Terramechanics in Altair EDEM & Motion Solve & Activate & PM-FlexTire
Altair EmployeePredicting the interaction of tracks and or tires with soils is key to understanding a vehicles capability to traverse a terrain which is a critical performance indicator in the Off-road and Defence Industry. The ability to accurately predict the interaction of equipment and soil is also important in the Agricultural and Construction Industries.
Altair® EDEM™ in combination with Altair® MotionSolve® and or Pratt Millar’s PM-FlexTire enables the efficient virtual optimization of vehicles tractive systems.
The Buggy vehicle simulation files can be downloaded here:
For setup instructions please see:
The ability to leverage GPU CUDA processing with EDEM’s Dynamic Domain, Volume Packing, and Pratt Miller’s PM-FlexTire has allowed for significant improvements in solve times, as demonstrated below:
For a more detailed understanding of the unique advantage that is realized leveraging our partner’s flexible tire model (Pratt Miller PM-FlexTire) please see the recorded webinar: Breakthrough Virtual Development Capability for Soft-Soil Mobility Platforms and Vehicles
Tractive control systems can also be developed and tuned with Altair Activate, MotionSolve, and EDEM prior to building a physical prototype based on the virtual response of the vehicle in a variety of different soil conditions as shown below:
The intended design life of parts in the drivetrain and suspension can be realized leveraging the flexible body simulation in an EDEM-Motion solve coupled simulation as shown in the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) as shown below:
The Soil Starter Pack or the Generic EDEM Material Model (GEMM) Database can be used to create the material model used to represent the virtual soil quickly in EDEM. However, producing a fit for purpose EDEM model requires calibration and the below blog post provide an excellent overview of the methodology and the available tools.
The ability to couple simulation software together is sometimes an arduous task, but at Altair we have made it a simple process which can be quickly learnt by participating in the eLearning course: EDEM - Coupling with MotionSolve