Maplesoft Case Studies

Exploring Chaos and Dynamical Systems with MapleSim

2009-03-16T20:11:00

Dr. Stephen Lynch is a world class leader in the use of mathematical software in teaching and learning, and a renowned expert on dynamical systems and their applications. He teaches a range of courses at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK, and has been nominated for a second time by MMU for a National Teaching Fellowship. Dr. Lynch has chosen to feature MapleSim in the second edition of his best-selling book, Dynamical Systems and Applications using Maple. The book introduces readers to the theory of dynamical systems through theoretical and practical examples, all illustrated with programs created with software tools from Maplesoft.

Leading car manufacturer Renault solves unwanted engine noise and vibration using Maple

2009-03-13T02:45:00

When an engine stops, several engine components take part in the process. Components can produce unwanted noise and vibrations when the engine slows down, which can lead to their deterioration. Jean-Louis Ligier, a Research and Development manager at Renault, and his team were tasked with determining the sources of these noises and vibrations in a 2.2 liter 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine. They found Maple to be the most efficient tool to model the engine and determine the source of the unwanted noise. More importantly, they also used Maple to determine a solution to the problem.

Applied mathematician uses Maple to simulate the biomechanics of human bone microstructure

2009-02-11T19:09:00

Bone is a complex tissue, which is highly optimized for biological and mechanical functions. Researchers are currently examining how bone architecture changes with age and how it alters when various pathologies are present or absent. In particular, the prediction of bone fracture remains elusive.

Dr. Maria-Grazia Ascenzi of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), performs research in her Bone Micro-Mechanics laboratory to better understand bone micro-structures. She conducts experimental biomechanics on bone micro-specimens and uses the powerful computational abilities of Maple to model the percentages and orientations of the various elementary components and the details of fundamental micro-level units of compact bone.

MapleSim used in the field of renewable energy engineering

2009-02-10T04:54:00

David Parker, an engineer with many years of experience working in electronics engineering and related fields, has always been interested in the topic of renewable energy, particularly solar energy. For a recent course on Laplace Transforms and Applications, Parker wrote a paper on the analysis in the s-domain of a series RLC circuit. In the paper, he predicts the response of a bandpass filter RLC circuit using theoretical Laplace transform techniques, and then compares his calculated results with simulated measurements from MapleSim and with the actual physical response of a breadboarded circuit. The resultant MapleSim simulations for frequency, impulse, step, and ramp responses matched the theoretical predictions extremely well.

“[My work] would have been much more difficult without Maple and MapleSim,” said Parker.

Building Better Mathematicians

2009-01-24T04:33:00

Math software technology from Maplesoft™ is helping Professor Roger Kraft to better teach math students at Purdue University Calumet. He uses Maple™, the award-winning math tool, to give students a greater understanding of the subject, help clarify concepts taught in the classroom, and deliver an interactive medium for exploring and visualizing functions.

Students and lecturers solve assessment problems using Maple T.A.

2008-12-18T18:50:00

The marking of mathematical questions is time consuming and prone to inconsistency, particularly when assessing problem-solving skills. At the University of Portsmouth Maple T.A., a web-based system developed by Maplesoft for creating tests and assignments and automatically assessing student performance, has not only enabled the efficient and accurate marking of examinations papers, but has also allowed their peer moderation by students.

Maple and Moodle Transform Math Teaching at the University of Turin:The E-Learning Project of the Faculty of Sciences

2008-12-18T18:34:00

The Faculty of Sciences at the University of Turin started in 2007 the Project “E-learning and interactive teaching”, financially supported by the Compagnia di SanPaolo of Turin. This Project is aimed at extending the e-learning services offered by the Faculty to its students and enriching the traditional teaching of Mathematics with the new technologies available nowadays. One of the highlights of this project has been the use of the Maplesoft suite of products (Maple, MapleNet, Maple TA), making them the “core” of the preparation and distribution of the didactic material. Maplesoft products were made available mainly within the open source e-learning platform “Moodle”, widely adopted in Italian Universities.

