SIMPACKNews. New SIMPACK Release 8.5. Congratulations on Their First Victory. MBS - Benchmark. Metro Train Vienna with SIMPACK

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1 SIMPACKNews 6. Jahrgang 1.Ausgabe Juni 2001 New SIMPACK Release 8.5 The new SIMPACK release v8.5 presses ahead with the concept of SIMPACK 8: Superior Solver Technology combined with simple and easy modelling. After having decided What are you intending to do, the countless modifications enable you to achieve your goals faster and more reliably. Benchmark M. Deeg/J. Pollmächer Fachhochschule Karlsruhe MBS - Benchmark Applications Dr. Anton Stribersky Siemens TS HR, Vienna Metro Train Vienna with SIMPACK Engineering Dr. Lutz Mauer INTEC GmbH INTEC - Ihr Partner für Consulting und Engineering Software Johannes Gerl INTEC GmbH New Plug-In for v8.5: SIMPACK NVH Although the new version 8.5 still has the 8 in front of the point, the new version is significantly improved in comparison to the earlier version 8.0. What is the meaning of this nomenclature? The success ful concept of the software re mains unchanged but the contents are improved, optimised and have been extended in many places through completely new software modules. The SIMPACK-developers have the am bition that the users can give their full attention to the task in hand and not on the handling of the software. SIMPACK users will easily come to grips with the new software even when they are confronted with a completely new file browser. Users will quickly become convinced that SIMPACK version 8.5 is, apart from being more user friendly and re liable, a higher performance and a more modern partner. In addition to the many new features, of which only a few covered in this article, a com pletely new Plug-In, SIMPACK NVH (Noise-Vi bration-harshness), is available with SIMPACK v8.5. This product enables the com putation of high frequency vibra tion, and also fea tures the further enhanced Linear System Analysis, as well as a series of useful modelling elements and computational techniques for use in the time domain; see the article on page 10. Function Expressions SIMPACK v8.5 enables the user to write a multitude of math ematical and kinematical express ions to define force elements, out put vectors and time excitations with in SIMPACK. Function Ex press ions have access to values which change during the si mu la tion. For example the dis plac e ment vector between two mar kers can be used within particular force ele ments according to the user de fined function. Congratulations on Their First Victory See page 19

2 Window for Function Expressions Marker Selection List File Browser New Static Equilibrium Solver SIMPACK wouldn t be SIMPACK, if new innovations in the area of solver technology weren t available with a new SIMPACK release. The Newton method used to calculate the static equilibrium position has been optimised to become particularly robust, especially when dealing with closed loop systems. The newly developed Solver-Modus Dri ven Equilibrium enables the user to perform a series of static equilibrium calculations depending on excitation inputs. The results can be plotted and animated in a similar way to normal time integrations or kinematic analyses. Marker Selection A completely new selection method for markers has been integrated into the SIMPACK v8.5 pre-processor. The user need only to select a body in order to list all markers defined on that particular body, a functionality similar to the Explorer from Microsoft Win dows. A similar feature has implemented for the selection of joints. User Routines SIMPACK s User Routines have been completely redesigned for version 8.5. Because the users program routines are now stored in a shared library, the effort necessary for creating and updating has been drastically reduced. The dependency on earlier SIMPACK versions can be completely eliminated by the one-time conversion to the new user routine architecture. A set of new access functions is now available which allows user routines to be programmed much more easily. Complete Compatibility with MotionView With version 8.5, SIMPACK is com pletely compatible with ALTAIR s Pre- and Post-Processor MotionView (Version 5 and higher). For those who prefer to use a pre-processor, which differen tiates between an expert user and user, SIMPACK models for auto motive applications can now be gen erated directly from Mo tionview. SIMPACK can now also export simu lation results for plotting and animating in the MotionView, HyperGraph and HyperView- Player suite of ALTAIR Engineering, Inc. pro ducts. Presentation, Training In the course of the SIMPACK User Meeting 2001 (in Bad Ischl, Austria), INTEC will be offering a trai ning course to bring users up to date with SIM PACK v8.5. If you would like to know more about using Function Ex pres sions, or the highly mo di fied modules (for example the new three-dimen sional track module), or in parti cular the new style in pro gram ming user routines, then you would be most welcome to attend the seminar. Detailed infor mation concerning the semi nar can be obtained by sen ding an to: sabine.engert@simpack.de. (Please contact INTEC beforehand if you would like to receive some advice on how to convert user routines to the new format). We are happy to further expand the capabilities and user friend liness of SIMPACK and are confi dent that you will be pleased with the new and updated features in SIMPACK v8.5 Page 2 Ne 1/2

