May 19 – 20, 2026 | Frankfurt/Hanau, Germany

Here you see a recap of the program of the automotive CAE Grand Challenge 2025. As soon as the program of the 2026 conference is finalized, you will find it here.

 Tuesday, April 8, 2025 

Welcome

Dr.-Ing. Dirk Ulrich - carhs.training gmbh

Optimization & Robustness: Sensitivity Analysis for Crash Simulations with Explicit Codes

Chair: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Schumacher - University of Wuppertal

Structural Optimization of Crash-Loaded Components – Industrial Needs for Sensitivities with Explicit Codes

Dr.-Ing. Thilo Franke - Volkswagen AG; Dr.-Ing. Ronald Bartz - Volkswagen AG Volkswagen Group Components

Time-saving Calculation of Derivatives for Car Body Structure Optimization Considering Crash Loadcases

Dr. Katrin Weider, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Schumacher - University of Wuppertal

Sensitivity Driven Optimization of a CAD Parametric Door Beam for Pole Side Crash

Robert Meukel, Wolfgang Nierhaus, Felix Klutzny - ARRK Engineering GmbH

Automatic Detection of the Causes of Unrobust System Behavior

Dr. Andreas Kuhn - Andata Entwicklungstechnologie GmbH

Optimization and Sensitivity Analysis of Spot-welds in BIW Structures for High-speed Crash

Dr. Vitor Cores Finotto - BMW Group et al.

Improvement of Response Surface Quality by Bifurcation Suppression in Frontal Collision Simulation

Norio Shimizu - The JSOL Corporation et al.

Occupant Safety: Behavior of Restraint Systems for Diverse Human Proportions

Chair: Bart Peeters Weem - BMW AG

Human Body Models in Vehicle Safety – Where are we? What is possible? What is effective?

Marius Rees - BMW AG

Least-squares Algorithm for Tracking Topology in Computational Elements of Human Body Models in Settling

Seth Harrison Mischo - Wake Forest School of Medicine et al.

CAD-Models to Assess Fit of Infant Car Seats for Preterm Babies

Dr. Karin Brolin - Lightness by Design AB et al.

Ergonomic Driven Crash Simulation to Study Restraint variation with HBM-ConnectTM

Dr.-Ing. Anurag Soni, Christian Kleeßen, Ricardo Tejero de la Piedra - Humanetics Europe GmbH; Dr. Chirag Shah - Humanetics Group

Behavior of Restraint Systems for Variant Human Proportions

Savvas Kelidis, Thanassis Fokilidis - BETA CAE Systems S.A.; Lambros Rorris - BETA CAE Systems International AG; Athanasios Lioras - BETA CAE Systems S.A.

Adaptive Restraint Design for a Diverse Population through Machine Learning

Kevin Siasoco - Ford Motor Company et al.

Full Vehicle Simulation: Road Load Determination with Advanced Wheel and Tire Models

Chair: Dr.-Ing. Axel Hänschke - CPS Pekka Stuckert Consulting Unternehmensberatung

Process to Generate Analytical Road Load Data

Maria Büttner - TECOSIM GmbH

Fatigue Strength Simulations of a Drivetrain at the Limit of Tyre Models

Markus Wick - Ford-Werke GmbH

From Test Rig to Simulation: How to Meet Tyre Model Requirements

Christian Carrillo Vasquez, Christian Bachmann - fka GmbH

Current Challenges in Wheel/Tire Modelling

Axel Gallrein - Fraunhofer-Institut für Techno- und Wirtschaftsmathematik ITWM

Ride Comfort and Durability Prediction via All-inclusive Multi-body Simulation Models

Juan Carlos Ruiz Holguin - Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH

3D FEA Tire Models Applications for Beyond Standard Investigations

Dan Andrei Anton - AUTOADMIN CONSULTING SRL; Leyre Benito Cia - GNS Gesellschaft für numerische Simulation mbH

State of the Art Applications in Full Vehicle Simulation - with Advanced Tire Models

Karsten Thielecke - Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence GmbH

Virtual Manufacturing: Simplified Casting Simulation, Especially for Giga Castings

Chair: Pekka Stuckert - CPS Pekka Stuckert Consulting Unternehmensberatung

Industrial Requirements

Dr. Vitor Cores Finotto - BMW Group

Decreasing Development Time of Large Castings through Numerical Optimization

Johannes Pauli - BMW Group et al.

Numerical Simulation of Large-scaled Structure Castings: High Fidelity vs Simplified Simulation Approaches and AI

Dr. Jürgen Jakumeit - Access e.V. et al.

