Altair and AVL announced a tighter integration between Altair OptiStruct and AVL EXCITE. The fast and accurate coupling between OptiStruct and AVL EXCITE shortens the associated workflow, reduces error, and improves the robustness of engine dynamics analyses. The AVL EXCITE product family is a powertrain-oriented rigid and flexible multi-body dynamic analysis solution which provides advanced techniques to calculate the dynamics, strengths, vibration, and acoustics of combustion engines, transmissions, and conventional or electrified powertrains and drivelines. Outstanding models of lubricated contacts (slider bearings, piston and piston rings) facilitate detailed investigations of the contact behavior, including the prediction of friction and wear.

Customers use Altair OptiStruct for structural and NVH analysis as well as to efficiently create flex bodies for engine dynamics analysis. With this development, Altair OptiStruct became the first FEA solver that can directly produce the AVL EXCITE body property input data file (.exb) without the generation of intermediate files requiring translation, which can be time consuming and could lead to analysis error. The process is very straightforward and does not require any intermediate steps, reducing data input time by as much as 50%.