Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Best of
Automotive
Getting Around in Style On the Fast Track Safe Automobile Controls
Table of
Contents 29
Playing It Cool
AUTONOMOUS AND
ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS
Best of Automotive
33
2 12 Safe Automobile Controls
Driving Automotive Breakthrough for
Innovation Brake Design
38
Automating Battery
15 Pack Design
3 Its a Snap
On Top of the World
42
6 19 In the Loop
On the Fast Track
Leveraging Upfront
Simulation in a Global TRADITIONAL POWERTRAIN
Enterprise
8 26 50
Cleaner, Greener Hot Flash
Getting Around in Style Engine Design
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ANSYS ADVANTAGE 1
EDITORIAL
This ultra-competitive industry turns to Traditional Powertrain Autonomous and electronic systems
engineering simulation to cut through An early adopter of simulation technol- advanced driver assistance systems
complexity, virtually testing thousands ogy, the auto industry regularly applies (ADAS) involve a complicated control-loop
of operating scenarios and uncovering simulation to complex real-world phys- that must function flawlessly over the mil-
hard-to-find, potentially disastrous prob- ics interactions and makes value-added lions of scenarios that autonomous vehi-
lems early on. Tier 1-supplier DENSO, for design trade-offs. To reduce engine emis- cles encounter. Simulating ADAS involves
example, embeds CAE into all phases of sions and improve fuel efficiency, Magneti drive-scenario modeling, sensor phys-
its product development process, improv- Marelli models the complete ICE cycle ics modeling, sensor data fusion, human
ing quality and reducing time to market virtually, reducing the time required machine interfaces and more. The
along the way. Advanced virtual analysis to develop innovative components. German Aerospace Center is applying vir-
enables such pacesetters to create catego- Cummins applies simulation to workhorse tual modeling to correct defects and gain
ry-changing innovation. diesel engines for trucks, reducing weight, insight early in the design process, sub-
improving fuel economy and reducing stantially reducing the time required to
Body and Chassis emission. Toyotas simulation approach produce vehicle automation systems.
Simulation is key to solving issues upfront enables it to evaluate more design alter- Simulation allows for accurate what-if
in the design phase. Companies that fine- natives for transmission cooling perfor- analysis to determine potential EMI issues
tune auto body and chassis can reduce mance in the early stages of the product caused by electronic communications
fuel consumption and build in reliability development process. devices. Simulation also leads to better
upfront in the design process with simula- understanding of transient noise issues
tion. KTM Technologies incorporated rad- Electric Powertrain caused by the myriad motors included in
ical composites into a sports car, which Companies that bring more fuel efficient, every vehicle. Many standards, directives
called for new design, analysis and opti- less expensive HEVs to market sooner will and regulations are designed with vehicle
mization technologies. Created using sim- dominate future automotive business. safety in mind.
ulation, the product struck a fine bal- Engineering simulation drives time and In the future, the automotive industry
ance between requirements, performance costs out of the development cycle. will see many radical changes. As auton-
and costs while exceeding customers In todays connected cars, electronic omous cars become more prevalent over
requirements. control units (ECUs) that manage vari- the next 25 years, the market will trans-
Friction-induced brake squeal grows ous systems are governed by complex form from B-to-C to B-to-B. Carline and
important as other vehicle noise sources software, which is susceptible to glitches. robo-taxi fleets will appear; individuals
are mitigated. ZF-TRW engineers accu- Subaru uses virtual modeling to develop will no longer own vehicles. But one thing
rately simulated squeal and automated safe, reliable, electronically controlled sys- that will not change is the need for engi-
the simulation process while reducing tems for HEVs. The process also reduces neering simulation to design the vehicles
time and money spent on validation test- software development and testing time. of the future: To physically test an autono-
ing. Performing simulation early in the General Motors is leading a cross-in- mous vehicle to current standards would
design process helps to avoid costs associ- dustry team in developing an efficient require more than 1 billion road-testing
ated with multiple prototypes, rework and cooling system for HEV battery packs. miles over 100 years. Consumers and the
tooling changes. Valeo used nonlinear best Using systems-level simulation tools to auto industry cannot wait that long!
practices to simulate thermoplastic snap- design lithium-ion systems and accurately
fits, leveraging HPC that shrunk simula- predict their performance is a vital compo-
tion time by 50 percent. nent of the R&D strategy.
ON TOP OF
THE WORLD
By Shigeru Akaike, Project Director, CAE Design Promotion, DENSO Corporation, Kariya, Japan
C
ompetition is intense in the automotive systems and
components business. Best-in-class simulation capa- DENSO has developed a
bilities are necessary to thrive amid global compe-
tition. DENSO Corporation a leading supplier of advanced strategy to embed CAE fully
automotive technology, systems and components for all the
worlds major automakers faced the need to reduce software
into all phases of the global
licensing expenses to remain cost-competitive and to develop product development process.
world-class products. DENSO performed a rigorous bench-
marking process and selected ANSYS simulation software as
its standard tool to expedite product development, cut costs
By using simulation to predict profiles after the forming process, geometric accuracy can be improved.
Electric
Mech.
ANSYS software largely because of global product development process. netic design constraints. Kinematics
ANSYS Mechanicals advanced analyti- The mission of the Digital Engineering vibrationnoise analysis is required
cal abilities for structural linear, nonlin- Department is to enhance CAE technol- to address environmental problems
ear and dynamics analysis; its ability to ogy in each of the companys business in the design of turbomachinery, com-
model with elements; its library of mate- groups by developing methods to solve pressors and belt drives. Because of
rial models and equation solvers; and its typical product development problems. the risk of supply cutoffs, multiphys-
scalability in efficiently solving a range Each business group has a CAE team ics analysis is vital in developing alter-
of engineering problems and scenarios. responsible for developing product-spe- native materials that frequently need
DENSO also found the support provided cific CAE tools for use in the design proc- to be considered.
by long-term ANSYS channel partner ess. Engineers from overseas business Collaboration with academia helps
Cybernet Systems to be especially valu- units are trained at headquarters to DENSO develop basic theories that can
able. After the study was completed, enable joint development of CAE tech- be embedded into the software. The
DENSO increased its usage of additional nology in the future. company is working with universities
ANSYS multiphysics capabilities includ- DENSO has determined that its on the flow-by-particle method, high-
ing CFD and electromagnetic simulation. need for multiphysics analysis will precision electromagnetic fields, poly-
increase greatly in the future. For meric heat transfer characteristics,
EMBEDDING CAE INTO THE example, research and development metal-to-metal joints and magnetic
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT teams working on hybrid vehicle/elec- particle compression.
PROCESS tric vehicle motor generator design As a result of these efforts, DENSO
DENSO has developed a strategy to must address structural and thermal has improved product quality by con-
embed CAE fully into all phases of the considerations along with electromag- sidering more alternatives upfront and
has compressed the product develop-
DENSO has determined that its need for ment process. DENSO intends to con-
tinue to embed CAE more deeply within
multiphysics analysis will increase greatly its global product development process
and maintain its strong strategic part-
in the future. nership with ANSYS through sharing
visions and goals, as well as ongoing
and future joint projects.
AUTOMOTIVE/ELECTRONICS
Leveraging Upfront
Simulation in a
Global Enterprise
Corporate initiative at Delphi focuses on the benefits of simulation
as an integral part of early product design at sites around the world.
By Fereydoon Dadkhah, Senior Engineer, Mechanical Analysis and Simulation,
Delphi Electronics & Safety Systems, Indiana, U.S.A.
