LMS News - Siemens Digital Industries Software · 2018-03-06 · LMS innovation expertise and our...

LMS NewsSiemens PLM Software – A new era for LMS solutions

Issue 26 | Mar 2014 | siemens.com/plm/lms

PicanolWeaving wonders

Hilti Cuts vibration levels with LMS Test.Lab and LMS SCADAS Mobile

Schneider ElectricStreamlines product develop-ment with LMS Imagine.Lab Amesim

04 – 05 Leveraging on a larger scale within Siemens PLM Software

It has almost been one year since LMS became a part of Siemens PLM Software and CEO Dr. Jan Leuridan shares his thoughts on the integration and how the LMS™ solutions will contribute to long-term sustainable business success.

06 – 10 Picanol: Weaving wonders with LMS Samtech Samcef

Picanol has more than 130,000 weaving machines running in some 2600 weaving mills worldwide. The R&D team recently used the nonlinear analysis capabilities of LMS Samtech Samcef™ software to model and finalize a new design technology called Direct Warp Control or DWC.

11 LMS Leuven campus opens building #8

On September 13, 2013, LMS inaugurated its 8th building on the LMS campus in the Haasrode Research Park, just outside of Leuven, Belgium. Like other buildings on the LMS Campus, the addition was designed by Jaspers-Eyers, a well-known Belgian architect studio.

12 – 15 Hilti cuts vibrations levels

Vibration and noise engineers at the Hilti Group, a world leader in construction equipment and power tools, need to make sure that its tools do not exceed vibration limits to ensure worker safety. LMS SCADAS™ hardware and LMS Test.Lab™ software turned out to be a perfect all-in-one solution.

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LMS News | Mechanical Industries

16 – 17 Miele: a better way to make medical instruments come clean

Say kitchen and Miele pops to mind. What you might not realize is that Miele also produces specialized products for medical and laboratory environments. Development engineers recently used LMS system simulation to make sure that each item is cleaned in the best-possible way.

18 – 21 Schneider Electric: Streamlining product development with LMS Imagine.Lab system simulation

A global specialist in energy management, Schneider Electric counts on LMS Imagine.Lab Amesim™ software as its main solution for simulation. The company uses it in a huge variety of domains from electronic and electromagnetic to thermal analysis.

22 – 25 Areva invents a new effective method for installing offshore turbines

French energy giant Areva counted on LMS Samtech Samcef™ Wind Turbines software to successfully execute a new method for installing offshore wind turbines.

26 – 27 From sound to source in minutes

The new LMS Soundbrush™ sound imagining device is making a big splash in a variety of industries from white goods and consumer electronics to hand-held power tools and even loud speakers.

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Mechanical Industries | LMS News

» Creating a market-ready closed-loop systems-driven product development methodology within the framework of product lifecycle management is critical to overall product success. «

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It is hard to believe that it has been one year since LMS became a part of Siemens PLM Software. Time has flown and the integration is going well. We are starting to see our LMS tools and expertise leveraged on a larger scale and discovering new business opportunities and application avenues.

LMS innovation expertise and our test and mechatronic simulation solutions complement what Siemens PLM Software does in systems engineering on an enterprise level. LMS solutions deliver the applications for systems verification and validation, enabling closed-loop systems-driven product development.

Creating a market-ready closed-loop systems-driven product development methodology within the framework of product lifecycle management is critical to overall product success. Everyone is looking forward to helping the industry at large adopt such a methodology and create long-term sustainable business success.

A new building for the LMS Leuven campus Speaking of looking forward, we recently celebrated the opening of a new building at our headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. Currently totaling eight buildings, the LMS Campus is one of the largest complexes in the Leuven “Haasrode Research Park”. Designed to provide a comfortable and modern environment, the new building even features a dedicated underground parking lot for bicycles, since quite a few of our employees cycle to work. Not only does this new building confirm our commitment to a sustainable and friendly working environment, it symbolizes the positive dynamic of our business segment within the bigger Siemens PLM Software framework. There is a feature on the new building on page 11.

Beyond automotive and aerospace And finally, a few words about the latest issue of LMS News. Although we have made our name in the automotive and aerospace fields, we see LMS solutions and services used in very innovative ways to solve issues in a wide variety of high-tech industries including consumer goods, healthcare, power tools, weaving machines and energy. We have highlighted just a few examples in this issue. We hope you enjoy reading about the innovative ways our customers are designing and developing innovative products and solving challenging engineering tasks using LMS solutions.

Dr. Jan Leuridan CEO LMS International

Leveraging on a larger scale within Siemens PLM Software

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Weaving wondersThe weaving machine industry is a cyclical business. Not only does it follow the major economic trends, riding the waves of prosperity and diving into the gullies of recession, it is a highly competitive industry with only a handful of international players still in the race for the long haul. One of these players is Picanol, a leading manufacturer of airjet and rapier weaving machines, based in Ieper, Belgium.


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Weaving wonders


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LMS Samtech Samcef was used to determine deflection in the system. Here, you see that there was a bigger deflection in the middle than on the side.

than just a simulation or testing expert. This is applicable for the R&D and engineering team at Picanol as well.

“What I find fascinating about engineering at Picanol is the variety in my job. We have a small team,” states Coemelck. “So we are all constantly looking for possible product improvements and ways to improve the design. We get to do all types of engineering work from creating rather complex simulation models and taking measurements to working out design concepts.”

