The DEMETRA project started several years ago, and now that it has achieved its end,
we have seen some nice results coming out,
especially in modeling different gears with different gear body geometries.
In the framework of the DEMETRA project, there have been some new algorithms that have been
developed here at Siemens.
Together with universities that are collaborating on the same project, we were able to accurately
measure vibrations, and model
all of the characteristics of gear contacts, in a very accurate and very fast way.
My role in this project was to actually validate those algorithms, because we need to see if
everything makes sense.
In order to do that, we have been using the gear test rig here in Leuven, which allows
us to actually test different types of gears,
solid gears, lightweight, and even different material.
In particular, the gear pairs that we have been testing here, have been also modeled
using Simcenter 3D.
We are using the transmission builder to create the gears, and different types of modeling
are available in the software.
The latest one, which is the most accurate one, is called the FE preprocessor, and it
allows us to take into account different aspects of gear modeling.
So the gear contact is a complex and non-linear phenomenon which requires a lot of attention
when you are dealing with NVH analysis of gear boxes,
and using these new techniques, we are able to take into account different geometries
of gears, and different gear body characteristics.
We want to optimize gear boxes.
That's the final goal.
In order to optimize them, we need to model different types of gears very accurately,
and if those gears are accurate enough, then we can talk about digital twins, because what
I have in my computer, has been kind of validated
with experiments, so I know whatever my model gives, will be exactly the same as what the
test rig gives me.
My PhD project is on the lightweight design of robotics manipulators, so I'm going to
try to introduce composite materials inside the design
of manipulators to make them lightweight, and improve the performances of it.
And as a part of my work here, I also helped with the testing part of the test rig for
the lightweight gears.
We spent 2 entire weeks on the test rig, so we started setting it up, and we had to instrument
the new gears,
especially the composite one, the lightweight one.
So we had to also instrument the entire test rig, so we used a lot of accelerometers all around
the body of the test rig to detect the vibrations of it, and isolate them from the vibrations
of the rest of the body.
And then, we could start with the tests, all the acquisition parts, so the cable management,
so the acquisition parts are done through the
computer and test lab.
In Siemens, we have this unique capability of being able to do the modeling and also
the experimental analysis
at the same time.
We have been in a scientific collaboration for a long time with KU Leuven in Belgium,
but we are not only committed to that university, we are also having different contacts with
universities around the world,
especially the University of Calabria, who also contributed to the manufacturing of this
test rig.
We are aiming to optimize gears, because that will reduce costs, and will also reduce pollution,
and this is something that is very challenging for engineers.