Engineers can quickly test and simulate their designs on virtual prototypes with the latest release of ESI Virtual Performance Solution (VPS). This tool models each step in the process, from design to manufacture, and accurately models the effects of the manufacturing process.
Engineers need to optimize their designs to minimize materials and processing to reduce costs while maintaining required strength and function. VPS provides a virtual environment where components and systems can be designed, optimized, simulated, validated and refined to meet design goals. While other tools, including earlier ones, offered some of these capabilities, VPS integrates complete end-to-end modeling and simulation. With VPS, engineers can model components in a virtual environment without the need to make and refine physical prototypes.
VPS includes support for modeling newer and advanced lightweight materials such as hot-formed and dual-phase steels and composites. The behavior of these high-strength steels can be more affected by hot joining techniques such as welding, and VPS simulates these effects to accurately model component strength and behavior. Modeling manufacturing processes completes the system and enables VPS to accurately model a component or system from design to virtual testing.
Automotive engineers can use these capabilities to model the driving stress and crash performance of automotive components. For example, the figure above illustrates the modeling of an automotive bumper striking a post. VPS co-simulates with Cosin’s Flexible Tire Structure Model to provide new tire models and model the interaction between road and tire.
Engineers can now model an entire vehicle system in a reasonable time frame, enabling them to perform full design analysis and verification prior to building prototypes. Engineers can model more complex systems more efficiently with VPS’s scalable architecture. The tool can scale to up to 256 processors while maintaining support for the traditional single-core workstation. This scalability allows modeling of more complex systems and virtual simulation of most full car models. For example, a typical car crash simulation using finite pointset methods (FPM) for modeling airbag gas behavior can be completed in less than five hours—up to 2.5 times faster than earlier versions of VPS. The tool’s increased computational capability can significantly reduce development time while improving compliance and performance.