Technology Category
- Sensors - Dimension & Displacement Sensors
- Sensors - Vibration Sensors
Applicable Industries
- Automotive
- Mining
Applicable Functions
- Procurement
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Experimentation Automation
- Onsite Human Safety Management
Services
- Testing & Certification
About The Customer
Bremar Automotion is an engineering design company based in Melbourne, Australia. They specialize in simulation, testing, validation, and optimization of designs using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) across a range of industries such as automotive, truck & trailer, mining, industrial equipment, and motorsport. Bremar Automotion was recently granted approval from CAMS and the FIA to certify motorsport roll cages using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This prestigious certification, granted only to approved bodies that are on the FIA’s technical list No. 35, enables Bremar to independently homologate motorsport roll cages using FEA both in Australia and internationally.
The Challenge
Bremar Automotion, an engineering design company based in Melbourne, Australia, was faced with the challenge of confirming the accuracy of their computer modeling with physical testing of a full-size roll cage. This was a prerequisite to gain accreditation by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) and the Federation Internationale de’l Automobile (FIA). The roll cage, a crucial safety feature in any racecar, is designed to protect the driver in the event of an accident, particularly one that involves rollover of the vehicle. In many vehicles, the roll cage also forms the main structure of the chassis and they can often be a complex compromise between stiffness, safety, weight, and cost. As part of their accreditation process, Bremar Automotion was required to construct and test a full-size roll cage by applying the FIA’s specified roll cage loads to the structure. Destructive testing was required to confirm the accuracy of their computer modeling and to demonstrate competency to the FIA.
The Solution
Bremar Automotion used Altair's RADIOSS for nonlinear finite element analysis. The roll cage used for the physical tests was designed by Bremar to result in a notable amount of plastic deformation of the structure under the applied loads. This required a nonlinear, high-displacement, and plastic deformation FEA analysis. Since Bremar engineers were already experienced users of Altair’s HyperWorks products, RADIOSS was the obvious choice for the nonlinear analysis requirements of this project. They began by designing a mild steel roll cage to suit the test rig, which was loosely based around a medium-sized vehicle weighing approximately 1200kg. The FIA load required on the main roll hoop was in the order of 10T. Once the FIA load criteria had been met, they also ran another test on the main hoop where they applied the maximum allowable displacement of 50mm, which required a load well in excess of 20T. The roll cage was instrumented with multiple sensors and strain gauges in order to measure deflection and strain at various locations on the structure and allow correlation with the FEA model.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
Case Study missing?
Start adding your own!
Register with your work email and create a new case study profile for your business.
Related Case Studies.
Case Study
Integral Plant Maintenance
Mercedes-Benz and his partner GAZ chose Siemens to be its maintenance partner at a new engine plant in Yaroslavl, Russia. The new plant offers a capacity to manufacture diesel engines for the Russian market, for locally produced Sprinter Classic. In addition to engines for the local market, the Yaroslavl plant will also produce spare parts. Mercedes-Benz Russia and his partner needed a service partner in order to ensure the operation of these lines in a maintenance partnership arrangement. The challenges included coordinating the entire maintenance management operation, in particular inspections, corrective and predictive maintenance activities, and the optimizing spare parts management. Siemens developed a customized maintenance solution that includes all electronic and mechanical maintenance activities (Integral Plant Maintenance).
Case Study
Underground Mining Safety
The goal was to produce a safety system to monitor and support underground mining operations; existing systems were either too simple (i.e. phone line) or overly complex and expensive, inhibiting deployment, and providing little-to-no support in event of an accident. Given the dangerous nature of the mining work environment and the strict regulations placed on the industry, the solution would have to comply with Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) regulations. Yet the product needed to allow for simple deployment to truly be a groundbreaking solution - increasing miner safety and changing daily operations for the better.
Case Study
Monitoring of Pressure Pumps in Automotive Industry
A large German/American producer of auto parts uses high-pressure pumps to deburr machined parts as a part of its production and quality check process. They decided to monitor these pumps to make sure they work properly and that they can see any indications leading to a potential failure before it affects their process.