3 Benchmark M. Deeg/J. Pollmächer Fachhochschule Karlsruhe Benchmark zu MKS-Programmen an der FH Karlsruhe Im Sommersemester 2000 entstand ein Benchmark im Rahmen der Masterthesis der beiden Diplom-Ingenieure Markus Deeg und Jens Pollmächer an der Fachhochschule Karlsruhe, Hochschule für Technik, Fachbereich Maschinenbau. Dieser Benchmark trägt den Titel: Vergleich unterschiedlicher Programmsysteme für die Mehrkörpersimulation (MKS) hinsichtlich ihrer Eignung zur Lösung maschinendynamischer Probleme unter besonderer Berücksichtigung ihres Einsatzes in der Lehre. Betreut wurde die Arbeit von Prof. Dr.-Ing. H. Braun aus dem Fachbereich Maschinenbau der FH Karlsruhe. Ungekürzte Zusammenfassung der Masterthesis Um für die Einführung einer Mehr kör per simulationssoftware an der Fachhoch schule Karlsruhe einen Überblick über am Markt befindliche Programme zu erhalten, wurden mehrere davon einem Bench mark unterzogen. Die Aufgabe bestand darin, sechs ver schie dene Simulationsprogramme (ADAMS, DADS, SIMPACK, ITI-SIM, MECHMACS, Pro/MECH ANICA) zu vergleichen. Nachdem die Zielformulierung und die Definition der Testmodelle abgeschlossen war, wurden die Aufgaben mit den einzelnen Programmen bearbeitet und dabei Erkenntnisse über die Unterschiede und die Vor- und Nachteile der einzelnen Systeme gewonnen. Um das Ergebnis des Benchmarks nachvollziehbar zu gestalten, wurde eine Bewertungsmatrix eingeführt (Kapitel 9) und hierfür die Bewertungsfaktoren in Kapitel 2.2 ermittelt. Grundsätzlich wurde das Arbeiten mit den 3D-orientierten Systemen als angenehmer empfunden, da hier bei eine geringere Abstrak tion der Testmodelle vorgenommen wer den muss als bei den block orien tierten Simulationsprogrammen. Überraschungen brachten unter schied liche Berechnungs er geb nisse, selbst für die einfachen Mo delle. Bei einer späteren Einführung eines dieser Mehrkörper simulations systeme sollte in Erwägung gezogen werden, dieses in das vorhandene CAD-System zu im ple men tieren. Somit könnte eine ge schlos sene Anwendung von Konstruktion und Simulation zum Einsatz kommen. SIMPACK war der Sieger dieses Benchmarks. Weitere Informationen zu diesem Benchmark können Sie bei Prof. Hans Braun an der FH Karlsruhe erhalten: Testmodelle im Benchmark - Zweimassenschwinger (1-dimensional) - Leistungsverzweigung (1,5-dimensional) - Ebener Schwinger (2-dimensional) - Duffing Oszillator - Doppelpendel (2-dimensional) - Dreifachaufhängung - Kreiselmodell (3-dimensional, große Raumwinkel) - Schaukelmodell (3-dimensional, große Raumwinkel) - Reibung auf einer Ebene (Reibung) - Zentraler elastischer Stoß (Kontaktproblem) - Dämpfung eines Aufpralls einer gefederten Masse Modell des Ebenen Schwingers (SIMPACK) ws 001 Page 3

4 Engineering Dr. Lutz Mauer INTEC GmbH INTEC Ihr Partner für Consulting und Engineering Was viele unserer Kunden schon wissen: INTEC vermarktet nicht nur SIMPACK, sondern arbeitet auch selbst an Forschungsprojekten mit und ist daher Ihr kompetenter Partner für Consulting und Engineering. Schwerpunkte der Fachkompetenz liegen in der Modellierung und Auslegung der Bewegungsdynamik mechanischer Systeme. Die Einbeziehung von FE-Strukturen in die MKS-Simulation ist zudem eines unserer Spezialgebiete. Gerade die Kombination der beiden Methoden sehen wir als den Schlüssel zur Erstellung realitätsgetreuer Simulationsmodelle. Dr. Lutz Mauer Kreativzentrum bei INTEC Hintergrund Die SIMPACK Simulationssoftware ist aus den hohen Anforderungen der Luft- und Raumfahrt sowie anhand von Pflichtenheften aus den Dynamik abtei lungen von Fahrzeugherstellern und Maschinenbauern für die Praxis entwickelt worden. So bietet SIMPACK ein Höchstmaß an Funktionalitäten orientiert an den Anforderungen der High-End Anwender aus Industrie und Forschung. INTEC wurde als Spin Off Unternehmen aus der SIMPACK-Entwicklungszentrale des DLR heraus gegründet. Ziel dieser Ausgründung war es, das moderne leistungsfähige Simulationstool SIMPACK zusammen mit dem in der Projektarbeit entstandenen Anwender- Know-How zur Verfügung zu stellen. Den Kunden aus Industrie und Forschung soll ein kompetenter Service für alle Fragen der Software-Anwendung geboten werden. Dies umfasst alle Aspekte von der Modellierung bis zur Analyse und Ergebnisdarstellung. Die durch den engen Kundenkontakt entstehenden Vorgaben und Anregungen fließen wiederum unmittelbar in die Weiterentwicklung von SIMPACK. So schließt sich der Kreis. Anwendungsbereich von SIMPACK SIMPACK wird vorwiegend in der industriellen Produktentwicklung von Fahrzeugen oder Anlagen des Maschinenbaus eingesetzt. Hierbei kann rechnerisch sowohl die Bewegungsdynamik vorhergesagt werden als auch die dynamischen Lasten für die Festigkeitsanalyse bestimmt werden. Diese auch mit dem Begriff Virtual Engineering bezeichnete Entwicklungsstrategie beginnt mit der Beurteilung und Auswahl konzeptioneller Vorentwürfe, geht über die Vertiefung des Konstruktionsentwurfs mit parallel geführter Auslegung und Optimierung der Bewegungsdynamik bis hin zu den im Fahrzeugbau erforderlichen Nachweisrechnungen. Das speziell für diese Aufgabenstellungen entwickelte Simulationsprogramm SIM PACK ist so konzipiert, dass alle Belange des Virtual Engineering im Rahmen einer arbeitsteiligen parallelen Entwicklung (Concurrent Engineering) berücksichtigt werden können. Die offene Architektur von SIMPACK erlaubt die einfache Erstellung von Schnitt stellenfunktionalitäten zu allen im Bereich des CAE eingesetzten Software-Tools. Was kann INTEC für Sie tun? Die große Chance der Simulation im Rahmen der Produktentwicklung liegt in der Verkürzung des Zeitaufwands zum Auffinden der optimalen Auslegung wettbewerbsfähiger Produkte. Egal ob Sie als Entwickler oder Hersteller Page 4 N 1/

