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6 years ago

MDA Technologies 4/2016

MDA Technologies 4/2016

Simulation technology:

Simulation technology: opening avenues for faster automotive design Moog Hydraulic Simulation Table 100 kg in Wuxi XinDeBao, China MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL With tighter operating budgets, shorter time to market and fewer resources in the test lab means automotive designers must think differently to meet their evolving challenges. So where do automotive engineers turn when the stakes are so high on completing their latest design projects? 01 8 DOF Moog test system comprised of a 6 DOF electric simulation table with an extra 2 DOF tilt table In test labs around the world, automotive suppliers are turning to simulation tables to bring automotive parts to market faster. Multiaxis testing with a simulation table enables companies to shorten the time required for product testing and quality assurance. These tables can run continuously for several days, a period equivalent to hundreds of thousands of road kilometers. With realistic simulation testing and technological advances, the timeframe to bring a new automotive component to market has been reduced from 3-4 years to just 18-24 months. Today’s simulation tables are far more accurate and efficient, as well as safer and less expensive, than testing on traditional grounds. As a supplier of test systems, the American company, Moog, provides hydraulic and electric technologies for a simulation table to meet the exact requirements of the test operation. While hydraulic actuation remains the logical choice for most structural test applications, in the past few years, test labs have also been increasingly interested in electric actuation systems for mechanical testing. This article explores some case studies where automotive suppliers are successfully using simulation tables. It provides insights on how companies deploy customized simulation techniques to meet unique technical requirements and business objectives. 02The electric simulation table with Tilt is used for product development testing, such as fluid tank tests MDA Technologies 4/2016

About Moog Inc Moog is an American designer and manufacturer of motion and fluid controls and control systems for applications in aerospace, defence, industrial and medical device markets. Moog is headquartered in New York, and has sales, engineering, and manufacturing facilities in more than 20 countries. 03 Moog hydraulic simulation table with a car engine mount being tested in CTI Suzhou, China Hydraulic simulation table for durability testing CTI, a provider of vehicle components durability testing services based in Suzhou, China, recently completed powertrain mount durability and radiator / cooling fan tests with a customized Hydraulic Simulation Table (HST) delivered by Moog. CTI wanted the multiaxle road simulation testing capabilities for its customer GM PATAC – a joint venture between General Motors and Shanghai Auto Group. The HST consists of a compact and light platform and base plates on which stress resistant hydrostatic jacks are assembled with rods jutting from the jacks connected to the platform structure. To meet the unique needs of the application, Moog customized the system in several unique ways. Moog engineers designed one rotary actuator with a connection fixture that was used to add torque input to the engine to simulate engine torque output and add force on the test mounts at acceleration/deceleration events. An additional electric heating system was also used to simulate the temperature of each mount area. Closed loop control of temperature was achieved through a heating gun, PLC controller and temperature sensors, and the temperature set point was determined based on thermal CAE analysis of actual road test data. Another key innovation of the HST was the way the software is used to decrease the total test period while retaining road fatigue damage on the test mounts. During the mount durability test process, road raw data is collected for various rough road events through a data acquisition device with transducers put on key vehicle positions, to obtain sufficient iteration response and correlation signal data. After obtaining the raw data, abnormal and smaller amplitude signals are analysed and deleted by assessing raw signal amplitude on the time history domain, and rain flow/pseudo damage on the fatigue domain. Hydraulic simulation table for automobile exhaust pipes Tenneco China has a long-standing relationship with Moog. When Tenneco China approached Wuxi XinDeBao, an OEM supplier of exhaust pipe sub-systems for major car brands, to establish a China-based solution for durability and validation tests, Tenneco knew the experts at Moog could help XinDeBao with a solution. The motion-control test team in China determined that only a new version of Moog’s Hydraulic Simulation Table 100 kg (H-ST-100) could accurately meet XinDeBao’s requirements for the testing of automobile exhaust pipes. With the H-ST-100 test, XinDe- Bao could conduct flex coupling component durability tests to simulate the relevant movements of two boundaries (engine manifold end and exhaust pipe end) in 6 degrees of freedom, from a realtime time history domain. Time history files are simulated through the Moog Test Controller (HST) and Replication and Runner application software, to accurately replicate any specific road conditions needed for the tests. The test system is very compact and provides excellent accessibility during testing. Simulation for fuel tank For engineers, designing an automotive fuel tank is a complicated (and sometimes costly) challenge. Plus, there’s often limited time to do this work, especially when an automobile manufacturer is trying to introduce a new model to the market. Automakers have largely relied on test tracks to design fuel tanks. But taking a vehicle to a certified test track requires a prototype. When Fiat determined that it was spending too much money taking prototypes to the test track, the company sought a more innovative approach to road testing. The company turned to Moog for an 8 Degrees of Freedom (DOF) simulation table design that would save them both time and money. By using a universal joint to connect a 6 DOF electromechanical simulation table to a 2 DOF tilt table on top for increased pitch and roll motion, Moog reproduced higher frequency road profiles, where the tilt table simulates the cornering and acceleration behavior of the vehicle. The 8 DOF test systems enables Fiat to include different conditions during driving that lead to extreme fuel-sloshing effects, such as mountain driving, instant braking or very sharp cornering maneuvers. Fiat can now achieve a greater degree of combined pitch and roll angles with a simulator, which allows automakers to avoid taking their prototypes to a test track. Therefore, increasing the speed of testing and saving significant costs. Bringing a product to market faster, with less space High frequency multi-axis vibration testing with electric or hydraulic simulation tables enables companies like Fiat, Veritas AG, CTI and XinDeBao to shorten the time needed for product testing and quality assurance through its ability to simulate a period equivalent to 100,000 road miles. The simulation tables installed for companies like XinDeBao occupy only one-third of the space of traditional shaker tables. The smaller size makes it easy to install, move and control in any place in the testing laboratory. The tables are also less costly to maintain than orthogonal designs because the six actuators in each table are alike, so spare parts for any one table cost less. Photographs: Moog Inc www.moog.com MDA Technologies 4/2016

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