lms news march 2010

LMSNEWSMarch 2010

Liftoff! Advancing global aerospace projects

Satellite integration and testingAircraft-spacecraft developmentVirtual intelligent test rigsOptimized rocket engines

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Director of publication: Peter Vandeborne | Editor-in-chief: Jennifer Schlegel | Art Director: Werner Custers Contributing Editors: Tom Curry, Caroline Dothee, John Krouse and Stephen Vaughan| Contributing: Cindy Piskor, Kirsten Cabergs and Kurt Debille

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

LMSNEWS - March 2010

04 Insight

Urbain Vandeurzen and Jan Leuridan mark their twenty-five-year partnership with an insightful interview

06 Satellite testing

Thales Alenia Space standardized on LMS systems at its corporate-wide test centers

12 Modal analysis

LMS Test.Lab contributes to better flutter analysis at Airbus

16 GVT testing

DLR and ONERA standardize on the LMS Test.Lab GVT solution

18 Aerospace partnership

The Italian Aerospace Research Centre CIRA prepares for unmanned space travel

12Crunching the huge amounts of test data is a constant challenge for any flight test engineer and most certainly the team working on the Airbus A380, the largest birdin the sky.

6Tough enough? Thales Alenia Space needs to know for certain. Which is why Europe’s largest satellite manufacturer counts on LMS systems to get 48 of the most complex, high-tech machines aloft in 2010.

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Front cover image: Earth

Other images courtesy of:Airbus, Belga, CERTIA, CIRA, DAF, LMS International, NPO Energomash, Temsa, Thales Alenia Space and Volvo Construction Equipment© LMS International 2010

22 Virtual test rig

LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim launches CERTIA into virtual test rig modeling

24 Hybrid engineering

NPO Energomash uses test and simulation tools to predict modal vibration and dynamic loads

28 Engine development

Revolutionary virtual test bench cuts costs and improves overall engine performance at DAF

32 1D design optimization

Ground-breaking vehicle co-simulation at Volvo Construction Equipment

38 Full vehicle development

Temsa and LMS team up to put Turkish buses on the international map

38Producing 3000 buses annually, Temsa is a rising star in the bus world. A behind the scenes look at this Turkish vehicle development success story.

28The DAF in-house CAE-Engines team in Eindhoven created a revolutionary virtual test bench using LMS Virtual.Lab to put the next-generation MX engine through its cost-cutting paces.

Insight

Dr. Urbain VandeurzenChairman & Chief Executive Officer

LMS News: How did LMS fare in 2009?

Dr. Urbain Vandeurzen: Without question 2009 was a very difficult year. Many of our customers saw a 25%-35% drop-off in business – especially those in the automotive and auto-related sectors. The truck industry suffered even more. But we’ve managed to navigate very well through the crisis.

LMS News: How?

UV: Simply three reasons: the strength of our customer relationships. We are key strategic partners to many leading companies in the mechanical manufacturing industries. Secondly, the strength of our business model. Third, the spread of our business globally. Our worldwide presence is a critical factor to our success. It is thanks to this combination that we ended the year on a profitable upswing.

LMS News: What is the strength of the LMS business model?

UV: Our market-leading, mission-critical technology. You can’t forget that we are the pioneers of high-end structural and NVH testing, the inventors of hybrid engineering, and the provider of a number of leading and patented technologies for test-based engineering and virtual simulation. And we continue to invest in the future of the industry with our LMS Next vision for a smarter and more sustainable planet. On top of that, we have a strong global presence with over 30 LMS offices world-wide. Our revenue streams not only come from Europe, Japan and North America, but also increasingly from the new growth BRIC regions.

LMS News: Over the past years, LMS has branched outside of the automotive sector. Why is this strategically successful?

UV: We are well known historically in the automotive market. But one of our key strengths is that our technology is applicable outside the automotive sector. We have seen tremendous growth in aerospace, the broader ground vehicle industry as well as other high-tech mechanical and process-oriented industries.

LMS News: Worldwide, LMS has become the de facto standard for environmental testing in satellite integration centers.

Dr. Jan Leuridan: Absolutely. The article on Thales Alenia Space highlights well the value our testing systems deliver to an industry where performance, reliability and compatibility are critical. Actually, every month over the last five years – and we’re talking all 60 months – we have won at least one deal with a satellite integration center to standardize on LMS test

equipment. If you look at that cumulative 5 years, we have equipped practically 80% of the market. The success stories in high-end test speak for themselves.

LMS News: Recently, LMS was in the news with ONERA-DLR selecting the LMS solutions for GVT. Why did they opt for LMS?

JL: The GVT (Ground Vibration Test) test is a very critical test in any aircraft development program. For the large aircraft programs in Europe, this testing has been done by ONERA and DLR. Their expertise with GVT testing has been built up over 50 years on programs such as the Concorde, the Airbus A300, and more recently, the Airbus A380. Following extensive benchmarks, when the time came to replace their current systems, they jointly selected LMS as their GVT solution partner. The LMS GVT solution provided the most complete standard platform, easily configurable and customizable to integrate both DLR’s and ONERA’s specific know-how and methods for GVT testing. Additionally, both systems can easily be combined into a single 1000+ channel unit required for testing very large aircraft, such as the upcoming Airbus XWB350.

LMS News: What sets us above the others in this area?

UV: What you can’t forget is that we not only have the testing systems and platforms, but also that our specialists in Engineering Services have the hands-on experience to do live GVT tests. We’ve worked successfully in the US and Europe on a number of major GVT programs in recent years. Constant feedback and hands-on know-how from the LMS Engineering Services Division continues to enhance our GVT system.

A solid and global approach to business and, of course, the pioneering, mission critical

technology. Dr. Urbain Vandeurzen and Dr. Jan Leuridan mark their twenty-five-year partnership

with an insightful interview into their success in the aerospace and ground vehicle sectors.


LMS News: LMS continues to innovate in the world of hybrid engineering. What is notable in this issue?

UV: There is a very interesting story about the France-based test rig provider CERTIA and how they design virtual intelligent test rigs.

JL: And I think another interesting story is the engineers at Russian rocket engine supplier NPO Energomash. They use test and simulation tools to accurately predict modal vibration and dynamic loads in turbine rotors for next-generation international launch vehicles. With the Soyuz rocket, physical testing is simply not possible due to the extreme temperatures.

UV: In addition, there is the hybrid engineering durability success at the Turkish bus manufacturer Temsa. It is an excellent example of how hybrid engineering can have real return on investment and strategic impact.

LMS News: Speaking of return on investment, Volvo cites a 65% reduction in physical testing development time. This is an enormous return on investment.

UV: It is correct that ground vehicle manufacturers like Volvo are shortening their development cycle with tremendous return on investment reducing the overall development process by a third. DAF also speaks about using virtual simulation as a tool to test four or five ideas and basically select the best concept for further detailed engineering. They can test many more concepts using virtual simulation and shorten their development process as whole.

LMS News: The new releases are on the market. What type of goodies can our customers expect?

JL: For LMS Test.Lab, the hot news is certainly in acoustics. In addition to our patented, operational TPA for fast and accurate transfer path analysis, we have exciting, new, patented technology for SSL (Sound Source Localization). With a high-tech acoustic measurement head, where we combine video, laser

and microphones in one integrated system, we can visualize the sound field in a photo-realistic manner to intuitively

localize the sound sources in real-time, without labor-

intensive analysis and post-processing. For acoustic engineers, it easily cuts the time needed for interior acoustic sound source localization by more than 50% while at the same time providing unprecedented insights. A tremendous gain in productivity and analysis precision.

JL: LMS Virtual.Lab Rev 9 is getting great reviews. We really have the most comprehensive, capable and versatile performance simulation package on the market. And we continue to set the reference standard for acoustics. In one application, we have the fastest BEM and FEM-based solvers for stationary and transient acoustic analysis models up to several million elements covering low and high frequency analysis. Additionally, our unique new ray tracing solver enables full audio acoustic analysis.

UV: And last but certainly not least, our big step forward in LMS Imagine.Lab can be found in vehicle energy management. In this release, we have built in the effect of start-stop systems. We have now a complete design platform for integration of hybrid-electric powertrains, vehicle energy management and the integration of energy recovery systems. With this solution, we are proving our commitment to work with the automotive OEMs and their suppliers to develop the best possible solution for the future to minimize fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions.

Dr. Jan LeuridanExecutive Vice-President & Chief Technical Officer


Towards a wireless worldNearing the end of operational life, the entire Globalstar constellation of 48 telecommunications satellites will be replaced by Thales Alenia Space – Europe’s largest satellite manufacturer.


Telecommunications anywhere in the world

A disaster response team in Florida calls for emergency aid using a mobile phone, even though cell antennas and networks in the area have been destroyed by a hurricane. On the same day, a soldier in a Mid-East war zone picks up a mobile phone and talks to her daughter about her first day of school. Mobile communications in remote areas beyond cellular and landline service take place around the world every day at petroleum companies, mining operations, commercial fishing boats, construction sites, utilities, forestry services, government, military and individual users hiking, mountain climbing or otherwise moving about in extremely remote locations.

Such voice calls – as well as Internet data connections – are made on mobile telephones that connect to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell towers. A leader in this rapidly evolving telecommunications field is Globalstar – the world’s largest provider of mobile satellite voice and data services with over 375,000 subscribers in 120 countries around the world. The company uses a constellation of 48 low-Earth-orbit satellites circling the globe about every 90 minutes at an altitude of 1,414 km. Each satellite has a set of solar panels for electrical power and two earth-facing antenna arrays for two-way communications.

