ESI Group Announces VA One 2008.0.

New Fast Multipole Boundary Element Solver Represents Significant Breakthrough for Low Frequency Vibro-Acoustic Analysis

PARIS -- ESI Group (ESIN FR0004110310), a pioneer and world-leading supplier of digital simulation software for prototyping and manufacturing processes, announced today the release of VA One 2008.0. VA One is a complete solution for simulating noise and vibration across the full frequency range. It seamlessly combines Finite Elements, Boundary Elements, and Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) in ONE model.

This second major release of VA One in 2008 comprises over 40 major enhancements across all modules.

Fast Multipole Boundary Element Solver

A significant highlight of VA One 2008.0 is the inclusion of a fully-integrated Fast Multipole Boundary Element (FMM) solver. Due to constraints on memory and computational resources, traditional acoustic Boundary Elements are typically limited to models involving less than 20,000 degrees of freedom. FMM represents a significant breakthrough in low frequency vibro-acoustic analysis, enabling Boundary Element Models with a million degrees of freedom to be solved in a matter of hours using only a standard PC. The benefits are wide-ranging, and include an extensive array of new applications such as improved models of pass-by noise and the use of FMM to define exterior loads in system level SEA models.

Enhanced Productivity

VA One 2008.0 has specifically focused on the market's demands for improved productivity and customization. VA One's extensive scripting functionality has been enhanced to include quick access to recently used scripts and the ability to quickly edit and modify scripts using saved settings. Scripting is also supported on Windows 64, enabling customization and process automation for large models. Additional support also has been added for quickly creating SEA cavities from "shrink-wrapped" geometry, thereby reducing the time required to create models from complex geometry.

Integrated CAE Environment

VA One 2008.0 also includes enhanced CAD and FE geometry import. Import of ESI Group's PAM-CRASH (.dsy) file format enables users to create more accurate models of the acoustic transmission loss of rubber seals (by importing deformed seal geometry from Visual-Seal). CAD import has also been improved with additional "stitching" options and improved support for CATIA V5, Pro/ENGINEER, and STEP.

"At ATA Engineering our clients count on us to deliver accurate solutions to challenging vibro-acoustics problems, under tight schedule and cost constraints," said Dr. Paul Blelloch, Vice President of Aerospace Analysis at ATA Engineering Inc. "The core SEA capability in VA One has played a key role in our analysis solutions for a number of years, but the recent advances in FEM, BEM and Hybrid capabilities have allowed us to tackle a whole new range of problems. We can now provide accurate force and stress as well as acceleration results across a broad frequency spectrum. The ability to model the same problem in multiple different ways, mixing BEM and FEM as well as SEA also gives us the ability to better understand the response of very complex systems."

"VA One 2008.0 continues ESI Group's commitment to providing our customers with the state-of-the-art in vibro-acoustic analysis methods," said Dr. Phil Shorter, Director of Vibro-Acoustic Product Operations at ESI Group. "With the introduction of Fast Multipole Methods, our customers can now easily simulate the low frequency response of systems that were previously too large to be analyzed with traditional Boundary Element methods. Furthermore, by combining Fast Multipole with other analysis methods in VA One, our customers can now create more accurate 'system level' models of noise and vibration across the full frequency range."

About ESI Group

ESI Group is a world-leading supplier and pioneer of digital simulation software for prototyping and manufacturing processes that take into account the physics of materials. ESI Group has developed an extensive suite of coherent, industry-oriented applications to realistically simulate a product's behavior during testing, to fine-tune manufacturing processes in accordance with desired product performance, and to evaluate the environment's impact on product performance. ESI Group's offer represents a unique collaborative solution with an open virtual engineering environment known as the Virtual Try-Out Space, enabling virtual prototypes to be improved in a continuous and collaborative manner while eliminating the need for physical prototypes during product development. The company employs over 700 high-level specialists worldwide covering more than 30 countries. ESI Group is listed in compartment C of Euronext Paris. For further information, visit www.esi-group.com.

Virtual Try-Out Space[R] is a registered trademark of ESI Group. All other products, names or companies are the brands or registered trademarks of their respective owners.