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This webinar, co-hosted by ESTECO and Exa Corporation, demonstrates the improvement of a side mirror aeroacoustic performance at Jaguar Land Rover, through PowerFLOW CFD simulation and modeFRONTIER optimization analysis. Watch it to know more about: modeFRONTIER enhanced optimization and integration features Exa PowerFLOW CFD simulation advanced features How to integrate the software solutions and benefit from joint analysis

​This webinar hosted by ESTECO and Gamma Technologies illustrates the benefits of integrating their technologies by focusing on a real-world industrial case. Francesco Maiani from Piaggio & C., together with ESTECO and Gamma Technologies experts, speaks about the improvement of the timing system on a small 2-wheeler engine by leveraging GT-SUITE simulation capabilities and modeFRONTIER optimization analysis platform. Download the case study Watch this webinar to know more about: modeFRONTIER enhanced optimization and integration features GT-SUITE simulation advanced features How to integrate the software solutions and benefit from joint analysis

Piaggio & C. s.p.a. uses modeFRONTIER optimization capabilities to improve a 125cc 4-valve engine design The Piaggio Group is the largest European manufacturer of two-wheel motor vehicles and one of the world leaders in its sector. Headquartered in Italy and with Technology & Innovation centers located in India, China and Vietnam, Piaggio is known for its unique range of two-wheel and light transport powertrain vehicles. The company’s R&D activities focus mainly on reducing the environmental impact of its products and improving vehicle efficiency, performance and passenger safety. For many years now, Innovation & Research engineers have been using modeFRONTIER to achieve these design objectives. ## Challenge Reducing the environmental impact of two-wheeler engines, in other words, increasing overall engine efficiency, means, amongst other things, opting for engine downspeeding or downsizing strategies, with the need of reducing engine friction; however, in order to maintain or improve vehicle performance, this requires an increase in specific engine power. The use of numerical models and calculation methodologies provide important support in pursuing these goals. In this case, the design of valve lift events and the valve train components are crucial when taking into account multiple engine issues like valve train systems stability, durability, resisting torque and engine breathing. ## Solution Starting with the baseline valve lift profiles of a 125cc 3-valve engine, engineers at Piaggio set up an automatic workflow within the modeFRONTIER environment that piloted the GT-SUITE calculation in order to evaluate the engine performance and the valve train system behavior in relation to specific valve lift profiles. “With this automated optimization approach we were able to avoid manual, time-consuming tasks involved in modifying the valve lift event in closed loop and to gain control of the entire system behavior”, says Francesco Maiani, Engine Calculation Engineer from Piaggio & C. s.p.a. ## Benefits “modeFRONTIER allowed us to adopt a modular approach to the problem that led us to the final valve lift event design. This methodology made it possible to define the valve lift event and support the analyst during the design of a cam profile. The optimization process sought to improve the system in terms of kinematic and dynamic characteristics and thermodynamic performance requirements”. This allowed engineers to simultaneously modify both the valve springs setup and the cam profile shapes, conveying the required response for the engine friction reduction. Additionally, the whole timing system benefitted from this procedure, also improving stability and durability.

Henniges Automotive uses modeFRONTIER optimization and robustness evaluation methods to improve seal design In recent times, car sealing systems design has seen major technological advance in both materials and manufacturing techniques. Getting the design just right involves satisfying a multitude of specifications and dealing with factors that impact performance and, most importantly, requires close collaboration between the manufacturer and the customer. Henniges Automotive, a leader in vehicle sealing and anti-vibration solutions, has technical centers in North America, Europe and China that cater specifically to regional requirements. ## Challenge Seal design must take into account various customer specifications such as low door closing effort, easy part installation, secure part retention, low glass seal drag and much more, while at the same time, satisfying both short and long-term sealing performance. Moreover, engineers need to optimize seal design to ensure robust performance under vehicle sheet metal variation as well as variations in material and geometry that occur in the rubber manufacturing process. ## Solution Through the successful integration of MSC MARC and Altair HyperMesh in the modeFRONTIER workflow, Henniges engineers were able to automate the simulation of seal behavior with different geometry configurations. In just two days, more than 1600 design configurations were analyzed by modifying 13 grip fin variables including length, thickness, angle and location (Figure 1). “Thanks to modeFRONTIER we could consider a large amount of possibilities; an impressive result for our customers”, says Ken Ogilvie, CAE Manager. More importantly, modeFRONTIER provides Henniges engineers with the necessary tools to go through the hundreds, even thousands, of designs to find not only better but also more robust solutions. ## Benefits “It’s difficult to make a part exactly to client specifications due to the variability in the rubber extrusion and molding process. Robustness therefore becomes very important when designing automotive seals. That’s why we choose modeFRONTIER; for its optimization and robustness capabilities,” says Fan Sheng, CAE Technical Specialist at Henniges. Looking to the future, Ogilvie says “modeFRONTIER helps us make significant improvements in the quality of our designs; without modeFRONTIER, it’s just trial and error based on past experience.”

