Simcenter Amesim

The Simcenter Amesim software was developed by Imagine S.A., a company which was acquired in June 2007 by LMS International, which itself was acquired in November 2012 by Siemens AG.

The Imagine S.A. company was created in 1987 by Dr Michel Lebrun from the University Claude Bernard in France, to control complex dynamic systems coupling hydraulic servo-actuators with finite-elements mechanical structures. The initial engineering project involved the deck elevation of the sinking Ekofisk North Sea petroleum platforms.

In the early 1990s the association with Pr C. W. Richards,[3][4] coming from the University of Bath in England, led to the first commercial release of Simcenter Amesim in 1995 which was then dedicated to fluid control systems.

Simcenter Amesim is used by companies in the automotive,[5][6][7][8] aerospace[9][10][11] and other advanced manufacturing industries.[12][13][14]

Simcenter Amesim is a multi-domain software that supports modeling a variety of physics domains (hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanic, electrical, thermal, electromechanical). It is based on the Bond graph theory.

Under the Windows platform, Simcenter Amesim works with the free Gcc compiler, which is provided with the software. It also works with the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler and its free Express edition. Since the version 4.3.0 Simcenter Amesim uses the Intel compiler on all platforms.

Simcenter Amesim features:

• Platform Facilities
  • graphical user interface, interactive help, supercomponents, post-processed variables, experiments management, meta-data, statechart designer
• Analysis Tools
  • table editor, plots, dashboard, 3D animation, replay of results, linear analysis (eigenvalues, modal shapes, transfer functions, root locus), activity index, power and energy computation
• Optimization, Robustness, DOE
  • Design Of Experiments, optimization, Monte-Carlo
• Solvers and Numerics
  • LSODA, DASSL, DASKR, fixed-step solvers, discrete partitioning, parallel processing, Simcenter Amesim/Simcenter Amesim cosimulations
• Software Interfaces
  • generic co-simulation (to be used to co-simulate with any software coupled to Simcenter Amesim), functional mock-up interface (export)
• MIL/SIL/HIL and Real-Time
  • plant/control, various real-time targets
• Simulator Scripting
  • scripting functions to pilot the simulations from Microsoft Excel, MATLAB, Scilab, Python, and support for C and Python development and reverse-engineering script generation from a model
• Customization
  • own customized pre and post-processing tools with python, script caller assistant, editor of parameters group, app designer
• Modelica Platform
  • support of the Modelica modeling language
• 1D/3D CAE
  • CAD Import, CFD software co-simulation, FEA import of reduced modal basis with pre-defined frontier nodes, MBS software cosimulation and import/export
• Development
  • Users can develop submodels from different standard submodels (supercomponent) using Component Customization functionality or by programming them in C or in Fortran with the Submodel Editor.

Physical libraries from which models can be built include control, electrical networks, mechanical, fluid, thermodynamic, IC engine, and aerospace and defense libraries.

Simcenter Amesim is used by engineering schools and universities. It is also the reference framework for various research projects in Europe.