5 technischer Produkte SIMPACK im Hause haben oder nicht INTEC kann Sie auf vielfältige Art unterstützen, Ihr Produkt technisch noch weiter auszureifen. Jeder Mitarbeiter unseres Consulting- und Engineering-Teams hat einen spezifischen Projekthintergrund, wie z.b. Dynamik von Schienen- und Kraftfahrzeugen oder Antriebssträngen, Einbindung elastischer Strukturen oder auch Hardware-in-the- Loop Systeme. Die Aufgabe, die Sie uns stellen, wird von dem Projektingenieur bearbeitet, der zu Ihrer Problemstellung die meiste Erfahrung besitzt. Weiterhin ist es in unseren Arbeitsteams üblich, sich gegenseitig kollegialen Rat einzuholen, was die Arbeitseffizienz nochmals steigert. Das INTEC Engineering Team besitzt jetzt über 40 Arbeitsjahre Erfahrung in Consulting und Engineering. Aus unserem Engineering Portfolio - Consulting und Engineering für Kun den, die kein eigenes Know-How in der Systemdynamik aufbauen wollen. - Gemeinsame Bearbeitung von Erstprojekten für Kunden, die mit Mehrkörper-Simulationstools arbeiten wollen. - Unterstützung der Entwicklungs mann schaft aus der Systemdynamik bei personellen Kapazitätsengpässen. - Aufbau von MKS-Simulations mo dellen; Erstellung von SIMPACK User routinen zur Beschrei bung kunden spezifischer Funkti onalitäten. - Aufbau von Modell-Substruktur-Daten banken zur Simulation plattformorientierter Produktreihen für Straßenund Schienenfahrzeuge. - Erstellung von maskenorientierten Bedienoberflächen zum bequemen Auf bau der Simulationsmodelle mo dula risierter Baukasten- und Platt form systemen. - Erstellung von SIMPACK Interface-Programmen zur Kopplung mit kun den eigenen Programmen oder Third Party Software. - Übernahme und Aufbereitung großer FE-Modelle zur Beschreibung elastischer Körper in der SIMPACK Systemsimu lation. - Optimierung des Fahrkomfor ts von Schienenfahrzeugen unter detail lierter Berücksichtigung der Sekun däraufhängung und der Struk turschwingungen des elastischen Wa genkastens. - Übernahme von CAD-Modellen zum Auf bau von SIMPACK Simulations modellen. - Erstellung von echtzeitfähigen Simulationsmodellen einschließlich des Code-Exportes für kundeneigene Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulationsumgebungen. - Aufbereitung von Anregungs funkti o nen zur Beschreibung von Track-Irre gularities. Zum Schluss INTEC arbeitet mit nahezu allen Unternehmen der Schienenfahrzeugindustrie und der Kraftfahrzeugindustrie zusammen. Die absolute Vertraulichkeit unserer Consul ting- und Engineeringarbeit ist unsere Geschäftsgrundlage und daher unser höchstes Gebot. Aus diesem Grund verzichten wir auch hier auf die Darstellung von Simulationsmodellen und Analyseer geb nis sen, die wir im Kundenauftrag er stellt haben. Sprechen Sie mit uns, wir richten uns auf Ihre Wünsche ein. Wir bieten Ihnen sowohl komplette Projektbearbeitungen zum Festpreis an, als auch die persönliche Unter stützung Ihrer Mitarbeiter vor Ort auf der Basis von Tagessatz-Pauschalen. INTEC Your Partner for Consulting and Engineering As many of our customers are already aware, INTEC doesn t only market and sell SIMPACK, but is also involved with many research projects and is there fore your accomplished partner for consultancy and engineering projects. Our professional strength lies in modelling the dynamics of mechanical systems. The inclusion of FE-structures in MBS-simulations is an area where we have particular expertise and experience. We see the combination of these two areas as the key to realistic simu lations. Application Areas of SIMPACK By implementing SIMPACK in the product development phase of ve hicles, or mechanical systems, it is not just the dynamic behaviour that can be mathemat ically predetermined, but also the dynamic loading used for strength analysis. What Can INTEC Do for You? The greatest benefit to be gained by using simulation software, within the framework of product development, lies with the competitive advantage achieved by minimising the time required to find the most suitable design. Whether you re a designer or manufacturer using SIMPACK, or not, INTEC can support you in many ways in the further development of your products. Every member of our consulting and engineering team has a specific project background, for instance: dynamics of railway or road vehicles with elastic bodies or vehicle drive trains or hardware-in-the-loop systems, just to mention a few. The engineering problems, that we are assigned, are carried out by the project engineer who possesses the most experience in the specific area. Furthermore, it is common practice within our engineering team for colleagues to seek advice and share their knowledge and experience which still further increases our productivity. The INTEC engineering team has now over forty years of experience in consultancy and en gineering. Contact us and we will offer you the best support and services which you require. We can offer you a fixed price for individual projects as well as personal on site support, based on a fixed daily rate. ews 2001 Page 5

6 Applications Dr. Anton Stribersky SIEMENS TS HR, Vienna Modeling and Simulation of the New Metro Train for Vienna with SIMPACK Wheel/Rail Using Flexible Car Bodies Designing the Metro for Vienna, combined both multi-body and finite element modelling in the entire development process. The car body models were imported from ABAQUS into SIMPACK, taking advantage of SIMPACK s ability to accurately tune the FE model for use within a multi-body system, with the use of frequency response modes. SIMPACK s use of substructuring a complete railway model allows an efficient way of investigating the behaviour of different vehicle designs, reducing model setup time. The project was carried out with the help of INTEC s consultancy branch. New Metro Train for Vienna* The Virtual Intermediate Car* The Diagonal Distortion* Due to the increasing de mand for urban transport sys tems manu facturers are con tin ually working to optimise pass enger ca pa city and comfort and to in crease travelling speeds. Virtual tes ting systems which minimise de velopment time and enable opti misation, not only significantly reduce costs, but also quicken the time to market - advantages ne ces sary in today s competitive mar ket. The role of structural dynamics in connection with vehicle running dy namics is increasingly important due to the ever more common use of lightweight materials and con structions. A virtual tes ting system must al so therefore be able to accurately simulate elas tic behaviour. Work has been carried out by SIE MENS in order to optimise the ride comfort of future metro trains by numerical simulation using SIM PACK. Additionally, the soft ware tools I-DEAS and ABAQUS have been used. A data base has been built in order to simp lify and speed up the de ve lop ment process. SIMPACK s database structure enables quick and easy assembly of different train configurations for virtual test ing. The database fol lows a modular concept, which con sists of all the components ne cessary for accurate simu la tions to be selected and pulled together in to a main model for virtual tes ting. Alterations made to any components (i.e. sub struc tures like rigid or as flexible modelled car bodies, couplers, driving bogies, trailing bogies, etc.), auto matically trans fer and thus up date the train-models of interest. Each compo nent has been tested and valida ted before being en tered into the database. This concept allows a large num ber of different vehicle con figura tions to be easily handled. The car body shells of the metro train for Vienna are made out of large alu minium extrusions wel ded to gether and has been mo delled using finite element soft ware. The ceiling frame, floor structure, win dows and seats have also been modelled as elastic components. The car body of the in ter me diate car consists of ap proxi mately degrees of free dom. These de grees of free dom have been re duced using the Guyan conden sa tion method. To enable short com pu ta tion times all mode shapes Page 6 Ne 1/2

