American Engineering Group LLC

Online version of Abaqus Documentaion 6.7

2010-01-08T12:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a link I found for the Abaqus Documentaion online. Hope this helps.

Thanks

Pressure penetration analysis of an air duct kiss seal

2009-01-23T10:53:00.000-08:00

Seals are common structural components that often require design analyses. In this example, a nonlinear finite element analysis of seals is performed. Pressure penetration effects between the seal and the contacting surfaces are to be considered in these analyses, to make routine analyses of seals more realistic and accurate. Analyses of clutch seals, threaded connectors, car door seals and air duct kiss seals are some applications where pressure penetration effects are important. The surface-based pressure penetration capability is used to simulate pressure penetration between contacting surfaces.

Submodeling of a stacked sheet metal assembly

2009-01-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

Sheet metal stampings stacked and fitted on top of each other and secured together via mechanical fasteners such as bolts or rivets are commonly used in the automotive industry. Examples include seat belt anchors and seating track assemblies. The submodeling capability in ABAQUS facilitates economical, yet detailed, prediction of the ultimate strength and integrity of such jointed assemblies. A global model analysis of an assembly is first performed to capture the overall deformation of the system. Subsequently, the displacement results of this global analysis are used to drive the boundaries of a submodeled region of critical concern. The submodeling methodology provides accurate modeling that is more economical than using a globally refined mesh in a single analysis

Self-contact in rubber/foam components: rubber gasket

2009-01-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

This example demonstrates the use of the single-surface contact capability available for two-dimensional large-sliding analysis. Components that deform and change their shape substantially can fold and have different parts of the surface come into contact with each other. In such cases it can be difficult to predict at the outset of the analysis where such contact may occur and, therefore, it can be difficult to define two independent surfaces to make up a contact pair.
This model is used to analyze an oil pan gasket, which enhances the sealing of the oil pan against the engine block. The primary objective is to reach or exceed a threshold value of contact pressure where oil will not leak at the gasket bead/cover/engine block interfaces.

Self-contact in rubber/foam components: jounce bumper

2009-01-23T09:58:00.001-08:00

Components that deform and change their shape substantially can fold and have different parts of the surface come into contact with each other. In such cases it can be difficult to predict at the outset of the analysis where such contact may occur and, therefore, it can be difficult to define two independent surfaces to make up a contact pair.
A jounce bumper, sometimes referred to as a “helper spring,” is a highly compressible component that is used as part of the shock isolation system in a vehicle. It is typically located above the coil spring that connects the wheels to the frame. Microcellular material is used because of its high compressibility and low Poisson's ratio value at all but fully compressed configurations.
The bumper initially sits against a fixed flat rigid surface on one end; on the other end, another flat rigid surface is used to model the compression of the bumper. The geometry of the bumper is such that it folds in three different locations. Separate surfaces are defined at the locations where self-contact is expected. This modeling technique produces an economical analysis because the scope of contact searches is limited.

Analysis of an automotive boot seal

2009-01-23T09:04:00.000-08:00

Damage and failure of a laminated composite plate

2009-01-23T09:02:00.000-08:00

This example demonstrates how to model nonlinear material behavior in a composite laminate. The material model in this example includes damage, resulting in nonlinear behavior. It also includes various modes of failure, resulting in abrupt loss of stress carrying capacity.

Indentation of a thick plate

2009-01-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

This example illustrates the use of adaptive meshing and distortion control in deep indentation problems.

Transient loading of a viscoelastic bushing

2009-01-23T08:14:00.000-08:00

This example demonstrates the automatic incrementation capability provided for integration of time-dependent material models and the use of the viscoelastic material model in conjunction with large-strain hyperelasticity in a typical design application. The structure is a bushing, modeled as a hollow, viscoelastic cylinder. The bushing is glued to a rigid, fixed body on the outside and to a rigid shaft on the inside, to which the loading is applied. A static preload is applied to the shaft, which moves the inner shaft off center. This load is held for sufficient time for steady-state response to be obtained. Then a torque is applied instantaneously and held for a long enough period of time to reach steady-state response. We compute the bushing's transient response to these events.

Stress-free element reactivation

2009-01-23T07:41:00.000-08:00

This example demonstrates element reactivation for problems where new elements are to be added in a stress-free state. Typical examples include the construction of a gravity dam, in which unstressed layers of material are added to a mesh that has already deformed under geostatic load, or a tunnel in which a concrete or steel support liner is installed.

