LMS, the engineering innovation company, today announced the introduction of LMS Virtual.Lab Fast Trim, a dedicated modeling and simulation solutions to assess the acoustic behavior of multi-layer acoustic trim panels. Acoustic isolation packages based on these multi-layer trim are increasingly used in automotive and aerospace applications to efficiently control the interior sound of a vehicle or aircraft and to increase overall driver and passenger comfort.

Trim panels with multiple layers set specific challenges for acoustics engineers in terms of creating simulation models that deliver reliable results in the higher frequencies ranges. In these ranges, acoustic decoupling as well as porous and visco-elastic effects dominate the acoustic performance.

The new Fast Trim solution in LMS Virtual.Lab Acoustics is capable of accurately modeling these critical effects with minimal efforts and therefore delivers the required reliability. 

After setting up the multilayered layout of a panel and defining the properties of its constituting layers, the transfer admittances of the complete trim structure are calculated as function of frequency. In a subsequent vibro-acoustic FE (Finite Element) analysis, LMS Virtual.Lab Acoustics simulates the performance of the multilayer trim in the presence of flexible panels from a vehicle body or airplane fuselage. Short simulation runs reliably predict the acoustic performance at higher frequency and accelerate the acoustic optimization process. This allows acoustics engineers to better exploit the tremendous potential of trim when shaping the targeted interior sound.

LMS Virtual.Lab Fast Trim has been successfully adopted by several automotive and aerospace OEMs to optimize the trim packaging and layout. Initial user feedback confirmed the ease-of-use of the modeling tool, the calculation speed of the solution and the accuracy of the analysis results.  "LMS Virtual.Lab Fast Trim not only provides very accurate results compared to measured data, but also performs the simulations at significantly high speed, allowing the software to be deployed on industrial-size projects," said Hirotaka Shiozaki, Manager of the CAE and Digital Engineering Group at Mitsubishi's Vehicle Development Engineering Center in Okazaki, Japan.