in the context of structural engineering

• 26:25 – AI’s role in structural design workflows

• 29:17 – What is emergent design?

• 31:36 – How innovation shapes standards and practice

• 33:47 – ClearCalcs tools and what’s next in development

• 38:30 – AI host summary and closing thoughts🔗 Resources & Mentions:

• 🔧 ClearCalcs
  https://www.clearcalcs.com/?utm_source=owenkeenan&utm_medium=partnerships&utm_campaign=podcast-feature

• 
  

  👤 Brooks Smith – LinkedIn
  www.linkedin.com/in/smithbh

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  💻 Open-source tools
  anaStruct (GitHub)
  pyCUFSM (GitHub)

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  📽️ CFSEI Presentation Slides (2024)
  Google Slides

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  📄 CFSEI Abstract
  Read the Abstract