Ascom Energy Systems of Bern, Switzerland, has reduced the size of its high-frequency, switched-mode telecom power supplies and optimized cooling within each unit by use of a circular aluminum heat sink designed using thermal analysis software.

Design engineers at Ascom Energy Systems used CFD software from Flomerics to optimize design of a circular aluminum heat sink.

The program allows engineers to design and simulate the heat sink before they make a physical prototype. The heat sink guides air from a nearby fan through curved channels rather than over the more conventional fins or pins. The engineers use Flotherm, CFD software from Flomerics of Southborough, Mass., to analyze the airflow and to match the shape of the fins with the swirl from the fan to increase the cooling device's overall efficiency, according to Ascom.

After engineers imported the heat-sink design from the computer- aided design program to the CFD software, they found via analysis that certain areas of the heat sink weren't properly ventilated, which led to poor heat transfer in those particular areas. They were then able to use the airflow data to find the best curvature of the fins.

A second analysis showed a smooth airflow between the fins, better fan placement, and lower temperatures of internal components.

Through the use of three-dimensional dynamic multibody simulation, DaimlerChrysler engineers are making improvements in the design of valvetrains, according to Matthias Gregor, a valvetrain engineer for the automaker in Stuttgart, Germany.

The one-dimensional technology previously used by the automaker's engineers to analyze valvetrains had high maintenance expenses. It also required engineers to program each design iteration. With the new technology, engineers can simulate performance characteristics, such as valve acceleration versus cam angle, with accuracy that closely matches physical measurements, Gregor said.

The valvetrain usually is made up of the camshaft, rocker arm, valve lifter, and valve spring. It plays a role in the performance of a combustion engine by controlling the opening and closing of the valves.

In the past, engineers at DaimlerChrysler relied on homegrown one-dimensional simulation programs written in Fortran, Gregor said. They now use the 3-D product LMS DADS, which is simulation software from LMS International in Leuven, Belgium.

Vehicle Development Corp. is a right-hand-drive conversion specialist for Ford F Series vehicles in Australia. In that role, it takes original vehicle data from Ford and its component contractors, opens the files in a standard CAD package compatible with many of the CAD formats used by Ford and the suppliers to send the designs, and begins work quickly, said Sandro Deluca, the principal design engineer at VDC.

The company's job is just as implied by the phrase "right-hand-drive conversion." Engineers redesign and manufacture components to put modified North American vehicles on Australian roads. The Ford F Series are heavy-duty vehicles fitted with powerful engines and robust drivetrains. They're used in Australia as ambulances and are also purchased for farm and recreational use.

Vehicles are imported by Ford Australia from the F Series production plant in Canada and are supplied to VDC in a fully finished left-hand-drive configuration. Conversion to right-hand drive typically adds around $8,800 in U.S. dollars, or about 35 percent of the cost, to the sticker price.

VDC manages every aspect of design, manufacture, and fit of components in order to convert the vehicle. To that end, the company receives many design files from Ford and suppliers, which come to the engineers in various CAD formats, Deluca said. Engineers open the files in their main CAD software, which is from Cadkey of Marlborough, Mass. The VDC engineers then completely rebuild the entire Ford database—converting the drive side—in their CAD software.

During the mid-1990s, managers at Tylok International, a Euclid, Ohio, fitting manufacturer, found themselves with eight computers that ran on three separate networks. Two networks were linked under Windows 95 in the engineering department, one network in the office ran Windows 3.1, and a third network consisted of four machines that ran DOS, said Mike Palinkas, systems manager at Tylok.

Four years later, the company, under Palinkas's guidance, had a new computer network that consisted of 17 personal computers. Once the company replaced the patchwork of computer hardware, it integrated administrative functions under one shop management software package.

The package, Visual EstiTrack from Henning Software of Hudson, Ohio, helped Tylock organize its inventory, which consisted of about 4,000 standard part numbers, Palinkas said. He developed a system within the software that had three inventory classifications for each part number: assembled inventory for pieces that are ready to ship, unassembled inventory for manufactured parts still requiring assembly, and work in progress.

"Under the old system, when distributors buying in volume requested larger-than-normal discounts, there were sometimes questions about whether or not Tylok could meet the request and remain profitable," Palinkas said.

The integrated inventory system lets company managers immediately determine the amount of inventory on hand or nearly ready to go in order to figure out if a discount is feasible.

A growing number of businesses are ready to adopt small, on-site applications of electric-generating technology—or distributed energy—to address their concerns about power reliability and energy-price volatility, according to a study by Primen, a Madison, Wis., company that develops and analyzes information on energy trends.

The study, called "Distributed Energy at the Tipping Point: Customers' Growing Receptivity to Grid-Alternate Distributed Energy," found that more than 10 percent of U.S. and Canadian companies in the five business sectors surveyed identified themselves as strong candidates for base-load distributed-energy applications during the next two years.

Nearly half of those same businesses said they're already evaluating distributed-energy options, including natural gas reciprocating engines, microturbines, and fuel cells, and the attendant technology needed to operate these systems.

Energy decision makers at the companies were asked about their current use of distributed energy and related technologies, as well as the likelihood of adopting that form of energy distribution and related technologies in the next two years.

Stirling Converter Readies for Space Travel

The U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Stirling Technology Co. of Kennewick, Wash., are developing a free-piston Stirling converter for a Stirling Radio-isotope Generator.

The group is developing the converter to provide power for multimission use—especially missions of longer duration—for electric power on NASA deep-space missions, and for power on unmanned Mars rovers.

Steven Geng, a NASA engineer, uses simulation software for electromagnetic modeling.

"Our work focuses on whether or not a design will work successfully and survive the expected harsh environment operating conditions," he said. The software uses electromagnetic field simulation to accurately predict product performance for physical design information.