Most high-technology com- transportation systems for the automotive and consumer
panies now realize the potential product industries.
benefits of simulating the perform- Beginning in the late 1990s, Delphi Electronics & Safety
ance of their products using tools embarked on a program to take full advantage of FEA in the
such as finite element analysis product development process. Along with other companies,
(FEA). They also clearly know that Delphi Electronics & Safety had been using FEA in a
performing analysis early in the more limited way as a troubleshooting tool often later
design cycle has the potential to in development. The new initiative intended to employ
identify and solve design problems finite element analysis as an integral part of the product
much more efficiently and cost development process especially focusing on the use of
Fereydoon Dadkhah, Delphi effectively compared to handling simulation up front in the design cycle.
Electronics & Safety Systems them later. One of the leading To achieve this goal, Delphi put into place a compre-
companies in employing upfront hensive program to train design engineers in the use of
analysis throughout the product engineering organization is FEA in the early stages of the design process. This program
Delphi Electronics & Safety Systems a major division of began by classifying engineers according to their skill levels
Delphi Corporation specializing in mobile electronics and in use of FEA and interpretation of analysis results. Gradually,
AUTOMOTIVE/ELECTRONICS
Germany (1)
India (130) Luxembourg (711)
Unknown (56) Mexico (2,773) Poland (3) Development Process (PDP) as a requirement. The PDP
begins with the concept stage and proceeds to the validation
Singapore
(380) stage when prototypes are built and tested, and finally the
program is handed off to manufacturing. This has led to
developing much more robust and reliable products as well as
greatly reducing or eliminating validation failures. This process
is enforced by a Design Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
(DFMEA) plan represented by a spreadsheet of possible
failure modes for a product and the required analyses to
show that the product is immune to the specific failures.
U.S. (19,806) U.K. (8,697)
A large number of engineers around the world in the over-
all Delphi organization use these tools, including the full suite
of software from ANSYS within the ANSYS Workbench inter-
face, to perform thermal, stress, vibration and other general
analysis in the course of product development. In 2007, the
number of ANSYS DesignSpace users exceeded 200, and
approximately 30 percent were Delphi Electronics & Safety
engineers. Delphi Electronics & Safety users globally logged
11,151 hours of usage on the software, or 34 percent of
Number of hours of ANSYS DesignSpace usage at various Delphi sites internationally the total for all sites internationally. The licenses for
many CAE tools including ANSYS products such as
the program incorporated use of FEA into the Delphi ANSYS DesignSpace are supported from servers in
Electronics & Safety product development plan. Safeguards Michigan, in the United States, allowing engineering
such as peer reviews, engineering fundamentals training management to stay up to date on the use of these tools.
and mentoring were implemented to ensure proper use By adopting a comprehensive approach for implementing
of FEA. Furthermore, Delphi Electronics & Safety has FEA across the worldwide organization, Delphi has
restricted use of this technology to engineers and scientists effectively incorporated an extremely powerful technology
with a minimum of a bachelors degree. Training in the use into the product development process. The initiative to focus
of the structural mechanics simulation software in this on upfront analysis in particular has resulted in outstanding
case, ANSYS DesignSpace that uses the ANSYS business value for Delphi in terms of improved designs devel-
Workbench platform is a prerequisite at Delphi Electronics oped very efficiently. The use of the ANSYS Workbench
& Safety. Occasional users such as product engineers utilize platform has certainly facilitated this process by providing the
the software to perform linear and static analyses. ability to perform a variety of analysis types of different com-
More advanced analyses involving nonlinearity or transient plexities in the same familiar environment. Perhaps the best
loading are referred to full-time analysts. indicator of the effectiveness of this software in a business
Today, the company has incorporated the use of context is management support for its widespread use by
structural mechanics simulation into the Delphi Product such large numbers of Delphi engineers around the world.
Getting Around
Style
in
By Martin Perterer, Head of Research and Simulation, KTM Technologies GmbH, Salzburg, Austria
T
he use of composites is rapidly growing across many
industries, fostering the need for new design, analysis
and optimization technologies. Every industry feels
increasing pressure to launch breakthrough products that out-
perform competitors and meet market needs. For many design
applications that require strong yet lightweight materials, lay-
ered composites are ideal. Even so, faster, more frequent prod-
uct introductions and new technologies cannot compromise
ultimate product quality, reliability and speed to market.
For KTM Technologies, fiber-composites engineering, tech-
nology and consulting comprise the core business. Founded in
2008, the Austrian-based company is part of the KTM Group,
focused on people-moving applications automobiles, motor-
cycles and bicycles using high-performance composites.
KTM Technologies is a leader in selling solutions and sup-
porting customers in economical, composite engineering via
a holistic approach. All departments work together from
design through development and simulation to manufactur-
ing to benefit customers.
Composites design in particular composites with car-
bon fibers evolves continually as new fibers are developed,
existing materials are re-purposed into composite layers, and
new applications are explored. KTM Technologies needs to
find that fine balance between requirements, performance and
costs while exceeding customers requirements. The company
uses ANSYS software to accomplish such advanced materials
design. KTM also used ANSYS computational fluid dynamics
for shape optimization of the KTM X-Bow to ensure passen-
ger comfort by reducing the cockpits highly turbulent, high-
velocity flow.
KTM X-BOW, from sketch to prototype in just 18 months, thanks to a cross-functional team approach
BREAKTHROUGH
FOR BRAKE DESIGN
New method simulates brake-squeal problems early in the design process.
By Greg Roth, Chief Engineer Engineering Technologies NA, TRW Automotive North America,
Livonia, U.S.A., and Mike Hebbes, Regional Technical Manager, ANSYS, Inc.
F
riction-induced brake squeal
has been a challenging issue
for the automotive industry
for decades; it has become
particularly important today
as other sources of noise have
been reduced or eliminated. TRW and
other brake producers previously relied
on a brake-squeal simulation method in
which interfaces between brake pads,
rotors and other components were man-
ually modeled prior to performing struc-
tural analysis. The weakness of this Typical TRW brake system, with disc Tetrahedral mesh on disc rotor (green),
rotor (green) and ventilation slots around caliper and caliper mount (both grey), and
approach is that it requires assump- perimeter. The caliper (adjacent pink and steering knuckle assembly (tan)
tions of how the components contact grey sections) houses the brake pads, which
each other that then must be validated by are visible through the inspection hole. The
physical testing. This takes considerable caliper mount (teal and grey) and steering
knuckle (blue) also are shown.
time and money, and delays the product
development process.
More recently, TRW has validated a A
new method that uses ANSYS Mechanical
software to establish the initial contact B
and compute the sliding contact between
the pads and the disc. Simulation stud-
ies have determined that this approach
accounts for system contact condi-
tions, enabling brake noise to be simu-
lated and reducing the need for physical
testing to tune the models. The entire
simulation process is contained within
a single environment, which saves Visualization of complex eigenvalue for Cutaway of brake pads and disc rotor high-
time by automating many aspects of unstable mode. Contours of relative lighting one of the frictional contact pairs
deformation on the caliper mount (yellow, (marked A and B) between the rotor and
the process and setting up batch runs red) have been scaled up for clarity. one of the brake pads
for design optimization or manufactur-
ing variation analysis. This method has
made it possible to design and build
quieter brakes in less time than is brake squeal, generate warranty costs of they can identify the potential for a pro-
possible with traditional methods. about $1 billion a year to the automo- posed design to squeal early in the pro-
tive industry in North America alone. cess, before millions of dollars have been
CHALLENGE OF SIMULATING At least $100 million of those expenses invested in detailed design, prototyping
BRAKE SQUEAL can be attributed to brake squeal. and manufacturing tooling. Since it is not
Researchers have estimated that noise, Automobile suppliers and original equip- feasible to produce every single compo-
vibration and harshness, including disc ment manufacturers stand to benefit if nent to exact dimensions and material
squeal without
often a poor match, necessitating that the pre-loaded stage a process that is essen-
simulation be run over and over again, tially automated in ANSYS Mechanical.