7 above 30 Hz have been neg lec ted. In order to improve the ac cu r acy of the particular modes, which de scribe local deflec tions, the SIMPACK pre-proces sor FEMBS allows to select fre quen cy response modes which are sig ni ficant to the coupled move ment and frequency range of in ter est. Time consuming modifi cations to the FEM model and un ne cessary con straint modelling are not re quired. The entire elastic bo dy has been reduced to 12 eigen modes and 27 frequency response modes to accurately de scribe the flexibility up to 30 Hz. Elastically mounted equipment attached to the car body has been modelled with rigid bodies con nec ted using force elements. In order to ensure the validity of the model for the flexible structure, a comparison was made bet ween an ABAQUS FEM model (i.e. including flexibly mounted e quip ment) and the SIM PACK model using the reduced FEM model. The results from the SIMPACK simulation correlate well with those obtained from the mea surements taken from the proto type vehicle for both the lateral and vertical ac celerations (rms). The accelerations were mea sured on the floor at the car centre close to the side wall. Having developed the database and having validated the entire virtual train, different con fi gura tions can now be assembled quick ly and easily for use in dy namic analyses and optimi sa tion studies. Not only can development costs be dra ma tically reduced, but the company s expertise and know-how can be continually col lected and stored in an ever ex pan ding database, on hand for the current and next generation of pro ducts. A similar article, which points out additional aspects of this project can be obtained from INTEC: Structural Dynamics of Rail Ve hicle Systems: A Virtual Systems Approach, Civil Comp Ltd., Edin burgh, Scotland All the Interior Design of the Metro Vehicle* fi gures on page 6 and 7 are taken with the kind permission of Civil Comp Ltd. Finite Element Model of the Metro Vehicle* Comparison Between ABAQUS FEM Model and Reduced SIMPACK Model* Comparison of Simulated and Measured Accelerations * * all figures are from the article Structural Dynamics of Rail Vehicle Systems. A Virtual Systems Approach by A. Stribersky, F. Moser and W. Rulka, published as pages 29 to 36 inclusive in Developments in Engineering Computational Technology, edited by B.H.V. Topping (CIVIL-COMP LTD) ws 001 Page 7

8 Results Survey Sabne Sabine Engert E. Engert INTEC GmbH Survey: Future of CAE-Tools In the last SIMPACK News, December 2000, a survey of CAE users concerning the future of CAE tools was conducted. 63 questionnaires were completed and returned for which we would like to thank everybody for their participation. Here are the results of the survey. Of the people that answered, most have had many years experience of using simulation software, with at least 80% having had more than four years. As expected most of the replies were from MBS software users (82%); however, many of these MBS software users also work with other CAE tools. Use of Modelling Tools Almost two thirds of MBS software users are satisfied with the product they use. Satisfaction with Simulation Tools In regards to the problems ex perienced when using CAE tools, over 30% mentioned the lack of func tionality, 26% the time neces sary to perform the simulation and about 10% the lack of docu men tation. Problems with Simulation Packages As mentioned, many engineers use a combination of different software packages which are currently linked via interfaces. We asked which CAE product integration would be of most interest. From the responses we found that 38% would be most interested in integrating MBS and FE software, followed by MBS and CAD and then MBS and CACE. There are many users who use a combination of simulation tools in parallel. We asked how often data had to be entered more than once. The response showed that when using MBS and CAD, FE and CAD or MBS and FE an average of 50% of data has to be entered twice. However, some responses showed that only 10% of data had to be re-entered, whilst other users believed it was Page 8 Ne 1/2

9 nearer 100% - the percentage appears to be dependent on the particular application of each indi vidual user. We also were interested if in future it will be necessary to know more or less engineering theory than today for using a modelling tool. Nearly 60% of those that replied felt that in the future more engineering knowledge will be needed to work effectively with simulation tools. of numerous specialised tools. Another area of particular interest was the functionality of the CAE tool. We wanted to know, from CAE users, what developments should be made to the CAE tools of today: if it should be easier to handle, dispose of extended functionality or contain more powerful solver technology. 36% think their simulation tool should be made easier to handle. We congratulate Mr. Thomas Ille from MAN Nutzfahrzeuge who won the Psion 5mx Pro which was raffled off to all those who participated in the survey! Functionality of a CAE Tool Mr. Ille, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge, Ms Engert, INTEC Future: More or Less Engineering Theory Necessary? We were interested in how people envisaged CAE tools in 10 years time. Half of the respondents believed they would still exist in a similar form as they are today. However, they felt the software interfaces would be im proved. A quarter of respondents think there will be more specialised tools with more sophisticated interfaces and only six percent think there will be just one general tool that achieves the results Finally we wanted to find out how much control the user would like to have over their software functions. Within the two offered solutions 75% answered that the future should bring as much control over the software s functionality as possible only 13 % preferred a one-button-solution. Handling of a CAE Tool Future Form of CAE-Tools On the whole our readers believe that CAE tools should, in the future, have an improved functionality and allow the user to have as much control as possible of how the software operates, whilst enhancing their overall userfriendliness. ws 001 Page 9