Engineering Innovator Creates Unique Applications Using MapleSim

2008-12-05T04:13:00

MapleSim is a high-performance multi-domain modeling and simulation tool that is based on an intuitive block-diagram design. It allows engineers to simulate complex systems quickly by dragging, dropping, and connecting a wide range of pre-built physical components from multiple physical domains. It also provides an environment for creating new components.

Dr. Ed Melcarek, an experienced engineer based in Ontario, Canada, with a flair for creating small, unique, and very intriguing technical applications, recently discovered MapleSim. He exploited MapleSim’s innovative user interface and powerful engine to model the solutions in two creative projects.

Financial Engineers at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International Use Maple in Multi-asset Product Development

2008-10-02T19:22:00

The latest release of Maple offers quantitative finance professionals a platform for maximizing their productivity and efficiency. Maple’s powerful mathematical engine and sophisticated algorithms deliver a rich environment for modeling financial products and for process optimization. “In the world of financial options, analytical results are not always obvious, and testing for their existence can be a tedious and lengthy process. Employing Maple makes it very different; if a symbolic solution exists, Maple finds it quickly and correctly,” said Igor Hlivka of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International. He recently developed a series of applications using Maple for multi-asset product development and for deriving semi-analytical solutions to non-standard options where multivariate stochastic processes play a determining role

RMIT University in Australia transforms teaching and assessment using Maple

2008-09-16T18:32:00

With the rapid advancement of technology and the introduction of powerful software tools, engineers are increasingly using software products for computation and design. To prepare their engineering students for the job market, the faculty at RMIT University in Melbourne faced the challenge of introducing several software products into the engineering curriculum. It was Maple from Maplesoft, the world-leading tool for solving complex mathematical problems and creating rich technical documents that met their curriculum needs and proved to be most effective in their teaching.

Electricité de France uses Maple to reduce secondary circuit risks in nuclear power plants

2008-09-15T16:16:00

Maple was used by National Center of Nuclear Equipment (CNEN) of Electricité de France (EDF) in France to develop, validate, and research a predictive maintenance software program. The EDF software, called BRT-CICERO, is used to develop inspection programs for pipe networks in the engine rooms of French nuclear power plants.“We have been very impressed with the speed of Maple’s mathematical computation, graphical strength, and very strong interactive document interface. The automatic code generation, directly from equations, allowed us to automate and considerably speed up development of our validation tools,” commented Mr. Bouvier, who leads application development.

Maple Helps Improve Power Losses in DC-DC Converters

2008-08-16T02:22:00

Everyone from business travelers to weekend warriors understands the importance of battery life and the frustration of dealing with drained laptop batteries. Because approximately 200 million computers are manufactured in the world each year, this issue is not trivial. Alan Elbanhawy, a power systems industry expert, investigates ways to optimize battery life in notebook computers.He worked with the widely popular engineering and mathematics software Maple from Maplesoft to develop three applications dealing in great depth with power loss mechanisms in these converters. The research helped engineers better understand the power losses inherent in these devices and enabled them to refine their design process, save energy, and help the environment.

Maple helps research next-generation seat belt restraints aimed at reducing passenger injury in automotive collisions

2008-07-14T19:05:00

Pre-crash shoulder belt tensioning is a new technology designed to reduce automotive crash injuries.Pre-crash tensioning technology increases the opportunity to secure a passenger safely before a crash. Sensors and logic, designed to anticipate a crash, activate a motorized seat belt retractor that secures a shoulder belt around an occupant before the crash. Craig Good, a partner at Collision Analysis (Calgary) Ltd. and Ph.D. graduate at the University of Calgary used Maplesoft products to create a 2-D occupant model, using experimentally measured data. Once the model was created, it gave Good the flexibility to evaluate different scenarios to optimize the system.

