Software companies are making greener choices and have successfully incorporated sustainability into their business models
“Are you kidding me? How can a software company help achieve sustainability goals? Can it help cut down CO2 emissions?” This was the reaction of an environmentalist I interacted with a few years ago. And I am not surprised by his response.
In fact, many, even in my organisation, were taken by surprise when one of our colleagues, out of academic interest, calculated and came up with a figure of millions of tons of CO2 emissions saved per year by our clients using only one of our cutting-edge technology tools called topology optimisation in their product design and development phase.
According to an airline engineer, each ton of weight saved would result in 180,000 litres of fuel saved or accommodating a few more passengers for the same amount of fuel spent.
This figure would vary depending on the class of aircraft, range, and other factors, nevertheless leaving behind a big saving in carbon footprint.
Sustainable designs inspired by nature
By providing tools that lead to “conscious product development” and lightweight products, reducing CO2 and appropriate selection of materials and conscious procurement decisions, Altair contributes to sustainable products with a concern for the environment.
Let us look at some examples.
Gone are those days when the designer’s answer to providing structural strength was to “add metal when in doubt”, making the product bulkier.
Add to that a lack of clear understanding of where exactly to add the material, and by corollary, were to remove it, resulting in adding it everywhere and thereby impacting the performance in turn.
Taking a leaf out of nature, a white-rumped vulture weighing 4.5 kg, flying at a speed of 45 km/hour, and requiring a lifting load of 8 kg, has a speed to weight ratio of 5.5. Meanwhile, the same speed to weight ratio for a light aircraft is 0.33, assuming a weight of 125 kg, 225 kg lift load and travelling at 75 km/hour speed.
Or in the case of land transportation, a cheetah weighing 72 kg could generate up to 130 km/hour speed while the coupe needs 700 kg to generate 100 km/hour.
This clearly shows the efficiency and effectiveness that nature has built into its design, making it sustainable (millions of years of evolution is the proof of innovation, designing for adaptability, and therefore a story of sustainability), thus providing a template for all human-created design.
More studies were conducted to understand and mimic the designs of nature, like our fingers, branches, and shells, among others. Evolutionary algorithms to mimic the evolutionary approach were generated.
Fitting software into the sustainability equation
As we understand the load paths better, we make more efficient designs with more optimal material layouts. This is where software (in a broader sense, computational sciences) makes the difference by guiding design engineers to create frugal yet functional designs of products.
While such design tools could offer weight reductions of unimaginable proportions, often the traditional manufacturing methods become the limiting factor in realising maximum benefit.
In conjunction with this new generation design software, additive manufacturing methods offer tremendous weight reductions.
A comparison of a simple component designed by traditional design approach versus topology optimisation approach realised through additive manufacturing technique shows an average 40 per cent reduction. The range is anywhere between 20 per cent and 90 per cent.
The software could also be used to design products for their intended service life rather than for infinite life, as is the standard practice in the absence of such tools, thus tremendously reducing material wastage.
In addition to design software technology, data analytics software can conduct sustainability audits by analysing data collected from various points and databases in the product life cycle.
The machine learning algorithms in the sustainability audit could potentially identify the vendors, practices, manufacturing processes, materials, etc., that are not sustainable and suggest alternatives.
Also, the vendors, processes, and materials could be ranked based on the sustainability index pertaining to a specific country, region, or even micro-region, where the sub-systems or the complete product is built.
For example, in contrast to a material that has to come from across the globe to an alternative from a nearby locality – machine learning algorithms can help us make the right decisions.
An UN-appointed commission headed by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, in its final report, famously defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs…”.
As the world demands safer, more efficient, and more innovative products and processes, at Altair, we aim to transform design and decision-making by applying simulation, machine learning, and optimisation throughout product lifecycles.
By helping our customers accomplish their goals, we reduce the environmental impact of goods and services worldwide and across an array of industries.
Source: e27