adjusting the contacts each time until
the predicted results accurately match
having to spend Next, engineers employ a nonlinear static
solution to establish the initial contact
the physical tests. This approach is both
expensive and time-consuming.
extra time and and compute the sliding contact between
pads and disc. The applied stresses and
money on rotation of the disc create the pre-loaded
DEVELOPMENT OF NEW effect, and friction contact generates an
SIMULATION METHOD validation testing. asymmetric stiffness matrix during static
TRWs engineers wanted the ability to structural analysis.
accurately simulate brake squeal without In the second phase of the linear per-
having to spend extra time and money on turbation analysis, TRW engineers
validation testing. The TRW team worked with importing the CAD model into perform a QR-damped or unsymmetric
with ANSYS technical services staff to Workbench. The production-intent para- modal analysis. The eigensolver uses the
accurately define contact conditions metric CAD model of the brake assem- unsymmetric stiffness matrix generated
prior to physical testing by using a non- bly incorporates component-level models in the contact elements and may produce
linear static solution to establish the such as the pad assembly, caliper, rotor complex eigenfrequencies. The results
initial contact and compute the sliding and knuckle. Additionally, the compo- of a perturbation analysis then show the
contact between pads and disc. ANSYS nent models are created to incorporate damped frequencies for each mode num-
software enabled the entire brake-squeal manufacturing variability. After the ini- ber along with the stability or real part of
simulation process to be incorporated tial import, the software automatically the eigenvalues. When the coupled mode
within the ANSYS Workbench environ- detects and performs setup for the con- shows a positive real value, it indicates
ment, which allowed automating the abil- tacts or joints between parts of an assem- instability in the system that may be a
ity to simulate expected manufacturing bly. ANSYS meshing technology then source of brake noise or squeal. The anal-
variation and determine if the design met provides multiple methods to gener- ysis results also include the mode shapes,
robustness requirements. ate a hex-dominant mesh or a tet mesh, which often provide useful diagnostic
The new simulation process jointly depending on analysts requirements. information that helps in changing the
developed by TRW and ANSYS begins Successfully simulating brake squeal design to eliminate instability.
The company is
confident that it
can substantially
improve brake
quality while
reducing
engineering costs
and lead time.
DETERMINING ROBUSTNESS
Flowchart of linear perturbation analysis
OF A PROPOSED DESIGN
Beyond accurately modeling the phys-
ics of brake squeal, another attraction
of the new simulation method is its abil-
ity to perform studies that determine the
impact of small variations in variables
such as dimensions, material tolerances
and loads. These variables change from
build to build, and, even though they
remain within tolerance limits, there is a
chance that they might increase or reduce
the amount of noise produced by the
brakes. With previous simulation meth-
ods, there was no way to know what these
effects would be. The new method makes
it possible to evaluate the robustness of a
proposed design by simulating whether
any squeal would occur if hundreds of
thousands of brake units were built.
The TRW team used ANSYS Workbench
to determine the robustness of a pro-
Damped frequencies generated by partial pre-stressed complex eigenvalue analysis.
posed design as an extension of a single
Mode 9 has a positive real component and is a potential source of brake squeal.
simulation. Using ANSYS DesignXplorer,
the team performed a design of exper-
iments (DOE) to create a set of simula-
tions that explore the design space with
a minimum number of simulation iter- the team looks at the sensitivity plot and cies, without using physical testing to
ations. When TRW executes an Update other charts to determine which param- calibrate the results. Clearly, the new
All Design Points in DesignXplorer, the eters need to be adjusted or tightened approach can more accurately model the
first set of parameter values is sent to the to obtain the required robustness. This physics behind brake noise than the tra-
parameter manager in Workbench. This information helps to reveal which toler- ditional simulation method. The ability
action drives changes to the model from ances can be relaxed without compromis- to incorporate manufacturing variation
the CAD system to post-processing. TRW ing the design. into simulation and predict what propor-
engineers then simulate the new design tion of builds will squeal is another major
point, and output results are passed to VALIDATION advantage.
the design point table to be stored. The new simulation approach proved its TRW is moving to implement the new
This process continues until capability in a series of simulations that method into its design process for future
TRW solves all of its design points. the TRW team validated with physical brake programs. The company is confi-
DesignXplorer presents the expected out- testing. These confirmation studies dem- dent that it will be able to substantially
put variation so the engineering team onstrated that it is possible to simulate improve brake quality while reducing
can determine whether or not the design brake noise and other output parame- engineering costs and lead time.
meets robustness requirements. If not, ters, such as mode shapes and frequen-
ITS A SNAP
By K. Vaideeswarasubramanian, Engineer, CAE; Vinod Ryali Balaji, Senior Engineer, CAE; and
Karthic Sethuraman, Engineering Manager, Valeo India Private Limited, Chennai, India
V
aleo produces many automotive components such faster solution times. Another advantage is that brick meshes
as smart antenna systems, smart keys, switches, are more uniform, which provides greater accuracy. The option
mechanical control panels, thin film transistor (TFT) Show - Sweepable Bodies in ANSYS Meshing quickly
displays and electronic control unit (ECU) enclosures that identifies sweepable bodies within the assembly. Bodies that
are secured and, in some cases, activated by snap-fits during are not sweepable can be sliced into sweepable volumes and
the assembly process. In each case, the clipping and unclip- the Form New Part option can be used to ensure element
ping forces must be calculated, and risk of structural failure connectivity between sliced parts.
must be evaluated. This is achieved by performing static non- Geometric features in the model with sharp edges close to
linear simulation of snap-fits that includes multiple contacts the snapping region are common sources of nonconvergence.
with friction and thermoplastic materials. Valeo engineers This problem can be addressed by adding small fillets to these
have developed best practices for using ANSYS Mechanical in specific contact regions in the simulation model.
all stages of the simulation process, from geometry prepara- Engineers reduce computational time by defining the
tion to post-processing. parts that are not of primary interest as rigid bodies, without
having any significant effect on results accuracy.
GEOMETRY PREPARATION
A sweepable volume has the same number of vertices per MATERIAL MODELING
face and a smooth path from the source to the target face. One Thermoplastic material modeling is still much more of an
advantage of a sweepable volume is that it can be automati- art than a science, and each current method has limitations.
cally meshed with hexahedron or brick elements that can fill One of the challenges is that the breaking point of many thermo-
a volume more efficiently. This leads to fewer elements and plastic materials is not available in any number of commercial
material databases. The absence of a much from a nonlinear model. In addi- When multiple snap-fits are used
breaking point can cause convergence dif- tion, element distortion and resulting in an assembly, the solution often does
ficulties. In some cases, Valeo engineers noise in the force displacement curve are not converge beyond a particular point
solved this problem by obtaining the usually eliminated. using frictional contacts. In this case,
breaking point of the material from the the team runs the solution until maxi-
material supplier. However, when break- CONTACT SETTINGS mum force is obtained with a frictional
ing point data is unavailable, extrapola- When two or more clips are simulta- contact. Accuracy is critical up to that
tion of the available stressstrain data neously activated in an assembly, conver- point, because maximum force is often
is performed on a case-to-case basis to gence problems may occur due to contact highly dependent on friction. The engi-
improve convergence. chattering. Valeo engineers define the neers then perform the complete simu-
A limitation of the finite element clips as a single contact-target pair to lation with a frictionless contact and use
method is that when a small region of a alleviate this problem. the results from frictionless contact only
model bears an excessive load, the ele- Co-efficient of friction values for from that substep for which the solution
ments in this region can become dis- interfaces in snap-fit assemblies are with frictional contact did not converge.
torted, which has a negative impact on frequently not known. However, accu-
accuracy. The engineers avoided this rate friction values are often critical to MESHING
problem by slicing the areas where high achieve simulation results that corre- In some cases, problems such as gen-
compressive stresses and strains occur, late with physical tests. If the results do eration of highly distorted elements may
then assigning linear elastic properties to not correlate well with physical tests, the be experienced with a default surface
these slices to obtain better convergence. friction co-efficient is varied in the sim- mesh. These problems can be addressed
Generally, the results from a model with ulation until a good correlation is effec- by using the mapped face mesh
a small linear elastic region do not vary tively achieved. option, in which the ANSYS software
LOADING
Displacement control, rather than
force control, usually provides better
convergence in the snap-fit assembly.
