Case Study: Ankers achieves improved braking-distance accuracy through thermal co‑simulation with Altair MotionView & solidThinking Activate

Thermal Study of Brakes and Braking Distance Using Co-simulation with MotionSolve and solidThinking Activate

Ankers, a high‑tech automotive engineering services company, needed to determine how brake disk and pad temperatures affect vehicle braking distance to optimize system behavior. To address this challenge they used Altair tools—specifically MotionView (multibody dynamics) and solidThinking Activate—for a co‑simulation approach.

Using Altair MotionView co‑simulated with solidThinking Activate, Ankers linked a full vehicle multibody model to a thermal friction model so line pressure and wheel speed could drive temperature‑dependent friction updates. The co‑simulation increased accuracy versus a multibody‑only model—predicting a stop at 54 m vs 50 m without thermal effects (a 4 m difference), correlating well with a referenced 3D model—and enabled earlier system‑level optimizations; Ankers will add Altair‑based co‑simulation to its service portfolio.

Ankers

Nicolò Indovina

Team Leader Vehicle Dynamics and Integration Specialist