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Altair Introduces Innovative Full-Vehicle NVH Simulation Solution


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NVH Director uses object-oriented approach and fully integrated software tools for full-vehicle analysis

TROY, MI--February 15, 2012:  Altair Engineering, Inc., a leading global provider of simulation technology and engineering services, today announced the release of NVH Director, the first commercial software tool that makes full-vehicle noise-vibration-harshness (NVH) simulation possible in the most advanced and streamlined form.

Altair will demonstrate NVH Director during a live webinar held on Feb. 29 at 9 a.m. EST. To access more information and register for the webinar, visit Altair Hyperworks.

NVH Director employs Altair's HyperWorks suite of computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools in a fully integrated, user-friendly, customizable form to automate the tasks involved in NVH analysis. By integrating the entire process of meshing, assembly, loadcase setup, and post-processing, it dramatically reduces the full-vehicle NVH simulation time, freeing CAE engineers to focus on optimizing product design and performance.

The solution introduces a new object-oriented environment for true full-vehicle NVH simulation. This environment enables users to manage subsystem representations, 3D display, FE entity ID numbering, connection properties and assembly definition in a modularized manner for ease of handling and debugging.

NVH Director leverages advanced technologies, such as browser, connector, process manager, object-oriented assembly and model templates to achieve a superior user experience. It also includes highly specialized functionalities to simplify NVH simulation tasks, such as:

  • Meshing of the acoustic cavity and coarse display model
  • Subsystem model dynamics reduction to component mode synthesis (CMS) superelement and frequency response function (FRF) representations
  • Support for analysis using mixed FE and reduced representations
  • Templated lumped parameter models
  • Joints modeling using enhanced CBUSH elements
  • NVH local coordinate systems creation
  • Templated loadcase and guided, step-by-step, process-driven loadcase creation
  • Post-processing and diagnostics, with an integrated approach to visualizing results

"Traditionally, full-vehicle NVH simulation techniques have been proprietary processes, closely guarded by original-equipment manufacturers," said Anthony Norton, Altair's senior director, global automotive. "The time now has arrived for a comprehensive commercial product that combines all the most advanced features into one tool and that meets the changing needs of OEMs and the increasingly high expectations of consumers."

Altair's new solution advances NVH analysis by facilitating the modeling of all vehicle subsystems, including trimbody, powertrain, suspension, steering system and torque paths. Furthermore, it operates based on real-world events, directly simulating customer usage experience to drive physical-prototype development and to identify problems related to specific loadcases and response.

"One of the biggest challenges in full-vehicle simulation is dealing with modeling complexity," said Jianmin Guan, Altair's senior program manager for noise, vibration, and harshness. "NVH Director reduces the complexity by giving users the ability to manage their assembly in a modular fashion and providing highly specialized tools that have never before been available in any commercial simulation packages."

"NVH Director simplifies full-vehicle simulation," Guan noted. "It enables engineers to employ CAE to drive product design, with mathematical cause-effect relationships that generate a full understanding of physical root causes and with the ability to identify sensitive parameters through quick what-if studies. NVH Director clearly identifies the receiver of source-path vibrations, and the most effective solutions often come from reducing the source of vibrations. In the end, NVH Director significantly lessens physical testing by running many iterations in CAE simulation, and it improves the value of testing by helping the engineer learn more from simulation."

Registered Altair clients can download NVH Director from the Altair HyperWorks software downloads site using their existing HyperWorks units.

About HyperWorks
HyperWorks, a platform for innovation, is a comprehensive simulation solution for rapid design exploration and decision-making. HyperWorks provides a tightly integrated suite of best-in-class tools for all facets of the simulation process: modeling, analysis, optimization, visualization, reporting and collaborative knowledge management. Leveraging a revolutionary pay-per-usage licensing model, HyperWorks delivers maximum value and flexibility for customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.altairhyperworks.com. Don't miss the opportunity to join Altair and hundreds of other industry experts at the 2012 HyperWorks Technology Conference in Detroit May 15-17, 2012. Visit Altair HTC for more details.

About Altair
Altair Engineering, Inc. empowers client innovation and decision-making through technology that optimizes the analysis, management and visualization of business and engineering information. Privately held, with more than 1,500 employees, Altair has offices throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific. With a 26-year track record for high-end software and consulting services for engineering, computing and enterprise analytics, Altair consistently delivers a competitive advantage to customers in a broad range of industries. To learn more, please visit Altair and Simulate to Innovate.