Like small relay stations in the sky, the satellites receive signals, then amplify and transmit them back to gateway ground stations that process voice or data calls and distribute them to local telephone networks or the Internet. Several satellites pick up the same signal, preventing call interruption by handing off communication to one another through the Globalstar network when phone signals are blocked by buildings or terrain. The

constellation and ground network currently provide coverage to most inhabited places of the Earth, excluding only south-central Asia and central and southern Africa. Globalstar has plans to extend service to these areas in the coming years.

Nearing the end of their operational life, the original Globalstar satellites are scheduled to be replaced starting in the third quarter of 2010, when a three-stage Soyuz rocket will lift the first six second-generation satellites into orbit.

These new satellites are designed with greater reliability, increased power and a life expectancy of 15 years – double that of the first-generation hardware. The new constellation and the upgraded ground network that will follow are intended to provide more reliable service and faster data speeds required to support next-generation Internet-protocol-based services.

Satellite assembly, integration and test

Prime contractor for this huge project is Thales Alenia Space, Europe’s largest satellite manufacturer. Being at the forefront of orbital infrastructures, Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%) and forms with Telespazio a Space Alliance. Thales Alenia Space is a worldwide reference in telecom, radar and optical earth observation, defense and security as well as navigation and science. Thales Alenia Space has 11 industrial sites in 4 European countries (France, Italy, Spain and Belgium) with over 7,200 employees worldwide.


Thales Alenia Space has primary responsibility for the design, manufacture, test and delivery of 48 second-generation satellites for the Globalstar constellation. The company is also upgrading the Globalstar Satellite Operations and Control Center as well as Telemetry and Command Units and In-Orbit Test hardware and software located in Globalstar gateway ground stations around the world.

With Europe’s only integrated manufacturing and test center for satellite assembly and integration, Thales Alenia’s three Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) Centers are located in Rome, Italy, and in Cannes and Toulouse, France. The multi-site capability is particularly well-suited for handling large satellite constellation projects, with specialized capabilities for transporting sensitive hardware between facilities and for delivering assembled satellites and related data acquisition systems directly to launch sites.

One of the critical roles of these facilities is testing satellites to ensure that highly sensitive components can withstand the thunderous acoustics and jarring vibrations of vehicle launch. Engineers focus on the thousands of individual parts and subsystems that absolutely must remain intact, connected and fully operational – delicate structural components deploying solar arrays and antennas, for example, as well as highly sensitive and complex on-board electronic systems with interconnected circuit boards, semiconductor chips, signal processors, and other components. Such testing is critical in the satellite business, since failure of any one of these parts can jeopardize an entire mission.

All three AIT Centers perform various phases of these environmental tests. For the Globalstar project, sine vibration

and acoustic qualification tests are done in Cannes. Acoustic flight model tests performed just prior to satellite assembly and delivery to the launch pad are done in Rome. Verification testing on the antennas is done in Toulouse, France and L’Aquila, Italy.

Standardizing on LMS

Tests are conducted at all these facilities using state-of-the-art LMS SCADAS data acquisition hardware and LMS Test.Lab control and data-reduction software.

With the addition of an expanded data acquisition system at Cannes, the 1,200+ total channel count for all three AITs ranks Thales Alenia among the most powerful distributed LMS test system for any company in the world.

The signal capacity, high speed, flexibility and versatility of this LMS system are key to the success of the company in these enormous satellite projects.

Each center is autonomous, with vibration, acoustic and other environmental test capabilities geared toward particular applications. The Cannes center can accommodate major subsystems, large antennas and solar array, and satellites up to 6 tons, while the Rome facility is limited to 3 tons and Toulouse is mainly targeted at testing components such as electronic equipment and antennas. LMS systems are also used for more specialized tests at these centers. At the Rome facility, for example, shock loading experienced by satellites


due to separation of rocket stages is duplicated on a shaker table controlled by the LMS system, which also triggers a high-speed camera recording structural response of the satellite.

AITs can perform tests for their own individual outside contracts as well as work in concert with other Thales Alenia Space centers on major projects such as Globalstar and the Galileo and EGNOS navigation satellites, as well as the Herschel, Planck and Mars Express scientific missions.

“Standardizing on LMS testing solutions is advantageous,” said Jean-Charles Delambre, vibration and mechanical testing expert at Thales Alenia Space Cannes Dynamic Test Facility. “Our test systems are entirely compatible with those at our largest customer – ESA (European Space Agency) since they also use LMS extensively.

So we can readily ensure that our test procedures are done according to their standards. And we can easily exchange results data, technical information and best practices related to the many satellite projects we work on for them. Also, our engineers can easily work at any of our three sites thanks to the uniformity of the LMS technologies.

Their proficiency on the system easily transfers between the different Thales Alenia Space organizations – as well as outside partners like ESA. This standardization really shows its added-value when coordinating work and performing tests efficiently on large joint projects such as Globalstar.”

“For a project of this magnitude, testing must be a chronological, concurrent engineering process. Our site in Cannes can easily run two or three tests per day and deliver the results practically the moment the test is completed with our LMS solution.”

Mr. Hervé Ruzicska, manager mechanical test center

Well-choreographed concurrent engineering

“To meet these demands, we use a ‘technical island’ approach where teams of people converge at the test site to get the job done as quickly as possible – technicians for set-up, control, and data acquisition as well as facilities engineers, shaker specialists and instrumentation engineers.”

Daniele Tiani, Head of Mechanical Test Dept IU_AIT in Rome, noted that teams can run tests so quickly – push the limits, so to speak – because of the confidence they have in the LMS system. As tests are being conducted, measurements are compared with prescribed limits and tests are automatically aborted via a control loop that triggers an end-test command that gradually scales down vibration input.

“With tests controlled by the LMS system, we know that fragile and expensive satellite components and subsystems will be safe as the test sequence is performed exactly as

Technicians work on the assembly line of second-generation Globalstar satellites at the Thales Alenia Space offices in Rome. Globalstar is a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation for satellite phone and low-speed data communications.


intended,” he noted. “With less reliable systems, tests must proceed more deliberatively as engineers slowly ramp up test amplitudes to make sure there is no risk to the test specimen. This confidence in test control and reliability is a huge advantage of the LMS system.”

Time-saving capabilities

connecting, disconnecting and double-checking hundreds of accelerometer cables as the satellite is moved from pre-test into the test area. This helps streamline the procedure of splitting up an extensive test into segments because not enough channels are available to run the test in its entirety. “With patch panels pre-wired to route signals to appropriate slots of the LMS SCADAS equipment by way of just a few master cables, we can now reconfigure connections is just a few hours instead of what used to take four days or more,” explained Mr. Tiani.

Competitive value of proven capabilities

With these capabilities, Thales Alenia Space has become a powerhouse in the worldwide space industry. “Clearly, there is a competitive value for Thales Alenia Space to be standardized on test systems from LMS, which is recognized for its technology and its outstanding customer service. In an industry such as satellite development and testing where performance, reliability and compatibility of digital systems are critical, the trend toward LMS as the de facto standard across the industry certainly makes sense. From each organization’s perspective, there is just too much at stake to trust projects worth hundreds of millions of euros to anything less than the proven capabilities of LMS people and technology.”

“Standardizing on LMS testing solutions

is advantageous. Our test systems

are entirely compatible with those

at our largest customer - ESA. ”

Jean-Charles Delambre, vibration and mechanical testing expert at Thales Alenia Space Cannes Dynamic Test Facility

Another LMS capability that can compress test cycles is parallel processing to analyze measurement data in near real time, displaying results for critical channels as tests are being run and providing full results almost immediately after the conclusion of a test.

“By seeing results so fast, engineers can quickly spot any inconsistencies and make immediate corrections – even in the middle of a test run,” Mr. Tiani explained. “This saves hours – and often days – of precious time that they would otherwise have to spend waiting for results, only to discover a problem that would mean re-running the entire test.”

Further time is saved through the use of the LMS patch panel capability, which can avoid the time-consuming repetition of


Airbus discovers the right route to a streamlined flutter analysis processLMS Test.Lab contributes to better flutter analysis

Aeroelasticity, the interaction between inertial, elastic and aerodynamic forces, plays a vital

role in aircraft design. And as soon as you add four enormous engines and a significant

increase in size and flexibility, it is not surprising that aeroelastic behavior evolves becoming

more and more complex.


Along with the aircraft characteristics, modal identification methods used during flutter testing have evolved to assure correct parameter identification. Frequencies and damping value estimations have to be as accurate as possible in order to define the aircraft fluttering margins used during those first mission-critical in-flight test campaigns.

In a nutshell, flutter testing can be broken into three segments: real-time; near real-time and off-line. In-flight real-time test campaigns acquire live data during the test flight mostly as a safety check to continue the flight envelope. Near real-time testing focuses on rapid modal estimation to determine the overall safety of the flight and the flutter test program. Off-line deals with the finer analysis of the recorded flight data and final report production.

To validate data efficiently and effectively off-line, LMS Test.Lab Modal Analysis offers a full-featured package with all the required functionality, such as data pre-processing, modal parameter estimation, mode shape animation and result validation.

Bigger airplanes. New flutter requirements.

The Airbus flutter team in Toulouse, France faced quite some challenges working on the Airbus A380 campaign, but there were issues they had faced before with the Airbus A340 flutter campaign: high modal density and

similar mode shapes, both placed in a low narrow frequency band.

