Modeling and Simulation in Engineering

309 Pages·33.774 MB·English

by  Catalin Alexandru (Ed.)

MODELING AND
SIMULATION IN
ENGINEERING
Edited by Catalin Alexandru
MODELING AND
SIMULATION IN
ENGINEERING

Edited by Catalin Alexandru
Modeling and Simulation in Engineering
Edited by Catalin Alexandru

Published by InTech
Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia

Copyright © 2012 InTech
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Publishing Process Manager Vedran Greblo
Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic
Cover Designer InTech Design Team

First published February, 2012
Printed in Croatia

A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com
Additional hard copies can be obtained from [email protected]

Modeling and Simulation in Engineering, Edited by Catalin Alexandru
p. cm.
ISBN 978-953-51-0012-6

Contents

Preface IX
Part 1 3D Modeling 1
Chapter 1 Image-Laser Fusion for In Situ 3D Modeling of
Complex Environments: A 4D Panoramic-Driven Approach 3
Daniela Craciun, Nicolas Paparoditis and Francis Schmitt
Chapter 2 DART: A 3D Model for Remote Sensing Images
and Radiative Budget of Earth Surfaces 29
J.P. Gastellu-Etchegorry, E. Grau and N. Lauret
Chapter 3 3D Modelling from Real Data 69
Gabriele Guidi and Fabio Remondino
Chapter 4 3D Modeling of a Natural Killer Receptor,
Siglec-7: Critical Amino Acids for
Glycan-Binding and Cell Death-Inducing Activity 103
Toshiyuki Yamaji, Yoshiki Yamaguchi,
Motoaki Mitsuki, Shou Takashima,
Satoshi Waguri, Yasuhiro Hashimoto
and Kiyomitsu Nara
Chapter 5 Applications of Computational
3D–Modeling in Organismal Biology 117
Christian Laforsch, Hannes Imhof, Robert Sigl,
Marcus Settles, Martin Heß and Andreas Wanninger
Chapter 6 Open Source 3D Game Engines
for Serious Games Modeling 143
Andres Navarro, Juan Vicente Pradilla and Octavio Rios
Chapter 7 Refinement of Visual Hulls for
Human Performance Capture 159
Toshihiko Yamasaki and Kiyoharu Aizawa
VI Contents

Part 2 Virtual Prototyping 175
Chapter 8 Analytical Compact Models 177
Bruno Allard and Hervé Morel
Chapter 9 Virtual Prototyping for Rapid Product Development 203
S.H. Choi and H.H. Cheung
Chapter 10 Oriented Multi-Body System Virtual
Prototyping Technology for Railway Vehicle 225
Guofu Ding, Yisheng Zou, Kaiyin Yan and Meiwei Jia
Chapter 11 Enabling and Analyzing Natural Interaction
with Functional Virtual Prototypes 261
Frank Gommlich, Guido Heumer, Bernhard Jung,
Matthias Lenk and Arnd Vitzthum
Chapter 12 Fluid Pressurization in Cartilages and Menisci
in the Normal and Repaired Human Knees 277
LePing Li and Mojtaba Kazemi

