ESItalk Magazine #45

The Virtual Prototyping Magazine

Lighter is Better How Virtual Prototyping Helps Smaller Companies Develop Lighter and Greener Products special report

SL Rasch Relies on Virtual Performance Solution to Achieve Architectural Excellence

Register: www.esi-group.com/CompositesSeminar2015

Contents

Editorial

04 special report Lighter is Better: How Virtual Prototyping Helps Smaller Companies Develop Lighter and Greener Products

Fouad El-Khaldi Industry Strategy & Innovation

09 customer success

General Manager,

Casting Simulation Helps Honda Cut Die Design Trials Significantly

ESI Group

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe Increases its Competitiveness with IC.IDO SL Rasch Relies on Virtual Performance Solution to Achieve Architectural Excellence AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine Adopts IC.IDO to Offer Virtual Reality to its Trainees University of Ulster Relies on PAM-STAMP to Develop Innovative Manufacturing Processes for an Aeronautic Part Inegi Uses ProCAST to Manufacture Hip Prostheses Cost Effectively Comil Ônibus Reduces Distortion by 75% Using Weld Planner Simulation Software

Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) today are unaware of the value Virtual Prototyping software can bring to their business. Common perception may be that the technology is too complex or too expensive and, thus, accessible only to larger organizations. This is a misconception today: the technical and financial barriers preventing small companies from switching to numerical modeling are disappearing (page4).

Technology is part of our daily lives and simulation is everywhere – from childhood games to models of our planet

16 corporate success Saving Lives with Virtual Prototyping

Earth, our weather and our economies. Today, graduating engineers enter the workforce equipped to develop computer models using simulation software. Employers can build

18 product success Visual-Environment 10.0 Delivers Key Improvements for Computational Fluid Dynamics Introducing the New IC.IDO 10

on this expertise and subsequently assure that engineers and maintenance operators alike are trained in the latest technologies and enjoy successful and rewarding careers.

In this edition of ESI Talk we report (on page 12) such an

20 corporate Looking Back on ESI Global Forum 2014 ESI Wins a Prize Recognizing its Growth Over the Past 3 Years

evolution at Aerocampus Aquitaine, Europe’s largest training center for aeronautic maintenance. Students are trained in the latest aircraft maintenance procedures using Virtual Reality installations to visualize and interact with virtual engines and other aircraft equipment. Computer hardware and the IT

22 events

infrastructure necessary to conduct such simulations are

Save the Date!

increasingly affordable, while “software on demand” and Cloud

23 financial

Computing make even the most advanced simulation tools

Sales for the 3rd Quarter of 2014 Nomination of Two Independent Directors

accessible.

Using simulation software to build models and virtual prototypes is proving to be cost and time-effective in

esi talk is issued bi-annually by ESI Group Executive Editor: Amy de Rouvray Editor-in-Chief: Celine Gallerne celine.gallerne@esi-group.com ESI Group Marketing Parc d’Affaires SILIC 99, rue des Solets - BP 80112 94513 Rungis Cedex - FRANCE Tel: +33 (0) 1 41 73 58 00 Fax: +33 (0) 1 46 87 72 02 www.esi-group.com info@esi-group.com Design: Herbatnik Studio ISSN 12105-1739 Print: Groupe Dupli-Print 2 Rue Descartes ZI Sezac - 95330 Domont Dépôt légal: Janvier 2015

issue 45 : winter 2014

All PAM - and SYS - product names as well as other products belonging to ESI’s portfolio, including OpenFOAM® are tradenames or trademarks of ESI Group, unless specifically mentioned. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

All text and images included in the articles are the copyright of the companies presenting their applications and simulation tasks.

Photo credits: Expliseat, Euros, Acoudesign, Honda of America, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, SL Rasch, Aerocampus Aquitaine, University of Ulster, Inegi, Comil, Renault, Audi AG. G.OM.15.23A

comparison with conventional methods, and helps companies get new products “right first time”. Design errors detected early in the development cycle can save companies costly iterations (representing millions of Euros). Read our Special Report (p 4-6), on how smaller companies are using virtual prototyping to design and manufacture highly innovative parts and components with minimum initial investment and in the shortest amount of time.

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special report

Lighter is Better How Virtual Prototyping Helps Smaller Companies Develop Lighter and Greener Products

Pressure to reduce weight has been guiding innovations

must be carefully investigated to avoid design errors and

in the mobility sector for decades. Today lightweight

costly surprises.

manufacturing is crucial to reduce fuel consumption,

But product testing has a cost – a cost that can prevent

CO2, and greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond automotive and aerospace, other sectors such as electronics or architecture are also exploring the use of lightweight

smaller businesses from entering the game. This is where ESI comes into the equation: by proposing reliable Virtual Prototyping software and services. Enabling engineers

materials to achieve greater efficiency, save costs or

to get their products right the first time, ESI relieves

simply make ground-breaking designs possible.

small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the high

Whatever the industry, lighter alternatives are constantly being made available – benefiting from

initial investment formerly required to test and certify a product.

ultra-high strength steel, aluminum, and composite

ESI’s simulation solutions empower smaller businesses to

materials, to name a few options. These innovative

develop the right simulation and optimization strategies

lightweight materials need to be thoroughly evaluated

and thereby develop, certify and launch their new

to avoid product failure, gain certifications required for

products faster – and secure revenue earlier.

commercialization, guarantee product usability, comfort

We feature in this article several compelling examples of

and durability. The manufacture of lightweight parts, their

companies who, despite a troubled economic climate,

physical properties, performance and usage in different

managed to get ahead of their game and deliver truly

environments under normal or accidental conditions

fantastic innovations, thanks to Virtual Prototyping.

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special report

Expliseat releases the world’s lightest aircraft seat French company Expliseat used ESI’s Virtual Seat Solution to develop the revolutionary Titanium Seat, the lightest seat ever certified by both the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

”Virtual Seat Solution has helped us reduce drastically the development time usually required to design an innovative product, and has allowed us to increase the business value of our company in record time!”

Dr. Vincent Tejedor, Chief Technical Officer of Expliseat

Thanks to Virtual Seat Solution, Expliseat was able to develop fully virtual seat prototypes; easily conducting many iterations without the need to build numerous (and costly) real prototypes. The company was also able to develop and test newly patented technologies that are used to absorb the shocks felt by aircraft passengers inflight, and thereby increase their comfort.

