The Orient Express Racing Team is using the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software to aid in preparation for the upcoming 37th America’s Cup, and to gain competitive advantage. Founded by sports tech company K-Challenge, the Orient Express Racing Team brings together some of the best French athletes, engineers, technicians, and experts with the aim of winning the world’s most prestigious international sailing competitions, including the America’s Cup. Mastering this ultra-competitive environment is the drive behind the company’s creativity and capacity for innovation.
Working in close collaboration with Siemens Simcenter Engineering Services, the Orient Express Racing Team is gaining an understanding of the real-world performance of the hydraulic flight and aeronautic systems that control sails and rudder/foil flaps actuation. Digital twins of these systems have been built, parameterised and functionally validated, along with dedicated libraries that help ensure the layout and interface are comprehensive and easy to operate in a multi-disciplinary team effort spanning the performance, mechatronic, and hydraulic groups.
Sailing boats have dramatically changed since the arrival of foil technology, enabling them to fly above the water. “Managing two fluids and all the new aerospace flying technologies has become a real challenge as the game is completely changed,” said Stephan Kandler, CEO of the K-Challenge and Orient Express Racing Team. “Digital twins and virtual testing were a major breakthrough to enhance the design of the boats, besides real sailing. Having Siemens on our side was a key element of our strategy in the America’s Cup, but also for other developments in the maritime transport decarbonation.”
“Siemens is incredibly proud to work with K-Challenge and the Orient Express Racing Team to help them in their bid to succeed in the 37th America’s Cup race,” said Jean-Marie Saint-Paul, CEO of Siemens Digital Industries France. “The work achieved through our technical collaboration now and during the forthcoming race shows how the benefits of digital twins of complex systems can leverage the use of real-time data in one of the most competitive sporting environments.”
When the team finds that performance is deviating from expectations, data from the water is taken as reference, and the engineers introduce modifications in the systems model (for example, to find suspected leaks in the hydraulic systems) to try and match simulation results and data – which allows them to target inspection and maintenance more accurately and efficiently.
As the team prepares for the race, there is also the potential to use the same digital twin-based systems model, already prepared for real-time performance, to be exploited for streaming live data from the race to the models, and to compare the response in real time. Additionally, when the boat is not at sea, the systems models are connected to K-Challenge’s virtual reality simulator. Finally, there is also potential to work the control strategy of the control systems and test multiple scenarios virtually before testing in the water.
Overcoming the bottling industry’s fragmented visibility Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing Electrical Power & Protection
Beverage bottling facilities are among manufacturing’s most energy-intensive environments, yet many still operate without granular insight into where that energy goes. Rezolia Muller-Potluri of Schneider Electric explains how tiered metering architecture and advanced
Read more...New chiller line for high-density AI data centres Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Schneider Electric has launched the Uniflair XCA, a new series of air-cooled and free-cooling chillers designed for artificial intelligence-driven, high-density liquid-cooled data centres.
Read more...Turning system integrators into trusted technology partners Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing System Integration & Control Systems Design
Schneider Electric’s Alliance Partner Programme is repositioning system integrators from hardware suppliers into lifecycle-value partners. Oriel Soupen explains the competency framework, certification model and real-world results that are already helping African system integrators win higher-value, longer-term engagements.
Read more...Why renewable projects need integrated protection and control
IT in Manufacturing
Fragmented secondary plant integration in renewable energy projects causes costly delays during commissioning. ACTOM Protection and Control’s Secondary Plant Integration solution consolidates all secondary systems under a single engineering framework, reducing risk and accelerating grid
Read more...When digital twins move from concept to critical tool
IT in Manufacturing System Integration & Control Systems Design Maintenance, Test & Measurement, Calibration
Digital twins are moving out of the lab and onto the mine, the factory floor and the transport network where they predict failures before they happen. Amritesh Anand looks at where they earn their keep, the data and integration work behind them, and the security questions every organisation should ask before switching one on.
Read more...How a digital foundation can overcome the LNG trilemma Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing SCADA/HMI
The LNG sector is racing to add capacity, but without a digital backbone, growth creates complexity rather than capability. Christophe Begat of Schneider Electric explains how connecting data, systems and analytics across the LNG value chain can resolve the trilemma of secure supply, lower emissions and tighter costs.
Read more...Decarbonisation is reshaping mining strategy in Africa Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing Electrical Power & Protection
Mining companies across Africa are embedding decarbonisation into operational strategy, driven by investor, regulatory and customer pressure to reduce emissions while improving resilience.
Read more...Siemens and HighByte partner to scale industrial AI Siemens South Africa
IT in Manufacturing Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Siemens is expanding its Industrial Edge ecosystem through a partnership with HighByte, enabling customers to connect, contextualise and transform data from operational technology and information technology sources to build AI models and applications at scale.
Read more...Africa on the edge of a digital future Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Edge computing promises lower latency, stronger reliability and real-time responsiveness across Africa, yet its rollout keeps colliding with one stubborn obstacle, power. Steven Santini explores how renewable microgrids, smart energy management and the right partnerships could turn the continent’s energy gap into its biggest edge opportunity.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version