The automotive industry, a global powerhouse, is undergoing transformations driven by technological advancements, environmental regulations, and evolving customer expectations. For decades, simulation has been a keystone in addressing aerodynamics, durability, crashworthiness, and combustion challenges. Today, its scope expands to all aspects of vehicle design as the industry adapts to the growing complexity of automobiles.

Automotive OEMs and suppliers are at the forefront, grappling with three significant diverse challenges:

1. Increasing Electric Vehicle (EV) Adoption
2. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Integration
3. Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) Evolution

Electrified Powertrains:

⮞ Streamlining EV Transition: Simulation is necessary in designing efficient electric powertrains, focusing on the battery's crucial component.
⮞ Optimal Battery Design: Workflows simulate the size, packaging, and range of batteries, addressing thermal concerns during crashes, charging, and extreme conditions.
⮞ Multiphysics Optimization: Simulation enables simultaneous optimization of structural, thermal, and electromagnetic criteria for motors and power electronic modules.

Advancements in Driver Assistance Systems and Autonomy:

⮞ Active Safety Features: Challenges in achieving fully autonomous vehicles necessitate a gradual approach. Simulation facilitates developing and testing the advanced driver assistance systems, ensuring safety through virtual validation.
⮞ Efficient Development: Instead of physical miles, automated driving technologies are developed, tested, and validated virtually, expediting the innovation cycle.

Facilitating Software-Defined Mobility:

⮞ Growing Software Complexity: With over 100 million lines of code, a transition to Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) is imperative. 
⮞ Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE): Simulation aids in managing evolving requirements for software-driven features, ensuring functional safety and cybersecurity.
⮞ Virtual Validation: Simulation validates new software throughout the vehicle's life, assuring safety and reliability before over-the-air (OTA) updates.

As the automotive landscape evolves, simulation stands as the anchor, driving innovation by guaranteeing precision in component design, achieving unparalleled quality, lightweight structures, cost efficiency, and integrating cutting-edge technology. It is the cornerstone ensuring the automotive industry's strategic evolution.

Explore APA's expert Simulation capabilities for automotive innovation. For deeper insights, get in touch with us.