Inventing Direct Warp Control for the OptiMax One of the most recent challenges that Coemelck worked on was redesigning a heavy tubular component, called a backrest, for the OptiMax series.

“Basic weaving loom dynamics requires that the machine compensate for the shortening in the warp yarns to produce the best-possible fabric quality. To do this, we traditionally had a spring-lever system to adjust the warp tension. It adjusted the stiffness of the rather heavy and robust tube running the length of the loom,” explains Coemelck. “We refer to this as a backrest. In order to change the warp tension of the backrest, you needed to stop it and physically change the size of the spring lever. Not only did this stop production, it was rather troublesome and required a mechanically minded operator. In short, it did not offer the best-possible control.”

New invention: the air-pressure backrest concept Clearly, there was a need for a more efficient compensation method. One engineer came up with the idea of replacing the tube with a lightweight plate with a pressurized “blow-up” air tube inside it. The concept used air pressure rather than interchangeable spring levers. Conceptually, the design seemed ideal, but how would it work in reality?

In practice, the new backrest design used an adjustable pressurized airstream to compensate and evenly distribute the warp tension. Picanol calls this Direct Warp Control or DWC. This technology regulates the tension automatically and precisely. It eliminates distortion in the middle of the backrest for better overall machine dynamics and better quality textiles.

A pillar of industry in the Flemish Westhoek, the northwestern corner of Belgium, Picanol today proudly has more than 130,000 weaving machines running in some 2600 weaving mills worldwide. That is a lot of fabric, to say the least. And to stay ahead in this highly competitive industry, Picanol has always highly valued innovation. Innovation, technology and on-going R&D efforts remain crucial to the international success of Picanol.

“Compared to our competitors, we launched two new machines at the ITMA trade fair in 2011. This really helped pull us out of the 2009 recession rather quickly,” states Frederic Dryhoel, Corporate Communication Manager at Picanol.

Partners in innovation Clearly, this type of innovation investment pays off. Investing in innovation is a value that Picanol shares with its long-time engineering partner, LMS International. Another pillar of Belgian industry, LMS was recently acquired by Siemens and is now a business segment within Siemens PLM Software.

“We have worked with LMS for years. Originally, we worked together on various research projects and one-off engineering studies. More recently, we have used LMS Samtech Samcef to tackle some rather tricky nonlinear simulation modeling for the OptiMax series,” states Coemelck, an R&D engineer in Picanol’s Measurement & Simulation Department.

Jacks-of-all-trades innovators Unlike the automotive or aerospace industry, most engineers working in the large-scale manufacturing equipment sector need to be “jacks-of-all-trades” rather

“LMS Samtech Samcef offers reliable nonlinear analysis. The GUI is very simple. You don’t get lost in the mesh or the menu.” Dimitri Coemelck R&D engineer

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Found on the OptiMax series, Direct Warp Control compensates and evenly distributes warp tension while weaving. Direct Warp Control (DWC) combines a light feeling plate, evenly supported over the full width of the warp with adjustable air pressure, resulting in minimum inertia on the moving backrest parts. Thanks to this extremely low inertia, every change in warp tension is compensated directly with minimum variety. This is a significant quality gain for warp yarns that are particularly stiff, like glass fiber, or weak, like wool.

Picanol starting using computer-aided design (CAD) for R&D work in 1984.

“This is a very different and much more advantageous design,” explains Coemelck. “Operators can easily change the backrest characteristics by adjusting the air pressure. The user just puts the required settings into the controller. The mechatronic controller does the rest, keeping the air pressure ideally adjusted according to the fabric requirements. Operationally, it offers ease and convenience and saves time as well. And the original settings can be saved and transferred to other machines.”

Simulating the design concept After the team had invented the new DWC backrest concept, there were still a lot of engineering questions. How would it work in reality? Would it be strong enough? What were the real values of the stiffness performance under various pressures? How much will it bend depending on the various model lengths?

“This was quite a simulation challenge. I decided to do all these simulation models using LMS Samtech Samcef Field. We have two packages that I could have used. Ironically, one was actually a standard version of Siemens PLM Software NXTM solution, but we needed the whole mechanical picture, including nonlinear simulation solutions, so the choice was LMS Samtech Samcef,” states Coemelck.

“When you model something like a 5-meter-plus air-pressurized backrest, you have a lot of deformation potential in the design. As an R&D engineer at Picanol, it is your job to make sure that the new concept is better than the original solid tube. With all the factors at play –

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continuous usage, high speeds, air pressure, mechanical parts and machine dynamics, you need to use nonlinear analysis to do this correctly,” he explains.

The most important aspect of the modeling study was to discover the force and function of the pressure during a certain moment in time. In the model, every time step corresponds with a certain pressure. If the pressure increased, the force increased. This was how Coemelck determined the stiffness characteristics of the new tube and how the different yarns would react.

“The key advantage of LMS Samtech Samcef is that it offers reliable nonlinear analysis. You can simulate the entire spectrum: per cycle, contact analysis as well as big deformation analysis. It is a very clear and easy way of working. The GUI is very simple. You don’t get lost in the mesh or the menu,” comments Coemelck. “I also like the fact that you

can do your own programming in LMS Samtech Samcef. I use it quite often for specialized modeling exercises. It can really save time and this isn’t always possible with other simulation packages.”