Available for Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 aircraft, the new Titanium Seat weighs only 4 kilograms, a 50 percent weight saving compared with today’s lightest models (8 to 10 kilograms). It fulfills the many requirements of an economy class seat: light weight, sleek design, excellent ergonomics, ease of personalization, safety, and durability. The super-lightweight seat respects all EU and US safety standards and is now approved for flight on

From top to bottom: Expliseat Titanium Seat: real seat, real prototype and virtual prototype.

to benefit from an estimated 3 to 5 percent fuel saving –

EUROS manufactures its first ever 80-meter long composite rotor blade

a considerable gain for our environment and representing

To achieve lightweight wind blades, the wind industry

board any airline in the world. The seat allows airlines

$ 300,000 to $ 500,000 savings per aircraft per year.

generally favors composite materials – a choice hard to

The contribution of numerical simulation is best

reconcile with increasing length requirements.

expressed in the words:

German company EUROS manufactures its long composite rotor blades by Vacuum Assisted Resin

”Virtual Prototyping is a proven industrial approach to pre-certify the manufacturing process and performance of an innovative product, such as our Titanium seat.

Our experience working with ESI’s Virtual Seat Solution confirms the efficiency of this solution in speeding up innovation.”

Infusion (VARI). Recently, the company needed to develop a specific process to enable the manufacturing of an 80-meter long wind turbine rotor blade, the biggest they had ever made.

Usually, this would have required several infusion trials.

Dr. Vincent Tejedor,

The costs of each trial are high and increase quickly with

Chief Technical Officer of Expliseat

blade length and design complexity, as does the process development time.

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special report

In view of the challenges, EUROS decided to introduce

To undertake the complex vibro-acoustic analysis

simulation as a means to better understand the VARI

needed, Acoudesign chose VA One; software from ESI

process and its influencing parameters. The wind blade

that uniquely covers low, mid, and high frequencies.

manufacturer chose PAM-RTM, ESI’s software dedicated

Using VA One, Acoudesign developed a 3D Finite Element

to the infusion process of large composite parts, to

model of the acoustic panel to demonstrate the efficiency

replicate and support their physical tests (RTM for Resin

of both its air layer and its elastic suspensions. VA One

Transfer Molding). Thanks to PAM-RTM, their engineering

also enabled Acoudesign to optimize the performance/

team determined the best injection strategy; one that

weight ratio of the panel’s light multilayer structure.

minimized risks, optimized the quality of the wind blade, reduced manufacturing time, and assured process repeatability.

Benefiting from the use of PAM-RTM, EUROS successfully built their first 81.6-meter long, 32.8 tons, offshore blade and reached all their goals.

”Thanks to PAM-RTM, we can develop several infusion strategies in a short time for the manufacturing of different types of onshore and offshore wind turbine rotor blades.”

”Noise and vibration are one of the main problems in the aerospace industry as a wide range of frequencies are involved. The results obtained with VA One to design a high performance acoustic panel for noise reduction in the new generation X4 helicopter cabin have been very satisfying. VA One allowed us to meet quickly our predefined objectives thus significantly reducing the cost of the project.”

Dr Jean-Philippe THOMÉ, Owner, Acoudesign

Dipl. Ing. Mathias Marois, Head of Production Technology Department, EUROS Germany

The internal noise field in a helicopter cabin depends on external noise sources, noise transmission, as well as the internal reverberation in the cabin’s volume.

Benefits to SMEs Acoudesign develops an acoustic panel to reduce noise inside helicopters French company Acoudesign specializes in optimizing acoustics for interior designs in the building and mobility industries. PEGASE competitiveness cluster selected Acoudesign to join a research program for the new generation Airbus X4 helicopter.

Small and mid-sized companies (SMEs) across industries continue to obtain measurable gains from leveraging ESI’s Virtual Prototyping solutions in their product development process. Benefits include cost reduction as they reduce or even eliminate physical trials as well as time savings and accelerated development processes.

Importantly, companies are able to investigate design alternatives easily and respond to new challenges with agility. Virtual Prototyping empowers SMEs to

Acoudesign’s role in the project was to develop a light,

produce innovative, state-of-the-art products, parts or

stiff and thin acoustic panel to be used in noise reduction

components that meet design objectives. Just like larger

in the helicopter cabin. The requirements were to provide

corporations, SMEs are able to shorten the pre-industrial

both insulation and high absorption performances, while

phase of new products – and to do so with minimum

meeting aerospace standards.

initial investment.

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interview

3 Questions for…

Christian Matzen Head of Virtual Reality at ESI

Christian Matzen gives us a strategic overview of the business value of immersive Virtual Reality across multiple industries Why does Virtual Reality represent the future for

process. The challenge for them is to perform collaborative

the manufacturing industry?

and immersive design reviews, to evaluate and optimize

Increased technical complexities, elongated and dynamic supply chains, growing shortage of experienced workforce, and relentless time and budgetary pressures lead to a complex environment that challenges the culture and traditional means by which companies make decisions.

Rapid evolution in the capabilities and complexity of design tools and the steady push for digital design – where physical products do not exist until most of the design has been completed – are so many reasons to turn to Virtual Reality. It is also the best possible technlology to eliminate communication barriers, especially for participants outside the engineering community.

What do manufacturers (aerospace, automotive, energy, etc.) need in the area of Virtual Reality?

assembly and disassembly sequences, to verify resources and tooling for both manufacture and maintenance, to support documentation and workflow animation/ training.

The ability to detect contact and obstruction during assembly and maintenance procedures, to evaluate instantaneously flexible components, pipes and cables is critical for them.

What do the manufacturers concretely do with ESI’s Virtual Reality solution IC.IDO? With IC.IDO, manufacturers of complex products are able to clearly identify and resolve issues in real-time. They use Virtual Reality to present and communicate products virtually. IC.IDO allows for fast, reliable and convenient decisions throughout the whole product development process. The solution streamlines workflows, reduces errors, and minimizes overlooked issues that evolve into costly

In the 2000s, Manufacturers started to believe in the power

downstream problems. IC.IDO allows them to make early,

of immersive VR as a unique tool to intuitively experience

effective and reliable decisions, with a lasting positive impact

innovative products in their environments. What they need

on both revenue and cost.

is a powerful and robust solution combining high-end visualization and real-time simulation of product behavior in its actual size, to allow product operation very close to reality.

