TECOSIM, a global specialist in computer-aided engineering (CAE) and simulation, is expanding its services in offshore renewable energy, following 30 years of success in the automotive industry.

Established in 1992, TECOSIM makes testing more cost-efficient for manufacturers – drawing on its expertise in CAE to replicate real-life structures, vehicles and materials to very high levels of accuracy.

“We have specialist software that can basically simulate anything,” said Hannah Lennon, operations team leader. “As long as we’ve got the computer-aided design (CAD), we can test it.”

With offices around the world, including Essex, Norfolk and Warwickshire in the UK, TECOSIM has built a worldwide reputation for its services in various sectors, most notably transport. The company can save vehicle manufacturers thousands by simulating crashes and vehicle systems – as well as running tests on durability, efficiency and safety, among other things.

“We can take a model of a car and simulate it to crash into walls to see how the materials are going to react to the crash,” Hannah explained. “We can also simulate how the body of a driver or passenger within the car will react.”

Mads Nielsen, technology manager, added: “By and large, with an extremely complex system like a vehicle crash, we can get to within 90-95% precision. That is more than good enough for automotive companies to understand whether they have a big problem or not when going into a legal test.

“It could cost them £500,000 to actually build a vehicle to production standard – only to then crash it into a wall to realise that is doesn’t work or, even worse, they have forgotten to put on a bolt or a seatbelt. We can create and simulate a virtual model for a fraction of the cost, typically £25,000 for one vehicle. Once the model is created, we can also simulate many additional scenarios.”

TECOSIM is now applying its automotive experience to the offshore renewables sector, where its added expertise in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is invaluable.

“CFD is fascinating because it can simulate water, air flow and thermal activity,” said Janet Rix, commercial lead. “For example, we’ve been looking at scour on the seabed as part of an exercise with Hull University, and we’ve had a few requests to see how the seabed is affected by the tides.”

“The other side is to use CAE and CFD as a means to understanding efficiencies,” said Mads. “How can you increase the efficiency of offshore machinery and actually get more energy from the wind or water?

“We can also look at extreme load cases,” he added. “For example, what happens if a ship hits a floating platform, or a tidal wave hits a structure? These are the sorts of scenarios that we can investigate in the CAE world to gain some confidence on whether developers’ designs can actually cope under extreme conditions.

“Essentially, the experience we have from the automotive industry is extremely useful in other industries as well. It is from that experience that we have the confidence – in this simulation world – to lower the cost for developers.”

For more information, visit www.tecosim.co.uk, email info@uk.tecosim.com or call 01268 889550.


Developing an Olympic torch that ‘must not go out’

A great example of TECOSIM’s expanding services was the development of the Olympic torch for the London Olympics in 2012.

In late 2010, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) was looking for a development partner who could bring to life the eye-catching design by renowned British designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby. The design comprised 8,000 holes on two concentric aluminium skins – the holes symbolising the 8,000 torch bearers who would carry the torch through the UK for 70 days.

LOCOG provided TECOSIM with a clear and concise brief: the torch must not go out. The flame should be able to withstand the UK’s unpredictable weather conditions, as well as all manner of falls. At the same time, the torch bearers had to be kept safe.

The torch also had to be extremely robust because it would be transported by other means such as horseback, by people in wheelchairs, by climbers, by boat, by hot air balloon and by train.

To meet these requirements, TECOSIM’s engineers first ran a CFD and combustion simulation to calculate the behaviour of the torch at temperatures between -5ºC and 40ºC, as well as at wind speeds of up to 56km/h and gusts of up to 80km/h. Drops from heights of up to three metres were also simulated on the computer. These were followed by additional tests in the wind tunnel and real drop test trials with prototypes to confirm the results from the calculations.

The engineers also had to identify suitable materials and coordinate with various partner firms to ensure a reliable production.

In the end, the 800-gram torch, fitted with a Bullfinch gas fuel burner for a butane and propane mix, met all of the requirements set.

TECOSIM also engineered the torch for the Paralympics and the supporting equipment for both relays, including mini cauldrons, bus racks, bike and wheelchair adapters, and the cradle for carrying the lantern on the aircraft from Greece to the UK.

For more information, visit www.tecosim.co.uk/case-studies/olympic-torch-2012