10 Software Johannes Gerl INTEC GmbH New Plug-In for Version 8.5: SIMPACK NVH Noise, vibration and harshness problems are often very cumbersome to solve numerically due to the high frequency vibrations. This leads to models which contain a significant amount of detail. Para meter Variation is often required to find a solution for NVH problems, however, due to the long calculations required, it may not be possible to use a standard time integration, even using the SIMPACK solver. SIMPACK has therefore been able to solve NVH problems in the frequency domain since version 6 and the new SIMPACK release will contain new model libraries and extended time domain solver features. Overall this will lead to excellent performance times and calculation accuracy for high frequency calculations. Result of a Frequency Response Analysis Spectrum: Response to Stochastic Excitation An example of an exhaust system, see figure on page 11, has been used in this article to demonstrate the functionality of SIMPACK NVH. Linear calculation methods have been applied to obtain an overview about the sys tem behaviour. The linear characteristics of springs and dampers were then replaced by frequency dependent, and later by fully non-linear characteristics. The system is excited by signals which are applied to the rubber bearings on the car body and also by the engine vibration. Linear System Analysis Linear calculation methods have been an integral part of SIMPACK for a number of years and with version 8.5, SIMPACK NVH will include the entire Linear System Analysis, i.e. Frequency Response Analysis, Linear System Response and Power Spectral Density Analysis. Linear System Response can be used to create Bode plots with multiple input signals that are linked to each other by user-defined functions. Stochastic response functions can be created using Spectral Analysis. SIMPACK users can take full advantage of the Linear System Analysis which offers excellent analytical solva bility by efficiently performing the linearised calculations. The general non-linear equations of motion are linearised automatically by SIMPACK to allow the user to get an overview of the system s behaviour in the frequency domain. Additionally, the Linear System Analysis is fully integrated in the SIMPACK module Parameter Variation, i.e. the user can obtain an overview of the system behaviour with very little effort. SIMPACK s Parameter Variation functionality allows up to three different sets of parameters to be varied during one calculation run. Time Domain Analysis If non-linear connection elements or friction elements play an important role for NVH problems, there is often no alternative to running a time integration. SIMPACK NVH minimises the impact of high fre quencies in time domain cal culations. Because ampli tudes that generally occur during a vibration analysis are usually small, the nonlinearity of the kinematical equations often does not have a signifi cant impact on the results. This opens up the potential to save calculation time and SIMPACK NVH utilises this fact by offering a time integration approach which is based on lin earised kinematics. The force elements, however, can still be modelled as non-linear elements, i.e. friction can still be part of the system. These mixed equations of linearised Page 10 Ne 1/2

11 kinematics and non-linear forces considerably increase the numerical performance. The time required to perform a time domain analysis on an exhaust system example, for instance, has been decreased by a factor of five using this method. Efficient time domain solutions for systems with high frequencies are also available through the use of SIM PACK s Symbolic Code. Solution times can be still further reduced as SIM PACK s symbolic solver allows the optimisation of the equations for each specific model. Modelling Elements A new time excitation element has been created to control time domain calculations, which imitates the frequency domain approach. An excitation signal is applied between certain frequency limits until an arbitrary response signal (such as position, velocity, acceleration or force) has reached a steady state solution, i.e. the signal s final amplitude is within a certain tolerance. The frequency of the excitation is then increased and the process restarted. This results in a quasi-non-linear frequency response analysis, where the amplitude response and the phase angle are plotted against frequency. However the individual results are obtained by the time integrator, allowing completely non-linear or partially linearised models to be used. If the frequency dependency of the exhaust mounts of our example is to be investigated, SIMPACK NVH offers a pre-processor which automatically creates a transfer function (using numerator and denominator poly nomials) based on the input file. This polynomial can then be used in both the time and frequency domains. SIMPACK NVH for Current SIM PACK Users Existing users of SIMPACK can continue to use the parts of SIMPACK NVH which have been included in the standard SIMPACK package before, for instance Linear Systems Analysis. An upgrade version of SIMPACK NVH for existing SIMPACK users is available with the new SIMPACK version 8.5. Time Domain Result, FFT-Filtered Mode fully non-linear fully non-linear using symbolic code partially linearised Table Computing Time Computing Time sec 8.49 sec 4.53 sec Exhaust System Model with Flexible Bodies ws 001 Page 11

12 Projects Sabne Dr. Alex Engert Eichberger INTEC GmbH SIMPACK-Prozessoren für MechaSTEP Ziel von MechaSTEP war es, ein von kommerziellen CAx-Systemen unabhängiges STEP-Datenformat für die Simulation mechatronischer Systeme zu erstellen. Initiiert wurde das Projekt von der deutschen Automobilindustrie. Das BMBF förderte MechaSTEP im Kontext des Rahmenprogramms Produktion Erste Prozessoren stehen nun am Ende der Projektlaufzeit zur Verfügung. Die INTEC GmbH entwickelte zwei Prozessoren zum Lesen und zum Beschreiben des MechaSTEP-Datenmodells für SIMPACK. Virtueller Prototyp eines Fahrzeugs Prinzipskizze: SIMPACK-MechaSTEP Prozessor MechaSTEP Für die Modellierung und Simulation mechatronischer Systeme lag bislang kein einheitlicher systematischer Ansatz vor. Im Einsatz befinden sich unterschiedliche CAx-Pakete mit stark differierenden Eingabebeschreibungen. Die starken Unterschiede in den Modellbeschreibungen selbst innerhalb einer Disziplin wie der Mehrkörpersimulation führten dazu, dass ein gewünschter Datenaustausch zwischen den Werkzeugen sowie zwischen den Herstellern und den Zulieferern nahezu ausgeschlossen war. Die Datenablage mechatronischer Systeme in Form proprietärer Formate resultierte zudem in redundanten Daten und erschwert eine werkzeugunabhängige und damit sichere Archivierung der modellbeschrei benden Informationen. Der SIMPACK-MechaSTEP Prozessor Das Abspeichern der Eingabedaten erfolgte bislang in einem SIMPACKspezifischen Format. Um die o.g Ziele des Projekts umzusetzen, implementierte INTEC den im Bild dargestellten Prozessor. Damit ist es nun möglich, mechatronische Daten von dem SIM PACK-Eingabedatenformat direkt in das STEP-Datenformat zu konvertieren und umgekehrt. Derzeit besitzt der Prozessor folgenden Leistungsumfang: 1. SI-Einheiten (einfache Einhei ten für Länge, Masse, Zeit, Winkel und daraus abgeleitete Grö ßen) 2. Schwerkraft 3. Inertialsystem und Starr kör per: Referenzsystem; Masse; Schwer punkt; Trägheitstensor bzgl. Massenmittelpunkt, Referenzsystem und beliebigem Bezugspunkt. 4. Marker: Position auf dem Kör per (x, y, z), Orientierung (Kar dan winkel oder O ri entierungs matrix), De fi nition bzgl. kör per festem Ko or dina ten system oder bzgl. belie bi gem Mar ker auf Körper. 5. Gelenke: 0 DOF Gelenk (starre Verbin dung); 1 DOF Rotations ge len ke um x, y, z; 1 DOF Translations ge len ke um x, y, z; 2 DOF Kar dan ge len ke; 2 DOF Zylinder ge len ke; 0-6 DOF Universalgelenk; 6 DOF Ge lenk; Getriebe rot rot; Ge trie be trans rot. 6. Kraftelemente: translatorisch Feder und Dämpfer, Kraft in Ver bindungsrichtung; translatorisch Feder und Dämpfer, Kraft in 3 Richtungen x, y, z; rotatorisch Feder und Dämpfer, Moment in 1 Rich tung; rotatorisch Feder und Dämpfer, Mo ment in 3 Richtungen x, y, z. Das MechaSTEP-Datenmodell erlaubt eine sukzessive Erweiterung des Implementierungsumfanges der Prozessoren. Page 12 New 1/20

