Ahead of Brakes 2016, we spoke to Dr. Nils Wagner, Senior Engineer at INTES GmbH. Nils explains his role and involvement in brakes and braking systems, how important simulation has been for recent developments and the key fundamentals holding back innovation, as well as what he is most looking forward to by attending and presenting.
Dr. Nils Wagner, Senior Engineer, INTES GmbH
Nils Wagner graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Brunswick - Institute of Technology.
His diploma thesis was carried out in conjunction with the University of Innsbruck, in the area of random response of rotating systems. He then successfully completed a PhD at TU Braunschweig, but at the faculty of Civil Engineering, focusing his attention on a coupled FEM/BEM analysis method of a moving mass problem.
In 1999, Nils moved to the faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Stuttgart as a Post-Doc. Prior to his industrial activities, Nils held a position as a post-doctoral researcher in University of Stuttgart in the area of parameter-dependent eigenvalue problems.
Moving from academia to industry, he is currently working for INTES GmbH in Stuttgart, Germany as a senior engineer. He is responsible for training, benchmarking and conference contributions in all aspects of CAE by using the commercial FEA package PERMAS and the corresponding pre and postprocessor VisPER with emphasis on structural dynamics and optimization.
Q: Could you briefly explain your role and involvement in brakes and braking systems?
Nils Wagner (NW): INTES GmbH has been developing and marketing software for Finite Element Analyses since 1984. Our general purpose finite element solver PERMAS integrates analysis capabilities for thermomechanics, vibroacoustics and optimisation. Its application is supported by VisPER (i.e. Visual PERMAS) for model description and result evaluation.
We started our activities in brake squeal analyses eight years ago in close cooperation with customers to enhance the technology of brake squeal analysis. To support the practical application, a Brake Squeal Wizard is available in VisPER that allows an easy description of complex brake models according to PERMAS brake squeal technology. Our customers appreciate the cooperative partnership, the excellent know-how, high degree of flexibility and firm commitment with which INTES has successfully operated in its core business for more than 30 years.
Q: What are you most looking forward to by attending and presenting at Brakes 2016?
NW: The event presents a good opportunity to demonstrate the power and performance of PERMAS brake squeal technology. I would like to come into contact with people interested in our expertise and to discuss together the key themes and challenges of brake squeal analyses and what we can do for them.
Q: How important has simulation been for recent automotive industry developments, and how critical will it be in the future for brakes and brake systems?
NW: Nowadays, engineers have the advantage of being able to analyse and predict product performance using the advanced capabilities of CAE analysis to capture all major physical properties of the underlying system. There is a great demand for digital prototypes in the automotive industry in order to reduce costs. Hence, expensive tests are replaced by computer simulations especially in the early phases of development. However, verification and validation of numerical models become a crucial issue at the same time. We have recognised this essential requirement from the industry. In doing so, we have created several options for sophisticated checks of structural models.
Q: What do you feel is the key fundamental holding back braking innovation and advancement in the industry today and how can simulation assist?
NW: The role of simulation is often underestimated in the design process. System inherent uncertainties in braking systems call for design exploration. This necessitates the use of state-of-the-art software and hardware to cope better with the increasing number of computations. Integrated optimisation as provided by PERMAS and VisPER open up entirely new possibilities in product development. CAE driven design optimisation can be delivered to the designer. The cumbersome process of manual optimisation by several design loops should be avoided whenever possible.
Q: You will be presenting on 'Advanced modelling for brake noise propensity prediction'. How important is it to reduce the gap between simulation and real life scenarios?
NW: We are aware of the challenge to close this gap. A large number of publications clearly indicates the need to improve finite element models by including additional physical effects and the degree of detail. If there is a gap between simulation and real life scenarios we provide features to minimise it to meet the requirements of our customers. If you want to be up to date, the best way is to be part of and follow ongoing research projects from academia and industry.
Nils will be speaking at Brakes 2016, a unique opportunity to learn from leading vehicle OEMs and senior level experts about key engineering solutions for enhancing brake performance and the integration of new technologies.
This event is the UK’s only brake event and will provide attendees with the latest developments and research in brake systems and technologies, particle emissions, modelling for brake noise propensity prediction and current and future challenges with noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).
Brakes 2016 will be co-located with Advanced Engineering 2016. Attendees will also receive access to the UK’s largest meeting place for advanced engineering professionals and an opportunity to engage with over 12,000 engineering peers.
For further information, please visit the Brakes 2016 event page.