Professor of Mathematics redefines math education with the help of Maple

2008-07-07T18:02:00

“Mathematics is not old or static; it is alive and students need to experience it,”exclaims Professor Laureano Gonzalez-Vega, describing his philosophy on math education. In his years of teaching, Prof. Gonzalez-Vega has realized that students spend a lot of time trying to understand the mathematic and scientific formulas that are the basis for concepts in scientific or engineering programs, often without much success. He introduced Maple in his courses and Prof. Gonzalez-Vega noticed positive changes in his students’ approach and in their results. With the new software, the students found it much easier and faster to solve problems and understand the mathematics.

Maple and DynaFlexPro play a vital role in 3-D biomechanical modeling and stability analysis of bipedal motion

2008-04-15T17:38:00

The Control Systems Lab researchers at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, directed by Associate Professor Kamran Iqbal, are doing ground-breaking work in the field of biomechanics, with special focus on biomechanical modeling of human voluntary movements. Using DynaFlexPro and Maple™, they rapidly produced a bipedal model to study the sit-to-stand transfer maneuver. By selecting the joints, bodies and frames carefully, it was easy to create biomechanical models.

Maplesoft tools enable high fidelity modeling and simulation of vehicle dynamics for better design process

2008-02-26T04:10:00

During the process of designing an automobile, the time required to build a model of a vehicle is critical in determining the time-to-market for the finished product. Before investing huge amounts of money to create a prototype of the vehicle, it is important for the design team to create a model to understand the dynamics of many subsystems and their interactions. Using radically new design tools such as Maplesoft’s DynaFlexPro for Maple,the University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team, participating in the Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility competition, built a high-fidelity simulation of a Chevy Equinox vehicle in a few short weeks. This product allowed them to iron out flaws in the design and start incorporating real components into the simulation, very early in the process.

Innovative technology for modern sea transportation

2008-02-26T00:00:00

SkySails’ Towing Kite Wind Propulsion Systems powered by Maple

Maple Used to Model Static Electromagnetic Fields of Underwater Pipelines

2008-01-09T20:35:00

The presence of underwater pipelines in the earth’s magnetic field and in a conducting medium such as the earth or ocean creates detectable magnetic and electric fields. Quantifying the strength of these disturbances requires the creation of complicated electromagnetic models. Using Maple, a team at Defence Research & Development Canada – Atlantic determined the strength and impact of these fields. The findings set to rest concerns that the electric and magnetic fields created by a standard iron pipeline would interfere with nearby equipment. It meant that the pipeline need not be built using stainless steel, resulting in large cost savings.

University of Guelph partners with Maplesoft to measure the effect of technology in the classroom

2007-12-18T20:11:00

Most educators agree that technology can have a beneficial impact on mathematics students, and ample anecdotal evidence from individual teachers and classes supports that position. What is less clear is the extent of the impact of emerging technology on student success, the types of tools that provide the most benefit, and the best practices to achieve these benefits. The University of Guelph, in partnership with Maplesoft, has launched a multi-year project to study these questions and to evolve the next generation of teaching techniques. In addition to Maple™, which has been used in many classrooms for years, the project employs newer technologies such as Maple T.A.™ (Maplesoft’s automated system for exercises and assignments), e-books, chat rooms, and blogging sites.

Maple and DynaFlexPro aid in the development of new aerospace manufacturing technologies

2007-11-03T18:46:00

The aerospace industry is beginning to embrace the gains of robotic automation in their manufacturing processes. Michel Lambert, a researcher at the Aerospace Manufacturing Technology Centre (AMTC), is investigating the use of robotic technologies for automating several aerospace manufacturing tasks that involve contact with the environment. All of these tasks require precise and repeatable motion from the robotic systems, which Lambert was able to achieve using Maple and DynaFlexPro from Maplesoft. “Using DynaFlexPro and Maple, I can achieve in a day what would normally take a week to do manually,” he said. “Maple is extremely intuitive and has a great interface."