This paper on "Modeling of Conformal Mechanical Interfaces in Technical Systems" was presented at the NAFEMS World Congress on The Evolution of Product Simulation From Established Methods to Virtual Testing & Prototyping - 24-28 April 2001, The Grand Hotel, Lake Como, Italy.

Abstract

The behavior of technical systems depends on the properties of the subsystems and their physical interaction. These interactions take place at interfaces, which may be characterized as conformal or non-conformal. Optimization of shape and surface properties of conforming interfaces is of vital importance in engineering design of technical systems. In modularized products, it is of strategic importance. A method to model the physical behavior of technical systems with conformal interfaces is presented. The basic approach is to aggregate systems models from mixed-fidelity submodels and to connect them with interface feature models. The parameters describing the properties of an interface feature is obtained directly from measurements or as a solution to an inverse problem. The modeling method is exemplified with a design study of the thermoelastic behavior of a parallel-kinematics machine.