TARRC has been invited to join the AUTOSIM project, a Coordinated Action project funded under EU FP6 - Sustainable Surface Transport Programme. The project, coordinated by The National Agency for Finite Element Methods and Standards (NAFEMS), involves 32 companies from across Europe each with a significant interest in the use of simulation within the automotive industry. They include OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, consultants, researchers and software developers.
The broad objectives of AUTOSIM are:
To improve the quality and robustness of modelling and simulation in the European automotive industry within an integrated design and product development environment.
To facilitate the use of advanced simulation technologies (finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, and related methods) within a multi-site, multi-organisational environment.
To improve technology and knowledge transfer between engineering practitioners within the automotive industry.
To identify potential breakthrough technologies which could have a profound effect on the use of simulation techniques for automotive applications.
To identify technology gaps and areas where RTD activity is needed.
The project is divided into the following themes:
Integration of simulation into the development process
Materials characterization
Improving confidence in use of simulation
Under each theme there are two key areas: Best practices and Break through technologies
A series of two-day Technical Workshops is planned throughout the three-year duration of the project. The first took place on 17th – 18th January 2006 in Barcelona-Spain. The role of accurate and simple-to-use models to describe the behaviour of materials under different service condition was identified as one of the most important and urgent areas for improving the confidence in the use of simulation and its integration in the development process. TARRC's long experience in this area of research has been identified as its main contribution to the success of the project.
If you wish to know more about AUTOSIM take a look at the official website at www.autosim.org