Case Study of a Giga Casting Automotive Component

Tilman Steininger - RLE INTERNATIONAL Produktentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH

Quick Virtual Manufacturing: From Design to Castability using Optimization and AI/ML Methods

Dr. math. Christian Alscher, Santhanu Jana, Mayur Talele, Marian Bulla - Altair Engineering GmbH

Old Story, New Approach – CAE Frontloading based on a Probability Assessment of Local Mechanical Properties in Die Casting

Dr.-Ing. Horst Bramann - MAGMA Gießereitechnologie GmbH; Prof. Dr. Jakob Olofsson - Jönköping University; Dr.-Ing. Lubos Pavlak, Vanessa Glück-Nardi - MAGMA Gießereitechnologie GmbH

Mega Castings in Concept Design

Jens Menzen, Stefan Mertz - Dassault Systemes Deutschland GmbH

 

 Wednesday, April 9, 2025 

NVH: Prediction Accuracy of Acoustic Analysis

Chair: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dietmar Jennewein - Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

Industrial Requirements

Steve Fisher - Jaguar Land Rover Limited

Efficient NVH-analysis of the Wiring Harness: Potentials and Expectations

Dr. Fabio Schneider-Jung, Dr.-Ing. Michael Roller, Dr.-Ing. Joachim Linn - Fraunhofer-Institut für Techno- und Wirtschaftsmathematik ITWM

Methods and Strategies for Reliable NVH Simulation Results

Dr. André Backes - TECOSIM GmbH

AI-based Prediction of Vehicle Interior Noise

Dr. Andrea Schillaci - RWTH Aachen University; Alberto Carnevali, Dr.-Ing. Matthias Meinke, Prof. Dr. Dominik Krug - RWTH Aachen University

An Integrated Multi-disciplinary Approach to NVH: Performance Evaluation of an EV Transmission Housing

Giancarlo Conti, Korcan Kucukcoskun - Siemens Digital Industries Software

Modeling Parameters Affecting the Accuracy of Automotive Audio Simulations

Dr. Alfred J. Svobodnik - Mvoid Audio Technologies GmbH

AI, ML, Big Data: Physics Informed Neural Networks

Chair: Dr.-Ing. Dirk Rensink - SEGULA Technologies Germany

Efficient and Comprehensive Machine Learning Based Design Synthesis

Dr.-Ing. Hendrik Schafstall - Detroit Engineered Products; Ashik Ali K - Detroit Engineered Products India Pvt. Ltd.,

Machine Learning Techniques for Optimized Parameter Identification and Material Cards Generation of Metal Alloys for Crashworthiness Automotive Applications

Dr. Ovidi Casals, Alejandro Domínguez - Applus IDIADA; Nil Martinez - IDIADA Automotive Technology S.A.

AI-based Virtual Sensors for Automotive Applications: Bridging Real and Digital World

Dr. Jochen Fiedler - Fraunhofer-Institut für Techno- und Wirtschaftsmathematik ITWM

Full Vehicle Crash Simulation, with HumanBodyModel, expedited by AI

Marian Bulla - Altair Engineering GmbH; Livio Mariano - Altair Engineering

Balanced Vehicle Concept Development using AI-methods for real-time, multi-domain performance prediction – Focus: Crash Performance Prediction at an early development stage

Dr. Gernot Pauer-Nussbaumer - AVL List GmbH

Shortening Airbag Model Validation Time using Reduced Order Modelling

Alain Trameçon - ESI Group; Dr. Lars Aschenbrenner - Volkswagen AG

CAE Process & QA: Management of CAE Model Evolution During a Development Program

Chair: Frank Braunroth - SEGULA Technologies GmbH

Industrial Requirements

Thorsten Pohl - Stellantis

CAE Model Evolution: Advanced Data Representation and Management

Prof. Dr. Jochen Garcke, Dr. Victor Rodrigo Iza Teran - Fraunhofer-Institut für Algorithmen und Wissenschaftliches Rechnen SCAI

Use of Version Control for Collaborative Development and Quality Assurance: Experiences from VIVA+ Human Body Models

Dr. Jobin John - Chalmers University of Technology

Build Processes: The Key to CAE Model Integrity, Quality and Validation

Panagiotis Mantzopoulos, Konstantinos Ntamagkas, Vasiliki Schistou - BETA CAE Systems S.A.

Quality Assurance of Design Variations within a Development Program

Dr. Stefan Müller - SIDACT GmbH

Master Complexity of Version Management in SDM by AI-Driven Assistance

Marko Thiele - SCALE GmbH

Fully Open-source Workflow for FEM Crash Simulations in Automotive and Aerospace

Aleksander Sadowski - ALSADO

Farewell

Rainer Hoffmann - carhs.training gmbh