Shell-to-solid submodeling and shell-to-solid coupling of a pipe joint

2009-01-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

Submodeling is the technique used in ABAQUS for analyzing a local part of a model with a refined mesh, based on interpolation of the solution from an initial global model (usually with a coarser mesh) onto the nodes on the appropriate parts of the boundary of the submodel. Shell-to-solid submodeling models a region with solid elements, when the global model is made up of shell elements. Shell-to-solid coupling is a feature in ABAQUS by which three-dimensional shell meshes can be coupled automatically to three-dimensional solid meshes. The analysis is tested as a static process in ABAQUS/Standard

Hydrostatic fluid elements: Modeling an airspring

2009-01-23T07:20:00.000-08:00

Airsprings are rubber or fabric actuators that support and contain a column of compressed air. They are used as pneumatic actuators and vibration isolators. Airsprings are considerably more flexible than other types of isolators. The airspring's inflation pressure can be changed to compensate for different loads or heights without compromising isolation efficiency. Static analyses are performed in ABAQUS/Standard. A three-dimensional, half-symmetry model that uses finite-strain shell elements is used to model the rubber spring; three-dimensional, hydrostatic fluid elements is used to model the air-filled cavity; and rebar to model the multi-ply steel reinforcements in the rubber membrane. In addition, a three-dimensional, element-based rigid surface is used to define the contact between the airspring and the lateral metal bead. The cord-reinforced rubber membrane is modeled using a hyperelastic material model with steel rebar. In all analyses the air inside the airspring cavity has been modeled as a compressible or “pneumatic” fluid satisfying the ideal gas law.

Notched beam under cyclic loading

2009-01-23T06:53:00.000-08:00

This example illustrates the use of the nonlinear isotropic/kinematic hardening material model to simulate the response of a notched beam under cyclic loading. The model has two features to simulate plastic hardening in cyclic loading conditions: the center of the yield surface moves in stress space (kinematic hardening behavior), and the size of the yield surface evolves with inelastic deformation (isotropic hardening behavior). The component investigated in this example is a notched beam subjected to a cyclic 4-point bending load.

Jointed rock slope stability

2009-01-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

This example illustrates the use of the jointed material model in the context of geotechnical applications. The stability of the excavation of part of a jointed rock mass, leaving a sloped embankment was examined.

Collapse of a concrete slab

2009-01-23T06:26:00.000-08:00

This problem examines the use of the smeared crack model for the analysis of reinforced concrete structures. A square slab is supported in the transverse direction at its four corners and loaded by a point load at its center. The slab is reinforced in two directions at 75% of its depth.

Indentation of an elastomeric foam specimen with a hemispherical punch

2009-01-23T06:23:00.000-08:00

A cylindrical specimen of an elastomeric foam is indented by a rough, rigid, hemispherical punch. Examples of elastomeric foam materials are cellular polymers such as cushions, padding, and packaging materials. This problem illustrates a typical application of elastomeric foam materials when used in energy absorption devices. Design sensitivity analysis is carried out for a shape design parameter and a material design parameter to illustrate the usage of design sensitivity analysis for a problem involving contact.

Parametric study of a linear elastic pipeline under in-plane bending

2009-01-23T06:19:00.000-08:00

Elbows are used in piping systems because they ovalize more readily than straight pipes and, thus, provide flexibility in response to thermal expansion and other loadings that impose significant displacements on the system. The elbow is, thus, behaving as a shell rather than as a beam. This example demonstrates the ability of elbow elements to model the nonlinear response of initially circular pipes and pipebends accurately when the distortion of the cross-section by ovalization is significant.

Elastic-plastic collapse of a thin-walled elbow under in-plane bending and internal pressure

2009-01-23T05:52:00.000-08:00

Elbows are used in piping systems because they ovalize more readily than straight pipes and, thus, provide flexibility in response to thermal expansion and other loadings that impose significant displacements on the system. Thus, even under pure bending, complex interaction occurs between an elbow and the adjacent straight pipe segments; the elbow causes some ovalization in the straight pipe runs, which in turn tend to stiffen the elbow. This interaction can create significant axial gradients of bending strain in the elbow, especially in cases where the elbow is very flexible. The analyses predict the response up to quite large rotations across the elbow, so as to investigate possible collapse of the pipe and, particularly, the effect of internal pressure on that collapse.

Axisymmetric analysis of bolted pipe flange connections

2009-01-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

A bolted pipe flange connections are composed of hubs of pipes, pipe flanges with bolt holes, sets of bolts and nuts, and a gasket. These components interact with each other in the tightening process and when operation loads such as internal pressure and temperature are applied.

