Streamline Solutions - Elements Vehicle CAE Suite

STREAMLINE SOLUTIONS | ELEMENTS
ELEMENTS Software Suite
Automotive CAE Solutions
Angus Lock, Head of Aerodynamics
Auto Research Center, USA
Email: alock@arcindy.com
Web: http://elements.streamline-cae.com
© 2013 STREAMLINE SOLUTIONS. All rights reserved.

Presentation Agenda
• Who are Streamline Solutions?
• What is the motivation for a
new automotive CAE tool?
• What is our vision for
ELEMENTS?
• Current status
• Validation Matrix
• Future developments
• Conclusions

Streamline Solutions | Who We Are
AUTO RESEARCH CENTER
Automotive Engineering R&D, Wind
Tunnel, 7-Post & Gearbox Rig
ENGYS
CFD Engineering, MDO, Open Source
Software Development, User Support
STREAMLINE SOLUTIONS
ARC and ENGYS unique combination of
automotive engineering resources and
CAE software development expertise
Joint
Venture
www.arcindy.com www.engys.com

Streamline Solutions | Auto Research Center
Wind Tunnel Testing
Vehicle Dynamic Testing
Gearbox/Differential Testing
Vehicle Simulation Software
Reverse Engineering
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Consultancy & Design
Model Building
Test Facility Design & Build
Rapid Prototyping
• Design and
operate test
facilities
• Provide
consultancy
services with a
focus on
automotive
applications:
 Motorsport
 Passenger car
 Heavy truck
 Military
• Tier 1 supplier to
major
automotive
OEMs

Streamline Solutions | ENGYS
• Provider of CAE products and
services
• Focus on Open Source solutions
• Solution platforms:
 CFD → OPENFOAM™ (developers since 1999)
 Optimisation → DAKOTA (users since 2009)
 GUI → HELYX (original product since 2012)
• History:
 2009 → founded in the UK
 2010 – present → 5 offices worldwide
 2012 → Joint Venture with ARC (ELEMENTS)
• Strong growth (> 30% annual)

Motivation for a new automotive CAE tool
• Regulatory improvements to fleet
average fuel economy in the
United States:
 By 2017  18%
 By 2021  34%
 By 2025  61%
• Traditional development
process leads to potential
communications issues
between styling,
engineering and
management
• ELEMENTS aims to
resolve these issues to
deliver better solutions,
faster
ELEMENTS
STYLING
DEPARTMENT
MANAGEMENT
TEAM
ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT ANALYZE
VISUALIZEDESIGN

ELEMENTS | The Vision
Open Source CFD engine based on
OPENFOAM® Engys Edition
Modular program architecture for fast
expansion and development
First-class user support and extensive
written documentation
Embedded best practices for best-in-
class vehicle design simulation
Advanced Graphical User Interface (GUI)
for ease-of-use
Software suite satisfying the needs of
styling, engineering and management

ELEMENTS | The Vision
All ELEMENTS combine to streamline the automotive development process
Post-processing
Designed to simply present aerodynamic
sensitivities and optimal vehicle shapes
Open Source Kernel
Delivers rapid turnaround time for large
numbers of parameters (>50)
Theme Selection
Automatically set-up shape optimisation
with minimal user intervention
Geometry Morphing
Easily morph A-class surfaces to
optimize vehicle shape
Styling Interface
Created for design staff with limited CAE
experience
ELEMENTS | DESIGN
Post-processing
Parallel batch processing of all runs, as
well as advanced interactive tools
Open Source Kernel
Delivers best-in-class accuracy as well
as highly competitive turnaround times
DOE and Optimisation
Advanced case manager enables easy
set-up of large MDO simulations
Geometry Creation & Morphing
Easily generate new geometry and
optimize with advanced morphing tools
Analysis Interface
Created for engineering staff with CAE
experience
ELEMENTS | ANALYZE
Post-processing
Results presented in a way that easily
highlights potential opportunities & risks
Cross Platform
Software will run on standard Windows
laptop for maximum accessibility
Annotation Tools
Easily allow management to give
feedback to styling & engineering teams
PLM Integration
Designed to be integrated within
companies’ existing PLM solution
Presentation Interface
Created for management team with
limited CAE experience
ELEMENTS | VIZUALIZE

Current status of ELEMENTS | ANALYZE
• External aerodynamics
 RANS and DES
• Under-hood thermal
management
• HVAC, cabin comfort
• Aero-acoustics
• Soiling, water management
• Powertrain
• In-cylinder flows
• Automatic optimisation
With kind permission of: Helsinki Metropolia
University of Applied Sciences, www.metropolia.fi
RaceAbout Association, www.raceabout.fi

Current status of ELEMENTS | ANALYZE

ELEMENTS | Validation
• Objective:
 Validate best-practices for external aerodynamics
• Requirements:
 Wind tunnel measurements
 Range of vehicle shapes
• Outcome:
 Automated process to evaluate aerodynamic
performance within a specified confidence interval
of error

