Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Virtual Proving Ground Simulation: Mechanical and Electromechanical Systems

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EEC-9704242 Haug, Ed/U of Iowa The long time and high costs of developing new vehicles and equipment for future products are becoming prohibitive. Companies and the Government are increasingly turning to simulation to determine the effectiveness of the design of new products. Research to develop a virtual proving ground will provide the data necessary for product testing without producing expensive prototypes. The University of Iowa and the University of Texas at Austin have joined together to form an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Virtual Proving Ground Simulation: Mechanical and Electromechanical Systems. About a dozen companies and Federal agencies have committed to become members of the Center. The Center meets all requirements of the Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Program. The multi-university Center brings together unique capabilities of research teams from three universities (two of which will receive NSF I/UCRC funds) to address research areas that none of the schools could address alone. The Center will utilize unique capabilities and facilities for vehicle system simulation developed at the University of Iowa as part of a prior NSF I/UCRC in Simulation and Design Optimization of Mechanical Systems. These capabilities, with the new addition of the University of Iowa's National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) for the driver-in-the-loop real-time simulation, combined with expertise at the University of Texas at Austin in electromechanical system simulation and design and expertise at Auburn University in vehicle-terrain simulation, will allow the proposed Center to do virtual proving ground simulation. Virtual proving ground simulation incorporates the dynamics of the interaction between a vehicle and the surface on which it moves. The research program consists of core research projects funded from center membership fees, and pilot projects funded by both member companies and Federal agencies. The proposed core resea rch projects are: Vehicle and Equipment Virtual Proving Ground Modeling and Simulation, Virtual Proving Ground Modeling, Dynamic System Simulation, Tire/Track-Soil Interaction Modeling (Auburn University), Numerical Methods for Virtual Proving Ground Simulation, Electromechanical System Modeling, Power System Simulation in a Virtual Proving Ground Environment, Simulation-Based Design of Power Systems, and Power System Simulation-Based Testing and Evaluation. The bulk of the funding for the universities to work on pilot projects will come from the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies. These projects are within the fundamental goals and objectives of the Center's research program. They greatly expand the Center's research base and effectively guide the direction of the research to meet industrial needs. The proposed pilot projects are: Simulation-Based Design of Hybrid-Electric Vehicles, Agricultural Equipment Virtual Proving Ground, Construction Equipment Virtual Proving Ground, Military Vehicle Virtual Proving Ground, Rocket System Virtual Proving Ground, Simulation-Based Design of Advanced Electromechanical Devices, and Simulation-Based Testing and Evaluation of Critical Power System Components. The DoD and other Federal agencies will support pilot projects with funds as they become available during the five year period. The Director (Principal Investigator) and co-Director and their colleagues are eminent researchers and uniquely qualified to run this Center. The Center is being cost shared by the Engineering Design Program of ENG/DMII and will be coordinated with NSF's participation in the interagency Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) Program. The Program Manager recommends the University of Iowa be awarded $43,000 annually for a five year continuing award. Near the end of each 12-month period, the Program Director / and or the Division Director of the Engineering Education and Centers Division will review the Center on a number of renewal criteria including the following: 1) the extent to which the industry/university interaction is developing; 2) the extent to which the support base is developing; 3) the extent to which a robust research program is developing. If the review is satisfactory, the Program Director will recommend support for the next period of this continuing award. An additional authorization of $9,826,236 over five years is recommended for pilot projects. Funding of the pilot projects from the DoD and other Federal agencies will occur through a series of separate interagency transfers of funds by the collaborating Federal agencies, identifying each project and task and the total amount of funds that are allocated to it. As part of the above, $600,000 is recommended for a one-year award for an initial pilot project with funds provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. An additional authorization of $400,000 annually for five years is recommended for anticipated Federal agency Center memberships.