Technical Computing Magazine - Issue 40

MapleSim 5: Modelling Fuel Consumptions and Bouncy Floors

Eithne Murray,
Project Manager, Maplesoft

With the recent release of version 5 of MapleSim, the physical modelling and simulation tool built on the power of Maple, engineers can produce even better and more cost-effective designs.

The enormous power and accuracy of MapleSimis based on Maplesoft’s trusted symbolic modelling engine which handles all the complex mathematics involved in the development of engineering models.This symbolic engine offers unique advantages, including automatically- generated model equations in full parametric form, equation-based custom components, optimised code generation for real-time systems, revolutionary multibody technology and an interactive analysis environment that captures the full engineering knowledge that goes into each project. MapleSim is used in a wide variety of professional and academic settings for diverse engineering projects in vehicle dynamics, power electronics, mechatronics and much, much more.

Automotive Engineering

Improving vehicle fuel efficiency is a crucial goal of automotive manufacturers and engineers realise that transmission design is as important as engine design in minimising energy loss and increasing efficiency. Maplesoft has developed a library of components, transmission subassemblies, and full-powertrain examples that show the use of the components in various driveline applications. Built with guidance from several transmission manufacturers, the library covers all stages in the powertrain, from the engine through to the differential, wheels and road loads.

Using this MapleSim library is easy: just connect the components together on screen in the required configuration. An inbuilt solver automatically resolves issues such as torque/speed directions and load-flow. The library also provides “lossy” versions of many of the components that allow losses due to tooth-meshing, bearing friction and slip to be readily incorporated as input signals to increase the fidelity of the model.

The library will soon be available (maybe even by the time you read this) as a product called the MapleSim Driveline Component Library - keep an eye on www.adeptscience.com for the latest news. Meanwhile, download and read Transmission Modelling and Simulation With MapleSim (white paper).

Vibrating Dance Floor

The Terrace on the Park Building in New York was originally built for the 1964 World’s Fair. The halls on the building's cantilevered main floors had dining areas and dance floors. But guests soon started experiencing vibrations, including sloshing waves in drinks and bouncing chandeliers. This problem was eventually solved in 1988 by the use of tuned mass dampers (TMDs). Staff at Maplesoft decided to see if MapleSim could also be used to solve this problem, how long it would take, and if MapleSim could reach an even better solution.

The model developers used sliding mass and spring damper components to represent the floor of the ballroom and the tuned mass dampers. To find their optimal values the spring and damping constants were made parameters of the model. The parametrised model, along with the corresponding equations automatically generated by MapleSim, was loaded into the MapleSim optimisation template. An objective function was created and the optimal values for both constants were found to be different than those used in the original solution and resulted in less vibration. From start to finish, such problems typically take over a week to solve. The entire process took less than a day in MapleSim, and resulted in a better solution.

Download the MapleSim 5 New Features, or visit the MapleSim home page