Simulation makes vehicles real: advances in simulation software include integration with other CAx systems, simulations of more domains, and stunning virtual reality.Simulation software doesn't have a C-acronym that neatly fits into CAx (computer-aided everything). And yet, simulation is very much a part of computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE (1) (Computer-Aided Engineering) Software that analyzes designs which have been created in the computer or that have been created elsewhere and entered into the computer. ), and so on. This brings up the proverbial chicken-and-egg problem: Which comes first--simulation or design, engineering, and analysis? In an ideal world, all of these disciplines should play off each other to come up with an optimized design for a final product. Enhancements to simulation software continue to do just that through interoperability, expanding the simulation problem set, and increasingly realistic simulations. Interoperability and depth of simulation Comsol Multiphysics from Comsol (www.comsol.com) is a multiphysics modeler and simulator. The latest version adds support for Parasolid from Siemens PLM (Product Life cycle Management) A comprehensive information system that coordinates all aspects of a product from initial concept to its eventual retirement. Sometimes called the "digital backbone" of a product, it includes the requirements phase, analysis and design Software (www.simens.com/plm); a new bidirectional, fully associative Autodesk Inventor (www.autodesk.com) interface (one already exists for SolidWorks; www.solidworks.com); and a CAD Import Module that runs on the Apple Macintosh (www.apple.com). The Parasolid support lets users repair or defeature individual parts in an assembly, which cuts the time spent meshing Parasolid geometry directly. The Inventor (and SolidWorks) interface lets users wrap any parametric sweep around any solver, including time-dependent, stationary, or eigenvalue eigenvalue In mathematical analysis, one of a set of discrete values of a parameter, k, in an equation of the form Lx = kx. Such characteristic equations are particularly useful in solving differential equations, integral equations, and systems of solvers. A new AC/DC AC/DC adj. Slang Having a bisexual orientation. [From the likening of a bisexual person to an appliance that works on either alternating or direct current. module can create geometries of printed circuit board (PCB PCB: see polychlorinated biphenyl. PCB in full polychlorinated biphenyl Any of a class of highly stable organic compounds prepared by the reaction of chlorine with biphenyl, a two-ring compound. ) designs imported from ODB ODB Our Daily Bread ODB Object Database ODB Old Dirty Bastard (Wutang clan & rap group) ODB Old Dirty Bastard ODB Open Database ODB Ontario Drug Benefits ODB Cordoba Spain (airport code) ++ files and GDS GDS Global Distribution System GDS Google Desktop Search (Google) GDS Goodie Domain Service (Vienna University of Technology, Austria) GDS Guards files; NETEX-G can be used to create geometries from Gerber/drill file formats. New model libraries in this version cover electromagnetic fields, acoustics, chemical engineering, heat transfer, viscoelasticity Viscoelasticity, also known as anelasticity, is the study of materials that exhibit both viscous and elastic characteristics when undergoing deformation. Viscous materials, like honey, resist shear flow and strain linearly with time when a stress is applied. , and multijet reactor polymerization polymerization Any process in which monomers combine chemically to produce a polymer. The monomer molecules—which in the polymer usually number from at least 100 to many thousands—may or may not all be the same. . The piezoelectric The property of certain crystals that causes them to produce voltage when a mechanical pressure is applied to them such as sound vibrations. This technique is used to build crystal microphones, phonograph cartridges and strain gauges, all of which turn mechanical movement into voltage. simulation can include structural damping, dielectric, and coupling losses. This release can also simulate viscoelastic Adj. 1. viscoelastic - having viscous as well as elastic properties natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions; "his favorite subject was physics" material models and large deformations. A new time-dependent segregated solver makes this version faster than the previous one when solving for time-dependent structural mechanics, electromagnetic, acoustics, and fluid-flow simulations--three times faster for large flow models, say company officials. