The Chrysler Group Adopts Innovative Technology Approach To Impact Simulation Testing

• Use of a Linux Cluster of workstations results in new price-performance curve for part of the product development process.
• Collaboration with IBM, Intel(R), LSTC and Red Hat enables Chrysler Group to reach a new plateau in computer-aided engineering.
• Benefits include increased simulation speed and significant reduction in hardware investment, while maintaining the same precision per simulation.

DETROIT, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Chrysler Group unit of DaimlerChrysler announced today a revolutionary approach to the technology required to perform impact simulations during vehicle development.  The announcement was made at the kickoff of Convergence 2002, the premier global transportation electronics conference.

The approach utilizes a Linux cluster of commercial-grade PCs, also known as workstations.  It enables the Chrysler Group to perform impact analysis simulation at a speed that is 20 percent faster than Company's previously used hardware solution, maintaining the same precision required from the analysis of the simulations, and at a cost that is 40 percent lower than the other solutions available on the market today.

"The dramatic shift we are seeing in the price-performance curve on computers will allow us to perform impact analysis with greater precision and reduced turn-around time," stated Bernard Robertson, Senior Vice President of Engineering Technologies and Regulatory Affairs for the Chrysler Group.  "We expect to see a direct contribution to the quality and safety measurements of our vehicles, as well as improved productivity, lower cost with faster speed-to-market."

Vehicle and occupant impact simulation accounts for 70 percent of the simulation computing capacity that the Chrysler Group engineering community utilizes on a daily basis.  The need for new and innovative approaches that are implemented in a disciplined manner without compromising design creativity is significant.

The automotive industry is continually working to improve product efficiency in the areas of variable cost, cycle time and the function and performance of the vehicle.  One means by which great strides have been made is in the area of computer-aided engineering (CAE) and simulation.

Supplier Collaboration Creates Innovative Approach

The new hardware strategy for simulation was born out of collaboration between the Chrysler Group's information technology team and IBM, Intel, Livermore Software Technology Corp (LSTC) and Red Hat:

• The Chrysler Group's technical and engineering team helped define the needs for impact analysis, including hardware performance and process requirements.  They also worked on system integration;
• IBM built the commercial-grade workstations, IBM Linux Cluster and Storage, to create a cluster. A108-node IBM IntelliStation cluster was deployed;
• Intel(R) Xeon(TM) processors running at 2.2 GHz and Intel(R) PRO/1000 server adapters were used for high-level performance and flexible connectivity;
• LSTC provided a modified version of their LS-DYNA software to perform impact test simulations, in order to comply with Linux standards; and
• Red Hat provided the Linux operating system, which is based upon open standards, in order for data to flow between differing computer hardware, utilizing a common software (LS-DYNA).

IBM Global Services experts worked with the Chrysler Group's technical and engineering team to implement the solution. Integrated together were IBM Intellistation M Pro 6850 workstations, TotalStorage FAStT500 using Gigabit Ethernet servers and other components to create a 108-node Linux cluster system.

"The creation of this new automotive approach was a total team effort between the Chrysler Group, IBM, Intel, Red Hat and LSTC.  Our Linux and High-Performance Computing technical team worked closely with LSTC and Intel to build, configure and benchmark the application at IBM's Integration Lab in Minnesota, before shipping the cluster to the Chrysler Group in Michigan," stated Lucy Oakleaf, IBM Vice President, Sales and Business Development -- DaimlerChrysler.  "These skills and this process helped eliminate potential issues during the implementation of the cluster at the Chrysler Group's Technology Center."

The cluster is based on Intel(R) Xeon(TM) processors running at 2.2 GHz. Intel Xeon processors are the heart of today's most advanced dual-processor (DP) workstations, delivering exceptional floating-point performance.  The cluster also utilizes Intel PRO/1000 server adapters, which provides fast, flexible connectivity while enhancing performance with uncompromising speed, security and scalability.

"The same great volume economics that Intel brought to the PC, we now bring to workstations and servers, delivering complete solutions for high-performance technical computing.  Intel-based clusters provide outstanding performance at a fraction of the cost of proprietary offerings," said Tom Gibbs, Director, Industry Solutions, Intel.  "This price-performance, coupled with ongoing innovation by leading-edge software vendors and automotive IT experts, allow engineers to create better designs and quickly visualize complex data."

Livermore Software Technology Corp of Livermore California is a provider of finite element simulation software for the worldwide engineering and academic community.  LS-DYNA is widely used by the automotive industry to analyze vehicle designs.  LS-DYNA accurately predicts a car's behavior in a collision and the effects of the collision upon the car's occupants.  With LS-DYNA, automotive companies and their suppliers can test car designs without having to tool or experimentally test a prototype, thus saving time and expense.

An Evolution in Impact Simulation Testing

Since the early 1980s, the Chrysler Group's impact simulation strategy began with the adoption of one super computer that was used to run tests in a virtual world, replicating real-world scenarios.  The cost of those computers at the time was tens of millions of dollars.

Technology evolved in a way that enabled the Chrysler Group to move from the one large computer to a network or cluster of computers for more efficient simulation computing, at a faster rate and lower cost.  This phase, taking place between 1996 and 1999, introduced the Unix-based machines within the network.

Today's announcement marks another shift in the use of innovative and emerging technology.  The Chrysler Group is able to utilize workstations in a network and marry the LS-DYNA software that has become an auto industry standard via the use of a Linux operating system.

The Move to Linux for Impact Analysis

Linux is an open-source operating system, the brain of the computer.  It runs on a wide variety of hardware platforms, from small desktop systems to large mainframes or supercomputers.

Linux is cost-effective, reliable, and scalable that enables users the flexibility of running one operating system on a variety of hardware, often from different vendors.

The Chrysler Group will continue to look at new ways of applying the Linux Cluster technology to its other types of simulations, such as computational fluid dynamics, noise vibration and harness, metal forming, among others.

On The Internet

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