13 D a t e n a u s t a u s c h z w i s c h e n SIMPACK- und MechaSTEP- Fahrzeugmodell Das Bild auf der gegenüberliegenden Seite zeigt ein Fahrzeugmodell mit elasto kinematischer Radaufhängung. Die Vorderachse ist als MCPherson Federbein Achse modelliert, die Hinterachse ist eine Integrallenkerachse. Im Einzelnen besteht das Simulationsmodell aus: - 47 Starrkörpern, - 20 starren Verbindungen, - 8 Gelenken mit je 1 rotatorischen Frei heitsgrad, - 4 Gelenken mit je 1 translatorischen Freiheitsgrad, - 10 Kardangelenken mit je 2 Freiheitsgraden, - 5 Universalgelenken, - 8 linearen Federn, - 4 linearen Dämpfern, - 16 kompakten Federn. Der virtuelle Prototyp wurde zunächst mit SIMPACK AUTOMOTIVE+ interaktiv erstellt. Die Modelldaten standen damit im SIMPACK-spezifischen SYSund ANI-File zur Verfügung [siehe Prinzipskizze links]. Mit dem von INTEC programmierten Prozessor wurden diese Daten in das STEP-konforme MechaSTEP-Datenformat umgewandelt und im STEP-File abgelegt. Dieses STEP-File wurde in der Folge von dem Simulationsprogramm der Firma IPG, für das ebenfalls lesende Prozessoren existieren, interpretiert. Es folgten beispielhafte virtuelle Experimente. Der Rückweg vom MechaSTEP-Datenmodell in das pro prie täre SIMPACK- Format wurde ebenfalls erfolg reich durchgeführt. Weitere Schritte und Vorteile von MechaSTEP Mit den bislang implementierten Leistungsumfang der Prozessoren kann schon jetzt ein Großteil von Modelldaten über MechaSTEP von einer Simulationswelt in die andere transferiert werden. Das STEP-konforme Datenformat und die erfolgreiche Implementierung von Prozesso ren zeigt, dass nicht nur im Bereich CAD sondern auch im Bereich des funktionalen virtuellen Prototyping mechatronischer Systeme ein von den Anbietern unabhängiger Standard für diese Daten etabliert werden kann. Die Grundlage dafür ist geschaffen. Die wichtigsten Vorteile für den Anwender der CAx-Tools sind dabei: - Harmonisierungsdruck in der Tool- Welt; damit wird die Abhängigkeit von Softwarelieferanten verringert, - Datenaustausch innerhalb einer Firma und zwischen Firma und Zulieferer wird erleichtert, - Archivierung von Simulations modellen unabhängig vom Softwarelieferanten wird gesichert, - Wettbewerb unter den CAx-Lieferanten wird verstärkt zum Vorteil der An wender. Um diese Vorteile nutzen zu können, bedarf es der Implementierung von Prozessoren zu weiteren Simulationsprogrammen. Aufgrund der im MechaSTEP-Projekt gesammelten Erfahrungen bietet die Firma INTEC in diesem Umfeld gerne Beratung an. Literatur Donges, Ch.; Krastel, M.; Anderl, R.: Mecha STEP STEP Datenmodelle zur Abbildung mechatronischer Systeme. In: Produktdatenjournal Nr. 1/1999, S MechaSTEP Home Page, ProSTEP, 1998; Donges, Ch.; Krastel, M.: Das MechaSTEP Projekt, Ein Statusbericht. In: Produktdatenjournal Nr. 1/2000, S Eichberger, A.: MechaSTEP Datenmodelle zur Simulation mechatronischer Systeme. In: SIMPACK News Nr. 3/98; s 01 Page 13

14 I n te r n a l Dr. Alex Eichberger INTEC GmbH INTEC in the Technologiepark Due to the substantial growth INTEC has recently seen, we have now moved to attractive new offices in the Wessling Tech nologiepark. The improvements brought about by this move regarding services and support are explained in the following article. In the middle of last year we real ad dress had changed - just as our ised that INTEC had outgrown the cus to mers would expect. office space at the DLR (German Aero space Research Centre). The Changes and Benefits num ber of employees at INTEC had What changes and benefits has increased by a substantial 60% in the move brought to our custom the last year alone. Fortunately, a ers and visitors, and what has new technology park with modern remained the same? Our custom and appealing office space was ers will still benefit from the long being deve loped next door to the and close working re l ationship DLR. The new location would en between INTEC and the DLR. Our able the continued growth of INTEC address, web ad dress, town along with the ability to maintain and the main telephone num ber the successful working relationship have all remained un changed. Of between us and the DLR. course, the charm of the surround Dr. Alex Eichberger ing 5 lakes region has also been kept. However, some visitors will surely miss the obligatory check-in at the DLR security gates. Our hotline has also been re organised with new telephone numbers which will offer our cus tomers better and more efficient Office: Heike Rosner (l.) and Eva Gerber (r.) support. Information con cerning Argelsrieder Feld 13 hotline support can be found un der The Move Work continued as normal up until midday on Friday the 2nd of March and after a long and hard weekend, recontinued as nor mal on Monday the 5th of March. Thanks to the help of our em ployees everything ran smooth ly and quickly. The move was performed so effi ciently and with so little disruption With our new 650m2 office space we are now able to welcome our guests in new spacious friendly and light meeting and training rooms. We also have a project room avail able for visitors and customers for working alongside our en gineering and consulting team. Please drop by - INTEC `Creative Centre` you ll be sure to like it. that many customers only realised that we had moved because our Page 14 Ne 1/2