This joint webinar demonstrates how to exploit the CST STUDIO SUITE electromagnetic simulation capabilities within modeFRONTIER and spot the best possible solution. Also, hear more about: modeFRONTIER enhanced integration features CST STUDIO SUITE 2014 features How to integrate the software and benefit from joint analysis

ECS system simulation - Architecture and performance optimization from the early phases of the system design The trend today in aircraft thermal design leans towards electronic system integration requiring higher heat densities and a more frequent use of composite primary structures. All these factors require thermal management and architecture design to achieve a suitable robustness, even in the early design stages. The thermal architecture should be able to prevent the risks of damage to temperature-sensitive equipment and limit the expensive overdesign of aircraft systems. ## Challenge The optimization of the thermal architecture is considered one of the key factors of future aircraft development. It requires a composite pyramid of simulation tasks to be set and managed: from equipment to aircraft section simulation to the global aircraft thermal analysis. Adopting this approach gives rise to a number of difficulties due to the variety of physical models to be integrated and the partners, techniques and tools interacting at each level of the pyramid. This case study from Leonardo’s Environmental Control System (ECS) department shows how the different design disciplines involved are handled effectively through process integration and automation, enabling the optimization of the overall performance from the early stages of system design. One of the systems considered in the ECS design at Leonardo is the air conditioning pack and distribution system. The air, supplied from the engine compressor, is processed in the conditioning pack before being distributed to the fuselage compartments. Enhancing the efficiency of the thermal architecture implies several constraints and requirements relating to standards-compliance and safety regulations. Designers must adhere to given A/C configurations and maintain suitable thermoacoustic insulation and temperature levels for both the cabin and cockpit. ## Solution First, engineers at Leonardo used the TPM approach to compare the performance of two alternative architectures, preferring a parallel layout composed of an underfloor and a low pressure air line fed from the mixing chamber and distributing the airflow in parallel through a set of risers. Next, after building the model for the selected architecture and its subsystems in LMS.Amesim, the workflow for the air nozzle shape optimization was built in modeFRONTIER. “The optimization platform helped us reduce pressure loss and noise level to the minimum” says Gaetano Mirra (CTO, General Systems - ECS and Ice protection specialist at Leonardo). ## Benefits “modeFRONTIER automation and integration capabilities enabled us to simultaneously consider the fluid dynamic and acoustic analysis and easily handle the data flow including Catia, StarCCM+ ans PostPRO simulations in a unique environment” continued Mirra. “We found the best configurations possible for the nozzle shape and refined the thermal architecture design, further enhancing passenger comfort in terms of cabin thermal environment”.

The webinar demonstrates how the optimization can be done using the state of the art software technologies provided by ESTECO (modeFRONTIER) and Siemens (LMS Amesim) in an integrated approach. Multiple objectives are setup in order to analyze the right trade-off between fuel consumption and performance. A demonstration will show how to setup and execute this integrated modeling and optimization process.

Using modeFRONTIER to integrate GT-Valve train and GT-Power models for valve event optimization Cummins Engine, a leader in the manufacturing of diesel and natural gas-powered engines for a wide range of transportation and equipment purposes, has created a new power module ready to take on the stringent US - EPA regulations. It is significantly more compact and cost-effective than medium-speed engines at the same horsepower. It took 150 engineers to design it, and modeFRONTIER helped the High Horsepower group find the optimal valve timing, hence reducing fuel consumption. ## Challenge When designing piston engines, timing when opening and closing inlet and exhaust valves is a crucial parameter impacting the fuel consumption / power output ratio. Typically, delaying the Exhaust Valve Closing (EVC) and anticipating the Intake Valve Opening reduces Exhaust Gas Residuals, resulting in lower fuel consumption. Among the complex models composing the 16-cylinder engine, Cummins designers used GT-Suite (Valve Train and Power modules) to simulate valve event performance and dynamics. For optimal engine performance, valve timing and lift profile need to be perfected for given breathing configurations defined by engine speed, and valve and port geometry and performance. ## Solution Finding the optimal valve timing configuration required a two-step process; to start, a first workflow was created in mode FRONTIER and used to automate the calibration process. Valve train parameters were automatically adjusted with modeFRONTIER to calibrate the GT model and match measured push tube load. The second phase consisted in a second workflow, which was used to investigate the design space; initially with response surfaces and subsequently with the direct optimization algorithms NSGA and Hybrid - to find the best values for 12 output parameters measuring the exhaust and intake cam timing angles, the volumetric efficiency and the Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC)1. ## Benefits During both project phases, modeFRONTIER proved highly reliable for reducing design cycle time and improving the performance of the valve train system. From the outset “it helped drastically reduce the time taken for calibrating GT models” said Ambikapathy Naganathan (Structural and Dynamics Analysis Engineer at Cummins). “modeFRONTIER has an excellent capability for integrating with multiple GT models and post processing tools.” Continued Eng. Naganathan: “in fact it helped us link those GT models more efficiently and complement the in-house optimization tool, while at the same time maintaining concurrent use by different analysts in different locations.”

