Blog

Simcenter Amesim: Base + Hydraulics + Thermal libraries

Simcenter Amesim Base is designed to allow the development and analysis of multi-domain system models. The advantage is the use of know-how throughout the company and the offer of a comprehensive set of tools that can easily extend standard component libraries. Amesim has a lot of libraries and today we will look at the hydraulic and thermal library. But first, let's look at the Simcenter Amesim Base library, which is the foundation for all existing libraries.

Simcenter Amesim Base
 

This module gives you the ability to create models by joining physics-based blocks. This allows you to analyze and optimize entire systems.

Solvers

The Simcenter Amesim ™ software solver, based on the most advanced numerical techniques, supports ordinary differential equations (ODE) and differential algebraic equations (DAE). Based on the type of problem to be integrated, Amesim Simcenter selects the appropriate method and order and dynamically switches between the most efficient methods for the current system configuration. The solver automatically and dynamically selects the best adapted calculation method from 17 algorithms depending on the system dynamics. Fixed-step solvers, from Euler's method to Runge-Kutta, real-time applications are also available in Simcenter Amesim.

Component sutomization

This handy customization tool allows you to customize software for specific applications and internal or external processes. In addition, it allows you to build company-specific model databases with a customized user interface and parameter sets. For security reasons, you can use encryption to protect sensitive information before shipping models to third parties.

Submodel editor
 

The Submodel Editor is designed to help you write well-documented, standardized, reusable, and easy-to-maintain libraries. To create fully compatible models of Simcenter Amesim components that can be used automatically on the platform, you can follow a few simple rules

Study manager

Study Manager, a design space exploration tool, is an optimization software application used to capture and manage engineering simulations. With this tool it is possible to:

• Determine which parameters affect the defined performance criteria
• Find out how performance is affected by a parameter change due to manufacturing tolerances or different operating conditions
• Experiment with a set of parameters to optimize certain criteria
• Perform sensitivity analysis (DOE)
• Optimize - Nonlinear programming using quadratic Lagerian (NLPQL) or genetic algorithm
• Use the Monte Carlo method

CAD import

This tool is actually a viewer integrated into Simcenter Amesim that can be used to create, import and analyze 3D CAD files without having to rely on the original CAD software application. Reduced geometry adjustment or model measurement toolkits allow you to quickly obtain geometric parameters.

Animation

Using this tool, it is possible to create animated simulations of the Simeser Amesim simulation. Animated 3D scenes offer a higher level of demonstration and allow you to visualize the physical behavior of components according to the parameters you enter and the simulation results.

Scripting

Simcenter Amesim provides a comprehensive set of scripting options for writing short programs in languages at a higher level of abstraction. It is possible to use Python, MATLAB®, Scilab or Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and automate the interaction with models.

FMI

With Simcenter Amesim, you can import functional mockup units (FMUs) from various functional mockup interface (FMI) -compatible tools in a simple and user-friendly way thanks to the built-in FMU import assistant.

Signal and Control library

It contains all the required components for controlling, measuring and monitoring multi-domain system models. this library can be used to create linear, nonlinear, continuous, discrete, conditional, mixed signals, and hybrid systems. This library supports scalar and vector signals as well as real and boolean data types.

Mechanical library

Contains components for modeling 1D translational and rotary mechanical systems.

Simcenter Amesim Hydraulics library

Once you have Amesim Base, you can use other libraries. The first one we will focus on is the hydraulic one. The hydraulics library is dedicated to the design of hydraulic systems for many applications. The hydraulics library includes various groups of components (hydraulic lines and hoses, fluids, pumps / motors, control valves, linear actuators, etc.), allows analyzes to be performed in the time and frequency domains and optimizes both steady-state and dynamic system behavior.

What are the typical components for the Simcenter Amesim Hydraulics library?

- Sources
     Constant and variable pressure and flow can be set for the sources.