In terms of modal identification, these new precise requirements called for a better-defined and better-equipped testing installation. This meant digging a bit to find the right kind of process. Measured data needed to be recorded at enough locations with high enough quality to improve power spectra and transfer function estimates and avoid spatial aliasing when working out aircraft deformed shapes. This required some innovative thinking and serious process validation in regards to current techniques.

Building on EUREKA FLITE projects

Since 2001, Airbus France and LMS International have been cooperating in regards to several EUREKA projects called “FLITE” (Flight Test Easy). An intergovernmental initiative to support market-oriented European R&D, the EUREKA FLITE projects focus on bringing new and powerful tools to structural engineers and aircraft designers, improving the quality and usefulness of data gathered during flight testing.

The FLITE consortium gathers world-ranking aircraft manufacturers and technology providers from France, Belgium and Poland. The FLITE projects offered a unique opportunity to confront new advanced algorithms with challenging real-life aircraft data.

“We’ve been extremely impressed by the

way that the LMS Test.Lab software can

handle the immense amount of Airbus

A380 in-flight data.”

Jean Roubertier Aeroelasticity expert at the Flight tests department - Airbus

XYZ sensors for elevator pulse analyses XYZ sensors for inner aileron pulse analyses XYZ sensors for rudder pulse analyses FLUTTER &COMFORT

ACELEROMETERS

EYTXGS A380 msn 1 Page:1

Edition du 09/03/07

A380 MSN001 was equipped with more than 100 measurement points uniformly distributed all over the primary aircraft structure.


Finding the right data

In late 2007, LMS and Airbus agreed to start a project to evaluate LMS PolyMAX, an integrated part of the LMS Test.Lab Structures suite as a key solution to achieve high-quality off-line in-flight data processing for flutter testing. The LMS Test.Lab Structures suite is a complete solution for modal analysis, combining high-speed multichannel data acquisition with a suite of integrated testing, analysis, and reporting tools. LMS is renowned for its modal testing experience and scalable solutions, from supporting impact testing on small structures up to large test campaigns using multiple shakers and hundreds of measurement channels.

In the past, the Flight Test Departments of Airbus France performed data analysis using their in-house near real-time analysis package and transferred the results together with the raw data to Airbus Germany where the numerical flutter predictions were correlated with actual flight tests. However, Airbus France felt the need to carry out some more in-depth data processing, so that they could transfer more complete results to Germany.

“Clearly, we needed a solution that would improve the alignment between on-line in-flight analysis occurring in Toulouse

and the post-processing completed in the design center in Airbus Germany. At this stage, we are very pleased with the results. LMS Test.Lab is able to provide us with the right type of results,” stated Jean Roubertier, Flight test department aeroelasticity expert at Airbus.

Record-breaking data acquisition

Measured mode shapes estimated from in-flight sensor data. A wing bending mode (top) and a fuselage bending mode are shown (bottom).

The very clear LMS PolyMAX stabilization diagram allows an easy identification of the many modes in the considered frequency band.

Considering that the 525-seat Airbus A380 is the largest commercial passenger aircraft in the skies today, it isn’t surprising that simply due to its sheer size, the acquired in-flight testing data is record-breaking as well.

“With more than 100 sensors, this was one of the largest set-ups for an in-flight flutter test campaign I have ever seen. Also the amount of tests under different flight conditions is impressive. The resulting database is immense and efficient processing and report generation capabilities are required,” stated Bart Peeters, LMS Research Project Manager.

The Airbus Flutter team in Toulouse performed a variety of excitations including control surfaces sine sweeps


and pulses. Pulses are currently used to assure crew and aircraft safety, whereas sweeps are use to work out more accurate results allowing to update theoretical FE models. Thanks to integrating pulses into the process, flutter flights duration time has been considerably reduced.

Technically speaking, the basic concept behind the project was to compare classical experimental modal analysis (EMA) with LMS Test.Lab’s Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) technique. In classical EMA, the control surface excitation and aircraft response signals are converted to Frequency Response Functions (FRFs). During the actual flight, other excitation sources, such as turbulence are present. Sometimes, this results in noisy FRFs. For example, an aircraft tail response sensor receives a rather limited contribution from the wing excitation. Therefore, the idea arose to neglect the excitation signal and apply OMA to the aircraft acceleration signals.

“We actually achieved better results using OMA than with classical EMA. We found more modes. The synthesis was better with higher correlation and fewer errors. And the in-flight mode shapes looked much nicer,” added Miquel Angel

Oliver Escandell. “This was thanks to the amount of sensors we used and the OMA capabilities of LMS Test.Lab.”

De-noising the data

Even with projects of this scale, there is always noise in the data that needs to be managed. LMS Test.Lab paints a really clear picture with techniques that produce clear analysis results even from rather noisy data. This feature really offers clients like Airbus a true competitive advantage when it comes to off-line test processing.

“We found that the exponential window, which allowed for cross-correlation calculations, was a good de-noising tool for our in-flight data,” stated Miquel Angel Oliver Escandell, a member of the Airbus Flutter team who was dedicated to

the project for a year. “And the validation tools such as correlation levels, MAC matrix, mode shape complexity (MPD and MPC criteria) are very complimentary in regards to real-time identifications performed during flutter tests.”

During the comparison testing, the flutter team at Airbus used LMS PolyMAX during sweep excitations of the aircraft. Results, using an exponential window of 5% appear to be good, supplying high synthesis correlations (98% using just two references) and clear stabilization diagrams.“We’ve been extremely impressed by the flutter analysis results and the way that the LMS Test.Lab software can handle the challenges of processing the immense amount of Airbus A380 in-flight data during the off-line analysis,” concluded Jean Roubertier.

“With more than 100 sensors, this was one

of the largest set-ups for an in-flight flutter

test campaign I have ever seen.”


DLR and ONERA standardize on LMS Test.Lab GVT solution and select LMS as Ground Vibration Testing partner


Supporting its leading position in Ground Vibration Testing (GVT)

solutions, LMS has entered into an agreement with DLR, the

German national research center for aeronautics and space,

and ONERA, the French national aerospace research center, to

deliver their next-generation GVT systems. DLR and ONERA each

ordered a 384-channel LMS Test.Lab GVT solution, which can be

combined to form a 768-channel test system.

“DLR-ONERA’s decision in favor of LMS’ GVT

solution confirms our position as the leading

industrial partner for GVT testing.”Dr. Jan Leuridan, Executive Vice-President and CTO, LMS International

“We are very pleased that DLR and ONERA have decided to standardize their GVT testing, methods and technology on the LMS Test.Lab GVT solution. Thanks to its openness, we can work with DLR and ONERA to customize our LMS GVT solution to efficiently meet all their GVT process requirements,” stated Jan Debille, Aerospace Solutions Manager at LMS International.

The LMS Test.Lab GVT solution uses the state-of-the-art LMS SCADAS III networked data acquisition system, in combination with the LMS Test.Lab data acquisition applications for MIMO FRF acquisition under random, swept and stepped sine excitation conditions and a direct modal acquisition module for normal modes tuning. Key to maximal productivity, all acquisition modules are seamlessly integrated with the world-class LMS Test.Lab modal analysis software, PolyMAX, and its wealth of

modal validation capabilities.

“LMS truly understood our particular situation and offered the solution we needed: a complete yet efficient GVT solution - easily customizable to fit our specific needs. LMS is an innovation-driven company, and LMS

common GVT requirements, and could easily be configured to fully manage DLR and ONERA’s specific GVT methods and practices.

Additionally, the LMS Test.Lab GVT solution proved to have the necessary openness to integrate customized procedures to support DLR and ONERA’s research initiatives.

“After the Airbus A380 GVT, we decided to switch from LMS CADA-X modal analysis software to Windows-based LMS Test.Lab. To achieve that with our custom-built VXI data acquisition system, we had to link in-house data acquisition systems to the LMS Test.Lab PolyMAX modal analysis solution. For our next-generation solution, we decided to combine data acquisition and analysis in a common environment, and selected the LMS Test.Lab GVT solution as the platform to support the complete

GVT process,” stated Dr. Boeswald, Coordinator of DLR’s Ground Vibration Test Facility in Goettingen, Germany. “In addition, we also wanted to maintain the possibility to combine our system with ONERA’s system in France. Therefore, we needed to align our decisions and synchronize the evaluation effort.”

fully understands as well the need for high-level support of our research initiatives. By merging their leading GVT solution with our extensive 30 years of GVT experience, we will be able to take our GVT testing practices to the next level, and meet the ever more stringent deadlines of our customers,” stated Mr. Pascal Lubrina, Manager of ONERA.’s Ground Vibration Test Facility.

“DLR-ONERA’s decision in favor of LMS’ GVT solution confirms our position as the leading industrial partner for GVT testing. Both DLR and ONERA have developed their know-how for GVT testing over many years, and have a claim to fame for GVT testing in the aviation industry. At LMS, we look forward to contributing to the advancement of the overall GVT methods and practices at these industry-leading organizations,” stated Dr. Jan Leuridan, Executive Vice-President and CTO, LMS International.

With important GVT campaigns planned for the 2010-2011 timeframe, ONERA and DLR investigated various industrial players. Following successful GVT benchmarks, DLR and ONERA selected LMS and decided to base their new GVT systems on the LMS Test.Lab GVT solution. This solution already covers all


It’s a ‘Go’ for the Unmanned Space Vehicle at CIRA

The Italian Aerospace Research Centre prepares for unmanned space travel with LMS

The Renaissance Italians gave us Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and Leonardo Da Vinci. So

it shouldn’t be surprising to discover that the 21st century Italians are also putting their

name on Europe’s aerospace renaissance. CIRA, the Italian Aerospace Research Centre, is

contributing valuable research and development know-how to numerous European projects.

