Case Study: Schaeffler Group achieves 20x faster, more accurate e-motor cooling simulations with Altair's nanoFluidX

Enhanced e-Motor Cooling Solutions - Altair Tools Optimized for NVIDIA® GPUs Achieve More Accurate Results 20x Faster

Schaeffler Group, a global leader in motion technology, needed faster, more accurate ways to evaluate oil‑spray cooling for e‑motors because repeated climate‑lab testing was expensive and slow. After finding limitations with a competitor’s SPH software, Schaeffler evaluated Altair’s tools — notably Altair® nanoFluidX® (part of Altair CFD and available via the Altair Unlimited Virtual Appliance) — to improve simulation fidelity and reduce reliance on physical tests.

Altair implemented a workflow using Altair® SimLab® for preprocessing and the GPU‑optimized nanoFluidX solver on NVIDIA data‑center GPUs, benchmarking Schaeffler’s e‑motor model and matching physical test results. The Altair solution delivered a 20× speedup (cutting run times from about five days to under six hours), produced correlated results within two weeks, reduced compute and licensing costs, and enabled Schaeffler to shorten development cycles and reduce physical testing.

Schaeffler Group

Kelly Nelson

CFD Team Leader