3D simulation of historical mechanics

As part of the research project on "Methods for 3D digitization of cultural monuments of technology as sources of the history of technology", Erika Érsek, Victor Häfner and Anne-Christine Benedix presented the latest developments on the topic of mechanical simulation at the Gyrolog conference of the University of Stuttgart on 4 January 2021.

The Institute for Information Management in Engineering (IMI) applied for the first time a simulation method for the virtual representation of functional processes on a digital 3D model of a historical waterworks. The dynamic elements in the photogrammetry model were first manually separated. Subsequently, geometry analysis algorithms, which are used for CAD data, could be applied to the models of the scanned gears. The axis of rotation, module, number of teeth and other parameters are extracted automatically. These parameters can then be used in a real-time kinematics and mechanics simulation to simulate the motion sequences of the pumping station. In addition, this simulation will be coupled with FEM and CFD simulations in the future in order to be able to simulate more complex issues.

The 3D project at the ITZ plans the 3D digitization of historical power machines to promote object research. Since the function of technical equipment is decisive for the technical-historical classification and evaluation, the representation of the mechanical function plays an important role in the transfer of the original into the digital copy. This makes it all the more important to use a procedure that is based on physical values and allows scientific questions to be asked.

Copyrights
Solid model: © ITZ, KIT
SfM model: © Steffen, LAD RPS