Innovation corner

Preoneers all over the globe know, that there is no such thing as an ordinary PreonLab release. But this time, we have something very special for you. Not only because the FIFTY2 engineers are numberphiles and version 5.2 is special for us for obvious reasons. But also because PreonLab 5.2 will push things to the limit, starting with Continuous Particle Size giving more degrees of freedom and a significantly improved workflow. But there is even more. Don‘t miss the news and join us for this event!

Reliability is one of the key drivers of our product development at FIFTY2. Users of PreonLab can always be sure, that new versions have been thoroughly tested before we release them. On the other hand, our quality awareness should not slow us down implementing new features. In this article we show how our development process is structured such that we don’t sacrifice one goal for the other. We continuously validate the simulation results and the application behavior. This means, that every new feature is carefully looked at. Our engineering team analyzes the result and validates physical aspects. New development should also not break existing workflows. There are a lot of different aspects of quality assurance, which in combination makes PreonLab an enjoyable user experience. At FIFTY2, we have different stages where different variants of software testing is strictly incorporated in the development process. Like this, we minimize the risk of regressions and side effects and ensure reliable simulation results. It is always our goal to ensure, that the PreonLab version deployed to our users is the best version so far.

The automotive industry is facing one of the most demanding challenges in its history: how to make automated travel safe in all conditions. With advanced and autonomous vehicles entering the market, solving problems linked to illumination and weather conditions such as rain, fog and snow is key to ensuring a safe environment for drivers, passengers and pedestrians. FIFTY2 is proud partner of the international AI-SEE Project (Artificial Intelligence enhancing vehicle vision in low visibility conditions) helping to tackle these challenges with PreonLab.

The automotive world is changing. In order to keep up with the challenges faced in the context of digitalization, Audi established the simulation of water in the development process. In the beginning of this century the Audi portfolio had five segments with different models. From year to year, new model lines were added to meet growing customer needs. Currently, the automotive industry is faced with new challenges in fulfilling the criteria for sustainability and climate neutrality, resulting in even more models with various new types of powertrains, such as hybrid or the e-tron.

PreonLab is successfully employed by Renault to validate and improve heat shield designs which guarantee that no flammable liquid gets in contact with hot parts of the engine. Testing on a real prototype is difficult since first the leakage itself has to be reproduced and secondly, hot liquids may be dangerous.

Thanks to the electrification of the powertrain, innovation in the automotive industry is happening faster than ever. Short time to market for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles (HEVs) is one key to be successful for OEMs and tier 1 suppliers.

These are challenging and exciting times for the automotive industry. In 2020 the current EU regulations that set CO₂ emissions standards for cars and vans will be replaced with stricter targets to be met by 2025, so innovative solutions are necessary to secure high mobility comfort at low emission rates. Our customer Volvo Car Corporation aims to have 50% of their annual sales come from fully electric vehicles.

Electric motors have high operating efficiency, but they also produce large amounts of heat. Removing this heat and keeping the motor at a prescribed temperature range is key for high performance and sustainability of the electric engine. Using our CFD solution PreonLab, a simulation enables engineers to analyze the lubrication and cooling efficiency resulting from a centrifugal liquid spray.