May 10, 2012
By DE Editors
The NASA Engineering and Safety Center presented Altair ProductDesign its Group Achievement Award for its contribution to the water drop-testing of the Orion Crew Module. The company, which serves as Altairs multi-disciplinary product development consultancy, successfully developed modeling methods and performed dynamic water impact simulations to help improve the safety systems and structure of the module.
The Orion Crew Module houses NASA astronauts during space travel and allows them to safely descend back to Earth from orbit after mission completion. As the Earth water landing is a highly complex and dynamic event, the NESC engaged with Altair ProductDesign as part of its larger assessment team to develop critical simulation models for the Crew Module.
Using Altairs HyperWorks virtual simulation suite, including HyperMesh and the HyperWorks RADIOSS solver, Altair built an accurate finite element model of the module from CAD data supplied by NASA, as well as a section of water and air that matched the conditions used during physical tests. The effect on the modules structure during impact was simulated to gauge how well the results correlated with the physical tests.
The NESC Honor Awards are given each year to NASA Center employees, industry representatives, and other stakeholders for their efforts and achievements in engineering, leadership, teamwork, and communication.
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Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.
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