One project where researchers are harvesting know-how at CIRA is the development of the Unmanned Space Vehicle (USV for short). Aimed to assist the international research community, the in-development USV will be a multi-purpose, multi-mission flying laboratory capable of atmospheric re-entry from low-earth orbit. Designed to act like a civil aircraft without human pilots, the USV is actually a flying test bed where scientists can test materials, verify structural and aerodynamic behavior, develop advanced guidance and navigation and control functions as well as other typical technology

associated with aerospace research. Eventually, the USV team at CIRA hopes to be able to offer the USV’s flight and lab space as a service to validate space equipment to ESA or NASA standards.

Castore: The first flight

The first prototype USV-1 (named Castore) took its maiden voyage above the sunny skies of Sardinia, Italy on March 24th, 2007. This first campaign addressed such space ‘basics’ like aerodynamic performance and flight behavior during transonic flight. In other words, the goal was to make sure

that the winged USV-1 could withstand the scorching heat and Mach speeds of the planned re-entry trajectory.

On the big day, the 1250 kg USV with its 3.54m wingspan was airlifted using a stratospheric balloon and released approximately 20 km above the Earth. From this perilous point, the USV cruised at a transonic speed of Mach 1.1 – powered solely by gravity. During the deceleration phase, a three-stage parachute system acts like a set of Ferrari F1 space brakes, allowing the USV to plunge into the sea for recovery and re-use.


During the first flight, data was collected using a system of 500 sensors and relied off ESA’s Artemis satellite to the Italian ground team. The data collected from this first flight is currently being studied to improve the second planned USV prototype: Polluce, a vehicle that will be able to reach 82,000 feet (25km) altitude and travel at Mach 1.2 (1500km/hr).

Preparing for the big day

Prior to the first flight, years of back office work went into the USV project. One aspect was the ground vibration test or GVT to confirm the vessel’s structural soundness under extreme aerodynamic loads. This critical aerospace test was in the hands of Vincenzo Quaranta, PhD., Senior Scientist, Experimental Vibro-acoustics Dean at CIRA. It was his team’s task to make sure that the “bird” could withstand the extreme aeroelastic dynamic loads.

Designing a test strategy

Starting from the FE model, Dr. Quaranta and his team designed the test strategy and determined the optimal location for sensors and shakers, using numerical modal data. LMS Virtual.Lab was used to find the optimal location for sensors and an internal solution OFP (Optimal Force Pattern) was used to determine the number and location of the shakers.

This is known as the virtual GVT.

To replicate the ideal world of numerical simulation as close as possible, a dedicated suspension system was manufactured specifically for the test. During the actual GVT, the USV prototype itself was suspended by bungee cords in this dedicated suspension system.

To prepare for the actual tests to be run on a 100-channel LMS SCADAS III system in combination with LMS Test.Lab, the USV-1 was instrumented with 74 accelerometers and 4 shakers. MAC (Modal Assurance Criterion) was used to verify the quality of the modal results. This same MAC criterion was used to correlate the test modes with the ones predicted in the models.

The streamlined LMS solution

Using the LMS solution, Dr. Quaranta and his four-person team performed the GVT over several days. Both phase separation and normal mode techniques were used during the GVT to identify the structural resonances in the respective frequencies and acquire FRFs (Frequency Response Functions) used to extract the modal parameters with the LMS Test.Lab PolyMAX tool. From this information, Dr. Quaranta and his team could provide the right data to predict the flutter parameters of the USV and approve the

structural design for its first flight.

“While performing the GVT on our CIRA Unmanned Space Vehicle, I was really amazed by the impressive performance of the latest version of LMS Test.Lab.

Not only were we confident that the LMS GVT solution could provide us with the right type of results – an accurate and reliable data set – it also runs on a standard Windows XP laptop.

This is much more streamlined compared to the older version we used to run on a powerful yet bulky UNIX workstation. This new set-up is ideal for our lab at CIRA. With a campus this size, we need a solution that can easily be packed up and moved from test building to test building,” stated Dr. Quaranta.

He concluded, “LMS’ specialized team - especially the on-site team in Novara, Italy really have helped us get the most out of the LMS Ground Vibration Testing solution which combines LMS Test.Lab software and LMS SCADAS hardware. They not only helped to customize our solution exactly to our needs – integrating our own code where we needed to - they also were there to help find a solution to any issue that we had.”


About CIRA’s USV GVT

Critical to any aerospace program, ground vibration testing is necessary to validate finite element models of the spacecraft, adapt or modify the structure if necessary, and ultimately obtain a final ‘go for launch’. A step-by-step procedure, the GVT performed by CIRA on the first USV prototype verified the aero-elastic reliability and demonstrated the absence of flutter-related instabilities prior to the first flight.

LMS: a partner you can count onLMS News: LMS’ role in the USV’s GVT was a minor but essential aspect of the entire first flight, but it isn’t the only role that LMS plays at CIRA?

Dr. Mario L. Farioli, Support to the Board of CIRA: Of course, we have worked together with LMS for years. Besides the most recent work with Vincenzo Quaranta on the USV and other vibration and acoustic research, we have many other projects including some cutting-edge optimization work using LMS’ optimization software: NOESIS Optimus. LMS is a well-appreciated partner of CIRA.

LMS News: As a research center, what is your biggest challenge?

Antonio Concilio, PhD, Head of the Smart Structures and Vibroacoustics Lab at CIRA: One of our biggest challenges is to provide support for scientific research and services for our commercial partners. When customers like the Italian aerospace companies ask us to perform GVT tests or vibro-acoustic characterization of certain components, of course we help. We will do the same for international research projects. And the result should always be top-level. Because LMS Test.Lab is so easy and quick to set-up, it is really a performance enhancer and a quality insurer – especially when we need to switch between research and commercial activities.

LMS News: Why all the focus on GVT?

Vincenzo Quaranta, PhD, Senior Scientist, Experimental Vibroacoustics Dean at CIRA: GVT is a fundamental step in the development of a new airplane. It validates and updates the numerical model developed in the design phase. Only after a GVT, the prototype is proclaimed first-flight ready. For these reasons, it is crucial to carry out this task with a system developed ‘ad hoc’ by a specialized team like LMS.

Piergiovanni Renzoni, PhD, Head of the Flight Technologies and Helicopter Systems at CIRA: Especially in the aerospace field, continuity is important. We need to maintain critical standards and, especially for GVT, be compliant with various standards. The LMS equipment lets us do this.


Intelligent test rigs to tackle herculean aircraft design LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim launches CERTIA into virtual test rig modeling

Building a new aircraft is a herculean task that takes years of intense effort and

intricate development. The integration of complex mechatronics, multi-physical

and control systems in the aircraft design as well as the actual manufacturing

process is quite a formidable undertaking. Before a new aircraft is finally

pronounced airworthy and ready for commercial production, it has undergone a

myriad of vigorous certification tests at all levels in the manufacturing chain.


Ground-breaking virtual test benches

In order to perform all these different tests, actual physical test benches are indispensable. The particular challenge for a test rig is to replicate the extreme conditions that aircraft must to be able to withstand as well as create a specific test set-up in which the material, component or assembly in question can be put through these exceptional circumstances.

A specialist in the design and production of test rigs is the Paris-based company CERTIA. Founded in 1987, CERTIA is a test bench supplier for the aeronautical and automotive industries and counts Airbus France, the Safran Group, Air France Industries, PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault among its customers. In recent years, CERTIA has started using the LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim platform to assist engineers in test rig development. The platform helps developers choose the appropriate components to make sure the test bench functions properly.

“In the past, we had many problems with our test benches: what was especially difficult was to reproduce aeronautical loads and make sure that the test rigs would reach the projected performance. Because of these difficulties, it was clear that our test bench concept needed to change,” comments Achour Debiane, head of the automation department at CERTIA.

Simulation innovation

CERTIA opted for the LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim platform because of its multi-physical simulation capabilities and in particular for its hydraulic solutions. Using LMS Imagine.Lab has proven especially valuable in the early stages of the design process.

“During the feasibility studies of hydraulic systems, LMS Imagine.Lab has saved us a lot of time and programming effort since it is no longer necessary to work on time-consuming equations. In the aeronautical field, planning cycles are very short and since we are a supplier for a large organization, it is very important for us to do the feasibility studies as quickly as possible,” states Mr. Debiane.

Besides shorter design cycles, another benefit of using 1D modeling in the concept phase is that it helps optimize the behavior and dynamic characteristics of the various test rig components. The simulation results are vital for the mechanical integration of the test rig and help validate the design by virtually verifying the stiffness, inertia and masses of the test bench. Very early in the development cycle, simulation determines the test rig viability and eliminates the need to change mechanical parts in the final stages.

Anticipating the future

“Having a virtual platform has become an absolute necessity. We have to be ready and anticipate requests from customers like Airbus to do testing in a common virtual environment – suppliers will need to be able to interface with OEMs. This will be the way of working in the future,” asserts Mr. Debiane.

LMS has launched CERTIA into the world of simulation innovation and helps prepare the company for the virtual design of intelligent test rigs. Mechatronics engineering and intelligent system simulation are sweeping the aeronautical industry and in this virtual revolution, test bench design cannot stay behind.

“LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim helped us

to reduce the test rig development

time by 25% and the availability

rate of the physical testing platform

increased by approximately 60%.”