- Fluid library
     The library contains a database of fluids from pure fluids such as water, glycol, ethylene glycol, coolants (EG20W80, EG40W60, EG50W50, EG80W20, EG60W40), oils (15W40, 15W30, ISOVG, gear oil), hexane, heptane, ethanol, methanol, hydraulic fluids (Skydrol 500B 4, Skydrol LD 4, H 5606, MIL H 8446, MIL H 27601, MIL H 83282, MIL H 87257), fuel (JetA, JetA1, JetB, JP-4, JP-5, JP-5 , 7, JP-8, JP-TS), aviation gas jet fuel (Avgas), TS-1, RT kerosene.
You can also work with the adiabatic properties of Robert Bosch diesel, Priceton Airport Minibus, ISO4113, Swedish diesel, bio diesel, soybean oil methyl ester (SME), high density diesel, SHELL HCU diesel, Japanese Industry Standard (JIS). Typical of the hydraulics library are fluid properties calculations, tank analysis, a gas-filled accumulator with ideal or actual gas, and a spring accumulator.

- Friction
     Options for friction are restrictor, variable restrictor, filter or cooler.

- Directional control valves
     For directional control valves you can use shuttle valve, dual valvve, flush valve electrically-operated servovalves with up to six ports and three positions. You can use a valve creation tool that allows you to create new directional valve components.

- Pressure control valves
     For pressure valves, you can select pressure relief valves, pressure reducer, overcenter valve or counterbalance valve.

- Pump discharge control valves
     For this group of valves, the first option is pressure control with load sensing and / or pressure compensator. You can also work with a piston actuator (single or dual) to control the pump. Another option is a pressure control valve.

- Pumps
     In hydraulics, pumps are a very important part. In Amesim, you can choose from fixed or variable displacement pumps and bidirectional pumps, pressure-controlled pumps, external gear pumps or jet / ejector pumps.

- Motors
     Other typical components for hydraulics are motors. You can work with a one-way and two-way motor with fixed displacement, with variable displacement, unidirectional and bi-diractional motor or rotary actuator.

- Linear actuator
     For actuators, it is not a problem to use an actuator with single / double hydraulic chambers and single / double rods or an actuator with / without spring assistance.

- Lines
     1D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be used for lines the Lax-Wendroff method. Frequency-dependent friction is always included. You can assume compressibility, steady friction, distribution tube, or distribution wave equation.

- Hoses
     Last but not least, simple compressibility, compressibility and friction or a simple wave equation can be used for hoses.

Simcenter Amesim Thermal library

Heat exchanges occur in most industrial processes either because they are expected (heat exchangers, etc.) or unavoidable (heat loss, friction, etc.). The thermal library allows you to analyze and design all heat exchangers. The library is used to model traditional modes of heat transfer: conduction and radiation between solid materials and convection between solid and fluid.

What are the typical components for the Simcenter Amesim Thermal library?

- Sources
     Zero heat-flow sources, temperature sources and heat-flow sources as well as modulated temperature are implemented.

- Material
     Thermal properties of solids (polynomials) can be defined. A wide database of solids is available (cast iron G553, zinc, titanium, nickel, iron, copper, aluminum, carbon steel, lead, gold, bronze, AISI347, AISI316, AISI304, AISI302, AISI1010). It is possible to work with phase change, with solar radiation conditions and moist air.

- Heat exchanges
     Heat exchange can be modeled in many ways - as conductive, piloted conductive, convection, piloted convective, with internal free convection, radiative between two bodies, radially conductive. Surfaces can be transparent and opaque with solar irradiation.

- Moist air
     Moist air is typical for a thermal library. You can use moist air sources, moist air generic sensor, moist air chamber. It is also possible to use use human thermal comfort sensor predicted mean vote (PMV)/predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) indexes.

Simcenter Amesim Thermal-hydraulic library
 

The last library we will focus on is the Thermal-Hydraulic Library. It is fully devoted to the design of hydraulic systems in which temperature changes are likely to occur. The library allows you to choose from three different thermodynamic assumptions: isothermal, isoentropic (fast dynamics) and energy conservation. In addition, cavitation and aeration are taken into account with three different aeration options: constant total gas content, transport of gas content only and transport of gas content with aeration and dissolution dynamics. This library combines all three of the above libraries: Simcenter Amesim Base, Simcenter Amesim Thermal, and Simcenter Amesim Hydraulics. In addition, you can use bearings for different oil supply, with modulated load and regime, bearings with eccentricity as input or table bearings. There are also moving elements such as rotating pipes with centrifugal effects or a grooved bushing.

Simcenter Amesim Base
Simcenter Amesim Hydraulics library
Simcenter Amesim Thermal library
Simcenter Amesim Thermal-hydraulic library