Many snap-fit assemblies experi-
ence large displacements for very small
loads. Separating the loads into a num-
ber of small steps will aid in smooth
convergence; it will also capture critical
clipping points.
ANALYSIS SETTINGS
The distributed memory paral-
lel solver for ANSYS Mechanical gener-
ally provides the fastest solution times.
This solver decomposes the model into Simulation results for different friction co-efficients. These results will later be compared to test results.
domains and sends each domain to a dif-
ferent core to be solved. A considerable
amount of communications between the
different cores is required. The results POST-PROCESSING Thermoplastics tend to be very strong
are automatically combined at the end of It is important to know the maximum in compression, so in most cases the
the solution. There are some cases, usu- force required for a snap-fit assembly; results in tensile areas are most criti-
ally involving highly distorted elements when multiple steps are involved, the force cal for the design process. However, if
and excessive strains, in which the dis- required in each step is also important. For high stresses and strains occur in com-
tributed solver will terminate abruptly. better clarity, Valeo engineers overlay the pression, there is the potential for plas-
In these cases, engineers use shared corresponding deformed model alongside tic deformation to occur. In such cases,
memory parallel solver. each peak in the reaction force curve. the compression results are treated on a
Past issues of
ANSYS Advantage are
always available at
ansys.com/archive
AUTOMOTIVE
ON THE
FAST TRACK
Ferrari pushes the limits of simulation in improving aerodynamic performance of racing cars.
By Enrico Cardile, Aerodynamics and Thermal Management Manager, Ferrari S.p.A, Maranello, Italy
A
erodynamics plays a key role in motorsports.
Ferrari S.p.A. has made dramatic improve-
ments in its racing cars aerodynamic per-
formance by combining computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) simulation and wind-tun- The contribution of
nel testing. Ferrari engineers have extensively
automated the simulation process and run many design itera-
tions to explore the design space and improve speed, reliabil-
simulation is huge.
ity and safety. It takes about three to four weeks to arrange a GT Driver Gianmaria Bruni
session in the wind tunnel, while company engineers can per-
form more than 100 CFD simulations in the same time period.
Simulation dramatically increases the number of different
aerodynamic alternatives that can be evaluated, enabling sub- of the car, causing an increase in velocity and a reduction in
stantial performance improvements that have played a key role pressure of air below the car. The slower-moving air above the
in Ferraris many track victories. The contribution of simula- car generates a higher pressure, and the resulting pressure dif-
tion is huge, said GT Driver Gianmaria Bruni, winner of the 2012 ferential pushes the car onto the ground.
24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ferrari 458 Italia. On the latest 458 Italia GT2 model, Ferrari engineers per-
formed hundreds of CFD simulations with ANSYS Fluent to
GT2 RACING optimize the aerodynamic performance of the car. In general,
Ferrari has been involved in racing since the company began, the process begins when the design team provides a proposed
competing in a wide range of categories. Ferraris current GT2 design in the form of a computer-aided design (CAD) file. An ana-
entry is the 458 Italia GT2, which is based on the 458 Italia pro- lyst then manually generates the surface mesh, the only part of
duction model. Aerodynamics plays a major role in the design the process that is done manually. Then an automation script
of these cars because the shape of the upper part of a GT car takes over and executes the entire simulation process, starting
body generates lift, so the underbody must be designed to cre- with generating a volume mesh based on the surface mesh, spec-
ate down-force. This increases the tires gripping capabilities ifying boundary conditions, and running the CFD solver. In early
during braking and cornering, without increasing drag. Ferrari stages of the design process, analysts typically evaluate one
improves down-force in GT2 cars by smoothing out the under- proposed design at a time and closely examine flow speed and
body and adding diffusers at the rear to intensify air speed and direction as well as pressure around the body to understand the
mass flow under the car. A diffuser ejects air from the underside performance of the design and how it might be improved.
OPTIMIZING THE DESIGN the optimization tool to examine only expansion angles and
Once analysts gain a general understanding of flow patterns and curvatures of expansion for the diffuser that can be accommo-
which design parameters have the most impact, they set up a dated without interference. Sometimes the aerodynamics team
design of experiments (DOE) using the ModeFRONTIER optimi- removes constraints to determine if a large improvement might
zation tool, which runs tens to hundreds of simulations without be achieved in the absence of a constraint. In that case, the aero-
user intervention to evaluate the design space. ModeFRONTIER dynamics team meets with the design department to see if the
provides several different optimization algorithms, including design can be altered to remove the constraint.
the response-surface method (RSM) that is fitted to the data Ferrari engineers have used these methods to optimize the
points revealed by the DOE. This technology allows Ferrari to down-force on the 458 in a number of areas. They have applied
explore the design space with minimal computational effort. CFD to evaluate vortices under the body of the GT2 cars and
ModeFRONTIER also provides genetic algorithms to evolve a evolve the body design to minimize the vortices impact. In addi-
group of candidate designs toward better solutions. The simu- tion, they have optimized brake cooling inlet and outlet ducts
lation is run on a high-performance computing (HPC) compute with simulation. The geometry of the brake cooling ducts has
cluster. ANSYS Fluent splits up the mesh and data into multiple a critical impact on brake performance as well as on the down-
partitions, then assigns each mesh partition to a different com- force on the cars front axle. The complexity of the brake cooling
pute node. ducts geometry makes the ducts very difficult to evaluate in a
The position of the cars components often constrains the wind tunnel, so these critical areas are designed nearly entirely
aerodynamic design. For example, if engineers are working on with simulation. CFD analysis showed that even the side mirrors
the rear diffuser, that parts maximum expansion is limited by design is closely related to the shape of the engine air intake. By
the presence of the frame and the muffler. So they configure examining the streamlines around the side mirror on the 2014
CLEANING
UP
Magneti Marelli reduces engine
emissions and improves fuel
efficiency by modeling the
complete engine cycle.
I
n 2009, the European Union rati- the performance of existing engines run- complex, and obtaining accurate results
fied the Renewable Energy Directive ning on biofuels. An ItalianBrazilian requires an appropriate simulation tool
(RED), which requires that 10 per- Magneti Marelli team is working with and engineering expertise. Increasingly
cent of motor vehicles run on renewable the support of ANSYS to use 3-D compu- complex control systems make it more
energy by 2020. Biofuels consisting tational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simu- difficult than ever to predict in-cylinder
of ethanol or an ethanol blend are one late the complex operation of an internal mixture formation, combustion and
of the most practical renewal fuels for combustion engine (ICE) to evaluate emission in these engines. Acceptable
motor vehicles. In Brazil, the use of many virtual prototypes in the time that resolution of the engine flow and com-
biofuel is already common; but most would be required to build a single phys- bustion requires large hybrid meshes for
current vehicle engines do not deliver ical prototype. each configuration with associated com-
optimal performance, fuel economy or puting overheads. Once the analysis has
exhaust emissions with biofuels. ADVANCED CFD TECHNOLOGY been set up, it takes many hours or days
Magneti Marelli, a leading supplier FOR PORT FUEL INJECTION of computing to solve the model and eval-
of automotive components and systems ENGINES USING BIOFUELS uate the results. The results include large
around the world, is working to develop Simulation of an internal combustion data sets that require considerable time
fuel injection systems that will improve engine analysis is time consuming and and effort to evaluate and then generate
Fluid dynamics can be used to model fuel injection the most important element of engine modeling. Images illustrate simulation at different
stages of the engine evolution: exhaust and intake valves both open (left); intake valve open (center); both exhaust and intake valves closed
(right) with combustion.
