Automotive Drivetrain, Suspension, and Comfort Simulation Tools

DRIVE simulates the behavior of cars during acceleration along their longitudinal plane of symmetry. The coupled dynamics of sprung and unsprung masses consider vehicle vertical and horizontal relative motion and pitch. It carefully models the driveline from the clutch to the tires, including the spring drive and gearbox. DRIVE is used by car and system part manufacturers in the automotive industry. BENCH simulates vehicle and suspension dynamics during tests on a shock absorber test bench. It simulates coupled dynamics of sprung and unsprung masses, and takes into account chassis torsional and flexural stiffness and damping. Shock absorbers can have a nonlinear damping behavior. BENCH makes it possible to introduce differences due to production tolerances and to detect out-of-tolerance components by comparing numerical and experimental results. BENCH is primarily used by car or shock absorber manufacturers to test their products.

CLUTCH simulates dynamic temperatures and heat-flow among the main clutch elements, from experimental or calculated friction-power input. For example, each temperature variable can correspond to temperature sensors used during tests in order to be compared with experimental values. Friction power input signals are obtained from the instrumentation placed on the vehicle during tests or you can calculate them using DRIVE.

CLUTCH-MECH simulates the dynamics of the main clutch elements as a function of experimental or assigned input commands. It enables you to visualize calculated displacements, velocities, and exchanged forces at different elements that make up single- or dual-disk clutches, as well as the transmitted torque. The program also accounts for wear effects on different elements of the system, thus predicting clutch performance by different solutions for design or materials.

CONDIZ dynamically simulates an automotive air conditioning system by calculating the thermodynamic behavior of the whole process made up of refrigeration system, inlet and delivery air ducts, and the passenger compartment. The program provides indications about system performance and enables you to identify the most effective design and temperature settings for controllers.

CARPET evaluates they dynamic behavior of automotive tires and simulates vehicle reverse dynamics. Starting from the experimental time history of cinematic variables acquired from road tests, it calculates vehicle dynamic behavior. Also included are toolboxes to analyze, post-process, and save simulation results. The product simulates vehicle reverse dynamics, solving the system of linear equations of the "bicycle model." These products were developed using the GUIDE tool in MATLAB^®. They provide user-friendly interfaces which do not require users to know MATLAB and Simulink in detail.