Renault Uses ESI's PAM-COMFORT Solution

A ‘fully virtual’ preliminary design for Virtual Seat Prototyping

ESI Group, a supplier of digital simulation software for prototyping and manufacturing processes, has completed Renault’s first ‘fully virtual’ preliminary design of a new seat using PAM-COMFORT, ESI’s advanced solution for Virtual Seat Prototyping.

ESI’s PAM-COMFORT software offers a scalable and customized solution dedicated to virtual manufacturing and virtual testing (static and dynamic) of the soft parts of a seat. Virtual Seat Prototyping consists of several chained simulated steps ranging from seat manufacturing, occupant static seating, to occupied seat NVH (Noise, Vibration…), where the stresses resulting from each step are needed for the next one.

At Renault, where the full Virtual Seat Prototyping methodology is being deployed, one important step after the preliminary design of a new seat model is the virtual testing of the dynamic comfort performance using PAM-COMFORT. In order to predict seat comfort, Renault runs a dynamic test of seat transmissibility with a static weight. This test is used improve and validate the seat design.

Mr Jerome Makala, head of comfort and safety research department at Renault Group, said: This simulation input can truly be considered as an 'ultra realistic' model, since it allows the simulation of the whole complex mechanical phenomena of the seat, the non-linearity of the materials, the large displacements of the cushion foam and springs, as well as the effect of the cover trimming. The developed models and methodology enable the computation of predictive results, using only physical parameters and without any tuning of filtering. This good correlation between simulation and test results confirms the ability to assess the riding seat comfort in a full virtual process.”

As they are very satisfied with the results of the first fully virtual process with PAM-COMFORT, Renault has started the process of transferring this methodology to its seat providers and to Nissan.