To establish an optimal design, a full stress analysis determines factors such as the contact stresses that govern the sealing performance, the relationship between bolt force and internal pressure, the effective gasket seating width, and the bending moment produced in the bolts. This example shows how to perform such a design analysis by using an economical axisymmetric model and how to assess the accuracy of the axisymmetric solution by comparing the results to those obtained from a simulation using a three-dimensional segment model. In addition, several three-dimensional models that use multiple levels of substructures are analyzed to demonstrate the use of substructures with a large number of retained degrees of freedom.

Basic FEA Gallery (ABAQUS)

2008-12-31T11:15:00.001-08:00

Click below to go to the gallery:
Basic FEA gallery of AEG

AEG FEA Capabilities

2008-10-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

AEG FEA Capabilities - Upload a Document to Scribd
- Basic FEA gallery of AEG

Rubber products, Metal products, Plastic products, Composite products

2008-07-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

A Product Development ,Prototyping & Contract Manufacturing Company in Akron Ohio

2008-06-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

American Engineering Group (AEG) - Company Profile Presentation

Custom Molded Rubber Components for Automotive and Aerospace Industries

2008-06-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

Rubber Products Manufactured by AEG

AEG (ISO 9001) is a contract manufacturer of molded rubber components for various engineering applications. We cater to diverse industries like automotive, aerospace, electrical, medical and industrial sectors. Our manufacturing facilities (subcontractors), located in the US,India, China and Korea are well equipped with advanced technological capabilities and in house tooling.

MEMS Lectures Collection

2008-06-13T07:58:00.001-07:00

Here are a few lectures by professors from different schools on some topics related to Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS):

Composed by AEG

Modeling and Design of MEMS

- by GK Ananthasuresh

Fundamentals of Microfabrication

- by Dr.Bruce Gale

Micro-electromechanical Systems

- by Thomas B Jones

Dynamics and Controls of MEMS

- by Dr.Liliy Dong

Micro/Nano Processing Technology

- by Prof. Martin Schmidt

Design and fabrication of Micro-Electromechanical Systems

- by Prof. Carol Livermore

Introduction to Micro-Electormechanical Systems

- by Prof. Andreas G Andreou

MEMS Physics and Design

- by Prof. Ming Wu

Design and fabrication of Micro-Electromechanical Systems

- by Prof. Reza Ghodssi

MEMS Labs

2008-06-02T14:11:00.001-07:00

MEMS National Labs

Compiled by AEG

MEMS University Labs

This is a comprehensive link to the University Labs working on MEMS area. The name of the Director of the Lab is provided for convenience.

http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~mems/

Carnegie Mellon University – Dr Gary Fedder

http://www.ece.umn.edu/groups/mems/

University of Minnesota

http://www.biomems.uc.edu/

University of Cincinnati – Dr. Chong Ahn

http://www.ece.uc.edu/devices/

University of Cincinnati – Dr. Jason Heikenfeld

http://www.biomicro.uc.edu/

University of Cincinnati – Dr. Ian Papautsky

http://mems.colorado.edu/

University of Colorado at Boulder – Dr. Victor Bright

http://www.ece.neu.edu/groups/mfl/

Northeastern University

http://www.enme.umd.edu/mml/

University of Maryland – Dr. Don DeVoe

http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ntc/ResearchAndPublications/MEMS.php

