Automotive Simulation Visualization

Merging the Simulation Data from Crash Test Videos and Crashworthiness Simulations

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Telling the whole story of a crash. EnSight analysis and visualization of both a crash dummy simulation and experimental test. Using EnSight's powerful graphics capability, the external video footage was imported and synchronized with the simulation results. All four sets of animations are linked in time. In addition, EnSight's texture map capability adds realistic surfaces to the simulation dataset. The graphs on the right side are taken both from the simulation as well as external experimental data. All graphs update as time is advanced.

Merging the Simulation Data from Multi-body Dynamics (MBD) and Crashworthiness Simulations

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Telling the whole story of a crash. EnSight is used to make a seamless animation from two stages of a simulation. Using MSC.ADAMS for the approach, and MSC.DYTRAN for the crash analysis, the sequence of events is shown to give context to the crash analysis.

Internal Combustion Engine In-cylinder HCCI CFD Analysis

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With Captions

Animation of results from an HCCI In-Cylinder CFD analysis, using EnSight. Keyframe animation to show exploded view of the geometry, followed by pathline traces, isosurfaces of temperature, clip planes and velocity and temperature, volume rendered temperature, and graphs of maximum temperature on key surfaces as a function of time. Animation generated by Martin Faber

EnSight Helps Reduce Wind Noise in General Motors Vehicles

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This EnSight animation simulates wind-tunnel airflow around the wipers and is ultimately used in the calculation of resulting wind noise.

Why wipers are such a challenge
It might seem that a small automotive part like wipers shouldn’t command so much attention from engineers, but today’s automotive manufacturers are giving wipers more attention than ever. Wipers are essentially the victims of a variety of engineering successes that have reduced noise from other areas of the car, suddenly leaving wipers seeming rather noisy.

Crash Dynamics

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This image was created using CEI's EnSight Gold at the VR Lab at Wichita State’s NIAR Crash Dynamics Laboratory. The visualization is a result of a LS-DYNA side impact analysis project with the Federal Transit Authority.

New visualization methods help Audi get a clearer picture of vehicle soiling

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DropletsCFD

by Bob Cramblitt

Small things often sell cars and create brand loyalty: the positioning of the cup holder; how the seat molds to your body; the thunk of the door when it closes. Add to that list how particles – whether they are rain, snow or dirt – disperse across the surface of a car.

HCCI Engine Combustion Visualization using Pathlines in Kiva

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Randy Hessel, Associate Scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Engine Research Center, will be presenting the following paper at SAE, using EnSight as his post-processing tool for Kiva.

Pathline Analysis of Full-cycle Four-stroke HCCI Engine Combustion Using CFD and Multi-Zone Modeling (SAE Technical Paper 2008-01-0048)

Featured Image - Diesel Engine

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CFD: the Final Frontier, The image shows fuel injection (red spheres) and subsequent combustion (orange temperature iso-surfaces at 2200 degrees Kelvin) inside the combustion chamber of a diesel engine. The lower-left image relates combustion timing to an engine cycle.

Image courtesy of Tom Reitz, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Featured Animation - New Alloys and Safer Cars

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This animation shows a nano-void nucleation in an aluminum single crystal.

Understanding how automobiles age
Mississippi State University’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) is an interdisciplinary research and development facility that provides the automotive industry with engineering, design, and manufacturing innovations. Among its goals, it seeks to provide the auto industry with research and technology that will improve automotive performance, lower production costs, and shorten production times. In keeping with these goals, the center is studying automotive materials and creating multi-scale crash simulations to give engineers a new edge in designing better vehicles. For the full story on the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS), follow this link to the showcase story, "EnSight Helps Create New Alloys and Safer Cars."

Animation courtesy of Dr. Mark Horstemeyer, CAVS chair professor in mechanical engineering. Learn more about the many areas of research at CAVS and some of the people behind it.

Do you have an image or animation to be featured in an upcoming issue of CEI News? Submit it to the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Internal Combustion Engine In-cylinder HCCI CFD Analysis with Captions

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Without Captions

EnSight generated animation of a three valve HCCI engine transient engine simulation. The key aspects of this simulation involved the temperature distribution within the cylinder, valves, combustion dome and cylinder head. In addition, velocity vectors and pathlines were used to illustrate the flowfield. Keyframe animation was used to take the user around the model. Volume rendering capabilities of EnSight were used to gain further insight into the distribution of the temperature field. The movie was generated in different segments, and combined together with title slides using EnVe. Animation courtesy of Martin Faber.

Automotive Simulation Visualization

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