Achour Debiane, head of the automation department at CERTIA


3, 2, 1…liftoff Engineers at Russian rocket engine supplier NPO

Energomash use test and simulation tools to accurately

predict modal vibration and dynamic loads in turbine

rotors for next-generation international launch vehicles


With a heritage that dates back to the 1940s, NPO Energomash is one of the leading developers of liquid-fuel rocket engines. Their designs for kerosene/liquid-oxygen propulsion systems are recognized as some of the most efficient and powerful in the world.

In recent years, these engines have been used in a wide range of spacecraft. More than 1,500 launches have been made with the Russian Federal Space Agency’s Soyuz rockets propelling both satellites into orbit as well as people and equipment to and from first the Soviet Mir space station and now the International Space Station.

The Atlas III US orbital launch vehicle is powered by NPO Energomash engines, as is the Atlas V: the newest and most powerful of the family. Currently under development is the Angara series of Russian launch vehicles intended to be the next-generation super-heavy-lift workhorse. The heavy Angara series will be capable of putting payloads weighing as much as 28 tons into orbit while the middle and light versions are able to transport payloads of 14 and 2 tons respectively.

Major engineering challenges

One of the major challenges in developing such powerful engines is accurately determining vibrations and loads of critical components, such as the turbine rotor, one of the most dynamically stressed assemblies of the liquid-fuel rocket engine. Knowing the amplitude and frequency of these dynamic loads is especially important in the development of reusable rocket engines, although single-mission engines such as those for the Atlas Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program generally are designed for three or five flight cycles as an added margin of safety.

Directly measuring rotor loads during actual engine burn is impractical because of extreme temperatures, high pressure levels, and poor access to rapidly moving parts. On the other hand, mathematical models for methods such as finite element analysis may deviate from real-world rotor behavior because of variabilities in material properties, damping properties of the assembly, part geometries, manufacturing processes and joint configurations. All this may lead to serious errors in dynamic load

Producing 1.7 million pounds of thrust, the RD-170 designed and manufactured by NPO Energomash is one of the most powerful and fuel efficient kerosene/liquid-oxygen engines in the world.

assessment and in subsequent durability and fatigue life estimates that rely solely on mathematical predictions.

Correcting FE models for accurate predictions

The accuracy of mathematical predictions can be increased appreciably through a multidisciplinary approach using experimental modal test results done in the lab to correct errors in the finite-element model.

At NPO Energomash, this type of model-correction approach was recently investigated using modal analysis technology from LMS International.

Specifically, test and simulation tools were used for setting up the impact excitation experiment, measuring structural vibrations, analyzing results, identifying modal eigenfrequencies, correlating experimental measurements with predicted results and correcting the finite-element model for one of


Modal test results (left) show how a 29-blade, 21 kg rocket engine turbine rotor (right) deforms at 1168.3 Hz, one of 20 eigenfrequencies identified by LMS Test.Lab.

their engines. To increase this engine’s durability, NPO Energomash engineers also work with LMS technology.

Technical assistance and system training on the project was provided by Octava, a partner of LMS International in the Russian Federation. “We are honored that LMS technology was selected by NPO Energomash for such an important role in their long-range work developing rocket engines for international launches,” said Sergey Panov, Octava chief application consultant and head of the engineering support team for the NPO Energomash project. “Their selection demonstrates confidence in the technology behind LMS test and simulation tools as well as the expertise of our application engineers for a project of this scope.”

Turbine rotor testing

To validate the approach, tests were performed by NPO Energomash engineers on a 29-blade nickel alloy turbine rotor measuring 340mm in diameter and weighing 21kg. Tests were conducted using a 40-channel LMS SCADAS III data acquisition system and LMS Test.Lab for signal processing and analysis.

The rotor specimen was hit sequentially at 187 points with an instrumented hammer while measurements were taken simultaneously at 6 locations. Ideal locations for impact and accelerometers placement were determined using LMS Virtual.Lab simulation tools.

LMS Test.Lab PolyMAX readily identified more than 20 eigenfrequencies, automatically highlighting resonances on straightforward plots, so that the engineers could visually identify natural frequencies in minutes instead of spending hours looking through raw data. LMS Virtual.Lab Correlation software then compared test measurements and predicted results using a Modal Assurance Criteria (MAC) matrix diagram that showed where the two types of data align and where they diverge. In this case, the MAC diagram indicated that the eigenfrequencies identified through testing were on average more than 8% higher than those predicated by finite-element calculations.

“A sensitivity analysis of the results using LMS Virtual.Lab Optimization software indicated that adjusting material properties such as Young’s modulus and

density of the shroud ring surrounding the rotor was the best way to correct the finite-element model,” noted Vladimir Tkach, lead engineer and designer at NPO Energomash. “The LMS software indicated parameters that should be changed that were not obvious.”

These corrections were made to the mathematical model and a subsequent finite-element analysis for all major eigenfrequencies showed a close correlation within an average of 2% – an appreciable improvement that will enable NPO Energomash engineers to better design future turbine rotors more closely matched to engine service-life requirements.

“LMS technology is a key

element in our strategy to

increase the fatigue life of

rocket engines while

reducing costs.”

Sergey Skibin, NPO Energomash


Behind the scenes at DAFRevolutionary virtual test bench cuts costs and improves overall engine performance for next-generation MX engine

“We are dealing with extremely complex engine

designs and our deadlines are tight. LMS Virtual.Lab

is an ideal tool for the tough times.”

Eric Van Velthooven, team supervisor at DAF


It began with what seemed to be a simple leaf spring issue on the MX engine’s turbo support. Flagged by DAF’s test department, DAF’s in-house CAE-Engines team in Eindhoven, the Netherlands was asked to investigate. It was their job to simulate the issue and figure out a viable design for the existing operating conditions. Using LMS Virtual.Lab Motion and LMS Virtual.Lab Noise and Vibration, they not only discovered what was wrong and how to fix it, they also found out that the actual structure wasn’t optimal. The final result? A time and money saving revelation that will improve the next-

generation MX engine.

The easy part of the job was discovering the root cause leading to the undesired behavior. It turned out that high acceleration rates on the MX’s turbo unit and high thermal expansion caused overloading of the leaf spring. Something that the test data alluded to, but the work in LMS Virtual.Lab took the process a step further: it explained how to fix it optimally.“We’re not like an automotive OEM where you have teams of people working on specific issues. The six of us are pretty much an engineering services center for the engine development department. Jarno Lathouwers, our LMS Virtual.Lab specialist, developed a model to virtually replicate the engine test bench for the next-generation MX engine. Working

virtually allows us to develop different engineering scenarios to present clear-cut design options to our managers – without the time and expense of putting it on an actual test bench. It is a leap ahead in the development process,” stated Eric van Velthooven, the team’s supervisor.

During the simulation studies on the virtual test bench, Jarno Lathouwers noticed that the concept of the leaf support wasn’t optimal, and redesigned it in LMS Virtual.Lab Motion. Developing the leaf spring support in different ways really affected the overall engine vibration performance. With validated LMS Virtual.Lab simulations, he could see exactly which solution was the right one and why it worked. The added value


is not only in reproducing tested behavior but in understanding the mechanisms behind potentially undesired behavior.

Beyond the leaf spring design

DAF already converted to LMS Virtual.Lab Motion some years ago. And like many other companies, they were eager to discover exactly how they could use the LMS Virtual.Lab platform to improve their process. The CAE Engines team uses LMS Virtual.Lab Motion to analyze engine dynamic behavior in the time domain using engine models with both rigid (CAD) and flexible (FE) components for more dynamic model content. In addition, they also acquired LMS Virtual.Lab Noise and Vibration for in-depth engine forced response analysis in the frequency domain. One of the key benefits of this combination - LMS Virtual.Lab Motion and LMS Virtual.Lab Noise & Vibration - is that the frequency domain load input can be derived

The team at DAF used LMS Virtual.Lab Motion to create an in-depth test bench to examine the best-possible design solution for its next- generation MX engine. Thanks to LMS Virtual.Lab, the research team could give management a variety of different options.

DAF Trucks is a fond user of LMS Virtual.Lab (as well as LMS Test.Lab) and uses LMS solutions in some rather revolutionary ways to develop better performing and globally compliant truck engines – most recently the next-generation MX engine.

directly from the time simulation results carried out in LMS Virtual.Lab Motion.

It led the team right to the possible source. On top of that, LMS Virtual.Lab Noise and Vibration lets the team easily incorporate and post-process results from DAF’s test department. With dynamic models created in LMS Virtual.Lab, the engineering team could create possible ‘what-if’ design scenarios on a virtual test bench and use these development scenarios to guide internal design decisions.

solving a certain problem in a certain way. With LMS Virtual.Lab, you can see the full calculation and relevant data and know that your total result works,” stated Eric van Velthooven.

This doesn’t mean that testing is a thing of the past. After a particular optimized configuration is selected using LMS Virtual.Lab simulation, it is validated using test data acquired using the LMS Test.Lab platform and LMS SCADAS hardware. Then the DAF project team manufactures the prototype piece and mounts it on the engine and run the tests on the actual prototype to validate the solution as a whole.

Driven by emission standards… and cost

Regarding engine development, most recently the next-generation MX engine, DAF faced the typical challenges that every engine developer faces today: new

“For most issues, every involved engineer will propose a solution and most of the time, they are all different.”

“When you have a tool like LMS Virtual.Lab, you can quickly validate or rather invalidate various design options and easily support your arguments for


stricter emission regulations, customer demands for better fuel efficiency and reliability and, of course, keeping the engine cost as low as possible. All these changes affect not only the engine itself, but also how the engine interacts with the various truck models as a whole.