CFD Modelling | Wind Tunnel
• Wind tunnel domain scaled based on vehicle dimensions
• Tunnel length = 20x vehicle length for far-field simulation
• Full moving ground plane, multi-belt, single belt, fixed
ground set-ups
• Fully-turbulent flow (I and L fixed at inlet)

CFD Modelling | Mesh Setup
• Base mesh scaled by vehicle dimensions
• Hex-split based mesh
• Surface-based cell-spacing
• Near-wall layers on vehicle geometry
• Volumetric refinement boxes and buffer layer refinement
• Stagnation and wake zone refinement tailored for each vehicle type
• Contact patch refinement via cylindrical plinth
With kind permission of: Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences www.metropolia.fi
RaceAbout Association www.raceabout.fi

CFD Modelling | Solver Setup
• Transient DES formulation
• Spalart-Allmaras model with wall functions
• Robust first/second-order blending for advection
scheme based on CFL and near-wall distance
• Run time is scaled by vehicle length and free-
stream velocity
• Multiple time-steps (coarse and fine)
• Reduced overall memory usage
• Improved scaling for parallel processors

CFD Modelling | Post-Processing
• Automated post-processing:
 Contour plots of U, p, tauw, Unw fields
 Isosurfaces of Ptot
 Averaged CD and CL, Cp
With kind permission of:
Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
www.metropolia.fi
RaceAbout Association
www.raceabout.fi

Validation Process | ARC Wind Tunnel
• Max Wind Speed : 50 m/s
• Max Road Speed: 50 m/s
• Nozzle Size: 2.3 m x 2.1 m
• Contraction Ratio: 4.8 : 1.0
• Moving Belt Size: 3.4 m x 1.7 m
• Boundary Layer Thickness: 1mm
• Main Fan Motor Power: 320 kW
• Primary BL Motor Power: 80 kW
• Secondary BL Motor Power: 19 kW
• Rolling Road Motor Power: 120 kW
Rapid prototyping, workshops &
office space
Moving ground, scale-model wind tunnel
Vehicle dynamics 7-post rig

Validation Process | Aerodynamic Balance
• Models are mounted in the tunnel by means of an overhead sting
• The 6-component balance is contained within the model
• Secondary balance for tractor-trailer

Validation Process | Vehicle Types
• 100+ different vehicle types:
 Sedan
 Hatchback
 Estate
 SUV
 Sportscar
 Streamliner
 Nascar
 Indycar
 Light Duty Truck
 Heavy Duty Truck

Validation Process | Parametric Changes
• Fixed Ground
• 5-belt Moving Ground
• Single Belt Moving
Ground
• Yaw Angle
• Ride Height
• Test Speed
• Vehicle Modifications
(e.g. Open or Closed
Cooling, Spoiler on/off,
Underbody Panels on/off)

Validation Process | Instrumentation
• 128 pressure channels to allow for evaluation of surface pressures
from around the model
• Cooling mass-flow measurement by a grid of up to 14 vane type
anemometers

Validation Process | Results

ELEMENTS | Future Developments
• Wheels and fans: sliding mesh for rotating objects
• Hybrid convection schemes for RANS/LES
• DES model improvements
• Time step and schemes
• Coupled solvers
• Adjoint solver

ELEMENTS | Conclusions
• In summary ELEMENTS has been shown to deliver:
 Minimal CAD cleanup requirement  Hours, not weeks
 Fully automatic meshing  Improved speed and quality
 Embedded best practices  Decades of experience
distilled into GUI
 Significantly reduced solution times  Benchmarked against
PowerFLOW & other solvers
 Automated parallel post-processing  Customisable script
generates images, videos
 Highly accurate transient solutions  Advanced DES solver
 Heavily validated results (>100 cases)  Only software company with
own wind tunnel
 Average drag errors of 1.2%  Industry leading accuracy
 Integrated optimisation solution  MDO or adjoint solutions
• Further improvements to come with rapid development cycle
 Minimal CAD cleanup requirement  Hours, not weeks
 Fully automatic meshing  Improved speed and quality
 Embedded best practices  Decades of experience
distilled into GUI
 Significantly reduced solution times  Benchmarked against
PowerFLOW & other solvers
 Automated parallel post-processing  Customisable script
generates images, videos
 Highly accurate transient solutions  Advanced DES solver
 Heavily validated results (>100 cases)  Only software company with
own wind tunnel
 Average drag errors of 1.2%  Industry leading accuracy
 Integrated optimisation solution  MDO or adjoint solutions

ELEMENTS | Questions?
Angus Lock, Head of Aerodynamics
Auto Research Center, USA
Email: alock@arcindy.com
Web: http://elements.streamline-cae.com

Streamline Solutions - Elements Vehicle CAE Suite

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