MechChem Africa January-February 2023

⎪ Heating, cooling, ventilation and air conditioning ⎪

HVAC leader takes high-tech approach to prototyping

Known best for its customised heating, cooling and ventilation (HVAC) systems, Booyco Engineering has embraced technology to meet global standards.The company’s Brenton Spies explains that by leveraging powerful simulation software, it can significantly shorten product prototype locomotive equipment.

“For the cooling tower we designed and built, we physically vibration-tested the components but not the actual structure,” he says. “Thiswas because the structureweighed about a ton and a half. But we could conduct a detailed FEA to verify the structure, which satisfied the customer’s requirements.” This approach is proved by the fact that this cooling tower has successfully operated on an electric locomotive since 2016 with no structural failures. www.booyco.co.za

“These resources allow us to run simulations and ironoutmost of the issues beforewe even build a prototype,” he says. “The simulations cut down significantlyon the time takenby the traditional ‘trial and error’ route indeveloping solutions for customers, allowing us to get product to the customer faster, saving both time and money.” Thiscapacityhas ledtoBooycoEngineering becoming an approved supplier to global rail OEMs. Grant Miller, executive director at Booyco Engineering, explains how the com pany became the first South African supplier to locally manufacture a cooling tower for electric locomotives. Working within the customer’s demanding framework of specifications and standards, the value added by the software was vital to the successful outcome. “We developed our initial proto typedesign, whichwas then systematically verified against the customer specifications using CFD or FEA simulations to ensure the design was producing the expected results,” says Miller. Only then was a physical test conducted. This test, he says, was almost a formality – to verify the calculations and simulations.

D ecades of experience have com bined with leading edge software to giveBooycoEngineeringworld class rapid prototyping capability. Knownbest for its customisedheating, cooling and ventilation (HVAC) systems, the company has embraced technology tomeet global stan dards. According to Brenton Spies, managing director at Booyco Engineering, simulation software is a key asset. “In the past, the conventional practice in product development was to build a physical prototype and then put it through a series of tests,” says Spies. “Often, these tests would lead to the rebuilding of new prototypes – to progressively remove the weaknesses we discovered by testing.” The company has invested over R10 million in specialised Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software. These are used for modelling factors such as the strength of components, structure-borne vibration, and airflow and heat distribution inside its HVAC units and air-conditioned spaces. Booyco Engineering’s FEA simulation to determine structural vibrations within a roof mounted HVAC system.

A CFD simulation to verify airflow distribution inside an electronic equipment rack in a vehicle.

A CFD simulation to balance the HVAC flow rates out of the louvres of a vehicle’s ducting.

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