Optimization time dropped from 20 to 4 days, with a 44% safety improvement SACMI is a global OEM (Original - Equipment - Manufacturer), market leader in the production of machines and complete plants for the Ceramics, Packaging (Beverage and Closures&Containers), Food and Plastics industries. ## Challenge Among other machines, the SACMI packaging division manufactures the Compression Molding Machine (CCM) able to transform plastic resin pellets into semi-finished caps. During the injection phase, a pneumatic piston allows for the melted pellet to be injected inside the mold. The piston is subject to a high acceleration rate and continuous collisions which call for a compromise between stress and weight, in order to limit the risk of failure. ## Solution The goal of the analysis was to find a light but strong piston geometry in order to improve the Compression Molding Machine performance in terms of tensile and yield strength. The first optimization study was carried out manually for a 12mm piston, while the second study on a 16mm piston took advantage of modeFRONTIER optimization platform by capturing the piston model, previously created in Solidworks and analyzed in Ansys Workbench, and improving the geometry and performance. Piston geometry modifications led to a 33% safety index increase in the case of manual analysis and 44% in the case of the model optimized with modeFRONTIER. ## Benefits modeFRONTIER enabled the CAE expert to exploit his original inspiration - which led to an improved piston geometry - by evaluating a higher number of configurations (+240%) in less time and by further enhancing the safety performances. The time for the optimization process dropped from 20 to 4 days, 3 of which were required for manual setup and 1 for automated evaluation. “I wasn’t an experienced modeFRONTIER user - says Andrea Minardi, CAE specialist at SACMI Packaging Division- so I found the Optimization Wizard very useful: it supported the choice of the number of designs, of the algorithm and of the number of iterations according to the time available for the whole analysis.” The automation of the design optimization process allowed to consider a wider range of possibilities and to analyse in depth the influence between the design parameters and the objectives.

modeFRONTIER helps Whirlpool Corporation create more consistent models by increasing fidelity and performance Whirlpool Corporation is the world leader in the appliances industry, with 67 manufacturing and technology centers operating globally and strongly committed to maintaining its innovation-oriented strategy. Whirlpool has successfully devised a system of tools that enables the ongoing connection and engagement throughout the network of design teams worldwide. modeFRONTIER plays a key role in streamlining system modeling tasks and helps Whirlpool rationalize the whole process and adapt it efficiently to regional peculiarities, providing diversified product lines. ## Challenge Sophisticated appliance design is underpinned by complex mechanical and electrical requirements and demands advanced engineering knowledge in dynamics, structures, fluids, thermodynamics and controls. This calls for an in-depth understanding of both market expectations and engineering dynamics at system level. Most of all, the ability to evaluate product performance before identifying specific requirements accelerates the subsequent adaptation to regional peculiarities. Connecting all players doing similar tasks is crucial for identifying not just a single solution, but a set of solutions so as to map out the relevant space before laying down the requirements. Balancing individual and team workloads based on such flexible approach is challenging task which can be tackled only with appropriate mindset and tools. ## Solution System modeling as concieved by engineers at Whirlpool combines “Attribute” and “Architecture” performance together and relies upon modeFRONTIER as the multidisciplinary project dashboard: it “provides us with an easy way to combine attribute models – defining subsystems configurations - and evaluate product performance without specific requirements”, says Greg Garstecki (Principal Engineer, Fabric Care Advanced Development at Whirlpool). This results in a “correlation and calibration document” described by John Mannisto (Engineering Director, Simulation Based Design at Whirlpool) as “a tool for measuring our confidence in a particular simulation, and for understanding the variations in our processes.” While the interrelated effects of the involved electro-mechanical simulation variables are identified at an early stage, modeFRONTIER multi-objective optimization capabilities allows us to reach a high level of performance once the product requirements are then set”, points out Garstecki. ## Benefits Modeling product performance at system level is an evolutionary process, from the mere description of specific performance metrics by means of empirical test data to the physics-based predictive model. modeFRONTIER helps Whirlpool create more consistent models by increasing fidelity and performance: this in turn allows for a larger inference space for design and continuous connection at a system level to lay down the basis for knowledge capture. “System modelling is where modeFRONTIER really shines”, Mannisto added. “It’s like a symphony conductor, pulling together the individual subsystem outputs to understand the interplay between them. This lets us explore and discover possibilities we’ve never even considered.”