Three agencies are developing a converter for a Stirling Radioisotope Generator with the help of simulation technology from Ansoft.

Geng said that the software, called Maxwell 3D Field Simulator, from Ansoft of Pittsburgh, lets him evaluate various 3-D geometries, materials, and excitation levels to evaluate linear alternator designs.

"Glenn engineers are conducting a variety of in-house tasks to provide data in developing the Stirling converter for readiness for space qualification and mission implementation," he said. "Our work helps determine if a design will perform and function properly with the capability of surviving a deep-space or Mars surface environment."

The converter is also being designed to survive a high-radiation environment, such as a mission to Europa, a moon of Jupiter. "As a result, we're evaluating the organic materials in the converter to make sure they meet the requirements for radiation, performance, and life," Geng said.

A research team at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., has developed modeling and simulation tools used to help assess the threat and vulnerability of buildings to chemical and biological attacks. The simulations include examining how agents move and deposit inside a building. They also help users to develop and assess mitigation strategies, and guide them in the use of detection methods. The software examines the effectiveness of cleanup and decontamination efforts, as well, said Richard Griffith, a Sandia researcher who began working on the project following the 1995 sarin gas release in Tokyo's subway system.

Using Sandia-developed computer modeling and visualization capabilities, Griffith can simulate how various chemical and biological agents—such as anthrax, smallpox, sarin, and mustard gas—flow through a building and deposit on surfaces.

"We start by mapping out the building and creating a computational model from the electronic AutoCAD blueprint, including all the rooms and areas served by each air handler and all the air ducts," Griffith said. "Then we simulate the release of a chemical or biological agent directly into different parts of the building or from the outside for exterior releases."

The computer model, known as KCNB, predicts where the agent will move as a function of time following its release. It produces a visualization—almost like a movie—that gives researchers a view of agent transport and concentration. Simulations include a variety of agent release scenarios using real properties for a number of chemical and biological materials.

The technology has been used for several facilities, including an eight-story federal courthouse, a military command and control center, and a large airport terminal, Griffith said.

Modeling Component Crash- worthiness

Wagon Automotive Waldschaff, a German automotive supplier of door systems and structural components, uses simulation technology to model component crashworthiness in a realistic testing environment, said Pablo Pasquale, numerical simulations manager at the company.

Company officials also use technology from the same vendor to test the stamping manufacturing process by simulating it with the software. This provides a more accurate prediction of distortions after stamping than other methods could yield, Pasquale said.

The company uses simulation technology called Pam-Crash, Pam-Stamp, and Sysweld from the ESI Group of Shelby Township, Mich.

"We get a better understanding of mechanical effects on car components, such as distortion, residual stresses, and case hardening in our welding, heat treatment, and stamping processes," Pasquale said of the technology's use.

China Examines Broadband Access

Broadband wireless, a technology that provides voice, video, and high-speed Internet service with-out cables to commercial and residential buildings, is starting to come into greater widespread use, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md.

To facilitate an industry based on this technology, Roger Marks, a NIST staff member, has been leading an effort to develop the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' broadband wireless access interoperability standards as Chinese national standards. The standard is officially called the IEEE 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access interoperability standards. They are expected to be completed by September of this year.

Recently, a government agency in China held a conference in order to evaluate the possibility of adopting IEEE 802.16.
China's acceptance of the standards would further open the broadband wireless market, ensure quality manufacturing of relevant equipment, and lower prices, according to NIST.

Design software maker Nemetschek North America Columbia, Md., formerly Diehl Graphsoft, has released upgrades to VectorWorks, its industry series software.

CoCreate Software, of Fort Collins, Colo., has released OneSpace 2002 Solution Suite, with new capabilities and 11 new modules. n Plano, Texas-based EDS has released I-DEAS version 9, one of two CAD, CAM, and CAE software applications from what the company calls its product lifecycle management solutions line of business.

Slick! Version 7, a viewing, redlining, raster conversion, database, and file management software, has been released by CAD Systems Unlimited Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.

The developer of analysis software, Structural Research & Analysis Corp., or SRAC, of Los Angeles, has certified its CFD program, Cosmos/ Flow, and its electromagnetic simulation program, Cosmos/EMS, for Solid Edge Version 10.

Sandvik Coromant of Sandviken, Sweden, and Pathtrace of Southfield, Mich., have signed an agreement to cooperate on joint future developments for new machining techniques for both production machining and mold and die ap- plications, including high-speed machining.

Ansys of Canonsburg, Pa., has entered into an agreement to acquire Cadoe of Lyon, France, a maker of CAD and CAE software.

2-D and 3-D design technology software manufacturer Autodesk of San Rafael, Calif., will begin developing a 3-D modeling kernel to be called Autodesk ShapeManager.

Alias Wavefront of Toronto, a maker of 3-D animation software, has released PortfolioWall 1.5, which allows users to view, annotate, collaborate, manage, and make decisions about visual digital data through a touchscreen interface.

Moldflow of Wayland, Mass., has released Moldflow Plastics Xpert 3.1 and Shotscope 2.4, which are integrated on a hardware platform as part of a streamlined package.

Spatial Corp., of Boulder, Colo., has released version 7.0 of its Standalone Deformable Modeling software.

Translation Technologies Inc. of Spokane, Wash., a maker of CAD translation products, has released its Acc-u-Trans Interoperability Engine that translates four CAD programs: I-DEAS, from Structural Design and Research Corp., recently purchased by UGS; Pro/Engineer from PTC of Waltham, Mass.; Catia, from Dassault Systemes of Paris; and Unigraphics, from UGS of Cypress, Calif.

Fakespace Systems of Kitchener, Ontario, has released a digital version of the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment, or CAVE, which is an immersive room outfitted with digital projection technology.

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