DRESDEN, Germany, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Internationally acclaimed platform raises bar in system simulation
ITI GmbH, one of the global leaders in CAE and system simulation, has made the new release 3.5 of the internationally acclaimed platform "SimulationX" available as of today. As a reference in physical modeling of mechatronic systems, the software introduces about a hundred new features that help to speed up the development process while making it more efficient. The new release comes with a bunch of new libraries for quick simulations of planar mechanisms or vibrational and energetic analyses of hybrid drives, for instance. Modeling multi-body systems has now become even easier through enhanced visualization and interactive manipulation. New as well is the way result windows are handled: output options and settings for properties, result variables and transformations have been completely revamped. In addition, new interfaces with MSC Nastran®, VehicleSim® or ETAS LABCAR, for instance, but also advanced COM functionalities guarantee an easy exchange of data within a closed toolchain.
The new, optional module "Power Balance" lets SimulationX users simulate power flows and energy consumption - taking all of a model's multi-physics elements into account - in order to develop energy efficient plants and machinery. Those energies are calculated automatically as integrals of the power. This allows not only for analyses of model dynamics, but in version 3.5 now also for analyses of power and energy flows, thus enabling the detection of causes for energy losses.
The extended COM functionality now grants access to results of natural frequency analyses, steady-state simulations and notifications in the output panel. Moreover, it is now possible to import FEM data from MSC Nastran®, export S-functions to ETAS LABCAR via MATLAB Real-Time Workshop® and interact with VehicleSim® (CarSim, BikeSim, TruckSim). Through parallelization on multi-core processors, SimulationX 3.5 can now run variant calculations much faster.
The new user package "Hybrid Powertrain" offers an open Modelica library with basic and control elements, accumulators, transmission elements as well as vehicles for simulating serial, parallel and power-split hybrid drivetrains. The new Industrial Utilities Package bundles common model elements and tools for industrial energy related applications. It contains model types for air pressure generators, heat pumps, cooling units, gas turbines, gas engines and industrial boilers amongst others. Further innovations are the 2D SimulationX libraries "Planar Mechanics" and "Belt Drives" which provide rigid bodies, force elements, joints, constraints, sensors, drive pulleys, belt and hoist drums as well as sheaves and permit animations in the 3D view. With the new libraries "MBS-Actuators" and "Brakes", models for hydraulic and pneumatic 3D drivelines as well as dynamic properties of disc and drum brakes with temperature dependent friction can now be created and captured respectively in no time. A new thermo-fluid library contains several cooling agents, such as R407C, R134a, R744 and R1234yf, which were developed especially for real-time simulations of thermal systems using the now available optimized non-linear solver algorithms.
What is more, there is a series of new types of model elements in the existing SimulationX libraries facilitating the design process for models of mechatronic systems and are provided to ITI's existing maintenance customers free of charge. Dog clutches can now be modeled with rectangular dogs and negative undercut angle. Parameterization of asynchronous motors is possible on the basis of an equivalent circuit or data sheets. All electric motors now come with thermal connectors translating electrical losses into heat flow. Parts of undissolved air can be defined in hydraulic fluids, and pressure ratios can be included between hydraulic connectors. In addition to that, SimulationX 3.5 includes four new pressure valves with different connectors and power sensors for loss-free measurement of the hydraulic power.
Furthermore, the new release permits interactive manipulation of MBS models in the 3D view as well as exact visualizations of changes in position and orientation. For an easier initialization and equilibrium calculation, the homotopy operator simplifies systems of equations where appropriate. Also SimulationX' real-time capabilities saw further improvements through optional inclusion of defined limits when using a fixed-step solver.
Substantial improvements were made on the result windows in SimulationX. The new concept for the result windows with pages and panels increases usability focusing on the results' most important aspects. The newly introduced property bar grants the user direct access to the result variables of all open models and to individual view options. Window layouts can be saved in XML and then be applied to other simulations. Moreover, there is a wide range of diagrams available, such as Sankey, pie and bar charts. Performance enhancements guarantee that even extensive result curves with many computed points can be displayed quickly. On top of that, transformations and operations can now be specified directly within the result windows. Apart from traditional analysis operations, such as FFT and FRF, there are additional mathematical functions available that allow post-processing simulation results without the need to run the entire simulation all over again. Transformations and operations as well as integrations and derivatives can now be applied to all result curves enabling analyses in real-time.
Founded in 1990, ITI has become one of the leading software and engineering companies for system simulation. ITI develops simulation tools for engineers and scientists in various industries and education. The company supports the development of new products with comprehensive engineering and programming services throughout the entire design process. Workshops and seminars at the ITI Academy round off the scope of services. More than 600 customers worldwide ranging from the automotive, energy, apparatus technology and aerospace industries to machinery manufacturers and shipbuilders trust ITI's simulation solution. ITI's customers include renowned names like ABB, BMW, Baker Hughes, Caterpillar, Daimler, Hitachi, Honda, Husky, Liebherr, Mitsubishi, Nikon, Schaeffler, Siemens, Veolia, Volkswagen and ZF. Based in Dresden, Germany, ITI has also branches in France and the UK. With partners across more than 35 countries, the company has a vast network of distributors and service providers for its simulation software SimulationX. More information about the company and its product can be found on http://www.itisim.com.
SimulationX is the benchmark for modeling and simulating complex mechatronic systems. In contrast to other CAE software on the market (FEM, CFD, MBS), ITI provides customers with the capabilities to design and analyze entire systems including all sub-systems on a single platform. Users benefit from a large number of model libraries that work out of the box allowing simulations of various interacting physical effects - from 1D and 2D mechanics, MBS systems and drive technologies, hydraulics, pneumatics, thermodynamics to electronics, magnetics as well as analog and digital control engineering - post-processing included. More than 700 immediately available element types and over 300 sample models from 25 applications make modeling easier and faster. SimulationX supports the modeling language Modelica® as well as Modelica libraries with open and complete CAx interfaces. More information about the product can be found on http://www.simulationx.com.
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