ANSYS Workbench
environment
allows Magneti
Marelli engineers
to automatically
investigate
multiple parametric
design
variations.
Cummins ISX15
heavy-duty engine
Cleaner, Greener
Engine Design
Cummins uses simulation to reduce weight,
improve fuel economy and reduce emissions of engines.
By Bob Tickel, Director of Structural and Dynamic Analysis, Cummins Inc., Columbus, U.S.A.
the phrase environmentally responsible doesnt seem thing to do. the company wants the trucking industry to
to fit into a sentence with the terms 18-wheel tractor trailer be viewed as an environmental steward and champion,
and heavy-duty truck. As a world-leading manufacturer of not one of the bad guys.
commercial engines and related systems, Cummins Inc. is
working to change that perception one design at a time, Building the Truck of the Future
developing next-generation technologies that are revolu- In recognition of its environmental technology
tionizing the international trucking industry. leadership, Cummins recently received nearly $54 million
using software from ANSYS, Cummins is developing in funding from the u.S. department of energy (doe) to
and testing radical improvements in engine design, support two projects aimed at improving fuel efficiency in
including the use of alternative materials and smaller both heavy- and light-duty vehicles.
engine footprints that reduce weight, improve fuel About $39 million will fund Cummins development of
economy and reduce emissions while also boosting a new supertruck a highly efficient and clean diesel-
performance. the work of the corporate research and fueled Class 8 (heavy-duty) truck that is expected to set a
technology organization focuses on developing new, new industry standard for green technology. Another
environmentally responsible technologies for the $15 million in funding will support the development of
companys core engine business. advanced-technology powertrains for light-duty vehicles.
Cummins recent product development efforts target a the resulting improvements in engine system efficiency
great deal of attention on fuel economy and emissions will mean significantly lower fuel and petroleum
and with good reason. government environmental consumption by these vehicles as well as a significant
standards grow more challenging every year. because reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
commercial trucking is a low-margin business, every though details of this work are proprietary, Cummins
improvement that Cummins makes in fuel economy adds is using software from ANSYS to simulate engine
to its customers successes. beyond these practical performance and achieve the ambitious goals defined by
considerations, Cummins invests in environmentally the doe: Improve Class 8 vehicle freight efficiency by
responsible engine technologies because it is the right 50 percent and achieve a 40 percent improvement in fuel
economy in light-duty vehicles.
Selective catalytic
reduction (SCR) catalyst Decomposition filter
to illustrate how Cummins leverages ANSYS software Using Simulation to Rev Up Ongoing Engine Improvements
on a daily basis, consider this recent product introduction: environmental standards and customer needs are an
the next-generation ISX15 engine design, developed ever-evolving target. So the Cummins team uses
specifically to meet stringent new emissions standards engineering simulation to improve engine features and
from the u.S. environmental protection Agency (epA). boost performance. design changes that reduce
these regulations, which call for near-zero emission emissions and fuel consumption often result in higher
levels of nitrogen oxide (Nox) and particulate matter (pm), temperatures and pressures within the engine, which
place new demands on truck manufacturers and require Cummins engineers to continually test the limits of
fleet managers. conventional engine designs.
Cummins used ANSYS technology to develop or most materials used in diesel engines exhibit reduced
enhance a number of features in the ISX15 design, strength as temperature rises. the combination of high
including the new Cummins aftertreatment system that pressure/temperature and reduced strength places stress
incorporates a revolutionary diesel particulate filter (dpF) on components such as the cylinder head, a geometrically
targeted at meeting the new emissions standards. complex casting that serves many functions including
the dpF removes diesel particulate matter or soot transferring engine oil and coolant, intaking air and
from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine. Cummins used exhausting gas. the head also houses the fuel injector
ANSYS software to simulate typical operating loads and and valve train components; it must contain hot combus-
make predictions about the new dpFs performance and tion gases during the cylinder firing event. to address the
reliability. engineering simulation predicted both peak multiple forces that come into play, Cummins engineers
temperatures and temperature distribution inside this use multiphysics software from ANSYS to combine
component under a range of operating conditions. these thermal and structural analyses in their work on this
thermal analyses were critical as they revealed the peak sophisticated engine component.
temperatures and temperature gradients within the filter, Simulation tools from ANSYS enable the Cummins
which ultimately determine the thermal fatigue and life of engineering team to evaluate the use of new materials
the component. across the entire topological surface of cylinder heads
Varying temperatures within the dpF result in thermal and other engine components. ANSYS allows the
stresses; if this component is not designed properly, tem- Cummins team to quickly and easily answer questions
perature variations can lead to component failure. While it
might take months or years for failure to occur in real-
world use, software from ANSYS enabled Cummins to
quickly simulate the effects of years of field usage and
make predictions about how the dpF would hold up over
time. this gave the engineering team a high degree of
confidence as they designed the component and installed
it into customer vehicles.
Subsequent field and bench tests confirmed the simu-
lation predictions, as did actual road results. engineers
can rarely rely on virtual testing alone, but software from
ANSYS confirmed that the Cummins design process was By using software from ANSYS to predict maximum temperatures
and temperature distribution within its new diesel particulate filter
moving in the right direction and that the results would under diverse conditions, Cummins engineers can ensure that the
be as team members expected. manufactured component will have acceptable durability.
PL AYING IT
T
he cooling performance of oil is critical to the functionality and durability patterns within the transmission are crit-
of vehicle drive units, such as transmissions and differentials. Traditionally, ical to efficient lubrication, power trans-
automotive R&D teams evaluate cooling performance by building proto- mission and cooling performance, and to
types, installing them in a vehicle, and conducting tests in wind tunnels. avoid negative effects, such as churning
The use of free-surface multiphase flow modeling with high-performance computing loss, in which friction between the oil and
(HPC) has made it possible to accurately predict oil cooling performance via readily gears revolving at high rpm can consume
available computing resources. Automotive leader Toyota uses this approach to eval- several horsepower.
uate more design alternatives in the early stages of the product development process. Simulating the cooling capacity of a
A typical drive unit consists of a case containing rotating internal parts, such as drive unit requires predicting internal
gears and shafts supported by bearings that transmit power. These are surrounded by oil flow patterns involving free surfaces,
oil and air. The oil serves various functions, including lubrication, power transmission external air flows, and the complex three-
and cooling. The major heat sources within the drive unit include meshing of the gears, dimensional flows of heat from the oil to
sliding friction between bearings and shafts, and stirring oil as a result of gear move- the air. A key difficulty is that external air
ment. The heat generated is conveyed to and through the oil to the internal surface of flows can be resolved with sufficient accu-
the case; from there, it goes to the cases external surface and surrounding air. Oil flow racy only by modeling the entire vehicle,
whereas the internal temperature distri- internal oil flows and vehicle airflows on a solution that achieved energy bal-
butions must be analyzed for about an were simulated separately but coupled ance to calculate the temperature
hour until a saturation temperature is to exchange data to determine the entire distribution of the oil and internal com-
reached. Until recently, this combination systems behavior. ponents. Toyota used ANSYS Fluent to
of complex physics, large spatial scale The internal oil flows were solved solve the internal fluid flow.
and long duration required such exten- to obtain the heat transfer coefficients Within the drive unit, as the rotating
sive computing resources that simula- between the internal components and parts stir the oil, free surfaces are formed
tion could not be completed within a time fluids, and between the fluids and the at the interface between the oil and air.
