Digital validation of cable performance for vehicles in operation

Physically correct simulation of flexible components is a nontrivial, but very important task, especially for cables and hoses in vehicles. Often, early designs do not represent the real deformation of cables and hoses. This can lead to serious problems in later phases of the product development. In this work we present a new software module, added to an existing cable simulation software. It focusses on digital validation of cables and hoses for vehicles in operation. Typically, high frequency excitation from engine vibration or loads from road profile are applied to the cable mountings, such that inertia and damping are indispensable. The module enables comfortable and fast simulation in very early design phases, including the dynamic effects mentioned above. Excitation signals can be generated easily, e.g. periodic signals with specified frequencies or stochastic signals from PSD data. Moreover, the simulation is very efficient and is realtime capable for many applications. Finally, post-processing tools help to analyse the simulation results. For instance, it is easy to detect undesired contact of components with their environment.