Why Do Multi-Body System Simulation?

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Rajiv Rampalli, Gabriele Ferrarotti &
Michael Hoffmann

Published January 2012
Softback, 130 Pages

Increased global competition is forcing manufacturers to reduce product development time while simultaneously increasing product quality, improving product innovation, and minimizing development risks. To meet these needs, manufacturers are now replacing many tasks once done exclusively through hardware testing with physics-based simulation tools such as Multi-Body Simulation (MBS).

MBS uses the power of a computer to design, evaluate, and refine complex systems using sophisticated mathematical modeling and solution tools. It is a companion to, and a replacement for, the traditional process of refining products using hardware prototypes.

This introductory volume explains MBS technology and its usage in industry. For information on the principles underlying MBS, please consult a text on theory. The book is organized as

• Chapter 1, “Introduction”, introduces MBS and its relationships to other CAE technologies.
  
• Chapter 2, “The Design and Analysis Process”, explains the MBS modeling process and shows how it is part of a global approach to multi-disciplinary simulation.
  
• Chapter 3, “The Principles Underlying MBS”, touches on the different types of analysis available for multi-body systems simulation and explains at a high level the physical principles and mathematical tools used to create usable solutions.
  
• Chapter 4, “Industry Applications”, examines the key markets for MBS and illustrates in some detail how MBS is used to create innovative products in many industries such as automotive, aerospace, railway, machinery, electromechanical, and biomechanical.
  
• Chapter 5, “Emerging Trends”, examines new ideas that are emerging as this technology is being deployed and used in industry.
  
• Chapter 6, “Conclusions”, provides a brief summary of commercially available MBS solvers and examines future trends in this domain.

Contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Definition of Multi-Body System Simulation (MBS)
1.2 Relation between MBS and Other Technologies

2. MBS Design and Analysis Process

2.1 Introduction to Virtual Prototyping
2.2 Basic Modeling Elements
2.3 Typical Outputs
2.4 Multidisciplinary Modeling

3. The Principles Underlying MBS

3.1 An Historical Perspective
3.2 Types of Analyses
3.3 Types of Equations: DAE vs. ODE
3.4 Design of Experiments and Optimization

4. Industry Applications

4.1 Automotive
4.2 Aerospace
4.3 Railway
4.4 Motorcycle
4.5 General Machinery
4.6 Electromechanical
4.7 Biomechanics
4.8 Components
4.9 Other

5. Emerging Trends

5.1 Vertical Products
5.2 Process Automation
5.3 Open Architecture
5.4 Data Management
5.5 Enterprise Computing
5.6 Multi-disciplinary Simulation
5.7 Radical Shifts in the Compute Environment

6. MBS Solutions Providers

7. Conclusions

Appendix I: CAE Vendors for MBS

Appendix II: CAD Vendors for MBS

Appendix III: Controls/HIL Vendors for MBS

Appendix IV: University Community for MBS

References