Solar Impulse 2 circles the world with help from Siemens digital software technology

Digital technology from Siemens was used to virtually simulate many of the physical demands the aircraft could encounter on its journey, employing advanced software to analyze where the structure needed to be stronger, and where weight savings could safely be made. Siemens product lifecycle management (PLM) software enabled the team at Solar Impulse, and their partner AeroFEM, to virtually optimize the aircraft’s design even before physical prototypes were built, or test flights taken.

For example, analysts used the Siemens Femap™ software for Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) to digitally optimize the plane’s wing structure in order to meet strength requirements with minimal weight gain. The team was able to go from using a material weighing 100 grams per square meter to one weighing just 25 grams per square meter.

Using the software also enabled the team to make the cockpit three times larger, but weighing less than twice as much as the original (60kg for the new cockpit compared with 42kg in the original).

Digitalization technology from Siemens PLM Software has been used to optimize a long line of innovative and record-breaking designs, including a championship-winning Formula One car from Red Bull Racing, the NASA Mars Rover ‘Curiosity’ which is beaming back data from 54 million kilometers away, and the Land Rover BAR British racing catamaran which will compete in the 2016 America’s Cup.

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Digital Factory Division, works with customers to drive a competitive advantage through industry software solutions for product lifecycle management (PLM) and manufacturing operations management (MOM). A leading global provider of software, systems and services, it has over 15 million licensed seats and more than 140,000 customers worldwide.

For the full case study detailing how Siemens digitalization technology was used in the design of Solar Impulse 2, please click here.

For more information regarding Digitalization at Siemens, please visit:

www.siemens.com/digitalization

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is No. 1 in offshore wind turbine construction, a leading supplier of gas and steam turbines for power generation, a major provider of power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2015, which ended on September 30, 2015, Siemens generated revenue of €75.6 billion and net income of €7.4 billion. At the end of September 2015, the company had around 348,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.