Full Product Simulation of a Washing Machine

In the next several minutes, we will demonstrate simulation technologies that enable full product simulation by combining 3D physics with system-level analysis. The example used is a washing machine created by Ansys channel partner E triple S in Brazil.

Key Features Highlighted:

• Electric motors
• Drive circuits
• Embedded software control
• Thermal issues
• Structural analysis
• Acoustic noise prediction

Power Supply Simulation

We first consider the power supply in the Ansys Simplorer system simulation. The power is supplied to the IGBT inverter modules and the controller. The network powers the printed circuit board, including:

• An AC to DC converter
• The controller
• An IGBT-based inverter

The variable speed motor is controlled by an electric drive, utilizing a controller with embedded code generated by the Ansys Esterel SCADE suite.

Electromagnetic Simulation

Here is the time domain output for one of the drive waveforms, along with the electromagnetic simulation of the currents flowing in the cabling from the printed circuit board to the electric motor. We use these waveforms in the electromagnetic simulation of the motor. 3D electromagnetic simulations generate high fidelity reduced order models, creating a powerful electromagnetic-based design flow that combines complex circuits with physics-accurate component models.

Multi-domain Multi-physics Simulation

Multi-domain multi-physics simulation is accomplished by adding Ansys IcePack simulation to calculate the temperature of the IGBTs based on the power delivered. IcePack relies on the Ansys Fluent computational fluid dynamics solver to calculate the temperature on the PCB surface and the IGBT devices. Simplorer produces a reduced order model based on the IcePack simulation to solve for electrical and thermal values simultaneously.

Rigid Body Dynamics Analysis

Rigid body dynamics analysis predicts the stresses and transient behavior of the complex 3D structure encountered during washing machine operation, based on the input forces and torques from the electric motor.

Stator Deformation and Acoustic Noise

The final analysis demonstrates the stator deformation based on the forces calculated by Maxwell with Mechanical. The deformation is amplified to help visualize the effect. It is this deformation that becomes the source of the acoustic noise.

Conclusion

In this example, we demonstrated full product simulation that combines 3D physics simulation with system analysis. Ansys Simplorer is used to integrate numerous technologies, including Maxwell, SkateSuite, IcePack, Mechanical, and rigid body dynamics.

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