Solar Impulse Performs Analyses Up to 5x Faster With Mathcad

Checking units and formulas for quick validation of work

Solar Impulse is a Swiss long-range solar-powered aircraft project that aims to prove that progress is possible using clean forms of energy. The project hopes to achieve the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power in 2015.

Initiatives

• Create faster and more reliable calculations
• Save time defining new analyses
• Improve reporting clarity and efficiency

Solution

• PTC Mathcad provides users with the ability to check units and formulas for quick validation of work
• Formulas can be embedded in Microsoft Word documents for more thorough reporting
• Defined templates can be leveraged for recurring analysis work
• Tutorials, QuickSheets, reference tables, and eBooks support new projects

Results

• Material properties, loads, and structural analyses are faster, and require less rework
• Analyses are three to five times faster when templates are reused
• Dragging and dropping predefined parts from PTC Mathcad tutorials and modifying them to fit new projects results in a time savings of 30%

"Using PTC Mathcad, all of the formulas and mathematical terms are making calculations much easier to check compared to Microsoft Excel. With recurring tasks like pin and lug analyses, we had to do the same work repeatedly when we did calculations by hand. Using PTC Mathcad, we have defined templates. Now analyses are three to five times faster."
— Geri Piller, Head of Structural Analysis, Solar Image