CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
7 November 2007
Implementation Investments
Dassault Systèmes CATIA and Abaqus; Prove Instrumental to Challenge X Winner
Dassault Systèmes ( DS ) congratulates the Mississippi State University (MSU) team on their first place finish in the 2007 Challenge X, an engineering competition to design an environmentally-friendly SUV.
MSU relied heavily on Dassault Systèmes' CATIA and Abaqus software to re-engineer a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox. Sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy, and organized by Argonne National Laboratory, Challenge X asks teams to re-design the SUV to minimize energy consumption, emissions and greenhouse gases while maintaining or exceeding the vehicle's utility and performance.
During the nine-day competition held in Milford, Michigan, MSU edged out 16 other universities with its diesel-electric, parallel hybrid vehicle featuring a 1.9L GM direct injection turbo diesel engine fueled by B20 biodiesel running the front wheels and an electric motor running the rear wheels. The vehicle increased its fuel economy by 48 percent compared to the original design, reduced its well-to-wheels petroleum consumption by 50 percent, and reduced its well-to-wheels greenhouse gases by 60 percent.
"Dassault Systèmes software is what helped separate our team from the other schools," said Neil Littell, PLM Coordinator for the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems ( CAVS ) at MSU. "CATIA was instrumental in redesigning the components to fit our needs while Abaqus simulated the stresses on the components. Additionally, the CATIA virtual machining solution was used to generate code to drive our CNC machines to manufacture the parts."
The Challenge X project has developed over four years. During the first year, computational modeling played a key role in component design, optimization and packaging. For example, the 1.9L Fiat Diesel engine and transmission were positioned in the Equinox's engine bay and engine mounts were both modelled and machined with the help of CATIA. The Abaqus solution from DS's SIMULIA brand was used to perform multiple finite element analysis studies to optimize the performance of the Equinox's rear suspension cradle. The predictions made in year one were then validated in year two, in which the hybrid modifications were implemented. Mississippi State spent year three of the Challenge X competition refining its hybrid system and modifying the vehicle for consumer acceptability. Phase four, which began in June 2007, will include further refinement to the vehicle and more emphasis on consumer acceptability, as well as including outreach and marketing of the vehicle, including trips across North America to showcase the vehicle.
"Programs like this offer students the opportunity to work with real-world processes and tools, better preparing them for success in the automotive industry," said Xavier Fouger, head of Dassault Systèmes Learning. "We are proud our tools could play a part in helping the Mississippi State team and hope they achieve the same success during the next phase."
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