Testing an Anti-Shark Cage in SOLIDWORKS Simulation

As a child I was fascinated with sharks: whale sharks, hammerheads, makos, nurse sharks, whitetips, basking sharks and, of course, the mighty white great. I was basically a shark for shark information. I was a remorseless machine that would stop at nothing to feed my hunger for shark-related books, documentaries and movies (especially one particular film set in the fictional town of Amity).

Naturally, these movies and books would influence many aspects of my life. I will admit to suffering from the irrational fear of the “pool shark.” Most people are aware of the miniscule chances of suffering an actual shark attack. There are a million ways you’re more likely to die – bee stings, car crashes, coconuts, and vending machines to name a few. There’s just something about falling prey to a predator in what amounts to an underwater alien world that ignites fear in our minds.

Despite this fear, humans have been studying sharks for decades. Luckily, some intrepid engineers have been able to create safer environments for scientists to study sharks in their natural habitat. The most famous, thanks again to film and TV, has to be the anti-shark cage. These cages are responsible for giving us an up close and personal glimpse of sharks from the comfort of our own couches. The view looks great, but I wonder if the person in the cage truly feels confident within the steel bars? I mean, things got pretty hairy in a cage off the Amity coast.

Combine my long-time obsession with sharks and my smart co-workers here at SOLIDWORKS, and I was finally able to discover just what it would take to break an anti-shark cage, thanks to SOLIDWORKS Simulation. Some things I’d rather test in software before testing in nature; this would definitely qualify.

In this video, you’ll see the shark cage subjected to ramming and biting from a 3.5-ton great white shark in SOLIDWORKS Simulation. As an added bonus, we look to see how the cage would react against some inclement weather – in this case, a shark propelled at tornado speed.

Watch the trailer, then click here to see the full video.