And finally when asked what the future looked like for Picanol and LMS, A Siemens Business, Coemelck couldn’t hide his delight.

“Today, we work in Siemens PLM Software NX with various LMS Samtech Samcef and other Siemens licenses,” says Coemelck. “In the future, it would be really nice if everything converges into one streamlined software environment. Today, you still need to spend a lot of time importing and exporting files and formats. This costs engineering time. I bet you could save 10-20 percent of your time if you were working in a streamlined simulation environment.”

LMS Samtech Samcef software was used to determine 2D deflections in the direct warp control system.

Picanol develops unique, customizable, high-tech weaving machines, measuring 1 meter 90 centime-ters to 5 meters 40 centimeters. Picanol machines are designed to work 24/7 for 10 to 20 years.

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On September 13, 2013, LMS inaugurated its 8th building on the LMS campus, located in the Haasrode Research Park, just outside of Leuven, Belgium. Like other buildings on the LMS Campus, the addition was designed by one of Belgium’s top architects, Jaspers-Eyers. Besides well-known buildings like the KBC Arteveldetoren, the largest skyscraper in Ghent, Belgium, Jaspers-Eyers has designed the Belgian Embassy in Tokyo, the Brussels International Airport master plan and the Warsaw Spire.

Connected via signature glass corridors to the main complex, the new building blends in with the other buildings on the campus with post-modern elements in white cement and natural stone. A focus has been placed on creating an ideal working environment with an emphasis on collaboration. In addition to three new meeting rooms, the building features separate “cocoon lounge” meeting sections for smaller 4-person breakout sessions. Additional features include electrically adjustable desks and an underground parking lot for bicycles. More than 100 people will work in the new building.

LMS Leuven campus opens building #8

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“For many people, oscillation of parts is like a black box...we couldn’t imagine that a tool existed to calculate and analyze a problem as complex as this one.”

Theo KieselHilti Competence Center for Vibration & Noise

Hilti cuts vibration levels

The Hilti Vibration & Noise team collects data, and then provides it to the marketing department so that it can be used to illustrate the best-in-class value proposition of Hilti tools.

Hilti Corporation develops, manufactures and markets products for the construction, building maintenance and mining industries, primarily to the professional end-user. It concentrates on power tools, anchoring systems, direct fastening, fire stop and installation systems, but also manufactures and markets optical and laser-based measuring tools for the construction industry as well as detections systems for concrete.

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Developing top-quality tools Vibration and noise engineers at the Hilti Group (Hilti), a world leader in construction equipment and power tools, are faced with the complex challenge of making sure that its tools do not exceed limits of vibration to ensure worker safety.

LMS solutions for both data acquisition (LMS SCADAS Mobile hardware) and data analysis (LMS Test.Lab) help Hilti continue to deliver top-quality, handheld power tools that comply with the strictest international rules and standards. The solutions, which are from product lifecycle management (PLM) specialist Siemens PLM Software, provide exceptional scalability and ease-of-use.

Since its establishment in 1941, Hilti has grown from a small family business into a worldwide enterprise. The company provides the global construction industry with durable tools, insert tools, as well as fastening and fire protection solutions. From its headquarters in Schaan, Liechtenstein, Hilti oversees production facilities and research and design (R&D) centers in Europe, Asia and America. Over 21,000 employees in 120 countries work to uphold the company’s commitment to innovation, top quality and close customer relations.

Investing in innovation Each year, Hilti invests around 180 Million CHF in R&D, which takes place at its development centers in Schaan, Liechtenstein; Shanghai, China and Kaufering, Germany, just outside of Munich. The Kaufering Development Center is home to over 370 developers and houses Hilti’s Competence Center for Vibration & Noise, headed by Dr. Andrés Wellmann Jelic.

The Vibration & Noise team consists of three dedicated engineers. One of them is Theo Kiesel, who specializes in structural dynamic problems: They support the development teams, addressing noise and vibration issues for the entire Hilti product range.

About 50 percent of Hilti’s annual revenue comes from the production and sales of handheld power tools. This product range is governed by strict international standards and regulations on vibration, including ISO5349 (specific measurement guidelines for vibrations felt on the handle of handheld power tools, referred to as “hand-arm vibration.”)

In meeting these requirements, the Vibration & Noise team provides support in three fields: minimizing hand-arm vibrations, structural vibrations and supplying the marketing team with useful test data.

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The Hilti DSH 900 hand-held gas saw blade with sensors for impact hammer frequency response function measurements.

To minimize what it calls “technical vibrations,” Hilti analyzes the structural dynamics of its tools. When the development team is faced with specific resonance problems, they turn to the Vibration & Noise team.

“There is standardized testing for hand-arm vibrations, but technical vibrations require a more individual approach due to the unique characteristics of the problems,” says Kiesel. “Technical vibration issues are always a unique challenge. Through in-depth modal analysis, we try to locate the source of the problem, and work with the development team to design countermeasures.”

Proving its worth An example of the value of a modal analysis supported by LMS technology was provided when Hilti was developing a new type of circular saw. Unwanted technical vibrations caused the teeth of a specific gear in the prototype to break. The development team couldn’t find a cause for the malfunction through static simulation, so the project came to a standstill.