Texas Tech University – Nano tech Center

http://mems.usc.edu/

University of Southern California – Dr. Eun Sok Kim

http://mems.caltech.edu/

California Institute of Technology – Micromachining Laboratory

Dr. Yu-Chong Tai

http://www.engineering.ucsb.edu/~tmems/

University of California, Santa Barbara – Dr. Kimberly Turner

http://ho.seas.ucla.edu/

University of California at Los Angles – Dr. Chih-Ming Ho

http://engineering.utsa.edu/~memslab/

The University of Texas at San Antonio – Dr. Arturo A. Ayon

http://www.ece.gatech.edu/research/integrated-mems/

Georgia Tech University - Dr. Farrokh Ayazi

http://users.ece.gatech.edu/~frazier/

Georgia Institute of Technology - Dr. A. Bruno Frazier

http://mems.eng.uci.edu/

University of California at Irvine – Dr. Andrei M. Shkel

http://mae.ucdavis.edu/~memslab/

Universityof California at Davis – Dr. David Horsley

http://www.ece.vt.edu/mems/

Virginia Tech University – Dr. Masoud Agah

http://www.stanford.edu/group/sml/

Stanford University - Prof. Olav Solgaard

http://microsystems.stanford.edu/wiki/Main_Page

Stanford University - Dr. Beth Pruitt

http://www.ee.washington.edu/research/mems/index.htm

University of Washington at Seattle: Dr. Karl F. Böhringer

http://www.ee.washington.edu/research/denise/www/Lab/

University of Washinton - Prof. Denise M. Wilson

http://coen.boisestate.edu/cmems/cmems.html

Boise State University – Dr. Amy Moll

http://www.mech.ubc.ca/~muchiao/MEMS-LAB-HOMEPGE/index.htm

University of British Columbia-Dr. Mu Chiao

http://cjmems.seas.ucla.edu/

University of California at Los Angles -Prof. "CJ" Kim'

http://schmidtlab.seas.ucla.edu/

University of California at Los Angles – Dr. Jacob J. Schmidt

http://www.me.sc.edu/research/mems/index.asp

University of South Carolina - Dr. Jeff Darabi

http://clifton.mech.northwestern.edu/~espinosa/

Northwestern University - Prof. Horacio D. Espinosa

http://www.ece.umd.edu/mems/

University of Maryland

http://www.smela.umd.edu/index.html

University of Maryland at Baltimore – Dr Elizabeth Smela

http://www.controlofmems.umd.edu/

University of Maryland at Baltimore – Dr. Benjamin Shapiro

http://oxidemems.ece.cornell.edu/index.html

Cornell University – Dr. Sunil Bhave

http://www.ece.umd.edu/newcomb/mslab.html

University of Maryland - Professor Robert W. Newcomb

http://mmadou.eng.uci.edu/Madou_Lab_Website/Welcome_to_BioMEMS_Research_Group_%40_UC_Irvine_-_Marc_Madou.html

University of California at Irvine – Prof March Madou

http://www.mems.utah.edu/

The University of Utah - Prof Bruce Gale

http://www.microsystems.utah.edu/

The University of Utah – Dr. Florian Solzbacher

http://www.ece.rochester.edu/users/jones/index.html

University of Rochester – Prof T. B. Jones

http://smfl.microe.rit.edu/

Rochester Institute of Technology

http://www.uic.edu/labs/microsystems/

University of Illinois at Chicago- Dr Laxman Saggere

http://www.ame.arizona.edu/research/memslab/

The University of Arizona – Dr. Eniko T. Enikov

http://www.public.asu.edu/~jmuthus/lab/

Arizona State University - Dr. Jit Muthuswamy

http://www.uic.edu/labs/bml/public_html/

University of Illinois at Chicago – Dr. David T. Eddingtonv

http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/~pkgroup/index.htm

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign –Dr. Paul J. A. Kenis

http://pmml.ece.uiuc.edu/

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign –Professor Kanti Jain

http://www.img.ufl.edu/php/info.php?id=1

University of Florida – Interdisciplinary

http://www.mems.ece.ufl.edu/bml/index.htm

University of Florida - Dr. Huikai Xie

http://biomems.me.columbia.edu/index.html

Columbia University – Dr. Qiao Lin

http://mems.eng.usf.edu/people/index.htm

University of South Florida – Dr. Shekhar Bhansali

http://mdlwiki.cse.psu.edu/twiki/bin/view/MDL/WebHome

Penn State University

http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~chenlab/index.html

University of Pennsylvania – Dr. Christopher S. Chen

MEMS Labs outside USA

Challenges in the Finite Element Analysis of Tire Design using ABAQUS

2008-05-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

Finite Element Analysis of Vehicle and Tire has become a very important aspect of a tire design and failure analysis to most Tire companies. Tire modeling with ABAQUS is a very complicated process involving complex materials like hyperelastic rubber and textile reinforcements, large model size, prolonged simulation time and various convergence issues. This white paper intends to help in understanding the challenges in tire analysis and several tips and tricks that makes a difference in the quality of the results and processing time. AEG hopes that this article will be useful to ABAQUS users working in the field of tire design and analysis.

