Multibody and Multiphysic Modeling

As suggested by our logo, the mechanical system is often at the heart of a complete mechatronic design (a vehicle, a robot, an actuator…). Therefore, a fine modeling of the system’s mechanics is essential. We rely on the multibody approach, in which we have a longstanding expertise of more than two decades.

We developed a dedicated software – namely ROBOTRAN – which is based on a symbolic approach, owing to flexibly export kinematic and dynamic models to dedicated environments, e.g. for optimization and control.

On top of that, we believe that the mechatronic approach does not only concern design or prototyping, but also multiphysics modeling. Multiphysics modeling requires indeed a good knowledge of the models inherent to the diverse disciplines being involved (mechanics, electromagnetism, hydraulic…) in order to provide a reliable and efficient global numerical model. This requires juggling with the different models (discrete, continuous, discretized – FEM) and determining the most relevant numerical interface, depending on the application.

TruckStop

Details: Written by Gabriel Abedrabbo

Bus impacting a TMA A multibody system (MBS) model of a scaled experimental attenuator has been developed, the aim being to design a new kind of truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) made of recycled materials. In this work, we implement the elasto-plastic behavior of the recycled material modules as a constitutive law of a MBS model which also includes the impacting vehicle, in order to simulate the collision.The simulation results aim at predicting the potential risk for the occupants, referring to the Acceleration Severity Index (ASI), and for the road workers by considering the truck displacement. The envisaged collisions consider a vehicle weighting from 1 ton (at 100 km/h) up to 13 tons (at 70 km/h).

Multiphysics Modelling of Railway Pneumatic Suspensions

Details: Written by Nicolas Docquier

Most of passenger trains are equipped with pneumatic suspensions. Such a system allows to adapt the suspension height and stiffness to a varying payload and provides better comfort and sound insulation. However, in order to achieve these interesting properties, the air suspension involves a complete pneumatic circuit composed of auxiliary tanks, pipes, restriction orifices and several valves. These various components can be combined in many ways leading to an increasing design complexity. From an industrial point of view, resorting to a simulation tool could be very beneficial in designing more efficient suspensions.

3D Modeling of Tramway Bogies equipped with independent wheels

Details: Written by Nicolas Docquier

The goal of this research project was to model and analyse the dynamic behaviour of a complex bogie (the 'BA2000' bogie) which consists of an articulated chassis equipped with four independent wheels. This bogie equips the full-length low floor 'T2000' urban tramway.

Dynamic Analysis of Intervertebral Efforts in Scoliosis

Details: Written by Gabriel Abedrabbo

A biomechanical model, using the multibody dynamics approach, is developed to calculate the intervertebral efforts in spine. The latter are computed, via inverse dynamics, using kinematic information from gait. Optimization process is required in order to convert that information, expressed in absolute coordinates from the optometric sensors, into relative joint coordinates, in order to calculate joint forces and torques.

A Teaching Aid Bogie

Details: Written by Nicolas Docquier

It is a well-known fact that railway dynamics is far from being trivial, mostly because of the wheel/rail contact phenomenon. Except for specialists in this field who are obviously familiar with notions like wheelset equivalent conicity, hunting motion, limit cycles, etc., most of people, including engineers, have no or few idea about the guidance principle of railway vehicles equipped with standard bogies with rigid wheelsets. The present project has been initiated at the Center for Research in Mechatronics of the Université catholique de Louvain within the framework of a master thesis under our supervision. The main objective is essentially educational and led us to build an experimental bench to highlight the wheel/rail guidance phenomenon of railway vehicles.

Biomechanics : kinematic and dynamical model of the human body

Details: Written by Nicolas Docquier

The project consists in developing an original method to quantify the internal efforts in the human body in motion and in applying this one to benchmark cases inspired from the Rehabilitation domain.