The Vibration & Noise team subjected the prototype to extensive modal analysis with the Impact Testing feature in LMS Test.Lab. Using impact hammer frequency response function measurements, the team revealed an oscillation that created an opposing mode shape in the two axes of the gear. This caused the gears to make only partial contact, and eventually break off. After pinpointing the cause of this problem using LMS Test.Lab, it was just a matter of strengthening

the gear housing. The example illustrates the true value of the LMS solutions for Hilti.

“For many people, oscillation of parts is like a black box,” says Kiesel. “A colleague of mine was really surprised by how we could solve this issue. He couldn’t imagine that a tool existed that could calculate and analyze a problem as complex as this one.”

Supporting marketing efforts The third task of the Vibration & Noise team is to support the Hilti marketing strategy with test data. Big investments in R&D support Hilti’s claim to be best-in-class when it comes to comfortable and user-friendly tools. Using noise and vibration levels given by international regulations is just a starting point. Hilti engineers strive to surpass these levels and achieve maximum user comfort for each tool they produce. The Vibration & Noise team collects data, and then provides it to the marketing department so that it can be used to illustrate the value proposition of Hilti tools.

The Hilti Vibration & Noise team has been using LMS Test.Lab for over two and a half years, and the solution has provided substantial benefits.

“Working with LMS Test.Lab has changed my job from being a programmer back to being an engineer,” says Kiesel. “Before working with LMS, we saw the issues, but lacked the tools to solve them. The LMS Test.Lab suite allows me to spend more time on the analysis of a problem, instead of being tangled up in the time-consuming programming of analytical tools.”

Over the past few years, LMS, a Siemens business, has become a vital partner for Hilti in this challenging process, offering a versatile range of data acquisition hardware and a fully integrated software solution.

Avoiding injury Lengthy exposure to hand-arm vibrations can result in the hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). The use of handheld power tools can cause damage to blood vessels, nerves in the fingers, bones and muscles. Susceptibility to this illness is influenced both by the duration of exposure and the magnitude of the vibrations transmitted to the operator of a tool.

The LMS Human Body Vibration Filter is a powerful certification tool for the analysis of vibrations transmitted to the human body according to internationally recognized standards. The application gives real-time feedback and clearly indicates limit values and/or violations as specified in the ISO2631, ISO5349 and the EN60745 standards.

“Hammer drills are among our best-selling products,” says Kiesel. “A large hammer drill without any anti-vibration measures has a vibration level between 20 and 30 meters per second squared (m/s²). This means workers can use them for no longer than half an hour per day. The development of efficient vibration reduction technologies combined with extensive testing allows us to reduce this level to below10 m/s², thus increasing the time allowed to handle the tool to several hours per day.”

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With the LMS SCADAS Mobile, Hilti chose a scalable hardware system that offers versatile signal conditioning and data acquisition capabilities. The initial setup, with just one module, allowed them to track eight channels. Today, the mainframe has been expanded to process a total of 24 channels at once. This scalability offers Hilti engineers maximum flexibility in adapting to future testing needs.

Providing an all-in-one system Before working with LMS, Hilti engineers used two separate systems, requiring an interface between data acquisition and the data analysis solutions. The situation posed major limitations on the re-usability and compatibility of test data. This was especially the case when cooperating with external partners that have their own data format.

By combining the LMS SCADAS front-end and LMS Test.Lab solutions, Hilti has a complete system, covering both data acquisition and analysis in a single package. A broad range of modules and filters gives an answer to the specific testing needs of the Vibration & Noise team.

Hilti’s positive experience with LMS products has led to an expansion of the company’s partnership with Siemens PLM Software. Hilti has new projects in the pipeline, and will call on LMS Engineering services to support its research teams. This decision was especially motivated by the flexibility of Siemens PLM Software and its ability to quickly adapt to Hilti technology and products.

“There’s no doubt that the use of a common standard for data acquisition and analysis makes it possible to build a lasting relationship with Siemens PLM Software as an external engineering partner,” says Kiesel.

Operational measurement (run-up) on electric drive and corresponding Campbell-diagram. There are two different excitation mechanism (2 orders) and 3 eigenfrequencies to cross when running up, leading to a total of 6 “critical” rpms.

Modal analysis of a diamond cutting disk

“The use of a common standard for data acquisition and analysis makes it possible to build a lasting relationship with Siemens PLM Software as an external engineering partner.”

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In efforts to continuously improve its product lines, the company was particularly interested in improving the development of its washer-disinfector machines. “The major development challenge with washer-disinfector machines is the variety of items that needs to be cleaned,” says Tobias Malec, development engineer at Miele. “Each piece of every medical instrument has different cleaning requirements. Some things only need cleaning on the surface. Other items, such as hollow instruments, need to be cleaned both inside and out. Different water pressures are needed in each case.”

Working with special racks Due to these requirements, a special rack is tailored to every item that needs cleaning to enable the best possible handling and hydraulic performance. Each rack secures the items being cleaned, and includes the

A better way to make medical instruments come clean

Miele is a world-leader in premium domestic products like dishwashers, ovens and other domestic appliances. What you might not realize is that some of this same technology is highly appreciated in the commercial world as well. Besides industrial applications, Miele also produces specialized products for medical and laboratory environments.

hydraulic connections between the circulating pump and the nozzles through which water sprays.

The variety of racks makes it difficult to harmonize the entire production system. It is essential to adapt the frequently changing hydraulic conditions of the rack, and to understand the cleaning pressure required during the operating state inside each rack. The cleaning pressure results from the intersection point of the hydraulic resistance curve of the rack and the characteristic of the circulating pump.

