Innovative Tsunami Survival Capsule Designed with MSC Software

MSC Software Corporation has announced that IDEA International, an aerospace company from Mukilteo, Washington is using MSC Nastran and MSC Patran to develop and test a Tsunami Survival Capsule designed to save lives of people living along coastal areas.

The Tsunami Survival Capsule is designed and stressed using aerospace engineering methods of analysis for load cases such as initial tsunami impact, large debris impact, and sharp object penetration - during which most injuries and deaths occur during a tsunami. The capsule resides on a stand beside the residence covered by a shroud colored to suit the environment. The capsule itself is bright in color to aid in recovery. The function of the capsule is to ride the tsunami, rather than run from it.

The capsule can be designed with a fixed or rotating interior. For the fixed interior, the frames are attached directly to the outer shell. The rotating interior consists of roller balls mounted in the frames and intercostals. The structure is then free to rotate within the shell of the capsule. This allows the occupants to always maintain an upright seating position. The capsule would be tethered to a grounded structure using a metered steel cable so that it, along with its passengers would not recede out to sea.

In order to ensure that the capsule can withstand the harsh environment of a tsunami, IDEA engineers are using MSC's simulation technology. "The use of MSC Nastran and Patran allows us to understand the performance of the capsule and reduce the test program substantially," said Scott Hill, IDEA Engineering Director of IDEA, Inc. "Also, the analytical simulation results that MSC Nastran and Patran provides, allows us to greatly understand the structure and predict eventualities which may cause issues during a Tsunami event. As a result we can remove these issues during the design phase."

IDEA is working directly with MSC Software business partner, Tribal Engineering, to assist in the implementation and support of MSC simulation solutions.

"MSC products were used primarily because they represent the industry standard globally," stated Julian Sharpe, President of IDEA, Inc. "I have used MSC products throughout my engineering career starting out at British Aerospace, Hatfield working on the A330/A340 wing models. There was never any doubt that MSC products would be used on this program. Tribal Engineering has also been a great local resource for us to gain a better understanding of the various engineering capabilities and tools that MSC Software and Tribal offer."

"Throughout our history, MSC has been involved in virtually every significant vehicle development program around the globe," said Dominic Gallello, President & CEO of MSC Software. "The IDEA project, although not the largest in scale, has tremendous importance in its life saving potential."