A general tire has the following major tire components

Tread
Belt Region
Inner Liner
Sidewall Region
Inner Carcass Region
Bead Filler Region
Apex/Chafer Region
Beads
Reinforcements

Nylon Cap Ply
Steel Belts
Carcass Ply

Constructing the structure of the tire and modeling of each component is the first step into the analysis. AEG found that utilizing the combination of AutoCAD and ABAQUS-Sketch is a very good way to start the modeling. It is important to have the understanding that when an AutoCAD drawing is imported to ABAQUS sketch it creates splines and contains large number of node points. A thorough simplification of the geometry is recommended, i.e. flattening up crooked lines, reducing the number of nodes, deleting unnecessary wedge or fringes, taking off rounds/fillets and simplifying the corners is highly recommended. In this process the dimension and shape and tire should not be compromised. If the geometric complexities can be avoided at this point, it will save considerable amount of computational time, money and resources later. Features in the Sketch module of ABAQUS such as offset can be intelligently used to maintain excellent dimensioning consistency of the different reinforcement layers inside the tire. ABAQUS has a very comprehensive guideline for tire analysis in their example manual and it has been proved that an axisymmetric modeling approach with half geometry is the best way to start the modeling. Also it is widely accepted by the FEA community in the Tire industry that a smooth tire model (3D model by revolving a 2D tire model by 360°) is sufficient enough to capture the overall efficiency of the core design. The complex tread geometry with random pitch or asymmetry in the thread can be used in the later stages to get very accurate results for a specific tire model. The basic steps for tire FEA analysis can be described as below.

2D axisymmetric Tire geometry modeling
2D Rim Mounting and Inflation Analysis
3D model generation by Revolve and Reflect features in Symmetric Model Generation (SMG) option in ABAQUS
Foot Print Analysis with rated load and rated inflation pressure
Steady state rolling analysis using Steady State Transport option in ABAQUS
Dynamic Analysis, Hydroplaning analysis

Sample picture of Foot Print Analysis of Smooth Tire

The complete article can be downloaded from the link below
http://www.engineering-group.com/technical_briefs.php

Composed by American Engineering Group

MEMS Resources

2008-04-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

MEMS Resources on WEB

Compiled by AEG

Here is a comprehensive list of MEMS resources that proves to be helpful time to time.

A number of portals specializes in MEMS ,some of them a listed below

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MEMS

Any exploration in the internet starts from the wikipedia. The description of MEMS here is not very thorough but it serves the purpose. The links associated to these documents are useful.

http://www.memsnet.org/mems/

This portal is entirely dedicated to the MEMS community. It gives a basic overview about MEMS and Nanotechnology and provides a comprehensive idea about the micro fabrication processes. This site provides a link to the founder company https://www.mems-exchange.org/ , which is a contract foundry service. The job board and the discussion groups is the main attraction of this site whereas the news and event sections are regularly update which makes this site very attractive. While browsing this site, don’t overlook a menu on the right side, as it contains important information. The material database is particularly very useful to researchers.For more information their very rich link section is highly recommended.

http://www.memsnet.org/links/

http://www.allaboutmems.com

This is a community oriented website with full range of information available on MEMS. MEMSCAP, Inc. a foundry service initiated this site, the content of this site is non-commercial, but apparently the sections are full of old links and the site is not maintained regularly.

http://www.memsindustrygroup.org

This site is an excellent place to take a peek at the MEMS industry. The news and events section very informative. The site is well maintained on a daily basis and the member section looks very appealing. Unfortunately the membership is not for single users but only for companies.

http://www.memsinvestorjournal.com/

This is a free weekly newsletter which publishes stories , inventions and interviews for the MEMS community. The stories by the categories helps in tracking the advances in each field of the MEMS technology.

http://memscyclopedia.org/

This site intends to give an introduction to MEMS (not so short introduction). The best thing about this site is a free book with 5 chapters on the MEMS technology). The book is download able.

http://www.trimmer.net/

This site is hosted by Dr. Willium Trimmer, Founding Editor of the Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems. It contains a lot of links, but unfortunately it seems the site is not updated regularly. The list of MEMS companies was found to be very helpful.

http://www.memsuniverse.com/

This is a blog which records the latest inventions in MEMS technology

AEG Carbon Fiber-Polyurethane Solid Tire

2008-04-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

AEG Carbon Fiber-Polyurethane Solid Tire

Military Tire-WHEEL (MTW) ASSEMBLY FOR Future tactical and combat vehicles is placing emphasis on handling, traction, and cornering tire performance for the light trucks. In order to meet these high performance standards, solid tire with aspect ratio lower than 0.35 have been developed by American Engineering Group (AEG), Akron, Ohio

Tire Size: LT225/35R19
Rim Width: 7.0 inches
Tread Width: 7.6inches
Overall Diameter: 25.0 inches
Speed rating:80mph

AEG aims to eliminate tire blowouts with its remarkable integrated Carbon Fiber Ring-Wheel “MTW” assembly, a solid one-piece wheel-and-tread system that could soon enter manufacturing. The MTW's rim is bonded to soft polyurethane foam that provides the shock-absorbing property of a traditional pneumatic tire. The circumference of the soft polyurethane foam layer is bonded to a Carbon Fiber ring along with tire tread. By varying the thickness and geometry of the polyurethane soft layer, this unique tire-wheel assembly can generate a wide array of ride and handling performance.