For this engineering challenge, Miele uses the mechatronic system simulation software, LMS Imagine.Lab Amesim. This solution from Siemens PLM Software helps Miele engineers simulate the operational characteristics of new products early in the design stage, revealing ways to improve functionality while reducing

the need for physical prototypes. “Using LMS Imagine.Lab Amesim enables us to model the racks as super components, with the circulating pump operating as a characteristic and the washing machine itself as a system boundary,” says Malec. “Thanks to the system simulation, we can evaluate future operating points by changing the geometries of the cleaning nozzle or the water lines.”

He notes, “Using this software, we are now much more effective in the pre-development phase. Before, without the support of LMS Imagine.Lab Amesim, we had to build a real prototype of the washing machine and perform multiple pressure measurements. Afterwards, based on the pressure results, we needed several redesign loops in the prototype phase to reach the required specifications. This was very time-consuming and costly.”

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It was essential to adapt the frequently changing hydraulic conditions of the rack and to understand the cleaning pressure required during the operating state inside each rack. Miele used the system simulation software, LMS Amesim.

A typical model prepared using Amesim includes hydraulic and hydraulic-resistance components. The machine is modeled, including its water lines and the circulating pump. The water lines include back-pressure valves and a coupling with the rack models. Some nonstandard valves have been customized and are represented by generic elements, such as orifices or t-junctions, which are validated by internal measurements.

A cleaning rack consists of a network of jets and pipelines connected with two coupling points of the machine. To ensure that compatibility and clarity are quickly achieved, the rack is integrated into the model as a supercomponent and is represented with an icon.

Mechatronic system simulation is the key The various pumping rotation speeds are then tested virtually. This allows Miele to investigate the pressure evolution on predefined sensor positions to validate the simulation model. The machine operating state is quasi-static, so dynamic examinations are negligible for those types of investigations. The simulated pressure values provide the basis to make adjustments in rack design.

“System simulation enables us to easily study the impact and interactions of cross-section changes,” says Malec. “Changeovers can be optimized or nozzle parameters varied to achieve a more constant pressure distribution. Constant pressure distribution enables good cleaning capacity in all parts of the machine.”

The Design Exploration capability helps establish consistency for the spray arms.

“Correlations become clear very rapidly. Without system simulation, these correlations can only be realized using measurements on expensive prototypes.”

The Design Exploration capability also helps establish consistency for the spray arms. By setting targeted boundary conditions and defining degrees of freedom, the optimal nozzle configuration can be found quickly using Amesim.

“System simulation is an extension of the common 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation on a subsystem level,” says Malec. “Correlations become clear very rapidly. Without system simulation, these correlations can only be realized using measurements on expensive prototypes.”

Malec concludes, “The longevity and high quality of our products address the sustainability issue. Our customers don’t have to buy a new machine every few years, but can rely on our consistent quality. That doesn’t just save money, it is also good for the environment. We are also reducing our consumption of resources and using ecologically sound materials for production.”

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Schneider Electric

Streamlining product development with LMS Imagine.Lab system simulation

Schneider Electric is a global specialist in energy management. It provides solutions that make electrical energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and “green” from plant to plug. The company designs solutions to distribute and manage electricity from low to medium voltage (up to 1000 volts), including control features for automation, monitoring and safety. These solutions have to be reliable in order to ensure the uninterrupted flow of energy and prevent costly gaps in service.

The demand for excellence from customers has pushed Schneider Electric to provide more services based on its legacy products. The company delivers a comprehensive set of solutions that cover many domains of expertise and business segments, because effective power management is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Different operations, such as a data center, a “green” public building, an industrial plant or a hospital, all have different power requirements.

Schneider Electric has been using simulation tools for a long time. They had well-established solutions for each specific physical domain. Taken individually, each kind of simulation software – whether it was for electronic, electromagnetic or mechanical design or for thermal

analysis – helped the company solve issues. However, Schneider Electric recognized it needed a standard tool covering all domains to support: product synthesis with different physical couplings; evaluation of the design choice impact on the overall system; comparison of the efficiency of different design architectures; recording all engineering knowledge gained during the design phase and rapid evaluation of evolving demands for product features.

Making the best choice Schneider Electric conducted a post mortem on TeleTIM, a product that had already been designed and launched. TeleTIM is an accessory to a classic circuit breaker. It can be operated remotely in order to re-arm the circuit breaker. It is used to manage distant equipment, and is typically employed by telecommunications firms. It is also widely used for antenna relay stations in order to limit expensive human involvement.

The power business unit of Schneider Electric decided to use LMS Imagine.Lab Amesim software for simulation of TeleTIM. This choice allowed Schneider Electric to take into account all the physical domains of this products (including electromagnetism, planar mechanics, thermal analysis and control) in a single simulation.


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Schneider Electric had three main objectives for this analysis: first, to understand how would it have helped to make greater use of a multi-domain system simulation tool during the research and design (R&D) phase; second, to track the effectiveness of electronic simulation, and third, to provide a simulation package to the continuous engineering team for the TeleTIM product. Having this knowledge would help the engineering team rapidly and easily perform an analysis on evolving requests from customers.The power business unit of Schneider Electric found that Amesim was up to the task in all these areas.