They need a solution that is made for engineers, usable on a daily basis as a cornerstone of the product development

issue 45 : winter 2014

for more information www.esi-group.com/icido

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special report

Join our Webinars

Every week one new topic on challenges of the vibro-acoustic world

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Register: www.esi-group.com/webinars

automotive | customer success

Casting Simulation Helps Honda Cut Die Design Trials Significantly Honda of America uses ESI’s ProCAST to evaluate the initial die design and try out alternatives before building any physical prototype

“Engineers at our parent company in Japan

by requiring refurbishment of the die in

have long used simulation to evaluate

between runs.

prototypes before they even think of building a trial die,” said James Kreitzer, Engineering Coordinator for Honda of America Manufacturing. “They were able to successfully bring parts into production

With the help of ProCAST, Honda EGA successfully understood the root cause of the die erosion and found a solution to fix it.

in considerably less time than we were able to accomplish here. So we started looking at various options to simulate the casting process.”

Honda of America Manufacturing Anna Engine Plant (Honda EGA) produces aluminum die castings, such as engine blocks and cylinder heads. Before implementing simulation, due to the complexity of the dies, even experienced casting engineers rarely were able to produce a die design that resulted in quality parts on the first try. The time-

”We have found ProCAST predictions to be very accurate. Simulation provides far more information than is obtained during testing, such as the flow velocity and temperature at every point in the mold throughout the filling and cooling process. The resulting visualization of the casting process helps engineers understand the causes of defects and evaluate the performance of modified tooling designs without having to actually produce tooling.

As a result, we have been able to substantially reduce the number of die tries and compress the entire product development process by several months.”

James Kreitzer,

consuming build and test process, which

Engineering Coordinator for

was required to complete the design,

Honda of America Manufacturing

involved multiple die trials at a cost of nearly $50,000 per try.

About Honda of America

To address this issue, Honda chose ESI’s casting simulation software, ProCAST to

The Anna Engine Plant, established in

evaluate the initial die design and try out

1985, is Honda’s first U.S. engine plant

alternative solutions before building or

and largest auto engine facility in the

testing any hardware. The simulations

world producing four-cylinder and six-

typically show flow and solidification

cylinder automotive engines for North

related problems such as gas and shrinkage porosity. Engineers can then

American-built Honda and Acura autos Erosion location and metal front meeting location in real die tries and in ProCAST.

as well as drivetrain components. Honda

As a result of virtual prototyping use,

to expand its capabilities in aluminum die

Recently die erosion on an industrial

Honda of America has lowered the

casting and engine parts production.

grade C18150 copper permanent mold

average number of die tries and reduced

for the ferrous castings production line

the die development process by months.

created a major problem. In addition to

Their products are ready to be delivered

increasing scrap rate and downtime to fix

to customers sooner and cost less to

the die, this eventually increased the cost

develop.

modify the virtual model to correct these issues.

issue 45 : winter 2014

recently invested $180 million in the plant

for more information www.esi-group.com/casting www.honda.com

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customer success | energy & power

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe Increases its Competitiveness with IC.IDO Turning to Virtual Reality has helped MHPSE decrease time-tomarket and prevent engineering errors

The global energy sector today faces an unprecedented number of challenges related to tough competition coming from emerging countries. In this context, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe (MHPSE), designer and constructor of fossil-fired power plants and related key components, decided in 2006 to look for a new tool that would address their main challenges: • Convincing potential customers of the value of their solutions by using innovative differentiators during the bidding phase; • Reducing the cost of engineering errors (sometimes with associated penalties of millions of Euros), and eliminating project delays related to late error detection or last minute design adjustments; • Shortening the engineering cycle time, while improving collaborative decisionmaking with subcontractors.

Replacing the usual solid models and 2D screenshots, MHPSE deployed ESI’s Virtual Reality solution IC.IDO to visualize and fully experience their 3D prototypes in a highly immersive environment.

They now benefit from the interactivity features that allow users to move around actual size virtual prototypes in real time, and to identify potential design errors, and inconsistencies. IC.IDO enables true

collaboration: intuitive interaction with plant and equipment that bridges the gap between different engineering domains, generations, languages and cultures.

“Using IC.IDO allowed us to detect numerous failures in our power station 3D mock-ups, before it was too late to halt the construction process. By identifying these kinds of critical mistakes, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe has avoided significant time loss, and the costly penalties we would have paid.

The ROI of IC.IDO is indisputable. ESI helped Hitachi not only detect errors but actually prevent them,” explains Christoph Kastl, Head of technical IT at Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe.

In order to truly integrate Virtual Reality in their engineering process, MHPSE decided to invest in a dedicated room equipped with IC.IDO and a Large-Scale 3D visualization powerwall.

Since this investment, MHPSE has exploited the benefits of 3D immersive visualization broadly in their business.

Their engineering department, contractors and sub-contractors can now perform highly efficient, real-time engineering reviews with very little data preparation and in a short amount of time.

Encouraged by the high level of acceptance of Virtual Reality in the company, and with the help of ESI’s

Virtual Reality consultants, MHPSE went one step further in making Virtual Reality even more accessible. They put in place automated processes that significantly optimize data preparation and upload time. Preparation for a full power station review can now be completed in only 1 hour; a dramatic improvement over the 8 hours required before

”Although we have come a long way since we implemented IC.IDO, we are absolutely sure that the perspectives of Virtual Reality for our industry are still infinite. Nevertheless, we can today claim that we have met our initial objectives. Virtual Reality contributes to developing a more innovative and efficient image of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe; a great advantage in the face of competition.”

Christoph Kastl, Head of technical IT at Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe

About Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe MHPSE GmbH, a subsidiary of globally operating Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Ltd., designs and constructs fossil-fired power plants and supplies key components such as utility steam generators, environmental engineering equipment, turbines and pulverizers.

for more information www.esi-group.com/icido www.emea.mhps.com With IC.IDO, examining Virtual Prototypes is both realistic and intuitive.