MTW’s vertical stiffness (ride comfort performance) and lateral stiffness (handling and cornering performance) can both be optimized, pushing the performance envelope in various military applications.

AEG Carbon Fiber-Elastomer Composite Bipolar Plate for PEM Fuel Cells

2008-04-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

AEG Carbon Fiber-Elastomer Composite Bipolar Plate for PEM Fuel Cells

Fuel cells constitute one of the most promising sources of environmental friendly energy for the future. These systems produce electrical energy by converting the chemical energy stored in a fuel, such as hydrogen or methanol, through oxidation-reduction reactions. A proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is a stack of electrochemical cell systems (Figure) placed in series. Since the electrons must transit from the anode of one cell to the cathode of the next cell, electrical conductivity through the plate is a main requirement. Another important requirement is the low permeability to the reacting gases or to ions. The bipolar plates should remain chemically inert for an extended period of time. The bipolar plates also should be lightweight and easily manufactured using mass-production technologies. Cost reduction is the most critical issue for automotive industry to achieve the practical use of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The bipolar plate is the most expensive component in the current fuel cell system assembly.

American Engineering Group (AEG, Akron, OH) has developed a new elastomer-carbon fiber composite bipolar plate for PEM fuel cells with high electrical conductivity, high strength, light weight and very low permeability. This new unique composite bipolar plate is a less-expensive and light-weight alternative to graphite and steel. The use of highly conductive elastomer compound and multi-stage molding technology enables the fabrication of bipolar plates with high carbon fiber content. This composite bipolar plate is a promising solution, as their thermal and chemical stability is matched by good mechanical strength and dimensional stability values.

This plate has the potential for being produced at low cost. The plate is produced using short carbon fiber structure with elastomer impregnation into pre-form uncured structures. This AEG proprietary multi-stage manufacturing process makes this multi-layer elastomer-carbon fiber plate very conductive and low permeable. Current AEG effort is to optimizing the manufacturing process, characterizing prototype components and power generation tests. Preliminary study noted following features for the new carbon fiber bipolar plate:

· Bulk Conductivity _: 600 Siemens/cm

· H₂ permeability :2 x 10^-6 cm³/cm²-sec

· Corrosion rate :10 μA/cm²

· Estimated Cost :$9/kW

American Engineering Group

Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) Analysis by American Engineering Group (AEG)

2008-04-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) Analysis by American Engineering Group (AEG)

NVH analysis provides essential benefits towards designing vehicles for ride comfort and quietness, an increasingly competitive advantage in today's global automotive market. The design of a car body structure is decisive in order to gain favorable vibration and acoustic behavior of vehicles. The body structure is the most significant transfer path for road-excited and engine-excited vibrations. The body panel vibrations are then radiated into the vehicle cavity, where they are perceived as audible noise. Apart from the audible noise, which is transferred into the cavity, structural vibrations of the body are perceived as an annoyance as well.

AEG Product Design and engineering solutions have a dedicated and focused NVH team with core competency in solving complicated design problems pertaining to automotive and aerospace applications with HPC (High Performance Computing : SGI-Altix/16 GB RAM/1500 GB HDD/Msc.Nastran 2005 R2 DMP etc) resources. The NVH team comprises of experienced and skilled team members having automotive background in various engineering disciplines which help designers analyze the NVH attributes before the first vehicle prototype is built, allowing engineers to understand potential problems and identify solutions early in the design process.

AEG has engineering team with fully equipped engineering tech center in Bangalore, India who imparts necessary knowledge and experience during the product design and development process. Few of the capabilities include aero-acoustic analysis, exhaust system acoustic analysis, NVH optimization (body, chassis, brake, tire etc.), and transmission loss studies. In any vehicle NVH, testing plays a major role in optimizing the vehicle design for NVH. Our design experts have hands-on experience in Test plan preparations, Testing methods and techniques, Testing, Test data collection and analysis, Test-CAE correlation techniques, Design modifications based on testing etc.