15 ... Staff... Staff... Staff... Staff... Staff... Staff... INTEC ist im Jahr 2000 personell stark gewachsen um über 60%. Nun möchten wir in dieser Ausgabe anfangen, Ihnen die neuen Mitarbeiter vorzustellen. Dr. Thomas Pletl Dr. Thomas Pletl kam im April 2000 von einem führenden Hersteller von Kettentrieben zu INTEC. Die dort gesammelten Er fahrungen in der Simulation und Auslegung von Kettentrieben sind der Hintergrund zu seinem Spe zial gebiet der Kontakt me chanik. Zur Zeit ist der promovierte Physiker an der Entwicklung des neuen SIMPACK Moduls ENGINE beteiligt. Auch ein Ventiltriebsprojekt hat er schon im Kundenauftrag durchgeführt. Für die Weiterentwicklung von FEMBS und BEAM führt er die Veri fikations rechnungen aus. Neben der Entwicklung und den Projektaufgaben ist Dr. Pletl im Support- und Trainingsbereich tätig: er unterstützt die SIMPACK- Anwender bei Anfragen zu FEMBS und auf dem Gebiet der Kon taktmechanik. Mark Duke Mark Duke ist einer der drei Englisch-Muttersprachler bei INTEC. Eigentlich hatte er sich nach seinen Maschinbaustudien in Notting ham und Coventry bei dem Unternehmen CAM UK (in England) beworben. Weil CAM UK von unserem Bedarf wusste, wurde die Bewerbung an die INTEC GmbH weitergeleitet. Seit März 2000 arbeitet Mark Duke nun in dem von Wolfgang Trautenberg geleiteten Entwicklungsbereich von INTEC. Derzeit widmet er sich beson ders der Dokumentation von SIM PACK. Hinter Stapeln von Wörterbüchern Mark Duke Development and Projects versteckt, arbeitet er fieberhaft, um die SIMPACK Dokumentation bis zur Auslieferung der SIMPACK Version 8.5 komplett überarbeitet zu haben. Sabine Ernie Engert Sabine Ernie Engert hat im November 2000 als Marketing Managerin und Mitarbeiterin des Vertriebsund Marketingleiters Johannes Gerl den Bereich Marketing verstärkt. Ihre Haupttätigkeitsbereiche sind im Moment die Organisation der SIMPACK Trainings, die Koordination der Präsenz auf Messen und Fachtagungen, die Organisation des SIMPACK User Meetings, die redaktionelle Betreuung der SIM PACKNews und der Relaunch des Internetauftritts. Überdies soll die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit ein größeres Gewicht bekommen. Frau Engert ist seit sechs Jahren im Marketing tätig, aber neu in der CAE-Branche. Die Diplom-Volkswirtin kommt aus einem Buch- und Softwareverlag und hat dort im Marketing den Bereich Marktforschung geleitet. Dr. Thomas Pletl Development and Projects Sabine Ernie Engert Marketing Manager ws 001 Page 15

16 ... News... News... News... News... News... News... News SIMPACK Training Courses from to Training Courses SIMPACK Automotive FEMBS Contact Mechanics SIMPACK BASICS SIMPACK Wheel/Rail SIMAT SIMPACK BASICS FEMBS Contact Mechanics SIMAT Room for SIMPACK Training Courses at Bad Ischl, Austria - after the SIMPACK User Meeting 2001 ( ) Special Training SIMPACK v New User Routines The price for one day s training is 390,- Euros. The dates, as published here, can be subject to change. We would be glad to welcome you to our SIMPACK training courses. To register for a SIMPACK training course contact Sabine E. Engert by sabine.engert@simpack.de or by telephone: or by fax: Ms Engert looks forward to hearing from you. SIMPACK at Conferences and Exhibitions Automobile and Railway Vehicle Dynamics, Lyon European Automotive Congress, Bratislava VDI Tagung Nutzfahrzeuge, Neu-Ulm Congress on Railway Bogies and Running Gears, Bratislava 10. Aachener Kolloquium, Aachen VDI Tagung Reifen, Fahrwerk, Fahrbahn, Hannover SIMPACK User Meeting 2001 in Bad Ischl, Austria with two following days of SIMPACK Training courses and special training courses Page 16 Ne 1/2

17 ... News... News... News... News... News... News... News.. INTEC Hardware Partners In an effort to support customers on both UNIX and Windows platforms INTEC has recently partnered with four major hard ware vendors: - Hewlett Packard: HP Com puting Solution Provider Pro gram (CSPP) Partner - Silicon Graphics: SGI Venture Partner - Sun Microsystems: SUN De veloper Connection (SDC) Partner - Industrial Business Machines: IBM Business Partner - Developer These partnerships enable INTEC to develop test and deploy its SIMPACK suite of products on the latest hardware and software and to access the valuable source of software and hardware experts of the individual vendors. This move also underlines INTEC s strong belief and commitment into both Windows and UNIX based computer systems as a choice of platforms for SIMPACK. New Operating System Support SIMPACK is supported for a new operating system platform now. With SIMPACK Version 8, Maintenance Release 11 which has been available since April 2001 SIMPACK is officially supported for the HP-UX 11 platform. This release also offers continued support for HP-UX Initial releases of SIMPACK 8.5 will support both HP-UX 10.2 and HP- UX 11, however the platform support for HP-UX 10.2 will be phased out by the end of SIMPACK 8.5 will also be suppor ted for SUN Ultra Sparc archi tectures with the SUN SOLARIS 8 operating system. Dongles for SIMPACK v8.5 The new SIMPACK release v8.5 offers the ability to lock the SIM PACK license to a dongle which offers huge benefits to our cus tomers in the terms of flexibi li ty. An engineer or student who wishes to work at home or at a test track, for example, can easily trans fer the SIMPACK licence to a note book. Another advantage gained by the use of dongles: Ordering new licence files from INTEC when changing licence servers is no longer necessary, the SIMPACK user only needs to transfer the dongle. INTEC at Conferences VDI Tagung Dynamik von Fahrzeug und Fahrweg, 5./6. Oktober 2000 in Kassel Der Schwerpunkt der Vorträge der unter Mitwirkung des Verbands Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (VDV) und der Deutschen Bahn AG (DB) veranstalteten Fachtagung liegt traditionell auf den Gebiet der rechnerischen Auslegung der Fahrdynamik von Schienenfahrzeugen. Von den insgesamt 21 vorgestellten Beiträgen der Themenbereiche Wechselwirkung Fahrzeug/Fahrweg, Fahrzeugsys tem dynamik, Schwin gungs komfort, Fahrsicherheitspro bleme sowie Regelung und Überwachung wurde in nicht weniger als sieben Vorträgen SIM PACK als Be rech nungs tool verwendet. Dies zeugt von der führenden Stellung von SIM PACK im Bereich der Simu lations technik von Schienenfahrzeugen. 4. Schienenfahrzeugtagung Dresden der Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden (FH) am Oktober 2000 Diese Tagung deckt ein sehr breites Spektrum der Bahntechnik ab. In der Tagungssektion Projektierung, Berechnung und Konstruktion von Schienenfahrzeugen (Theorie) stellte ein Vortrag der TU-Dresden das Konzept eines Hardware-in-theloop Prüfstands vor, bei dem SIM PACK Simulationsmodelle zusammen mit Modellen anderer Tools (Hydraulik, Regelungstechnik) in Cosimulation in Echtzeit gerechnet werden. Aufgabenstellung des Prüfstands ist, hydraulische Komponenten der Neigetechnik sowie die zugehörige Regelungstechnik unter Echtzeitbedingungen experimentell zu untersuchen. Dr. L. Mauer, Andreas Böttcher ws 001 Page 17