If one considers the fact that the DAF CAE-Engines team completes an average of 150 CAE-jobs per year, this represents a superb cost-saver that LMS Virtual.Lab contributes to.

“We are dealing with extremely complex engine designs and our deadlines are tight. You can easily imagine that the pressure is on and the stakes are high. Add in the global economic crisis and it is clear that we have to be faster and smarter with the tools and people that we have. From this point of view, LMS Virtual.Lab is an ideal tool for the tough times,” concluded Eric Van Velthooven.

The PACCAR MX engine range is the result of 50 years DAF experience in developing heavy-duty diesel engines, combined with the latest technologies and design techniques.A compact design and advanced materials ensure a low weight and maximum durability. High performance and massive torque combine to deliver an exceptional driving experience.

“The amount of time saved can be impressive. You can eliminate 4 to 5 ideas without having to go to the test bench saving a substantial amount of prototyping costs, right from the start.”

Eric Van Velthooven, DAF


Ground-breaking vehicle co-simulation at Volvo Construction Equipment cuts virtual prototyping in half


To maintain its leading brand position, the Volvo Construction Equipment

(Volvo CE) engineers were challenged to develop top-performing wheel

loaders and articulated haulers even faster than before. To start, this

meant reducing prototype test cycles by two-thirds. The final goal?

Chopping the virtual prototyping time in early design phases in half.


Creating a unified co-simulation solution

In this ground-breaking project, the Volvo Construction Equipment design team in Eskilstuna, Sweden, replaced its piece-meal department-by-department process with a single solution based on LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim. With one unified model, they could simulate the behavior of four major vehicle subsystems in wheel loaders and articulated haulers: hydraulics, powertrain, thermal management and the actual driver. Subsystem models exchanged data seamlessly.

The team could refer to the master LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim co-simulation model, including MATLAB for electronic control subsystems, to review subsystem interaction and full vehicle performance under real-world operating conditions. Rather than using many separate tools, engineers collaborated using LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim for all physics-based models, which serves as a common language to compare various design alternatives, predict fuel consumption and equipment operability and optimize design concepts early on.

In a sense, the development process was turned upside down. The easy-to-use, click-and-go graphical user interface let the team work together quickly to refine the design from the start. All the engineers had to do was drag, drop and interconnect simple icons – pre-defined and validated one-dimensional units selected from libraries – to create a unified physics-based model. The resulting block diagram looks simple enough, but underlying it is a sophisticated representation of exactly how all the different vehicle parts will operate together in the real world.

Hydraulics, powertrain and cooling systems must work together properly to provide the right balance of power, performance and fuel efficiency in these tough, complex machines.

Why LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim?

Not surprising, the primary reason Volvo CE opted for the LMS Imagine.Lab solution is that it is one of the few products on the market today that can accurately predict vehicle fuel consumption and operability – both make-or-break brand criteria for Volvo CE. On the nuts-and-bolts side, the project, code-named SamSim, aimed to streamline and accelerate the overall development process by building a collaborative simulation platform using a reduced number of consolidated software tools.

“After a six-month evaluation period and six months of further model synthesis and validation, the impressive results led us to massively invest and widely deploy the LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim solution. It is a critical component of our global simulation platform,” explained Jonas Larsson, Simulation Coordinator for hauler and loader development at Volvo CE.

Not only could LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim exchange data efficiently among the various modules, it was also compatible with other in-house SamSim software – specifically, third-party packages for multi-body, engine

Previously, Volvo CE had 5 separate - mostly incompatible - software packages so hearing that there was a single, unique solution on the market made the choice pretty easy.


design and electronic control simulation as well as special in-house Volvo CE codes. In a sense, LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim became the one common language that all the engineers on the design team could “speak”.

Value of LMS Engineering Services

As part of the primary evaluation, LMS Engineering Services performed a process audit that thoroughly examined Volvo CE’s simulation structure. The goal was to optimally implement the LMS software and yield a maximum benefit quickly within a defined budget and time frame. This audit showed that by replacing legacy code with LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim, Volvo CE could cut the number of simulation tools they were using to two: an impressive return on investment considering that all maintenance and renewal contracts for the old software could be eliminated as well as training and time spent working out incompatibility issues.

“This audit gave us valuable information regarding the ten models we wanted to create to start. The idea was to jump-start the implementation of LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim with a set of basic models created by LMS – models that our engineers could then use as templates in representing different new vehicle designs,” said Mr. Larsson.

One model for all major subsystems (and hybrids, too)

To model the loaders and haulers to accurately predict fuel consumption and operability, LMS engineers had to take many complicating factors, transients and boundary conditions into consideration – not only for each subsystem, but how each subsystem interacted within the entire vehicle as well. There was also the electrical vs. engine power of hybrid models to consider as well.

With the powertrain, for example, LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim proved to be an extremely flexible tool. The Volvo CE engineers could select the number of gears as well as multi-disc brakes, various types of differentials and engine models merely by pointing and clicking on the appropriate icons. Likewise, fuel consumption was readily calculated for hybrid wheel loaders in which the internal combustion engine complemented with an electric motor was used to power the vehicle around the worksite while performing scooping, lifting and dumping operations.

“LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim played a key role in the hybridization of the Volvo CE wheel loader and proved to be an effective flexible tool in evaluating the many options and optimizing the final design,” Mr. Larsson noted.


Simulating the driver from the start

A success factor for the machine model was a representation of expected driver actions during typical vehicle operation. Vehicle measurements were taken on the Eskilstuna test tracks and used to create operating profiles in the LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim simulation. Profiles included speed and acceleration to fit various weather and terrain conditions and road grades in the hauler case. Operating profiles for loaders included bucket scooping, lifting and dumping for various gravel types and operator driving styles.

The hydraulic system modeling was done in close conjunction with the driveline since components from these two subsystems had to be sized together with respect to operational transients. These models included hydraulic pumps connected directly to the engine as well as the loader bucket and hauler dump bed. Another major consideration was the power for the hydraulically-driven cooling fan pumps. LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim balanced these and other critical requirements to maintain hydraulic oil pressure for the major components with optimal efficiency and minimal drag on engine power.

Optimizing fuel consumption with thermal management

One area of critical importance in predicting and optimizing fuel consumption and machine operability was thermal management – that is, the sizing and control of the cooling system regulating the engine temperature, transmission and hydraulic oil for brakes and axles. Simply stated: oil temperature determines its viscosity and therefore friction. And the more friction, the more fuel consumption.

The basic idea was to find the right balance. The oil temperature couldn’t be too high because that causes rapid oil deterioration and damage to mechanical parts. Other factors that the LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim model could simulate included warm-up times and the effect of weather conditions and operating cycles – all vital aspects to determine a thermal management control strategy for the hydraulically driven radiator fan (which consumes a considerable part of vehicle power) and other parts of the cooling circuits heat exchangers.

Impressive ROI: virtual prototype in half

“Manually tracking and balancing these multiple requirements is not practical given our time and resource constraints,” said Mr. Larsson. “To maintain the high fidelity of the co-simulation, the common platform provided by LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim was absolutely essential. Moreover, with all members of the design team using the same tool in their work, they now ‘speak the same language’ and can collaborate more closely in development. The team can study more alternative concepts early in development and better optimize designs throughout the entire process.”


For powertrain design and thermal management, LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim modeled the engine, gearbox, transmission, power steering, hydraulic actuation, cooling circuits, fans and mechanical devices – all in a single unified intelligent solution.

The return on investment for Volvo CE is huge. According to Larsson, engineers can now optimize the design of a single new vehicle using simulation, verify the design with a physical mock-up, and then develop multiple derivatives of the same design using simulation alone. This allows the company to develop a whole range of vehicles with down to a third of the physical testing ordinarily required.

Engineers can readily adapt vehicles to specific customer requirements using different electronic control strategies in optimizing fuel consumption and vehicle performance for particular load/unload cycles. Customized design is a huge selling point in the competitive global construction equipment market.

“This project is a quantum leap in engineering productivity in the construction equipment market. With process improvements in collaboration and co-simulation – plus improvements in developing simulation models, control strategies and derivative models – Volvo CE has cut overall vehicle virtual prototyping time in early design phases in half. This yields a valuable reduction in overall product development time. It shows what LMS engineering innovation can do for a company willing to make a commitment to fully leveraging cutting-edge LMS technology in their design processes,” concluded Mr. Larsson.

“This project is a quantum leap in engineering productivity in

the construction equipment market. Volvo CE has cut overall

vehicle virtual prototyping time in early design phases in half.”


Putting Temsa buses on the international mapTurkish bus manufacturer Temsa credits the full suite of LMS tools and engineering

services with helping the company bounce back from its country’s economic

crisis to become a leading player in the global coach and bus market

A crisis provides an opportunity for change and growth. So goes the old adage, which reflects the can-do spirit and never-say-die determination of Temsa. Founded in 1968 as part of the Sabanci conglomerate, Temsa made a comfortable living for decades fabricating buses for sale exclusively in Turkey according to designs from Mitsubishi Motors. Then in 2000 and 2001, a financial crisis left Turkey’s economy in shambles with a de-valued local currency, widespread unemployment, bank failures

and financial collapse. Temsa bus sales all but dried up and the firm was on the verge of bankruptcy with 50% of its workforce gone.

In the midst of all this, opportunity knocked at Temsa’s door. A French distributor quickly needed a fleet of 200 rugged and dependable buses – just the kind of vehicles Temsa made to withstand the rigors of punishing Turkish roads. Temsa engineers scrambled to modify their bus design around the German MAN

engine as specified by the distributor, giving birth to Temsa’s original Safari long-distance coach. The Temsa Safari soon became popular in Europe and saved the company from certain collapse.