Preface

We are living in a computer-based world. Computer use in various fields has long
ceased to be fashionable and has become almost a necessity. Since the early phases of
design to the final implementation of a product, the computer has replaced traditional
tools, providing efficient and elegant instruments. We can say, without fear of being
wrong, that the strides that mankind has taken in recent decades is due largely to
computer assistance.
This book provides an open platform from which to establish and share knowledge
developed by scholars, scientists, and engineers from all over the world, about various
applications of computer aided modeling and simulation in the design process of
products in various engineering fields. The book consists of 12 chapters arranged in an
order reflecting the multidimensionality of applications related to modeling and
simulation. The chapters are in two sections: 3D Modeling (seven chapters), and
Virtual Prototyping (five chapters). Some of the most recent modeling and simulation
techniques, as well as some of the most accurate and sophisticated software in treating
complex systems, are applied.
Modeling is an essential and inseparable part of all scientific activity, being the process
of generating abstract, conceptual, graphical, and/or mathematical models. In other
words, modeling is a method in science and technology consisting of the schematic
representation of an object or system as a similar or analog model. Modeling allows
the analysis of real phenomena and predicts the results from the application of one or
more theories to a given level of approximation. Simulation is an imitation used to
study the results of an action on a product (system), without performing the
experiment on the physical/hardware product. So, simulation can be defined as the
virtual reproduction of physical systems. A computer simulation is an attempt to
model a real-life or hypothetical situation on a computer so that it can be studied to
see how the system works. Computer simulation has become a useful part of modeling
many systems in engineering, to gain insight into the operation of those systems. The
basic goal for a computer simulation is to generate a sample of representative
scenarios for a model.
Advances in computer hardware and software have led to new challenges and
opportunities for researchers aimed at investigating complex systems. The modern
X Preface

approach of the modeling and simulation process has now shifted from the traditional
CAD/CAM/CAE practices, which were focused on a concept referred to as art-to-
component, to the system-focused approach, the interaction of form, fit, function, and
assembly of all components in a product having a major contribution to overall
product quality. Virtual prototyping practices can ensure greater product performance
and quality in a fraction of both the time and cost required for traditional approaches.
Virtual prototyping is a computer-aided engineering-based discipline that entails
modeling products and simulating their behavior under real-world operating
conditions. By using various types of software solutions for evaluating the form,
fitting, functionality, and durability of the products in an integrated approach,
complex digital prototypes can be created and then used in virtual experiments (lab
and field tests) in a similar way to the real circumstances.
Generally, a virtual prototyping platform includes the following software
environments: CAD (Computer Aided Design) to create the geometric (solid) model of
the system/product; MBS (Multi-Body Systems) – to analyze, optimize, and simulate
the system under real operating conditions; FEA (Finite Element Analysis) to capture
inertial and compliance effects during simulations, to study deformations of the
flexible components, and to predict loads with greater accuracy, therefore achieving
more realistic results; DFC (Design for Control) – to create the control/command
system model for the mechatronic products; and PDM (Product Data Management) to
track and control data related to a particular product, and to promote integration and
data exchange among all users who interact with products. Depending on the type of
application, other particular software solutions can obviously be used.
One of the most important advantages of this kind of simulation, based on virtual
prototyping, is the possibility of performing virtual measurements in any point or area
of the system, and for any parameter (motion, force, energy). This is not always
possible in the real case due to the lack of space for transducers placement, lack of
appropriate transducers, or high temperatures. This helps engineers to make quick
decisions on any design changes without going through expensive hardware
prototype building and testing. The behavioral performance predictions are obtained
much earlier in the design cycle of the products, thereby allowing more effective and
cost-efficient design changes and reducing overall risk substantially.
This book collects original and innovative research studies on recent applications in
modeling and simulation. Modeling and Simulation in Engineering is addressed to
researchers, engineers, students, and to all those professionally active and/or
interested in the methods and applications of modeling and simulation, covering a
large engineering field: mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, biomedical
engineering, and others. The book provides a forum for original papers dealing with
any aspect of systems simulation and modeling. The basic principle for a successful
modeling and simulation process can be formulated in this way: as complex as
necessary, and as simple as possible. This is in accordance with the Einstein's
Preface XI

principle: “A scientific theory should be as simple as possible, but no simpler”. The
idea is to manipulate the simplifying assumptions in a way that reduces the
complexity of the model (in order to make the real-time simulation), but without
altering the precision of the results. In other words, a useful model is a tradeoff
between simplicity and realism. All original contributions collected in this book are
strictly jointed by this principle.

Prof. Catalin Alexandru
University Transilvania of Brasov, Product Design and Robotics Department,
Romania