Fuel Cell Nanocomposite Double Lip Seal From American Engineering Group (AEG)

2008-04-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Fuel Cell Nanocomposite Double Lip Seal From American Engineering Group (AEG)

Nanocomposite double lip seal is a new nanotechnology based “over molded” seal for fuel cells from American Engineering Group , Akron, OH. This unique “double lip” seal has a primary and a secondary sealing surface. This EP terpolymer based elastomer formulation has a nano-blowing agent which helps to maintain high “long-term” sealing force retention in a fuel cell thermal cycling operational environment with vibration loads. This new nano technology based elastomer seal show very less “electrode poisoning” in fuel cell system. This sealing technology is adaptable to various planar fuel cell designs.

This acid resistant, high temperature stable over-molded plastic seal has a nano-blowing agent which activates in steam based curing. Compared to other elastomers, this nano-composite elastomer has excellent resistance to creep and fatigue with good flexibility and clear film. AEG’s proprietary steam post-curing protocol allow to extract all the un-reacted catalysts/monomers and also allow to activate nano-blowing agent in the EP terpolymer system. This seals has excellent chemical resistance with good UV and weather resistance. Low NBS smoke generation and high heat resistance with excellent dielectric strength.

AEG development engineers can help you to find a cost-effective fuel cell seal design based on this new seal technology. AEG has technology-driven design tools to provide optimum sealing on the customer fuel cell stack design using following analysis:

• “Volume fill” analysis

• Compression tolerance stack-up analysis

• Lateral tolerance stack-up analysis

• Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (DFMEA)

• Finite Element Analysis using a 3D CAD

Our Indian seal manufacturing facilities are ISO 9001/TS 16949 registered, and we constantly strive to improve customer satisfaction through the implementation of new seal technology with following quality/value improvement programs:

• Lean manufacturing/ Kaizen initiatives

• TQM studies

• Advance Product Quality Planning (APQP) studies

• Six Sigma scrap & cost reduction programs

This design was was presented in SAE World Congress 2007 .

The official publication can be found in the following link

http://www.sae.org/exdomains/dailys/elements/showdaily/thursday.pdf

AEG Maintenance-Free Self-Lubricating Sliding Bearings

2008-04-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

Maintenance-Free Self-Lubricating Sliding Bearings from American Engineering Group(AEG)

The present day bearing materials pose an enormous challenge because, frequently, zero maintenance is expected under severe to extreme conditions as well as under maximum loads. The constant pressure on costs additionally calls for increasing uptime of machinery and equipment and uncompromising standards of operational reliability. Maintenance-free, self-lubricating, heavy duty friction materials produced for bearings of the automotive industry offers bearing solutions guaranteed to operate reliably and safely over long term.
The self-lubricating composite sliding material consisting of a steel backing and a sliding layer. It is manufactured by using a continuous hot rolling sintering technology. This increases the reliability and service lifetime of the sliding plates significantly. These sliding materials can be used with any sliding surfaces (e.g., plain sliding surface, sliding layer with clean grooves or lubrication indentations. It normally requires no lubrication and allows maintenance free operation. It is characterized by high wear resistance, insensitive to impact stress and resistant to harsh operational and ambient conditions of mechanical and chemical environment. It is suitable for rotational, oscillating and linear movements. These materials can be machined to complex geometrical shapes without the loss of the self-lubricating properties.
They possess a high static and dynamic load bearing capacity and are utilizable at temperatures ranging from -260^o to +280^o C. Extensive material and application expertise covers a very wide range of industries (automotive, tire, rail, hydro, and steel). The dry wear mechanism enables these bearings to operate satisfactorily in the absence of conventional lubricants. These bearing materials contribute to enhance performance and optimum characteristics in all industrial segments.
AEG provides assistance in the selection, design and manufacturing of the bearing materials. Make use of our latest material developments for your custom designed component. Important selection criteria are sliding speed, sliding load, temperature and other application specific influences.

Shock and Vibration Mounting System from AEG

2008-04-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

Shock and Vibration Mounting System from AEG

American Engineering Group (AEG) has developed a new low cost “Dual Structure Shock Mount System”. This new AEG mount system design will allow varying static properties and provide dynamic shock and vibration mitigation over a wide load range for automotive and industrial applications. This dual structure system provides both axial and radial damping. The mount system will have two hollow spherical elements with top element functions as a “load bearing” element and the bottom spherical element as a vibration shock damping element.