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construction | customer success

SL Rasch Relies on Virtual Performance Solution to Achieve Architectural Excellence SL Rasch collaborated with ESI to virtually build and test different types of lightweight structures for architectural projects in the holy sites of Mecca and Medina

In 2005, SL Rasch GmbH, a German architecture firm that specializes in buildings and lightweight structures, took on complex projects in Medina and Mecca, Saudi-Arabia; destinations for millions of pilgrims every year. They addressed the design of 250 giant, hydraulically powered umbrellas, each fifteen meters high, and providing 26m x 26m cover over the Medina Haram Piazza.

For Mecca, SL Rasch designed the Mecca Royal Hotel Clock, an architectural workof-art situated at the top of the 600m tower, just a few steps away from the Grand Mosque.

The flexible shading umbrellas and the huge elastic wing-like clock hands on the top of the clock tower presented very specific challenges. With the objective of creating wind-resistant designs, SL

Umbrellas at the mosque.

(1) Mecca clock; 2D surface mesh of the clock hands and (2) clock hand velocities, studied using Fluid-Structure Interaction method.

issue 45 : winter 2014

Rasch conducted initial studies using wind tunnel tests on reduced scale rigid models. However, these models could not predict the flexible behavior of the structures under wind load.

Consequentially, Dr. Rasch, CEO of SL Rasch, and his longtime friend Dr. Eberhard Haug, a co-founder of ESI Group, began collaborating to apply simulation methods to address the design challenge of the structures.

SL Rasch virtually built and tested different types of minimal energy lightweight structures for the foldable umbrellas by relying on Virtual Performance Solution (VPS), ESI’s software to assess all domains of product performance.

For structural analysis of turbulent wind load on such lightweight structures, the team used Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulations, coupling Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Computational Structural Dynamics (CSD). ESI’s expertise in the simulation of airbag folding for the automotive industry proved to be invaluable as they were able to use Virtual Performance Solution to simulate the folding and stowing of the umbrellas in their narrow containers.

The Mecca tower, which is a high strength steel structural skeleton clad with lightweight ornamented carbonepoxy sandwich panels, had to be aerodynamically stable under high wind velocities and pressures. The project team performed structural analyses of the topmost 200 meters of the tower using wind tunnel analysis and CFD, which also provided detailed evaluation of the wind pressures on smaller structures.

”With the know-how of ESI experts and the capabilities built into ESI’s advanced CAE software solutions, designing our innovative structural systems became possible.”

Dr. Mahmoud Bodo Rasch, Founder and owner of SL RASCH GmbH

Using simulation, SL Rasch was able to test different versions of the design of the umbrellas and the clock and achieve optimal results while addressing all applicable safety requirements. The studies helped SL Rasch save time, energy, and considerable cost while making solid decisions on how to construct these massive structures.

About SL Rasch SL Rasch specializes in Special Buildings and Lightweight Structures; integrating architecture

and

engineering.

The company brings together an interdisciplinary team of professionals, composed of architects, structural, mechanical and aeronautical engineers, physicists and computer specialists together with in-house departments for project management, graphic design and model making.

for more information www.esi-group.com/VPS www.esi-group.com/engineeringservices www.sl-rasch.com

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customer success | areonautics

AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine Adopts IC.IDO to Offer Virtual Reality to its Trainees The Virtual Reality room opens new perspectives for professional training, providing an immersive experience, greater interactivity, and team collaboration

Major manufacturing companies in the aerospace, ground transportation, and industrial machinery sectors use IC.IDO to perform design reviews, evaluate and optimize assembly and disassembly sequences, verify resources and tooling and support documentation and workflow training.

Created in 2011 in Bordeaux, France AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine is Europe’s leading aircraft maintenance training center, serving the biggest aeronautic manufacturers

in

the

region.

AEROCAMPUS has recently implemented a Virtual Reality powerwall running IC.IDO, ESI’s Virtual Reality solution, allowing trainees to experiment with aeronautic maintenance operations in an ultrarealistic immersive environment. With real-scale and real-time interactions, they can work collaboratively and connect to Virtual Reality systems located at

About Aerocampus

other sites. For example, pupils located in Toulouse may now connect virtually with their fellow trainees in the new AEROCAMPUS Virtual Reality room in Bordeaux.

Using Virtual Prototypes, rather than traditional real prototypes, the AEROCAMPUS Cluster ensures that equipment data is current and takes into account the slightest change in aircraft parts or maintenance processes.

“Virtual Reality is ideal to keep up with the latest training data as it offers a greater reactivity with respect to frequent changes in aeronautic parts or processes,” comments Jérome Verschave, Managing Director, AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine.

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”Virtual Reality is a fantastic technology providing the most interactive teaching experience possible. Not only does this new technology make learning fun, IC.IDO also enables the experimentation of reallife physics and the realistic rehearsal of maintenance procedures, without having to provide costly aircraft parts.”

AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine, the former military aeronautical engineering training center in Lastrene (Gironde), is a technological center of international importance, entirely devoted to train aircraft maintenance technicians as well as diverse professions linked to the aeronautical industry.

Jérome Verschave, Managing Director, AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine

for more information www.esi-group.com/icido www.aerocampus-aquitaine.com

aeronautics | customer success

University of Ulster Relies on PAM-STAMP to Develop Innovative Manufacturing Processes for an Aeronautic Part Reducing drag on an aircraft engine nacelle leading edge by developing a process able to manufacture it in one piece

The increasing pressure on the aerospace industry to reduce its environmental impact has rekindled the interest in laminar flow technologies, which essentially ensure that airflow remains laminar until it naturally detaches from the surface of an aircraft, thus reducing turbulence and drag. Assuring laminar flow necessitates reduced geometric tolerances, reduced surface waviness (linked to manufacturing and assembly), and the elimination of cross-flow joints.

The Advanced Metal Forming Research Group (AMFOR Group), based at the University of Ulster in the United Kingdom, has been developing an innovative process to manufacture an aircraft engine nacelle leading edge (also called ‘lipskin’) in one piece, preserving laminar flow and significantly reducing aircraft drag.

Lipskins are generally manufactured using aluminum alloys or stainless steel.

Common manufacturing processes include deep-drawing, spinning

and hydroforming. Here, technical requirements inherent to optimum part design resulted in many challenges on the production side. In particular the increased draw depth in axial direction increases the risk of wrinkles, potentially results in excessive thinning, requires multi-stage heat treatments, and can often create unwanted grain growth.

Early on in its research, AMFOR Group realized that traditional forming techniques would not be sufficient to deliver a robust manufacturing process.

