CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

28 July 2009

Implementation Investments

MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT Opts for LMS Simulation Technology to Develop its Ground-Breaking Variable Compression Ratio (VCR) Engine

LMS announced that MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT has chosen LMS simulation technology to design its MCE-5 engine block prototype. MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT is a worldwide leader in variable compression ratio (VCR) technology, which reduces fuel consumption of gasoline engines while conforming to stringent emission standards and automotive market demands. The LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim solution helps MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT to create a detailed engine simulation model to better understand and optimize the hydraulic actuation system design, which controls the compression ratio.

The MCE-5 VCR engine block is intended to replace conventional engine blocks. The LMS Imagine.Lab simulation solution provides MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT with the necessary tools to model and analyze how design changes influence reliability, durability, and production costs. The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of physical prototypes.

“Indeed, what is crucial for us is to identify and study a VCR mechanism that conforms to VCR engines’ mass production requirements. LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim helps us clarify our project in terms of tangible costs and time saving,” stated Mr. Vianney RABHI, Director of Strategy and Development at MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT.

MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT engineers particularly appreciate LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim because the one-dimensional simulation software is a tool that helps them optimize the model during the early design stages and assess a variety of subsystems in multiple physical domains. The flawless communication between component libraries and accurate modeling of physical phenomena makes it possible to design the MCE-5 VCR engine block and its related subsystems on a single platform.

“The LMS Imagine.Lab Internal Combustion Engine Related Hydraulics solution proved to be the best technical choice for MCE-5 because LMS has extensive experience in fluids as is obvious from its robust component libraries. The solution assists both expert and non-expert users in modeling fluids systems from the functional to the detailed model level,” commented Mr. Yves MIEHE, thermo-dynamic simulation engineer at MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT.

About MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT:

Founded in 2000, MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT is based in Lyon, France, and is developing the MCE-5 variable compression ratio engine which reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 45% or more. The MCE-5 engine provides a concrete technological and commercial response to the environmental, energy and economic challenges faced by the automotive industry. The MCE-5 engine combines the advantages of both Diesel and gasoline. MCE-5 DEVELOPMENT invested about 30 million Euros to develop the MCE-5 technology, which can be mass-produced as of 2016-2017 thanks to a consortium of 12 major internationally recognized European partners. The MCE-5 project is supported and financed by various French and European institutions. It is a successful example of public-private co-financing. Strongly backed by 257 French and foreign shareholders, almost one third of the total investment in Research and Development comes from public funding. View a film in English presenting MCE-5 technology: http://www.MCE-5.com/downloads/MCE-5_2008_GB.mpg

About the MCE-5 VCRi Technology:

The MCE-5 VCRi is the most advanced Variable Compression Ratio technology worldwide. It is an internal combustion (IC) engine capable of using all the technologies currently available for gasoline engines, such as direct injection, VVTs (Variable Valve Timing) or turbo-charging. IC engines have always progressed through the addition of new functions to improve their performance levels or energy efficiency. MCE-5 proposes an additional decisive function: compression ratio control. Reduction in fuel consumption ranges from 20% for small vehicles to up to 45% for high performance ones. After 12 years of R&D, this technology is now ready to enter into a mass production program, and could be mass-produced by 2016-2017.

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