frame that would positively affect the case. The whole-vehicle air flow simula- Engineers used the volume of fluid (VOF)
design process. tions produced heat transfer coefficients technique within Fluent to track the
Advancements in physical models between the case and the external air. surface as an interface through a grid
and HPC performance in the latest gen- Toyota engineers used the results of the and apply boundary conditions at the
eration of CFD software spurred Toyota internal and whole-vehicle simulations interface. They employed an explicit geo-
engineers to initiate new efforts to along with the heat generation rates of reconstruction scheme to solve the inter-
simulate oil cooling performance in various components as boundary condi- face behavior, as it provides the most
drive units. A strong coupling approach tions for a heat calculation model con- realistic interface between phases.
in which the entire computational sisting of only solid parts of the unit, with Because of the importance of the gear
domain is formulated is computation- oil temperature as an unknown variable. tooth geometry on the free-surface for-
ally very expensive. For this reason, the The model was iterated until it converged mation, they modeled the tooth geometry
The results
demonstrated good
agreement in heat Time-averaged local heat-transfer coefficients between internal parts and oil, and between
flux distribution oil and case
and temperature
distribution
between the actual 1.3 million cells. The model was solved bottom of the unit, where the external
measurements on an HPC cluster consisting of a net- airflow velocity is high, but insufficient
and simulation, work of about 80 personal computers; it
was used to determine the oil distribu-
cooling in the upper front section. Based
on these results, Toyota modified the
illustrating the value tion and local heat-transfer coefficients simulation model to evaluate the effect
of this simulation between the internal parts and the oil, of adding cooling fins to areas where oil
technology in the
and between the oil and the case. The temperature was high and removing fins
results again demonstrated good agree- from areas where the simulation showed
product ment in heat flux distribution and tem- that they were not needed. Rerunning the
Heat calculation model generated predictions of heat flux distribution and temperatures, which agreed well with measurements.
The team
reduced the
weight of the
drive unit
while improving
its cooling
capacity.
Surface temperatures were reduced in the model on the right after redistributing cooling fins
based on earlier simulation results.
SAFE AUTOMOBILE
CONTROLS
Subaru uses SCADE software to develop safe and reliable electronically controlled circuits
and systems for hybrid-electric vehicles.
M
arket pressures to increase fuel economy,
maintain safety and provide entertainment Vehicles are now
are forcing the auto industry to develop
automobiles that are increasingly complex
increasingly complex,
and adaptable. Vehicles are now largely adaptable and largely
computerized.
computerized, and the electronic control
unit (ECU) that manages the systems in each model is governed
by complex software. New hybrid-engine vehicle (HEV) technol-
ogies rely on extensive circuitry and software. In an HEV, a cen-
tral computer manages both a traditional combustion engine
system and an electric motor via ECU.
Because of the need to continually juggle costs and design
requirements, the automotive industry employs AUTOSAR (a vehicle (EV) programs and adopted the MBD approach for all
development partnership of electronics, semiconductor and upcoming development projects, like the Subaru XV. In the com-
software organizations that provides standards to manage grow- panys search for a development environment tool that meets
ing electronics complexity in this industry) standards and a MBD requirements, Subaru engineers evaluated the SCADE soft-
methodology called model-based development or design (MBD). ware modeling tool from Esterel Technologies, a wholly owned
MBD requires design engineers to use a common design environ- ANSYS company. SCADE provides an intuitive graphical inter-
ment that supports model integration and virtual real-time test- face so system and software engineers can easily integrate and
ing of the entire system. verify their models. C source code is generated automatically
Subaru, the automotive brand of Fuji Heavy Industries from the models produced in SCADE. This minimizes the chance
(FHI) Ltd. a comprehensive, multifaceted transport equip- of programmer error and automatically incorporates SCADEs
ment manufacturer recently started its own HEV and electric strict standards and safety requirements.
Operating Complex
System Device Due to the modularity of each SCADE
Drivers ECU Hardware
Standardized node, functional part models are verified
Basic Software Interface
Microcontroller
by unit testing. The most critical issue
Abstraction
for safe software architecture is to ensure
ECU Hardware that all data are safe when the applica-
tion operates under multi-task execution.
Introducing a safe partitioning architec-
Software architecture in EBU control software is layered to comply with the AUTOSAR standard. ture from a COTS OS into the automo-
tive software is not easy because of the
trade-off between cost and functionality;
COMBINING APPLICATION
MODELS WITH A SAFE SCADE
ARCHITECTURE MODEL
COURTESY SUBARU.
Once the root node describes con-
crete architecture, each subnode can
be designed using a modular approach.
Functional models for EBU applications
are designed by a system engineering REFINEMENT OF SCADE MODELS SAFE AND RELIABLE
team with Simulink. These Simulink mod- To reduce verification time, the SCADE AUTOMATIC CODE GENERATION
els are also imported into SCADE using the Suite Design Verifier is used to check if FOR INTEGRATION
Simulink gateway. Before being imported, the SCADE model prior to refinement is The final stage of the SCADE process is
they are verified in the Simulink environ- identical to the one after refinement. In to generate C source codes from the ver-
ment based on the software requirements. general, formal verification techniques ified SCADE models using the IEC 61508
The test scenarios are described in Excel are used to test properties like safety, but certified SCADE Suite KCG code generator.
sheets and converted into *.in format for verification algorithms may face numeri- The generated code usually meets safety
the SCADE simulator. When both simula- cal difficulties if the nodes contain more objectives. Because the KCG tool has been
tion results are identical, it means that arithmetic calculations than decision qualified and certified for this purpose,
the simulation is correct. Once all pieces diagrams and state machines. Subaru Subaru verifies that the safe properties
of the functional Simulink models are engineers refine the SCADE models daily, obtained from the safe SCADE architec-
converted into SCADE correctly, they are and Design Verifier helps to validate ture model are retained in the generated
integrated into the safe SCADE architec- the models. codes. Two SCADE Suite KCG features are
ture node. essential to ensure that safe properties
Architect
Design::
Main_High
Architect
Design::
Main_High
Architect
Design::
Main_High
A combination of safe state machine and decision diagram is the basis of the safe SCADE architecture model.
Subaru engineers
completed a large and very
complex application while
significantly reducing
software development
and testing time. COURTESY SUBARU.
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tbLow,&Ctxt_App_Main._2_Context_2. tbHigh,&Ctxt_App_Main.Context_2.
tbLow); tbHigh);
ANSYS.COM
2016 ANSYS, INC. ANSYS ADVANTAGE Best of Automotive 2016 37
HYBRID AND
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
AUTOMATING
BATTERY PACK
DESIGN
General Motors.
Systems-level simulation energizes the
virtual prototyping process for electric
vehicle batteries.
By Erik Yen, Senior Researcher, and Taeyoung Han, Technical Fellow, Vehicle Systems Research Laboratory,
General Motors Research and Development Center, Warren, U.S.A.
Sameer Kher, Senior Manager, Software Development, ANSYS
b)
General Motors.
c)
d)
FAST-CHARGING BATTERY on fine spatial resolution of the entire necessary. Automotive engineers require
DEVELOPMENT
ansys.com/92battery2
system of battery cells. However, such quick turn-around time between design
information may be available only iterations to evaluate potential cooling
through resource-intensive, time-con- system designs.
the system. Because temperatures in suming full-field simulation, which is
the surrounding environment can span not always practical during tight vehi- A SYSTEM OF UNIT MODELS
from 40 C to 50 C (40 F to 122 F), the cle development cycles. In addition, To address these kinds of design
temperature uniformity of the individ- engineers must capture transient con- challenges, GM researchers decon-
ual cells is maintained by a dedicated ditions that affect the load on the pack structed the full pack domain in
thermal management system. For elec- during a variety of driving schedules, Simplorer to first create a representation
tric vehicle makers, designing an effi- such as the EPAs US06 cycle that repre- of a battery unit model. The unit model
cient and robust cooling system for the sents aggressive driving behavior with is a combination of one or more battery
battery pack is a key engineering task. a variety of brisk changes in speed. A cells and the adjacent cooling channel.