AMFOR Group then decided to use PAMSTAMP from the initial conception of the process to test multiple ways of making this component. It was from this initial modeling work that the process was derived.

The freedom to define unusual / nonstandard boundary conditions in PAMSTAMP was an essential element to evaluate this process virtually. Through a series of virtual trials, AMFOR Group optimized the blank profile, conic taper, tool motions and forces required. These values were then used to guide the design and development of a tailored forming system for the production of a prototype lipskin.

a

b

c

d

e

”PAM-STAMP is an incredibly flexible virtual try-out software for sheet metal forming simulation that enables the rapid development of innovative forming solutions at minimal cost.”

Dr Alan Leacock, Reader in Advanced Metal Forming, University of Ulster

The virtual development of the process took less than four months, resulting in a patented process.

Following a series of production trials, the production cycle was adapted to eliminate the need for inter-stage heat treatments that are common in many lipskin production processes used today.

The AMFOR Group is presently seeking to commercialize the new production process through partnerships with aerospace manufacturers.

About the AMFOR Group of the University of Ulster The AMFOR Group has over 17 years’ experience and is dedicated to the development of high value manufacturing processes for the sheet metal forming industry and particularly in the pragmatic application of science for the solution of industrial forming problems.

for more information www.esi-group.com/PAM-STAMP www.amfor.ulster.ac.uk

An engine nacelle lipskin part.

The key forming process steps.

issue 45 : winter 2014

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customer success | medical

Ine g i U s e s P ro C AS T to M anuf ac ture Hip Prostheses Cost Effectively Improving the patient’s comfort and safety while reducing costs of manufacturing

Hip prosthesis (Image courtesy of http://orthoinfo.aaos.org)

A hip prosthesis is a highly customized product, tailored to the exact morphology of a patient. Although modern medical imagery enables the construction of an accurate 3D model of the patient, the design and manufacturing of prostheses to high specification levels is still very widely based on a trial and error approach, which is both expensive and time-consuming.

Faced with the challenge of developing high quality prostheses, Inegi, a non-profit organization in Portugal which provides R&D support to various industries, turned to simulation software to develop a costeffective medical implant manufacturing technology. Investment casting was selected as the most appropriate process as it is the best adapted to manufacturing products with unique features and requiring exceptional precision. Inegi selected ESI’s casting simulation software ProCAST to identify the most efficient investment casting process suitable for custom-built prosthesis.

Investment casting requires the development of metallic dies that are used to produce the wax pattern which forms the geometry of the shell required for the casting process. Casting of complex parts, such as hip prosthesis, can result in defects, including the occurrence of center-line shrinkage porosity, bad surface finish & residual stresses.

Eliminating these defects typically requires several trials in which process

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variables, including the gating system that controls the flow into the mould, are adjusted. Such iteration is costly and time consuming when relying on physical prototyping and inspection, as production engineers have to re-create the metallic dies for the wax pattern for each design change.

Inegi turned to virtual manufacturing as a means to develop processes that eliminated the casting defects that can accelerate fatigue failure and reduce the lifetime of a prosthesis. They conducted several virtual trials using ESI’s ProCAST to obtain greater insight into the filling sequence and temperature gradients at various sections in the casting and shell.

To support these studies Inegi obtained from ProCAST’s thermodynamic database the high temperature properties of the specific Ti6Al4V alloy used for the prostheses.

Inegi set up different sets of simulations to determine the most adapted gating design. The castings produced by the finally accepted process were free from any centerline shrinkage and the surface finish was also improved. Based on these successes, Inegi now uses ProCAST to simulate all their casting processes .

About Inegi Founded in 1986, Inegi is an interface Institution between University and Industry, oriented to the activities of Research and Development, Innovation and Technology Transfer. Being a nonprofit private association recognized as being of public utility. Inegi is currently considered an active agent playing a significant role in the development of the Portuguese industry, and in the transformation of its competitive model.

”Scientific methods can always save us time and cost. ProCAST is just that tool helping foundry men find the right solutions. For the investment casting process, ProCAST can generate different layers of shells and with wrapping outside. This helps predict the temperature field more precisely.”

Nannan Song, Senior Researcher, Advanced Foundry and Rapid Prototyping Technologies, Inegi

for more information www.esi-group.com/casting www.inegi.pt

ground transportation | customer success

Comil Ônibus Reduces Distortion by 75% Using Weld Planner Simulation Software Allowing them to meet tolerance requirements on a bus door frame cost effectively and costly, trial-and-error prevented a structured corrective approach to design improvement, as Comil could only rely on experience to modify the welding sequence and clamping positions.

Based on this first success, Comil started to implement a standard methodology that integrates the use of Weld Planner, enabling them to reach their targets for cost, quality and time.

Comil thus turned to ESI simulation software Weld Planner to meet the quality specifications, deal with distortions, out of design tolerances, and cut development time and cost.

“Weld Planner brings great benefit in dimensional distortion control of welded structures, allowing the study of different welding sequences. Results are fast and highly accurate, ensuring significant technological improvement for our company, and consequently reducing costs previously spent on prototypes and materials that were just scrapped when they didn’t meet specifications“, comments Thiago Sotilli, Corporate Engineering, Comil.

First, Comil ran a benchmark to test and demonstrate – with success – the correlation of numerical results against physical tests. Comil then launched its first project integrating CAE simulations into its welding process development workflow, allowing them to compare the numerical results with existing physical tests.

Comil’s Versatile vehicle and its door frame.

Comil Ônibus S.A. is a major bus manufacturer in Brazil, selling its vehicles in more than 30 countries. One particular bus design incorporated a door with an inner structure made of steel, a configuration meant to meet the ABNT NBR 7008 standard. These inner door panels then had to be assembled and welded by Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW).

The prototyping department in charge of developing the welding process first performed physical tests and used trialand-error to simulate the welding device and welding sequence. Unfortunately, physical tests consistently revealed excessive welding distortion (up to 20mm) and consequently led to a rejection of the bus’ front door inner structure on the basis of inadequate quality.

In addition to being time-consuming

issue 45 : winter 2014

After obtaining satisfactory results from the simulations, Comil fully integrated Weld Planner in its workflow. The maximum distortion was reduced to 4.7 mm: a 75% reduction compared to 18.9 mm before simulation integration.