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Postprocessing also got enhanced. GIF GIF in full Graphics Interchange Format Standard computer file format for graphic images. GIF files use data compression to reduce the file size. The original version of the format was developed by CompuServe in 1987. and animated GIF formats are now supported. Users can customize color maps and create personalized color scales. Plus, users can now monitor solver progress and both update settings and restart the solvers as necessary. The software sells for $8,995 and runs on Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Macintosh workstations. Depth of automotive simulation Cars are complex, multi-domain, linear and non-linear environments. So it's no surprise that vehicle handling is worth its own simulation tools. Imagine.Lab Vehicle Dynamics from LMS (www. lmsinternational.com) is a set of simulation tools for analyzing vehicle ride, handling, and comfort. This analysis can occur during the conceptual stages of functional specification and design, well before detailed CAD or 3D models become available. As design details gel, Virtual.Lab Vehicle Motion can then be used to create detailed 3D models and simulations of vehicle handling. To help create those models, the Vehicle Motion module comes with subsystem templates for suspensions, steering, braking systems, and the driveline drive·line n. See drive train. . The Vehicle Dynamics Control module covers individual chassis subsystems and actuators; such models can then be integrated with a single model to validate an entire chassis control design. Detailed simulations can show the real-life interactions of sensors, actuators, and active control systems with chassis and suspension systems. An interface to Mathworks' Simulink/RTW (www.themathworks.com) is available for real-time control simulations on detailed vehicle models and to test safety-related electronic control units. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In February, LMS introduced Imagine. Lab Hybrid Vehicle, which works on the LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim multi-domain simulation system. This module lets automakers design conventional propulsion systems with on-board rechargeable energy storage systems using multi-domain libraries (IFP-Drive, IFP-Engine, Electric Motors and Drives, Powertrain). Both at the component and the entire system levels, automakers can analyze power management, electric systems, and engine sizing to determine the best architecture for hybrid power-train systems, while accounting for vehicle thermal management. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Realistic simulations The PSA (Professional Services Automation) An information system designed to organize, track and manage all opportunities, work, resources, costs, revenues and invoices to improve the productivity and efficiency of the workforce. Peugeot Citroen Virtual Reality Center (www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com/en/hpl.php) shows just how immersive and lifelike simulations can be. The center uses three types of systems to display life-sized 3D projections. First, the "CAVE" is a room surrounded by five vertical and horizontal screens stretching from floor to ceiling. Sensors on users and the stereoscopic glasses they're wearing direct projected images in real time according to the users' gaze. Inside the CAVE is a "sitting buck" for completing the impression of being inside a car. The car's interior details are displayed--in life size--all around the seat, and functional dashboard, HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) In the home or small office with a handful of computers, HVAC is more for human comfort than the machines. In large datacenters, a humidity-free room with a steady, cool temperature is essential for the trouble-free , and entertainment controls operate, albeit in a virtual sense. Users can also be covered with movement sensors to drive a "virtual dummy"--a lifelike animation of people within a digitized, virtualized production line projected on the wall. Users can "perform" assembly operations in the virtualized environment to evaluate workstation ergonomics, worker operations, and kinematics kinematics: see dynamics. kinematics Branch of physics concerned with the geometrically possible motion of a body or system of bodies, without consideration of the forces involved. . Second, the "CADwall" consists of a large screen for showing life-sized models of cars and to show aerodynamic simulations. Force feedback devices involving a network of wires and motors, coupled with the CADwall, complete the sensory immersion. Users can manipulate objects in the virtual world and both see and feel the results of their actions. The CADwall is also used for collaborative work with other project team members. Last, the "Holobench" is a small-scale CAVE consisting of two perpendicular screens plus movement and force feed-back sensors for simulating assembly operations. The primary products used in this center include 3DVLA DVLA Brit Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency DVLA n abbr (BRIT) (= Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) → organismo encargado de la expedición de permisos de conducir y matriculación de vehículos Virtools Software Suite from Dassault Systemes (www.virtools.com) for display, design reviews, assembly/disassembly applications, collaborative project reviews, and so on, and the I-Space Multi-walled stereoscopic room from Barco (www.barco.com). RELATED ARTICLE Almost like being inside a real car, but this is really just a life-sized, stereoscopic, 3D virtual reality projection. See a narrated video about the PSA Peugeot Citroen Virtual Reality Center at www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com/en/fonctionnelle/player_real_virt.php. Another video, from Dassault, is at a2.media.3ds.com/products/3dvia/3dvia-virtools/showcase/virtual-reality/. by Lawrence S. Gould * CONTRIBUTING EDITOR |
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