To analyze the coupled electro- systems-level approach using ANSYS Using off-the-shelf Simplorer compo-
chemistry and heat transfer of a pack, Simplorer can provide an effective solu- nents to represent the internal resistors,
it is desirable to have predictions based tion when complete field data is not capacitors, and sources of both electrical
General Motors.
IN THE LOOP
By Frank Kster, Head of Department, Institute of Transportation Systems, German Aerospace Center, Braunschweig, Germany
The time required to develop and validate the HMI was been
substantially reduced by moving the development process to
SCADE Suite and SCADE Display.
to dirt on the road, in which case it may manual coding methods, developers the automation system to the driver. In
need to return control to the driver. The typically did not receive feedback until the past, this involved a lengthy manual
HMI generates acoustic, tactile and visual the code was compiled and run on the process. Now, the engineer developing
alarms to bring the driver back into the expensive and complicated target hard- the model can run an automated routine
loop; it also performs various checks to ware environment. Making changes to that quickly evaluates each scenario.
confirm that the driver has taken over as the HMI was difficult because the engi-
intended, for example, by sensing that the neer making the changes had no way to AUTOMATIC CODE GENERATION
driver has gripped the steering wheel. If validate them until the code could be After the model has been validated,
the driver does not react, the automation run on the target. Many different sce- the SCADE KCG code generator produces
system brings the vehicle to a safe stop. narios had to be evaluated in the tar- code for the target environment. The
In the reverse situation, when the driver get environment for each iteration of the SCADE Suite KCG C code generator pro-
is controlling the vehicle and the auto- HMI, which was a long process. A consid- vides complete traceability from model to
mation system senses sudden danger, the erable manual coding and testing effort generated code by establishing an unam-
system may issue a warning to the driver was required to make changes to the biguous one-to-one relationship between
and take over control to avoid an accident. HMI, such as moving an element from the model and the code. The code is first
Management of this handover proc- one display to another. run in different DLR driving simulators,
ess is just one of the many functions including, finally, DLRs dynamic driving
performed by HMIs that are continually TRANSITION TO MODEL-BASED simulator, which combines a high-fidel-
gaining functionality as vehicle automa- DEVELOPMENT ity immersive visual system with an inte-
tion systems continue to mature. As a The time required to develop and grated cockpit and a hydraulic motion
result, the HMI development process has validate the HMI has been substantially system to form a realistic driving envi-
become increasingly challenging. In the reduced by moving the development proc- ronment to test prototype automation sys-
past, when HMIs were developed using ess to SCADE Suite and SCADE Display. tems. Here engineers can evaluate HMI
Functional requirements and test cases performance in driving scenarios that are
are linked to the SCADE model using very close to reality, such as bringing the
the SCADE Requirements Management driver back into the control loop when the
Gateway. DLR engineers now use a system reaches its limits because of a con-
model-based design approach built on struction detour. Once the HMIs opera-
the creation of an executable model in tion is verified on the driving simulator,
a block-diagram design environment. code is then generated for the test vehicle
Engineers define the functionality of the that can be controlled by a virtual copilot
HMI using blocks that represent algo- for system evaluation.
rithms or subsystems. They have created SCADE Suite and SCADE Display make
a library of blocks in the SCADE environ- it easy to modify the HMI to evaluate dif-
ment that perform and display common ferent alternative designs and to produce
vehicle automation HMI functions, so the different variants of the HMI for different
development process largely consists of vehicles. DLR engineers can re-arrange
Automated lane change selecting and adapting existing blocks the way that elements are positioned on
and connecting their outputs and inputs. the different displays of a vehicle simply
Engineers simulate the behavior of by re-arranging blocks in the model. In
the model and receive immediate feed- the past, this would have required major
back on its performance. Test cases amounts of manual coding. ANSYS SCADE
are run in the virtual PC environment Suite and SCADE Display have substan-
rather than in the more-complicated tially improved the process of developing
and expensive target environment. For HMIs by continually testing and validat-
example, for each new iteration of the ing the HMI, first in the model phase, then
code, engineers must check hundreds of in the vehicle simulator and finally in the
different scenarios to ensure that certain target environment on the test vehicle, so
information is presented on the screen that problems can be identified and cor-
Warning presented on HMI at critical points, such as handoff from rected at the earliest possible stage.
TEST DRIVE
FOR EMI
By Arnaud Christophe Pierre Marie Colin, Lead EMC Designer; Artur Nogueira de So Jos, EMC Engineer;
and Ana Carolina Silveira Veloso, EMC Engineer, Fiat Chrysler Latin America, Betim, Brazil
Juliano Fujioka Mologni, Lead Application Engineer, ESSS, Brazil
Markus Kopp, Lead Application Specialist, ANSYS
A
utomobiles are fast becoming mobile hotspots. product integrity by investigating potential EMI on its vehicles
Components such as wireless links, multimedia using ANSYS HFSS and full-vehicle testing.
devices, electronic control modules and hybrid/elec- Because electronics have been rapidly added to automo-
tric drives are continually being added to vehicles, which makes biles, a number of guidelines have been developed, including
designing for electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electro- legislation, industry association standards and even regulatory
magnetic compatibility (EMC) increasingly important. At Fiat limits that are specific to a particular automotive manufacturer.
Chrysler in Brazil, a team of engineers is certifying the complete One of the earliest industry directives was issued in Europe in
1972 to deal with electronic spark plug ISO 11451-2 is meant to determine
noise; since then, many organizations the immunity of private and commercial
have created a variety of standards spe- road vehicles to electrical disturbances
cifically for the automotive industry. from off-vehicle radiation sources,
Many standards, directives and regardless of the vehicle propulsion sys-
regulations are designed with vehi- tem (including hybrid/electric vehicles).
cle safety in mind. This ensures that The test procedure prescribes perfor-
all onboard systems continue to func- mance on a full vehicle in an absorber-
tion properly during exposure to EMI lined, shielded enclosure, creating a test
A comparison of far-field behavior shows that the FE-BI
and then return to normal, either auto- environment that represents open-field method is accurate compared to traditional methods.
matically or by a manual reset opera- testing. For this test, the floor generally
tion after exposure. A major concern is not covered with absorbing material,
for Fiat Chryslers engineers is the but such covering is allowed.
amount of wires a car now contains Testing for the standard consists
as much as 5 kilometers per vehicle. of generating radiated electromagnetic ELECTROMAGNETIC SIMULATION OF
ANTENNAS INSTALLED INSIDE VEHICLES:
While cabling is an obvious source fields using a source antenna with radio AN AUTOMOTIVE EMC APPROACH
ansys.com/92emi
of EMI, there are a number of other frequency (RF) sources capable of pro-
sources in modern vehicles that are ducing the desired field strengths rang-
packed with electronics. In addition, ing from 25 V/m to 100 V/m and beyond. various computers connected to a net-
drivers introduce potential EMI sources The test covers the range of frequencies work. While DDM allows engineers to
in the form of mobile phones, tab- from 10 kHz to 18 GHz. During the pro- simulate entire vehicles, there is another
lets and Bluetooth-enabled devices. cedure, all embedded electronic equip- approach available within HFSS for solv-
Automobile manufacturers that create ment must perform flawlessly. This ing large electromagnetic structures: a
smart vehicles need to meet standards flawless performance also applies to the hybrid finite elementboundary integral
to reduce risk of failure. frequency sweep of the source antenna. (FE-BI) methodology.