As a result, they were able to trim the welded bus door structure without any compensation or rework.

”Simulating the steel welding sequence using Weld Planner software significantly reduced manufacturing cost and time.

The simulation results allowed us to control the dimensions of critical parts and avoid rework in our assembly line.”

Local deformation of the welding assembly: before the use of Weld Planner (left) and after the use of Weld Planner (right).

About Comil Ônibus Comil Ônibus S.A. is a major bus manufacturer in Brazil and present on the streets and roads of more than 30 countries. It has a complete line of vehicles that includes coach, urban, micro, and special buses produced through careful market research. The company believes that the joining of competencies, talents, experiences, and knowledge result in a quality product, and ensure the satisfaction of passengers, drivers, and fleet owners.

André Luis Petry, Engineering Supervisor, Comil

for more information www.esi-group.com/welding-assembly www.comilonibus.com.br

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corporate success

Saving Lives with Virtual Prototyping Summing up the contribution of simulation to increased road safety over the past 30 years

The risk of death and injury in the event of a road

Automotive companies rely on numerical simulation to

accident has been importantly reduced in recent years

predict with accuracy the impact occurring between the

thanks to progress made in both active and passive

occupant and a fully deployed airbag. This so – called

safety measures.

“In-Position Airbag Deployment Simulation” has become

Virtual Prototyping is widely used by the industry to predict the results of crash tests – as defined in the new car assessment programs including Euro NCAP or US

a standard virtual test for at least the last ten years.

Car manufacturers use this information to evaluate the effectiveness of the airbag restraint function.

NCAP – which are conducted to assure compliance with

Automotive manufacturers also use numerical simulation

regulations and satisfactory customer ratings. Virtual

to reduce fatalities and even maximize protection in

Prototyping reduces, and can even eliminate, testing

cases where the impact with the occupant occurs before

of real (hardware) prototypes. Importantly, early and

the airbag is fully deployed. For these complex “Out-Of-

effective Virtual Prototyping can be used to avoid the

Position” situations, the deployment kinematics of the

surprises in the late stages of a vehicle development

airbag and local associated pressures play a major role

program which can take substantial amounts of time and

and require precise gas flow modeling. In order to model

money to correct.

these phenomena, ESI introduced in the 2000’s advanced

In regards to passive safety, airbags have been a standard safety component in cars since the 1990’s.

Their main function is to mitigate the abrupt deceleration experienced during a crash, and to prevent occupants

simulation techniques that incorporated Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) in its Virtual Airbag Solution. Today, FSI techniques are also used for side airbags, like curtain airbags or knee airbags.

from impacting the car’s components; including the instrument panel and steering wheel. Today, most vehicles feature not only frontal airbags but also passenger airbags and even side or curtain airbags.

Out-Of-Position: The airbag comes in contact with the occupant at the very beginning of its deployment.

In addition to FSI, ESI’s Virtual Airbag Solution takes into account the manufacturing of the airbag and thereby increases the precision of the Virtual Prototype. This involves the precise modeling of the membrane material, which deeply influences the volume and the pressure of the airbag. Modeling the folding procedure is also very important – which is why ESI’s Virtual Airbag Solution enables manufacturers to precisely simulate the different folding operations of the airbag and its placement in its In-Position Deployment: The occupant comes in contact with the fully deployed airbag.

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casing.

corporate success

This set of advanced functionalities, unique on the market, has earned the trust of the world’s most renowned carmakers, including Audi.

Dr. Erich Blümcke, Vehicle Safety Simulation Engineer, AUDI AG, comments on the incredible advances of simulation, with regards to occupant safety: “Four or five years ago, I had high discrepancies between physical testing and my simulation results. Nowadays, I am in a very good range: I can do specific simulations in order to validate my models and then really make decisions on how to design the airbags. ESI helps Audi

The passenger airbag folding process using ESI’s Virtual Airbag Solution.

design accurate airbag folding pattern in good timing.”

Towards active safety After decades of research to improve crash- worthiness Today, Virtual Airbag Solution helps clients in the automotive sector: • Reduce airbag development cost and time

and passenger safety, car manufacturers are now looking at active safety measures: they are not only trying to mitigate the consequences of a car crash, they are also trying to prevent the collision from happening in the first

• Decrease the number of physical tests performed

place! There again, Virtual Prototyping lends a helping

• Optimize the development process

hand. For example, virtually simulating the behavior of

• Improve procedure and interactions between departments

high-frequency RADAR captors (77GHz) has helped car

• Accelerate airbag model construction time

systems. Active safety is today an important topic, on

Drivers around the world have access to safer cars, at

which ESI teams are already working with some of the

a lower price, and in less time!

world’s biggest OEMs.

manufacturers develop innovative collision detection

for more information www.esi-group.com/VPS Virtual electromagnetic testing of active safety systems, such as blind spot assistance.

issue 45 : winter 2014

17

product news

Visual-Environment 10.0 Delivers Key Improvements for Computational Fluid Dynamics Offering a dedicated user environment for open source code OpenFOAM®

Visual-Environment 10.0 is an open simulation platform that enables the management of Virtual Prototyping processes efficiently in a single environment.

Designed to support the most demanding CAE requirements, Visual-Environment is a comprehensive simulation platform enabling faster decision-making across multiple domains.

The latest version, Visual-Environment 10.0, includes several major enhancements:

With this latest release, Visual-Environment 10.0 platform now supports additional formats generated by third-party CAD tools, such as ACIS, Solid Edge, Inventor and SolidWorks, allowing users to import files without the need for time-consuming conversions.

• It delivers a very intuitive interface for all CFD engineers, allowing them to accelerate the preparation of most common CFD calculations, including airflow for external aerodynamics, internal airflow for underhood and climate control, and investigation of flow around rotating bodies • It provides users of the well-known open source CFD modules of OpenFOAM® with the first compatible industrial grade platform, enabling seamless CAD import, easy model set-up,

”Working hand-in-hand with ESI, AMD is able to provide Visual-Environment 10.0 users with a certified driver, delivering robust and feature-rich graphical support to manage virtual prototypes and large-scale engineering simulation models, as required for every day Finite Element analysis and for Computational Fluid Dynamics.”

pre- and post-processing, macro-capabilities and customization

Antoine Reymond,

• It gives design engineers access to quick answers for various

Strategic Alliances Manager

design options. Once a CFD engineer has defined an analysis

AMD

process, fellow design engineers can benefit from automated meshing, set-up and processing, enabling them to obtain CFD models in a third of the time, with no supervision and with minimum training.