“The Amesim libraries are really exhaustive,” says Christophe Chanvillard, the mechatronics deployment leader of the Schneider Electric Power business unit. “It’s one of the product’s strong attributes.”

“Also,” he continues, “Amesim has a multi-level tool with a comprehensive set of modeling levels adapted to the different design phases. All Amesim libraries are designed to adapt easily to modeling in a scalable way. It always helps to take the best solution from an early step to a final one.

In addition to these features, the robust and efficient solver and user-friendly interface led us to select Amesim as our major solution for simulation.”

Taking an acausal approach Virtual simulation was a big concern for Schneider Electric as it plays a significant role in system analysis. Typically, the energy needed to actuate the company’s products is taken from the power electronic of the system. It stores the needed electrical energy that has to be delivered to actuate or control the system properly in any kind of configuration. The sizing of the electronic is thus strongly correlated to the actuator magnetic and mechanism design. It requires multi-domain simulation with the electronic part, which is needed to achieve predictive simulation.

The Siemens PLM Software engineering team completed a library for electronic simulation using Modelica. The Modelica technology is an acausal computer language for multi-domain physical system modeling (that Amesim is compliant with). By incorporating this technology into Amesim, the user now has a complementary solution to the standard causal approach. This allows Schneider Electric to mix Modelica and standard Amesim models.

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An accessory to a classic circuit breaker, TeleTIM is a mechatronics product that requires the electronic sizing be strongly correlated to the actuator magnetic and mechanism design.

Developing an electronic library with Modelica was an obvious choice because acausal technology is a must-have for electronic circuit design. Schneider Electric and Siemens PLM Software collaborated on developing a dedicated electronic library. Siemens PLM Software provided Schneider Electric with strong support for the use of this prototype library, and Schneider Electric delivered feedback and requirements for an effective industrial electronic circuit simulation tool.

The power electronics that control the actuator were designed with the Amesim Modelica prototype library. Then the model was imported into the standard Amesim environment and connected in the sketch like any other Amesim sub model. The electromagnetic actuator was represented with a table of values obtained from finite element simulation. A reluctant network model was built to carry out simple geometry variation analysis. The standard Amesim electro-mechanical library was used to build both models. In order to take into account the realistic mechanical load, the actuator mechanical arm model was built using the planar mechanical and 1D mechanic libraries. The complex hysteretic load data was derived from 3D structural analysis.

“Delivering everything we expected” “Amesim has delivered everything that we expected,” says Chanvillard. “It enables us to simulate and analyze all physical behavior required and to get a good correlation between simulation and measurements.”

For the electronic circuit, the Modelica compliancy of Amesim was crucial. This physical programing language enables Schneider Electric to rapidly adapt electronic component models to

Amesim can be used to perform a simulation of the whole system. The model can be easily adapted to support the design evolution.

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the physical phenomenon that they wanted to track. For the rest, the huge Amesim sub models database allowed the company to address the other studies required to develop benchmark specifications.

Once this model had been designed, Schneider Electric was able to easily and quickly analyze many parameters, including frequency device

compatibility (50 to 60 hertz); imperfect electrical network; change of materials or geometry of electromagnetic actuator; and overheating of coil and the electronic components.

Providing this simulation package to the continuous engineering teams helps them rapidly answer the evolving requests in their everyday work for the TeleTIM product. The next objective is to deploy Amesim more

systematically for the entire continuous engineering team.

Meeting the challenge Schneider Electric’s experience using Amesim demonstrates that the software can be used to take full advantage of engineering knowledge, because when the simulation has been tuned correctly (parameters values and model level),

you can easily and rapidly re-use the model to check a specific point, analyze an evolving request or take care of some other task.

Mechatronic design is an important task for Schneider Electric. It enables the company to structure the development cycle from the predesign phases with simple functional analysis to detailed subsystem design phases. It allows Schneider Electric to share and

capitalize on knowledge between teams, so they can perform a rapid design analysis. This has become a part of Schneider Electric’s global process.

Now that Schneider Electric has seen the potential of Amesim, the company intends to improve the links between the system engineering (functional architecture layer) and mechatronics view (physical and technological architecture layer).

Schneider Electric also wants to manage data more efficiently for models. The company would like to understand how to easily share simulation data with the associated assumptions, and how to manage the simulation configuration for a given architecture.

“Schneider Electric is geared for the upcoming challenge of an energy-efficient world and green energy,” notes Chanvillard. “We’ve seen that the Siemens PLM roadmap goes in the right direction and can help support us in meeting that challenge.”

Vibration levels on the top panel with no damping material (right) and added damping material (left).

“Amesim has delivered everything that we expected. It enables us to simulate and analyze all physical behavior required and to get a good correlation between simulation and measurements.” Christophe Chanvillard – Schneider Electric Power Business Unit

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Proving a new method for installing offshore wind turbines

French energy giant Areva counted on LMS Samtech Samcef Wind Turbines to successfully execute a new method for installing offshore wind turbines. Unlike traditional methods, the rotor is assembled during installation, potentially saving €500,000 per turbine.