This design-formulation concept promises higher axial-radial stiffness, vibration damping, and extended life. Finite element results and prototype testing demonstrates the optimum stiffness and damping properties for the radial and axial deflection in service conditions.

With recent advances in material technology, processing, and design concepts, AEG has achieved this vibration and shock performance improvement. This two element structural isolation concept is successfully used in aerospace and marine applications for sound and vibration isolation. Material choices and mount designs are established based on the requirements for the combined axial and radial loads experienced by the current mount systems. The dual mount design concept will be to maintain stiffness to dynamic loads, while providing enough damping to equipment vibration and shock loads.

The automotive industry could also apply this mount to an engine and silent mount design. The construction and heavy equipment industries can use these mounts on shocked vehicles for increased shock durability. This dual mount system will offer significant improvements in reliability and maintainability by reducing acquisition cost, reducing inspection intervals, extending the damage tolerance threshold and improving design efficiency.

Focused Engineering Solutions by AEG

2008-04-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

Focused Engineering Solutions for the Manufacturing Supply Chain by American Engineering Group

Computer-Aided Design, Engineering and Manufacturing (CAD/CAE/CAM) are tools that help reduce costs and shorten the design, prototype and production cycle. These computer-aided tools can also help to incorporate Six Sigma, Lean manufacturing and Just-In-Time (JIT) in the supplier processes bringing credibility to new design concepts. American Engineering Group (AEG) is utilizing these tools to provide a Multisourcing Manufacturing Solution (MMS) by bringing new automotive components to the marketplace in the shortest possible time, with the lowest cost, and highest quality.

CAD/CAE/CAM are becoming more popular as a standard analysis tools in the automotive industry for design, failure and manufacturing process analyses. Another notable reason for this popularity is the recent changes in automotive specification requirement for parts comprised of new materials or designs. The automotive industry is trying to make components that could withstand 500,000 miles of minimum warranty.

The automotive OEM companies have been changing their way of doing business. Traditionally the automotive companies would design and develop a product, perform comprehensive testing, send prints and specifications to suppliers for quotes. The most cost competitive supplier got the business. To remain competitive on a global basis, the automotive companies now are relying on their suppliers to provide product design, analysis, testing and manufacturing. The new approach is to get product through a Multisourcing Manufacturing Provider (MMP). This is an evolution of the old supply and demand chains into new one-to-one MMP relationship. In the past, it may have been enough to have the lowest cost. Now, a supplier must have world class quality, excellent service, low cost, be globally competitive and deliver just in time. In order to obtain these goals, it is essential that manufacturers reduce their product development design cycle time and shortened time to market. CAD/CAE/CAM are tremendous productivity tools for the engineer to create, test, modify and manufacture design ideas.

AEG Torsional Damper - brief description

2008-04-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

American Engineering Group (AEG) has developed a new “Dual Torsional Damper System”. This new AEG system design will allow varying static properties and provide dynamic shock and vibration mitigation over a wide load range for automotive and industrial applications. This dual structure system provides both axial and radial damping. The torsional damper system will have two elastomer elements with top element functions as a vibration damping element and the bottom spherical elastomer element as a noise & harness damping element.

AEG dual mode damper system includes a spherical soft viscous bushing hub designed for being rigidly connected to a drive shaft, and an inertia ring, connected to the hub by means of a thin Polyurethane material layer. This dual-layer elastomer damper system is designed for torsional vibration reduction of the crankshaft system on multi-cylinder engine for vehicles. AEG polyurethane torsional dampers are designed to provide significant reduction of sound and vibration in various types of powertrain systems, protecting engine and transmission component from excessive wear. By reducing torsional vibration, component life is increased while providing greater operator comfort and better service life. This unique AEG damper design is desirable for truck, off-road vehicle, marine, agricultural, and military vehicle engine application where higher performance torsional damping and vibration eliminating solutions are a major priority.

AEG Torsional Damper performance

Dual mode torsional damper(Patent pending)
Viscous soft elastomer spherical hub eliminate transmission noise
Polyurethane elastomer torsional damper reduces torsional vibration that contributes to gear NVH and wear in transmission.
Self-aligning spherical hub eliminate concentricity concerns
Torsional stiffness up to 900ft-lbs of torque capacity
The design was presented in SAE 2008 World Congress held in Detroit.MI in April 2008 .Please follow the link below for the official publication
http://www.sae.org/exdomains/dailys/elements/showdaily/wednesday.pdf