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for more information www.esi-group.com/Visual-Environment

corporate

Introducing the New IC.IDO 10 ESI takes Virtual Reality to the next level with workflow efficiency and high fidelity rendering for industrial applications

Industrial manufacturers of large or complex products continually seek innovative ways to increase productivity and reduce potential design issues. Immersive Virtual Reality solution IC.IDO empowers their teams to collaboratively explore and resolve design challenges throughout product engineering, manufacturing and aftersales. The latest release, IC.IDO 10, elevates the fidelity of decision-making and delivers an unprecedented immersive experience.

IC.IDO 10 features the new module IDO.Illuminate, providing ultra-realistic lighting conditions, so that users may experience their product “as good as real”, long before a physical prototype is available. For the first time, users of IC.IDO 10 are able to experience their future product under realistic lighting conditions, without sacrificing performance or interactivity.

They can create complex 3D environments in which to immerse their product, appreciate the visual appearance, experience operating conditions more realistically, and better assess the manufacturability or serviceability of a product. For example, with IDO.Illuminate an automotive company can assess if lighting conditions on the assembly line are sufficient in order to ensure safe and efficient operations by workers.

Also part of this release, the new module IDO.Process allows for efficient, interactive and collaborative planning and validation of assembly processes. In combination with IC.IDO’s immersive experience, IDO.Process addresses the demand of industrial engineers and service managers for an agile and robust planning and validation environment of their respective processes.

Recently, automotive manufacturer Renault implemented IC.IDO to speed up the quality and efficiency of their design processes.

”We’re excited about this latest release and expect a lot from IC.IDO 10 in terms of physics simulation for flexible and kinematic chains, manikin manipulation, data flow and workflow organization. Our objective, with the help of IC.IDO, is to increase the quality and efficiency of our assembly validations, and to decrease our development times.”

Renaud Deligny, Specialist for 3D Engineering for Product and Process Design at Renault

Industry has adopted IC.IDO to perform collaborative and immersive design reviews, to evaluate and optimize assembly and disassembly sequences, to verify resources and tooling for manufacture and maintenance, and more.

Virtual Reality solution IC.IDO improves the efficiency of engineering design processes at Renault.

It is important to note that IC.IDO 10 optimizes rendering performance during runtime so users can benefit from the best possible balance between visual quality and real-time interactivity. Not only does the new module IDO.Illuminate bring increased productivity, it also delivers a compelling experience for presentations to the end customer by showing the impact of lighting conditions on usability or perceived quality.

issue 45 : winter 2014

Leading companies benefit from IC.IDO. Customers amongst the automotive manufacturers include Chrysler, Daimler, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, JLR, and Volkswagen. In the aerospace sector, customers include Airbus, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin.

Machinery and tooling manufacturers such as AP&T, Bausch & Stroebel, Gabler, Herrenknecht, MTU and Oerlikon Neumag use IC.IDO; as do Caterpillar, John Deere and Bombardier in the commercial vehicles and transportation sector; and the prominent energy companies Siemens and Hitachi.

for more information www.esi-group.com/icido

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corporate

Looking Back on ESI Global Forum 2014 Last May in Paris, France, ESI Group held its third ESI Global Forum, an international conference dedicated to Virtual Product Engineering

To fulfill the needs of ESI’s growing vibro-acoustics user community, four vibro-acoustics workshops ran in parallel to the aforementioned industry presentations. These workshops focused on Powertrain Exhaust and Intake, Wind Noise, Cabin Noise, and Low Frequency Interior Acoustics.

The event, tailored to CAE experts and decision-makers, gathered some 300 attendees from around the globe.

ESI customers and simulation engineers from various industry sectors shared their expertise, challenges and achievements. Held every 2 years, ESI Global Forum brings together industry leaders to help them implement best practices and get the best return on their investment in Virtual Product Engineering: from increased product performance to cost reduction and reduced time to market.

A few words from attendees… ”Excellent work!“ “Very useful event.”

“Good to meet ESI people face to face and discuss developments.”

“The organization was excellent!“ “Thank you for giving us a great opportunity.”

In addition, ESI organized jointly with customer and partner AP&T a micro-seminar on the Virtual Prototyping of the hot forming manufacturing process. Here they demonstrated and visualized the full engineering workflow – all the way from original customer request through to a production solution, with material cost estimation, die face design, stamping feasibility assessment, and cooling channel validation – in Virtual Reality.

Also taking place in parallel to ESI Global Forum, a round table discussion dedicated to Virtual Reality offered an opportunity for ESI clients to come together and debate the future of this technology and its deployment at an industrial level.

As in past years, the ESI Fair brought together ESI partners.

These included hardware and software suppliers who took the opportunity to offer exciting and cutting-edge demos, and display how their latest solutions bring benefits in productivity and performance.

ESI would like to thank all speakers, sponsors and participants, who made this international event a success!

“I look forward to participating again.”

Following the opening of the forum by Alain de Rouvray, the co-founder and CEO of ESI Group who shared his strategic vision for Virtual Product Engineering, exceptional keynotes were delivered in the extended plenary session by some of ESI’s leading customers: Renault, Airbus Defense & Space, AREVA, Nissan Motor, and Volkswagen.

The event then split into 3 parallel sessions dedicated to Ground Transportation, Energy & Power, and Aerospace & Defense. Specific challenges and best practices in these three industries were addressed.

20

The ESI Global Forum fair featured Haption, a provider of haptic devices for Virtual Reality.

corporate

ESI Wins a Prize Recognizing its Growth Over the Past 3 Years The “Grand Prix des Entreprises de Croissance” is awarded to French companies that have achieved outstanding growth in the previous three years.

Vincent Chaillou, Chief Operating Officer, and Laurent Bastian, Chief Financial Officer, ESI Group

Last July, ESI Group won the prize “Grand Prix des Entreprises de Croissance,” awarded to French companies that have achieved outstanding growth in the past three years. The committee selected ESI in the “Software and IT Services” category for companies with a turnover of between €100 million and €1 billion in the period 20102013; when ESI Group’s turnover rose on average by 13.2% a year.