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The traditional method of installing offshore wind turbines is to assemble the entire three-blade rotor assembly onshore and then use a large ship to install it offshore. Areva, a leader in offshore wind turbines, had the idea of assembling the rotor during the installation which could potentially save about €500,000 per turbine by making it possible to use a smaller ship and crane. The critical question in proving this new method was determining the loads that would be applied to the blade, tower and locking system while the turbine was in a partially assembled state. Yvan Radovcic, Head of Engineering and Loads Department, and Edgar Werthen, Mechanical Engineer, explained how Areva used LMS Samcef Wind Turbines to evaluate many thousands of different load cases to prove the viability of the new method that will potentially save several hundred thousand euros for future wind turbine installations.

Offshore wind is growing rapidly in the European Union where renewable energy is on track to account for 20 percent of total energy consumption by 2020. Areva has been a player in this segment since 2004 and is one of the top three in the offshore wind industry in Europe. The company will have an installed base of more than 120 wind turbines by the end of 2013 and already has won 600 megawatt electrical (MWe) in firm orders for its M5000 5 MWe wind turbine. The M5000 technology has been further optimized with the development of a new 135-meter rotor that sweeps an area 35 percent larger than the M5000. The first M5000-135

prototype has been installed and commissioned in Germany from August to September 2013.

Wind turbine design challenges “One of the challenges in designing offshore wind turbines is the high cost and logistical difficulties involved in physical testing,” says Radovcic. “Fully testing a single blade assembly costs several hundred thousand euros. Physical testing is also limited by the wind and wave conditions that happen to be experienced during the testing period.”

Areva has long been working on improving their ability to simulate the performance of wind turbines prior to the prototyping phase in order to evaluate more design alternatives to improve performance and reduce manufacturing and installation costs.

A major difficulty in simulating wind turbines is the range of different physics that must be considered which typically requires multiple analysis tools. The first main application is assessing the loads on the turbine, which is typically performed with coupled aero-mechanical software. Second is the design of the mechanical components, such as the yaw and gearbox, which are typically analyzed with multibody dynamics simulation tools. Third is the structural components, such as the bedplate, which are typically analyzed using finite element analysis codes.

It typically takes days or weeks to produce results with each of these different simulation tools. These

results are often difficult to integrate with the other tools. This is required in order to fully evaluate the proposed design. Another problem with the use of multiple codes is the need to license, learn and administer each of the different codes.

A new approach captures the complete system in a single model LMS Samcef Wind Turbines, on the other hand, captures the dynamics of a complete wind turbine in a single model that includes hydrodynamics for wave loading and aerodynamic models for wind loading, multibody models for evaluating the performance of mechanisms, such as the drive train, and finite element models for simulating the performance of structural elements. The LMS Samcef solver computes the solution in the time domain by direct integration including multi-body dynamics, control systems, aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces. The simulation tool includes parametric models of wind turbine components such as blades, towers and gearboxes that can be quickly adapted to match a specific design. Users also have the option of modeling components and assemblies from scratch when needed.

Predicting dynamic loads on drivetrains “The first challenge that we decided to try and address with LMS Samcef Wind Turbines was accurately predicting the dynamic loads on drive trains,” Werthen says.

Traditionally Areva has used analytical methods to perform static analysis to estimate loads on components such as bearings and gears and the resonant frequencies of the drivetrain. One of the most important cases occurs during a short circuit in the generator. In normal operation, the wind imposes torque on the drivetrain and the generator imposes counter-torque, but if there is a short circuit the counter-torque goes away, generating large loads on the drivetrain. These loads cannot be calculated using traditional analytical methods and short circuits are difficult and expensive to evaluate experimentally.

Areva engineers used the multibody simulation features of LMS Samcef Wind Turbines to model the complete drive system. “This approach made it possible for the first time to accurately estimate the oscillations that occur when we lose counter-torque in the generator,” Radovcic says.

Areva assembled the rotor during installation saving about €500,000 per turbine.

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Validating the one-blade-at-a-time assembly method “Our next major project involved taking advantage of the global simulation capabilities of the software to explore an improvement to our installation process,” Radovcic says. “The traditional installation method involves assembling all three blades onshore. With this approach a very large ship with a large crane is required to carry and lift the 115-ton blade assembly. Installation makes up 40 percent of the cost of an offshore turbine so Areva was interested in reducing the cost of the installation process by installing one blade at a time with a smaller ship and a smaller crane. This approach will potentially save several hundred thousand euros for each wind turbine installed.”

“The challenge in moving to the one blade at a time assembly method is that we have to ensure that the turbine won’t be damaged by high winds and waves with only one or two blades installed.” Werthen says. “The installation process is often delayed due to weather or other factors and in this case the turbine remains in a partially assembled state for up to a month. So before using this installation method it’s essential to ensure that the turbine can withstand a wide range of wind and wave conditions. It would cost well over €1 million to address this question with physical testing because we would have to partially assemble the blade,

then leave it in place for some period of time in order to determine how it would be loaded by various wind conditions. We would also run the risk of damage to the turbine which would raise the costs even higher.”

1000 load cases in 16 hours Areva used LMS Samcef Wind Turbines to model the one-blade-at-a-time installation process with a single blade and with two blades installed. The hydrodynamic model is coupled to a detailed finite element model of the blade and a coarse multi-body dynamics model of balance of the wind turbine. The simulation computes the loads on the blades, tower and locking system.

Wind and wave loading was modeled with aerodynamic and hydrodynamic elements that can compute one second of simulation time in about one second of clock time compared to the traditional CFM method which could easily take a week of clock time to compute a second of simulation time. This higher speed made it possible to simulate thousands of load cases for each phase of the assembly process. Areva runs LMS Samcef Wind Turbines on 10 standard personal computers. The simulation software automatically partitions each load case onto a separate processor. The company can run 1000 load cases in about 16 hours or overnight.