18 ... News... News... News... News... News... News... News Market Review Johannes Gerl INTEC GmbH Promising Launch of SIMPACK in Japan Just six months after the start of its promotion in Japan, SIMPACK is already in use at some of the most well known Japanese companies. Toyota System Research, Mazda Motor Corporation and Bridgestone have immediately been convinced by SIMPACK and have ordered it in the first period of this year. The licences have been sold in close collaboration between INTEC and ALTAIR Japan. ALTAIR engineers from Japan have been working at INTEC to carry out benchmark tests and eva lu ation projects supported by IN TEC s project engineers. INTEC sales staff have also visited Japanese cus tomers for presentations and workshops. Japan s railway industry is also very interested in the world wide market leader for railway simulation systems. Japan Rail East and Sumitomo Metal Industry are already using it, with a number of other firms currently evaluating SIMPACK. New University Customers The fact that SIMPACK has mastered the step from a mainly Germanybased to an international product is documented perfectly by the new university users. From the north (University of Göteborg), into the centre of the continent (CTU Prag) and onto the south (Uni ver sità di Roma La Sapienza ) shows how SIMPACK is reaching into all parts of Europe. New University and Research Licences University of Göteborg, Sweden Czech Technical University, Prag, Czech Republic Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, Germany Fachhochschule Remagen, Germany Università di Roma La Sapienza, Italy Universität Stuttgart, Germany New Commercial Licences BMW Motorsports Ltd., Germany Bombardier Transportation Winterthur, Switzerland Bridgestone, Japan Mazda Motor Corporation, Japan SIEMENS Production & Logistic Systems AG, Germany Toyota System Research, Japan Page 18 Ne 1/2

19 We congratulate our SIMPACK client BMW Motorsport Ltd. on winning the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola! This has brought BMW s total formula1 victories to 10. However, we would particularly like to congratulate them on their first win as the BMW WilliamsF1 team. Williams and BMW have been to gether since last year as the BMW WilliamsF1 team, using the newly de veloped BMW engine. The experts pre dicted, as is normally the case with new teams, that several years would pass before they would see their first win. However, the BMW WilliamsF1 team with Ralf Schumacher have proved the experts to be wrong in only the se cond season and the 21 st race taking first place on the 15 th April 2001 in the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. This outstanding result was not expected by BMW, even though they knew how well their engine is performing. The Munich based BMW Motorsport Team had been working intensively on the development of the engine for over three years and fully deserved the win from the concerted effort put in from the entire team. It was also the first career win for Ralf Schumacher since he began in For mula 1 in In the race itself, Ralf out ac celerated his rivals from third place on the grid to take the lead, which he then never relinquished. After his victory, Ralf Schumacher said: Ich freue mich natürlich riesig. Alles lief perfekt, das Set-up war gut, der BMW Motor fantastisch, und die Michelin- Reifen haben ebenfalls funk-tioniert! (I am absolutely delighted. Everything ran perfectly, the set-up was good, the BMW engine was fantastic and the Michelin tyres also worked well.) We ll be keeping our fingers crossed for the forthcoming races! ws 001 Page 19

20 Contact SIMPACKNews Number of Copies: 2400 INTEC GmbH Argelsrieder Feld 13 D Wessling Tel.: Fax.: SIMPACK Version 5,6,7,8, FEMBS, LOADS, ProSIM, CatSIM, SIMAT, SIMAX (INTEC GmbH, DLR) REGISTERED TRADEMARKS ABAQUS: Hibbit, Karlsson & Sorensen, Inc. ANSYS: Swanson Analysis Systems, Inc. CATIA: Dassault Systems MSC.NASTRAN: MSC.Software Corporation MATLAB: The MathWorks, Inc. MATRIXx: Integrated Systems, Inc. MSC.MARC: MSC.Software Corporation Pro/ENGINEER: Parametric Technology Corporation United States and Japan Altair Engineering 1757 Maplelawn Drive Troy, MI Tel.: , Fax: Altair Engineering, Ltd. Japan Ta c t N o. 4, B l d g. 9 F M i m a m i I k e b u k u ro Toshima-Ku, Tokyo Japan Te l. : , Fa x : Korea SV Korea Inc. RM 101, , SA-1DONG ANSAN, KYENGKI-DO, , KOREA Tel , Fax sales@svkorea.co.kr Worldwide INTEC GmbH Argelsrieder Feld 13 D Wessling Tel , Fax intec@simpack.de Copy, fill in, fax. Name Company Address Telephone Fax Applications