In addition to the growth requirement, the award was based on a thorough examination of six criteria that demonstrate the excellence of ESI Group over the long term, namely: sustainability and profitability, job creation, corporate social responsibility, leadership and collaborative management, innovation, and development and growth potential.

”This award is a valuable testimony to the excellence shown by ESI Group teams worldwide over more than 40 years. With its increasingly innovative virtual prototyping solutions, the Group has made a global name for itself due to its vitality and technological expertise, through which it has helped secure the longterm industrial leadership of its customers. The award also recognizes the Group’s ambition to usher in the ICT based fourth industrial revolution, fostering a more efficient economy through disruptive productivity gains and a more engaged social responsibility.

Given the quality of the candidates and the discerning selection process, being chosen for the first edition of this brand new award is not only an honor for the Group, but it also sends out a strong signal that spurs on our indomitable quest for excellence.”

Alain de Rouvray, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ESI Group

for more information www.grandprix-entreprisesdecroissance.fr

issue 45 : winter 2014

21

events

Save the Date!

Composites Virtual Prototyping Expert Seminar

Mechanical Performance (fatigue, strength, crash), Manufacturing effects, Multi-Scale technologies

Stuttgart, Germany

Jan 27-28, 2015

Vibro-Acoustics Marine SIG Asia 2015

Marine Special Interest Group Seminar showcasing latest developments in the field of Vibro-Acoustics related to the Marine Industry

Mumbai, India

Feb 10-11, 2015

Casting technology in engine construction 2015

"GieĂ&#x;technik im Motorenbau 2015" - Potential capacity for the next generation of power engines

Magdeburg, Germany

Mar 10-12, 2015

JEC Europe 2015

The major global composites event in the world

Paris, France

Mar 16-19, 2015

DAGA 2015

41st annual conference for acoustics

Nuremberg, Germany

Pass By Noise Special Interest Group (SIG)

To develop and evolve methodologies capable of performing PBN simulation in a virtual environment.

Nuremberg, Germany

Apr 8-12, 2015

Laval Virtual 2015

17th International Exhibition of Virtual Technologies and Uses

May 31- Jun 05 2015

Solidification Course 2015

One-week course to improve knowledge in the field of solidification

Jun 15-17, 2015

Marine 2015

6th International Conference on Computational Methods in Marine Engineering

Rome, Italy

Jun 15-21, 2015

International Paris Air Show (Le Bourget)

Bringing together the world’s industry leaders in Aerospace, around the latest technological innovations

Paris, France

Jun 16-20, 2015

GIFA 2015

13th International Foundry Trade Fair

Jun 22-25, 2015

SAE 2015 Noise and Vibration Conference

Forum for leading industry professionals to share the latest technologies surrounding NVH and sound quality

ESI DACH Forum 2015

Expert platform for Virtual Prototyping

ESI Japan Forum 2015 (PUCA)

The forum brings together users sharing their expertise, best practices, challenges and successes.

Jan 27-28, 2015

Mar 20, 2015

Oct 7-8, 2015

Nov 19-20, 2015

for more information www.esi-group.com/events

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Laval, France

Les Diablerets, Switzerland

Duesseldorf, Germany

Grand Rapids, MI, United States

Bamberg, Germany

Tokyo, Japan

financial

Sales for the 3rd Quarter of 2014

Nomination of Two Independent Directors

Alain de Rouvray, ESI Group’s Chairman and CEO, comments:

“Third-quarter sales continue the trend observed during the first half. The Licenses activity showed further strong demand for our innovative solutions, while the Services reflect the refocus in favor of high value added projects. We are anticipating an amplification of the seasonal nature of sales in the fourth quarter due to the repositioning of some License contracts, and the improvement in Services during this period. Encouraged by the commercial momentum of the Licenses, ESI Group maintains its expectations of growth and improvement of profitability over the full year.”

Véronique Jacq

Rajani Ramanathan

The Board of Directors of ESI Group, on the recommendation of the Compensation, Nomination and Governance Committee,

Licenses: robust business The Licenses business reported sales of €42.5 million, stable in real terms and up 2.2% at constant exchange rates compared

elected two new independent directors – Ms Véronique Jacq and Ms Rajani Ramanathan – at the Annual General Meeting held on 24 July 2014. The Board now consists of 8 members.

with the same period last year. This growth, as mentioned in

Véronique Jacq is a graduate of the Ecole des Mines de Paris and

regard to the first half, was mitigated by the repositioning of

of the Corps des Mines. She began her career with the French

major contracts in the fourth quarter. At constant exchange

Nuclear Safety Authority and has gained a sound knowledge of

rates, and adjusted for the repositioning of these contracts, the installed base grew. The rate of recurrent business remained high at 78.7%, compared with 78.5% in same period last year.

technology firms through various management positions that she held. In 2012, she took over as head of digital investment

New Business activity totaled €9.8 million at current exchange

at CDC Enterprises and currently performs the same role in the

rates, representing 26.2% of Licenses sales, compared with

digital investment division of Bpifrance.

25.4% in the same period last year.

Services: further consolidation of business

Rajani Ramanathan gained experience running her own companies in India and holding leadership positions in both small and large organizations in the US. She has spent the last

Services sales totaled €19.5 million in real terms, a decline of

14 years at Salesforce.com, a company she joined in 2000 when

7.0% at constant exchange rates. This was attributable to the

it was only a start-up. Most recently she was COO (EVP) of the

continued refocus of the business; an impact which is expected to lessen by the end of the year.

Geographic mix: strong business in Europe

Technologies & Products division. In 2014, she was awarded the YWCA TWIN (Tribute to Women and Industry) Award, considered one of Silicon Valley’s most prestigious awards, honoring women who exemplify leadership excellence in executive-level positions.

The geographic breakdown of sales over the first nine months reflected a shift in favor of Europe, driven primarily by the Licenses business. This region accounted for 42.9% of total revenues, compared with 40.8% in the same period last year.

The trend in Asia (39.1% vs. 39.7%) was mainly attributable to the unfavorable impact of exchange rates and adverse business situation. The reduction of business volumes in the Americas, which accounted for 18.0% of sales compared with 19.5% in the same period last year, resulted from the refocus of the Services business. This masked the strength of the Licenses activity in this

for more information www.esi-group.com/investors

region during the first nine months.

issue 45 : winter 2014

23

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