Global sales climb

Since those dark days nine years ago, Temsa has gone global, with an international office in Mechelen, Belgium, and brisk sales across most of Europe – particularly France, Germany and Italy.


smaller. Indeed, in the fast-moving bus business, vehicles are often sold before they are designed – with hefty penalties levied if delivery deadlines are not met. This is the nature of the bus business, and all in a day’s work for Temsa engineers.

Big jobs for a smallengineering staff

At its Marmara Research Center in the Technology Park in the city of Gebze near Istanbul, a relatively small team of just 90 design engineers routinely completes this development work for all Temsa buses. How they do this is a lesson for other companies – not only in the bus industry but other manufacturers as well: their secret to success is the right combination of exuberant professional enthusiasm and the power of advanced engineering technology.

“Temsa really gives its engineers freedom,” explained Bertan Bayram, Temsa CAE and Test Team Leader at the research center. “Our engineers design something and the next day see the change on the bus.”

Their secret to success is the right combination of

exuberant professional enthusiasm and the power of

advanced engineering technology.

Business has also been climbing in the Middle East, Africa and Russia, with inroads into the Indian, Chinese and US markets. Exports to 40 countries now account for 75% of Temsa sales, which have leaped almost 20-fold from 7.3 million Euro in 2000 to 134 million Euro in 2008. From a low of just a handful of vehicles a year and only two models, production has been ramped up to meet increased demand for Temsa’s current range of 12 models – which include luxury long-distance coaches, a variety of smaller, lightweight “midi” buses and a newly launched city bus, the Avenue.

Annual production capacity is 3,000 buses at Temsa’s main production plant in the southern Turkish city of Adana, and another 1,000 coaches can be manufactured annually at a new facility in Egypt, 50 km outside of Cairo. In 2008 at Belgium’s Busworld Kortrijk, the largest international trade show in the bus and coach industry, Temsa won the prestigious “Manufacturer of the Year” award – quite an accomplishment for a relatively small upstart Turkish company dwarfed by decades-older established bus-makers more than 30 times its size.

Focusing on customized design and small orders

Temsa has made these huge gains by focusing primarily on a niche market design largely shunned by its bigger competitors. With a good-value-for-money reputation, Temsa has become known for its customized bus designs that meet very particular customer requests. And more often than not, these buses are fast-turnaround, small-scale orders.

While most bus manufacturers have off-the-shelf take-it-or-leave-it models or highly customized luxury vehicles, Temsa offers an extensive range of 186 variants – all of which can be customized with different engines, transmissions, frames, suspensions, interiors, etc. All are durable, fuel-efficient designs that meet stringent safety regulations and comfort requirements. And all must be developed quickly – typically in 6 to 12 months.This makes the 24-month cycle times for car models in the automotive industry seem like a snail’s pace – especially when you consider that a bus is a bigger, more complex structure and, in most cases, the development budgets are a great deal


A forced response analysis based on loads in mounts and bus modes. Structural frequency response at specific points on the steering column to identify problem frequencies.

Modal participations to identify the most important structural modes causing the response at problem frequencies.

Checking acoustic modes and frequencies for potential coupling at the problem frequencies.

One of Temsa’s first steps into the world of specialized engineering technology for its vehicle development process came five years ago while working on the Safari HD. Its partnership with LMS International started as a simple initiative to attain the necessary technological skills, software and hardware to test bus durability virtually.

Previous durability testing methods involved long-haul road testing on a commercial test track usually taking about 3 to 6 months. If a part failed or cracked, it would be repaired and the test would continue. But this method was not foolproof and left room for doubt. The engineers needed a better representation of the actual loads vehicles would encounter on real roads. Also, durability testing was not performed until a bus prototype was nearing the end of its development cycle, when major changes were difficult and costly to make.

Enter LMS’ hybrid road approach

To overcome these drawbacks, Temsa began a cooperative relationship with LMS International to implement the LMS hybrid road approach to accurately predicting fatigue life of a new vehicle early in development. The approach was selected based on its success in the automotive industry, the experience of LMS from its years of working closely with car companies, and the extensive support that LMS would provide in transferring technology and know-how so Temsa engineers would be able to complete such a project on their own in the future.

Today, the hybrid road approach uses LMS Virtual.Lab multibody simulation and fatigue life prediction software in combination with durability load data analysis and an LMS test system for measurement, data acquisition and signal

“Temsa is a place for engineers who like to do engineering, and Temsa provides best-in-class technology for them to get their job done right.”

Engineers also performed finite-element stress calculations and some rather “loose” fatigue analysis based on rough load assumptions, and often guesswork. However, results were only considered rough approximations for sizing components and did not account for dynamic, time-varying effects of real-life loads or the flexible nature of the overall bus chassis. Moreover, as with test iterations, material added to improve component durability increased overall vehicle weight and decreased the fuel efficiency – techniques which are best avoided considering today’s eco agenda.


analysis. Mr. Bayram explained that first, a fully loaded, instrumented processor or “mule” vehicle is driven over typical routes in the region where the bus would normally operate. Accelerometers and strain gauges on the wheel center and suspension measurements on this vehicle create a customer usage profile of the wheel forces and body acceleration for the target market.

Next, analysis tools are used to determine the fatigue content for each signal measurement part. In other words, the cumulative impact of small but highly repetitive loads, such as a standard road surface vibration are put together with very large but infrequent loads, such as the wheel hitting a pothole.

The LMS data analysis system automatically determines the damage content of these signals, identifies which portion of the CUP test drive produced these loads, and categorizes signals based on amplitude, repetitiveness and duration. Removing the non-damaging and extraneous portions of signals, the tool generates a condensed wheel load data file of cumulative damage over time.

From this compressed wheel load data file, an inverse transfer function back-calculates an effective road profile of vertical wheel displacements that are more dependent on the road surface characteristics than on the individual vehicle. The road profiles are then used as input to determine fatigue life of

the individual components in the bus suspension and frame. To do this the team counts on LMS Virtual.Lab to simulate aspects of the bus design and LMS Virtual.Lab Durability to predict the fatigue life.

The benefits of process change

“The LMS hybrid road approach lets us develop new bus designs much faster,” noted Mr. Bayram. “Evaluating durability on a test track can take between 3 and 6 months – if no major cracks occur. For major cracks or breakdown, you have to wait with the test until a new bus arrives...and that can add weeks to the schedule.

The whole MBS model, including front suspension, rear suspension (shown right) and flexible bus body.

The durability results of the most critical hot spot, and the crack caught on the proving ground.


bus designs, like the Avenue city bus, based on advanced lightweight materials. The entire roof and floor of the Temsa Avenue is composite-based with high strength-to-weight ratios, making these buses lighter and safer at the same time.

Expanding the use of LMS solutions

Following the success of LMS’ hybrid road approach, Temsa most recently increased the range of LMS test systems at its Gebze research center and has added a LMS Virtual.Lab Noise and Vibration solution to its repertoire of LMS tools. This gives Temsa engineers the capability to investigate the best placement and materials for engine mounts, for example, and determine noise and vibration flows into the cabin interior through transfer path analysis, frequency response function calculations and acoustic coupling. Such capabilities further reduce bus development times by as much as 10% but also helps avoid NVH issues with customers, many of whom have sophisticated NVH testing systems for evaluating vehicles before accepting an order.

Temsa also continues to call on LMS Engineering Services for support when needed, as on a recent torsional vibration problem. After considerable NVH testing, Temsa engineers determined that the vibration was not originating in the

Temsa design, but was rather a torsional vibration in the powertrain. More specifically, a transmission problem, which the transmission manufacturer then corrected. Temsa didn’t have the right specialized equipment for this rotating shaft measurement and LMS Engineering Services measurements confirmed Temsa suspicions.

Total value of the LMS total solution

“LMS has provided tremendous support to our vehicle development activities, and the LMS tools all work well together as a unified suite of packages,” explained Mr. Bayraktar, General Manager of Temsa R&D and Technology. “We started from a blank slate and changed the way we work as a company. Today, we can leverage the power of all the LMS integrated simulation and test solutions. And we are proud to point out that we’ve done this change in a few years whereas other much larger companies in automotive, aerospace and other industries have taken 50 years to do.”

“In our turnaround, the use of LMS integrated engineering solutions has enabled us to save time, lower costs, and overall to develop some of the most reliable, fuel-efficient and safest buses in the world – quite impressive accomplishments for a relatively small Turkish company that was virtually unheard of nine years ago.”

Out of the initial LMS hybrid road project

came the Safari HD bus, which was

developed in just one year rather than the

more than two years previously required.

Costs were similarly reduced because

fewer prototype testing cycles needed.

With such a fast response, we can iteratively refine the computer model and perform a series of simulations until the design is optimized to remove excess material, for example.

Now with LMS tools and our virtual models, we can do a durability assessment in 5 to 7 days.

In this way, we can maximize fatigue life while at the same time developing the best-possible lightweight design for improved fuel economy.”

Out of the initial LMS hybrid road project came the Safari HD bus, which was developed in just one year rather than the more than two years previously required. Costs were similarly reduced because fewer prototype testing cycles needed to be performed and production problems were greatly reduced.

Vehicle weight was minimized by shaping the profile of the entire frame to develop Temsa’s Space Frame, which is 30% lighter than other comparable frames. Because of this durable, fuel-efficient design, the Safari HD soon became Temsa’s flagship product. Simulation has also facilitated alternative Temsa


LMS News: The LMS Virtual.Lab Rev 9 is a milestone release. Why?