Conventional EMI/EMC procedures Physically performing the ISO FE-BI uses an integral equation (IE)
and techniques are no longer appro- 11451-2 standard test can be a time- based solution as a truncation boundary
priate for the latest generation of elec- consuming process that requires costly for the FEM problem space, thus bring-
tronic devices and components. A few equipment and access to an expensive ing together the best of FEM and IE.
automotive standards have been devel- test facility. Numerical simulation can This combination of solution paradigms
oped that use laboratory tests in an be a cost-effective, alternative means allows Fiat Chrysler engineers to dra-
attempt to reduce the probability of to reduce the product design cycle and matically reduce the simulations solu-
EMI occurring in vehicles. One impor- its associated R&D costs. Full-vehicle tion volume from that required by the
tant international lab-based standard finite element method (FEM) simulation FEM method. Because the distance from
is ISO 11451-2. This standard calls for has become possible within the past few radiator to FE-BI boundary can be arbi-
testing a source antenna that radiates years using the domain decomposition trarily small, solution time is decreased,
throughout the vehicle in an anechoic method (DDM), which was pioneered as is the overall computational effort.
(echo-free) chamber; the performance by ANSYS HFSS software. DDM paral- To demonstrate the capability of the
of all electronic subsystems must not be lelizes the entire simulation domain by FE-BI methodology, the Fiat Chrysler
affected by the electromagnetic distur- creating a number of subdomains, each team worked with ESSS, the ANSYS chan-
bance generated by the source antenna. solved on different computing cores or nel partner in South America, to conduct
ISO 11451-2 test apparatus (left). Virtual test chamber used for ANSYS HFSS simulation (right)
The electric field on both the surface shell and a plane that bisects the solution volume of the vehicle for traditional FEM
Antenna far-field pattern at =90 degrees for the (top) and FE-BI (bottom) results
whole model
a full-vehicle simulation using the FE-BI the quantities of interest were in excel- harness that is routed around the engine.
capability. The team then applied the lent agreement with those obtained using The wiring harness end is attached to
results to the ISO 11451-2 standard FEM. The electric fields calculated on both the PCB using a red four-way connector.
to determine EMI of an electronic sub- the vehicles surface shell and a plane One of the four-way connectors pins is
system. For the simulation, the team that bisects the car were very similar for soldered to a trace that begins in the top
reduced the large air region in the test both solution methods, as were the total side of the PCB on the connector side and
chamber to two much smaller air boxes far-field patterns of the entire model. then goes through a via to the bottom
that more closely conformed to the The FE-BI approach also can be used side, where it is connected to the micro-
structures they contained. The surfaces to test the immunity of embedded control controller. In this case, the team ana-
of these air regions were located close to unit modules. To demonstrate this capa- lyzed only a single onboard diagnostic
the antenna and the vehicle. bility, the engineering team introduced (OBD) protocol CAN J1913 signal.
Fiat Chrysler engineers did not a printed circuit board (PCB) connected The wiring harness plays a vital role
model the absorber elements in this to the engine wiring harness into the in EMI because the harness can act as a
simulation because the IE boundary in simulation. The transmitted signal trav- radiation source. To better understand the
FE-BI is equivalent to a free-space sim- els from a sensor, located at the bottom effect of the wiring harness, ESSS engi-
ulation, which is the same as absorbing of the engine, to the PCB using a wiring neers performed two simulations. The
material used in a physical measure-
ment. The total computation time of
just 28 minutes represents more than The ANSYS HFSS FE-BI capability is clearly
a 10-fold speedup when compared to a
traditional FEM solution. Additionally, advantageous as a numerical technique
the total amount of RAM required for
the FE-BI simulation was 6.8 GB, which
to simulate a full vehicle according to
is also more than a 10-fold decrease automotive EMC standards.
compared to previous work using FEM.
Solution results using the FE-BI
method showed that the predictions for
HOT FLASH
Using a reduced-order method, engineers at Fairchild Semiconductor have been able to decrease
development time for electronic components for electric and hybrid electric vehicles. By employing
ANSYS Icepak for thermal management and ANSYS Simplorer for multi-domain systems design, the
engineers performed dynamic thermal analysis under realistic power loss conditions approximately
2,000 times faster than a full 3-D thermal analysis.
I
n electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), industrial, cloud, automotive, lighting and computing indus-
many of the systems we take for granted in internal com- tries. A typical Fairchild inverter consists of an array of six insu-
bustion automobiles must be implemented differently. In lated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), each of which is paired
addition to the main powertrain motorgenerator sets, some with an anti-parallel diode, to convert DC voltage provided by
accessory systems are also electrified. For example, because the vehicles battery pack into three-phase AC voltage required
the engines in these vehicles do not run continuously, electri- to drive the AC motors. Two IGBTs and two diodes form each
cally driven air-conditioning (AC) compressors and transmis- half-bridge powering one phase of the motor. A single IGBT
sion oil pumps may be used instead of usual engine accessory and diode pair form one bi-directional switch and, in combina-
belt-driven systems. All of these electric drives require fast, tion with the other switches in the inverter, operate according
efficient and reliable power electronic converters. to a pulse-width modulation scheme to generate the AC wave-
Fairchild Semiconductor, a pioneer in the semiconductor forms necessary to control the motor. Switching the IGBTs on
industry, produces a wide range of power components suitable and off at 5 to 20 kHz results in pulsed DC voltages that average
for these power electronic converters, as well as a complete out to yield a sine wave on each phase, with the three sine waves
portfolio of low- to high-power solutions for the mobile, being 120 degrees out of phase with each other. The three-phase
sinusoidal drive produces a rotating elec- passing data back and forth. Fairchild
tric field in the electric motor, precisely engineers have improved the inverter
controlled in a closed-loop feedback sys- design process by using ANSYS Icepak
tem to generate the necessary torque to to develop a systems-level linear time-
drive the load. invariant (LTI) reduced-order model
EV or HEV power train inverters are (ROM) that runs in the ANSYS Simplorer
rated in the 50 kW to 100 kW range, and system simulation environment to pre-
AC compressors are in the 6 kW range, dict thermal performance in minutes
so the power dissipated in these devices rather than hours or days.
is high, and thermal considerations are
critical to their design. The traditional VALIDATING THE ROM METHOD
approach is to simulate the circuit to Fairchild engineers created an Icepak 3-D thermal analysis accurately determines thermal
status at a high computational cost.
determine power dissipation under spec- model of the three-phase inverter,
ified operating conditions. These power including its package and enclosure.
losses are then used as inputs to a 3-D They ran a few simple simulations to
thermal simulation that predicts junction validate the models accuracy, and per- output quantities. Based on the fully
temperatures on the IGBTs and diodes. formed a steady-state simulation. Then described thermal system, the team then
This approach usually requires about 8 they performed a series of step response used Icepak to generate a linear time-
hours to simulate tenths of seconds of analyses in Icepak for a set of input and invariant reduced-order model (LTI ROM)
operating time needed to thermally char- output quantities to build a compact that can be used in Simplorer to simu-
acterize a design iteration under a given model. For the inverter, the power dis- late specified electrical and thermal con-
set of operating conditions. In addition, a sipation of the six IGBTs and six diodes, ditions in a fraction of the time required
considerable amount of engineering time as well as the heat sink temperature, is for a full 3-D thermal simulation.
is tied up running separate electrical typically used as input, while the junc- Fairchild engineers evaluated their
and thermal simulations and manually tion temperatures provide the set of initial ROM against a full 3-D thermal
+DC
M
Battery
-DC
The inverter converts direct current to three-phase alternating current by generating pulses that combine to yield a sine wave.
Fairchild engineers
have improved the
inverter design
process by using a
reduced-order model
to predict thermal
performance in a
minute or two.
A reduced-order model provides a near perfect match to 3-D thermal analysis results.
Diodes IGBTs
Lower
Diode
Upper
Diode
Lower
IGBT
Upper
IGBT
ANSYS Simplorer determines power losses and uses ROM to compute junction temperature.
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