Simulation software

Citation

(2002), "Simulation software", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 74 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2002.12774dab.009

Simulation software

Keywords: Software, Simulation

ESI Group, provider of software for virtual prototyping and manufacturing, announces three major acquisitions, two of which are of special interest to the aerospace industry. The French software publisher Straco, specialist in acoustic simulation; the intellectual property and distribution rights of the Viking software for tool and die design in a continuous process, from the German consortium Inpro and the acquisition of the Canadian company L3P, experts in the simulation of the manufacture 3f composite materials by injection on reinforcements.

These acquisitions are said to be in line with ESI Group's strategy aimed at widening its offer of software for simulating manufacturing processes and a product's behaviour in its environment.

STRACO

Straco's vibro-acoustic software package Rayon is a product for analysing the absorption of noise by porous materials. Applications are many and fast growing: passenger comfort in the automobile sector, monitoring of sound diffusion in telecommunications, acoustic protection in the aerospace and civil engineering industries, etc. The association of Straco and ESI Group technologies in environmental simulation allows new value chains to be created in the field of comfort, forming an indispensable strategic component in ESI Group's Virtual Try-Out Space assessment concept.

Under the leadership of Mohamed Ali Harndi, founder of the company, Straco's team of highly qualified engineers will form an integral part of a new division within ESI Group's Publishing activity. The team will shortly be provided with an acoustic test centre, thus becoming an important technological centre in this field.

Formed in 1986, Straco (www.straco.corn) is a publisher of acoustic simulation software based on very advanced acoustic and vibration technology originally developed at the Compiegne University of Technology. Straco, which booked sales in 2000 of D945 thousand, has prestigious references in the automobile, aerospace, defence and telecommunication sectors.

L3P

The acquisition of L3P is motivated by the strong complementarity of the two publishers' know-how in simulation of the manufacturing and design of composite materials and structures. LSP's software LCMFLOT simulates the manufacturing process of resin injection through fibrous reinforcements, known as RTM (Resin Transfer Moulding). This is today a fast-growing sector. LCMFLOT will form part of the "design and manufacture of composites" value chain, extending ESI Group's range of software solutions which already includes PAM-FORM for the simulation of forming of laminated sheets and plastics, SYSPLY for the design of composite materials, and PAM-SHOCK and PAM-CRASH for shock and crash tests.

LCMFLOT we are informed can be used in the aeronautical sector to simulate the manufacture of wing, fuselage and rotor components and in the automobile sector for body and floor parts made from composite materials, as well as in other fields.

This acquisition allows ESI Group to strengthen its position as a preferred supplier of simulation software in such buoyant sectors as aeronautics and aerospace with Dassault Aviation, Snecma, and Bell Helicopter Textron, as well as in areas of strong growth for composite materials such as cars, building and public works, consumer goods and, in particular, sports equipment.

Formed by Professors Francois Trochu and Raymond Gauvin in 1994, L3P is a private company based in Montreal. Specialised in the simulation of composite material manufacture, L3P has for many years worked in close collaboration with Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal and industrial partners, in particular DaimlerChrysler, EADS and Ford.

"These acquisitions play an essential part in ESI Group's development strategy towards the digital factory," says Alain de Rouvray, founder and President of ESIGroup. "The approach by continuous improvement of products and processes through numerical simulation replaces progressively the traditional trial-and-error method based on real prototypes." The technologies acquired form a logical extension to ESI Group's offer and in time will be able to play their role in the "Virtual Manufacturing" and "Virtual Environment" value chains, a new step towards the Virtual Try-Out Space.

Details available from: ESI Group. Tel: +31180514860; E-mail: tl@esibv.nl