Simcenter Amesim

Simcenter Amesim is a commercial simulation software for the modeling and analysis of multi-domain systems. It is part of systems engineering domain and falls into the mechatronic engineering field.
The software package is a suite of tools used to model, analyze and predict the performance of mechatronics systems. Models are described using nonlinear time-dependent analytical equations that represent the system’s hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal, electric or mechanical behavior. Compared to 3D CAE modeling this approach gives the capability to simulate the behavior of systems before detailed CAD geometry is available, hence it is used earlier in the system design cycle or V-Model.
To create a simulation model for a system, a set of libraries is used, they contain pre-defined components for different physical domains. The icons in the system have to be connected and for this purpose each icon has ports, which have several inputs and outputs. Causality is enforced by linking the inputs of one icon to the outputs of another icon (and vice versa).
Simcenter Amesim libraries are written in C language and also support Modelica which is a non-proprietary, object-oriented, equation based language to model complex physical systems containing, e.g., mechanical, electrical, electronic, hydraulic, thermal, control, electric power or process-oriented subcomponents. The software runs on Linux and on Windows platforms.
Simcenter Amesim is a part of the Siemens PLM Software Simcenter portfolio. This combines 1D simulation, 3D CAE and physical testing with intelligent reporting and data analytics. This portfolio is intended for development of complex products that include smart systems, through implementing a Predictive Engineering Analytics approach.
History.
The Simcenter Amesim software was developed by Imagine S.A. a company which was acquired in June 2007 by LMS International, which itself was acquired in November 2012 by Siemens AG.
The Imagine S.A. company was created in 1987 by Dr Michel Lebrun from the University Claude Bernard in France, to control complex dynamic systems coupling hydraulic servo-actuators with finite-elements mechanical structures. The initial engineering project involved the deck elevation of the sinking Ekofisk North Sea petroleum platforms.
In the early 1990s, the association with Pr C. W. Richards, coming from the University of Bath in England, led to the first commercial release of Simcenter Amesim in 1995 which was then dedicated to fluid control systems.
Simcenter Amesim is used by companies in the automotive, aerospace and other advanced manufacturing industries.
Usage.
Simcenter Amesim is a "multi-domain" software. It allows to link between different physics domains (hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanic, electrical, thermal, electromechanical). It is based on the Bond graph theory.
The modelling of a system is done in four steps:
Between the submodel and parameter mode, the Simcenter Amesim model is compiled.
Under the Windows platform, Simcenter Amesim works with the free Gcc compiler, which is provided with the software. It also works with the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler and its free Express edition. Since the version 4.3.0 Simcenter Amesim uses the Intel compiler on all platforms.
Platform facilities.
Simcenter Amesim features:
Physical libraries.
To create a system simulation model in Simcenter Amesim, components from different physical domains are assembled. The physical libraries have been developed through engineering services and partnerships with customers. In version 2019.1, Simcenter Amesim offered 48 libraries (> 6500 multi-physics models) to answer various application requirements.
Some Simcenter Amesim libraries:
Education and research.
Simcenter Amesim is used by engineering schools and universities.
It is also the reference framework for various Research projects in Europe. 