Full control over wind turbine geometry “Most wind turbine simulation solutions are parametric models that let us control the dimensions but not the geometry of the wind turbine so they cannot be used for modeling the assembly process,” Werthen says. “On the other hand, LMS Samcef Wind Turbines gives us full control over the geometry. This feature is essential in modeling wind turbines during various stages of the assembly process. We are also planning to use it to check loading on components during transportation.”

“The simulation has proven that the blade, tower and locking system can withstand a wide range of wind and wave loading during the various stages of the one-blade-at-a-time installation process,” Radovcic concludes. “We will soon be performing assembly testing to validate the best approach from a logistical standpoint. Overall, our two years working with LMS Samtech has been a very positive experience. We got up and running quickly and we have had a very good relationship with the development team at LMS Samtech. Whenever we have run into a problem, they have solved it for us in a reasonable time frame. In some cases, they have even developed features in the main release of the software based on our requests. The software has already far more than paid back the total cost of ownership and we are looking forward to much greater savings in the future.”

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What is LMS Soundbrush all about? LMS Soundbrush makes sound visible. It lets you visualize sound fields around an object in real-time 3D. The test setup is extremely simple: take the probe in your hand and just “brush” it around the tested object in any desired direction or location. You will immediately see on your PC a 3-dimensional representation of the sound field around the object, including sound intensity values and sound propagation directions.

LMS Soundbrush revolutionizes the techniques of acoustic imagery. It offers endless possibilities, like virtually tracing the path of a sound wave from its source to a receiver. Take it in your hand and explore new ways to look at sound sources and propagation with unequalled ease of use.

Dirk De Weer, Product Line Man-ager, voices enthusiastic com-ments about this innovation: he managed the LMS Soundbrush project, from its first concept to the final product.

From sound to source in minutesLMS Soundbrush, a revolutionary sound imagining device

The new LMS Soundbrush is making a big splash in a variety of industries from white goods and consumer electronics to hand-held power tools and even loudspeakers.

What’s inside LMS Soundbrush? The LMS Soundbrush is packed with advanced technologies that ensure fast, accurate and clear results. The best part is that this technology is perfectly, entirely hidden in the small probe. There is a patented optical tracking technology behind this magic, which is combined with a top-class sound pressure microphone or 3D intensity sensor from our partner G.R.A.S.

You don’t need to be an acoustic expert. Just take it out the box, measure and see your results. The graphical display is so intuitive that you can interpret it without deep knowledge of acoustic engineering. And for the specialists amongst us, LMS Soundbrush offers new perspectives in sound engineering,

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Another advantage of LMS Soundbrush is that it is incredibly fast and intuitive. On a washing machine, we used it in place of traditional masking techniques. Test setup and measurement time is dramatically shortened, from 2 days to less than half a day! We were looking at the noise contribution of the different appliance panels: in a simple brush, we could eliminate less contributing panels and focus our analysis on the panel that contributes the most to the noise level. The beauty of LMS Soundbrush is that it is so intuitive.

What’s the future of LMS Soundbrush? I am convinced that we have not explored all the possibilities of the LMS Soundbrush. That’s what is so exciting about the project. We started it with a vision: what if we could materialize the sound field around an object? For that, we did not rely on any of our well-mastered acoustic techniques. We tried to think out of the box in order to achieve results that were unimaginable before. This is what makes LMS Soundbrush a very inspiring product that lets you dream about inventive engineering applications.

www.lmssoundbrush.com

very complementary to traditional sound source localization techniques like beamforming or holography.

When do you use LMS Soundbrush? LMS Soundbrush is a multipurpose tool and can be used to analyze any type of object. We performed successful tests on cars to detect door seal leaks and on tumble dryers to spot acoustic defects of the enclosure. We recently looked at the sound profile of a washing machine, at the request of a leading white goods manufacturer.

LMS Soundbrush is particularly useful for applications where traditional sound intensity measurement methods fail; for example, the analysis of complex objects or for measurement in difficult to reach locations. We used it to analyze the acoustic flow generated by the ventilation system in a car cockpit: we saw immediate results, simply by brushing the device over the curved surface of the dashboard. We easily reached the defrost air vents at the bottom of the windshield, behind the dashboard, and got our real-time results.

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© 2014 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. Siemens and the Siemens logo are registered trademarks of Siemens AG. LMS, LMS Imagine.Lab, LMS Imagine.Lab Amesim, LMS Virtual.Lab, LMS Samtech, LMS Samtech Caesam, LMS Samtech Samcef, LMS Test.Lab, LMS Soundbrush, LMS Smart, and LMS SCADAS are trademarks or registered trademarks of LMS International N.V. or any of its affiliates. All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.

Colophon

Director of publication: Peter De Clerck Editor-in-chief: Jennifer Schlegel Art Director: Werner Custers Contributing Editors: Allison Fassin, Joëlle Beuzit and Olga Korosteleva.

Although we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of LMS publications, we cannot be held liable for incorrect information.

Front cover image: Picanol OptiMax (© Picanol)

Other images courtesy of:

Picanol, LMS International, Hilti, Miele, Schneider Electric, Shutterstock, Areva

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