Stef Goossens, Vice President Simulation Division: We have focused on developing and enhancing our overall 3D simulation solution so it can tackle more problems for more attributes and provides improved applicability and solving capability. Acoustics received our special attention. We have really concentrated on ramping up our solver technology. LMS Virtual.Lab Revision 9 Acoustics is filled with breakthrough performance features in both solving speed and accuracy to increase engineering productivity, most notably with our new FEM Acoustic solvers. These breakthrough developments show why we’re the acoustic simulation market leader.

LMS News: What are the breakthroughs in acoustic simulation?

SG: Without a doubt, the extension of the FEM acoustic solvers. This area is of great importance to our customers since their modeling and solving needs keep increasing. With the ever-increasing model size requirements, we had to expand the FEM frequency range. We have achieved this by implementing the technologically advanced PML (Perfectly Matched Layer) method. This technique solves these noise radiation mega-problems more efficiently while not compromising accuracy.

More info atwww.lmsintl.com/virtuallab-rev9www.lmsintl.com/imagine-lab-rev9

More problem-solving simulation goodies for better and faster engineering

Stef Goossens, Vice President Simulation Division

Without question, LMS Virtual.Lab Rev 9 is getting great reviews. It is the most comprehensive,

capable and versatile performance simulation package on the market. Vice President Simulation

Division Stefaan Goossens explains how LMS continues to set the reference standard for

acoustic simulation and multi-domain system simulation with LMS Imagine.Lab Rev 9.


We have also introduced iterative solving methods that exhibit superior efficiency, robustness and convergence properties.

Another crucial improvement is a time-domain BEM solver, which helps acoustic engineers perform realistic simulations and gain more insight into short duration events, such as injector ticking noise. LMS continues to lead the innovation race in the area of Fast Multiple BEM (FMBEM) with the addition of patented ATV (Acoustic Transfer Vector) technology to the FMBEM solver. Using this solution for powertrain acoustic radiation, one can address higher frequencies.

And the brand-new ray tracing acoustics technology helps acoustic engineers deal with the full audible frequency range, including sound system optimization in aircraft, train or vehicle interiors.

LMS News: What about the other modules of LMS Virtual.Lab?

SG: LMS Virtual.Lab Motion now offers multi-body simulation solutions for key industrial applications, such as driving dynamics, aerospace, off-highway and tracked vehicles. This presents enhanced productivity and specific modeling and solving capabilities. Advanced co-simulation methodologies have been implemented to leverage the unique combination of LMS Imagine.Lab Amesim (1D) and LMS Virtual.Lab (3D). This lets users combined the two necessary modeling techniques for active suspension systems, ESP, electric steering in the vehicle dynamics arena, and combined mechanical, hydraulic and electric actuation.

We might add that the new thermal fatigue solution in LMS Virtual.Lab Durability addresses fatigue problems caused by cyclic thermal loading, hot parts under cyclic mechanical loading or a combination of both.

The new MADYMO™/RADIOSS™ or MADYMO™/LS-DYNA™ coupling provides complete pre-processing for safety simulation with LMS Virtual.Lab Structures, for example in side or roll-over crash simulation.

LMS News: LMS Imagine.Lab, our 1D system simulation solution, is truly unique on the market. Why should engineers consider Rev 9?

SG: The new release delivers a straightforward, interactive framework with advanced capabilities for performing 1D system simulation. With improved ergonomics, enhanced data management and ready-to-use simulators, it is an easy path to model-based design of complex structures like hybrid vehicle architectures or model-based vehicles.

LMS News: You already have customers like John Deere Werke Mannheim on board.

SG: At John Deere Werke Mannheim, they use LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim software to build virtual tractor models for model-based design, system integration and validation. The LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim Revision 9 interactive environment helped them create a more efficient process from system definition to result analysis. Good responsiveness to software enhancement proposals is important to John

Deere and our LMS Imagine.Lab development teams have really succeeded in improving the software.

LMS News: What types of improvements were made? And for what type of applications?

SG: LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim Revision 9 comes with turn-key simulators for various applications in a wide range of industries: powertrain, hybrid vehicles, comfort and driving dynamics for the automotive sector, fluid actuators for aviation and full-wheel loader simulators for the off-highway industry. With these simulators, users no longer have to build their model from scratch and only need to adapt the model to the architecture. Users can then quickly assess drivability and comfort issues as well as performance and fuel consumption.

The expanded FEM solver handles large noise radiation problems.

The new LMS Imagine.Lab release features improved ergonomics and data management to optimize productivity.


Power up productivity with LMS Test.Lab Rev 10A

The news is certainly acoustics with new-patented technology for SSL (Sound Source

Localization) that easily cuts the interior acoustic sound source localization process

by more than 50% while at the same time providing unprecedented insights. Bruno Massa,

Vice President Test Division, highlights this and other high-tech goodies in LMS Test.Lab Rev 10.

LMS News: Which enhancements have been introduced for Ground Vibration Testing?

Bruno Massa: We have added a new coherence plotting functionality in our ground vibration testing (GVT) solution. This new feature delivers a direct efficiency benefit for time-consuming and mission critical GVT campaigns. Users can visualize averaged coherence values of selected frequency bands and easily identify weak coherence areas. This reduces the risk involved in GVT campaigns and shortens the total testing time. The coherence plots are available on all structural testing acquisition modules for immediate measurement validation.

Bruno Massa, Vice President Test Division

LMS News: What are the highlights of the new LMS Test.Lab Rev 10A release?

Bruno Massa, Vice President Test Division: For the new release, we have focused on providing advanced productivity as well as increased efficiency and user-friendliness. We’ve introduced brand-new applications such as MIMO FRF testing and time domain transfer path analysis. We have also completed our portfolio for acoustic testing and integrated new solutions for sound source localization.

LMS News: How will the LMS Test.Lab Rev 10 make multi-excitation testing more efficient?

Bruno Massa: The MIMO FRF testing solution is an important extension to the existing modal testing techniques. Users can define excitation spectra with shaped amplitude for random and multi-sine excitation. Periodic random excitation can be used to obtain the best linear fit for a non-linear system. Users can simply record time data and import it into the new application for replay. The other new application, time domain TPA, complements frequency domain TPA and is the perfect solution for transient phenomena analysis and auralization of partial and summed contributions. In combination with the component editing add-in, users can visualize and listen to the impact of proposed structural modifications.


LMS News: The integration of advanced acoustic testing capabilities has been another important achievement in this latest version?

Bruno Massa: Yes, we are very proud to offer the most complete acoustic testing and analysis solution currently on the market. In terms of sound quality, the portfolio has been enhanced with psycho-acoustic metrics used in the automotive, aerospace and white goods sectors. For sound intensity measurements, the application module now includes a 3D acoustic mesh generator. This helps users easily analyze, browse and interpret data for sound power, source ranking and sound source localization.

LMS News: Which innovative solutions does LMS offer for sound source localization measurements?

Bruno Massa: For real-time near-field and far-field sound source localization, we have the new high definition acoustic camera, which can be used for stationary and transient applications. The camera’s array with wide angle lens provides sharp pictures even when taken close to the structure. For interior noise sound source localization, we have another solution – the new and motorized LMS Test.Lab 3D Acoustic Camera. The camera has a laser that automatically scans the interior geometry without operator intervention. Users can quickly detect interior noise sources with high precision.

LMS News: What are the highlights of the new release of the LMS Test.Xpress noise and vibration analyzer?

Bruno Massa: LMS Test.Xpress Rev 4A now comes with a newly integrated sound level meter, a new ISO 3747 sound power standard for in-situ measurements and a triggered intensity functionality that assesses synchronous sound intensity even in noisy environments.

The intensity analysis sheet provides a clear view of the available test data, quality indicators, intensity, sound power, partial sound power from different components.

The new and motorized LMS Test.Lab 3D Acoustic Camera has a laser that automatically scans the geometry without operator intervention. During the scanning, pictures are taken to obtain a full 3D photorealistic image of the vehicle.

More info at www.lmsintl.com/testlab-rev9

LMS News: What are the benefits of the LMS E-series modules for the LMS SCADAS acquisition hardware?

Bruno Massa: The new E-series modules offer a true 150dB dynamic range no matter what input range is used. This gives the LMS SCADAS Mobile an extra measurement power boost. The new modules ensure faster test set-ups and accurate measurements without data loss – even for the most demanding applications with the highest channel count.


LMS INTERNATIONALResearchpark Z1, Interleuvenlaan 68 B-3001 Leuven [Belgium]T +32 16 384 200 | F +32 16 384 [email protected] | www.lmsintl.com

Worldwide For the address of your local representative, please visit www.lmsintl.com/lmsworldwide

LMS is an engineering innovation partner for companies in the automotive, aerospace and other advanced manufacturing industries. With approximately 30 years of experience, LMS helps customers get better products to market faster and turn superior process efficiency into key competitive advantages.

With a unique combination of 1D and 3D simulation software, testing systems and engineering services, LMS tunes into mission critical engineering attributes, ranging from system dynamics, structural integrity and sound quality to durability, safety and power consumption. With multi-domain solutions for thermal, fluid dynamics, electrical and mechanical system behavior, LMS can address the complex engineering challenges associated with intelligent system design.

Thanks to our technology and dedicated people, LMS has become the partner of choice of more than 5,000 leading manufacturing companies worldwide. LMS is certified to ISO9001:2000 quality standards and operates through a network of subsidiaries and representatives in key locations around the world. For more information on LMS, visit www.lmsintl.com.

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lms news march 2010

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