FR-HiTEMP Develops Next-Generation Aircraft Fuel Pump with Synopsys' Saber Simulator; Saber's Multi-Technology Simulation Reduces Aerospace Supplier's Prototype Costs

Business Wire, August 13, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2003

Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS), the world leader in integrated circuit (IC) design software, today announced that FR-HiTEMP Limited, a world leader in aircraft fuel systems, has developed its next-generation of sensorless, brushless DC motor-driven fuel pumps using Synopsys' Saber(R) simulator. Saber, part of Synopsys' Discovery(TM) Verification Platform, provided multi-technology simulation for verification of the electrical, electronic and electro-mechanical elements of the pump designs to meet new aircraft power system specifications. FR-HiTEMP Limited engineers were able to design and simulate different pump configurations in conjunction with the power system, before committing to physical prototypes, reducing cost and speeding development while helping ensure that the fuel pumps operate optimally and within safety and stability requirements.

"Our customer, one of the world's largest aircraft OEMs, requested that we provide Saber models for their aircraft simulations," said Keith Evernden, head of Electrical Engineering at FR-HiTEMP Limited. "As a first time Synopsys customer, we were impressed with the company's responsiveness to quickly develop the required new component models. Not only were we able to provide high-quality Saber simulation models to our customer, but we optimized the design of our fuel pump over the full operating range."

FR-HiTEMP Limited engineers used Saber to simulate the electrical, hydraulic and electro-mechanical behavior of their pump design at multiple levels of abstraction including the behavioral and physical levels. They were able to simulate "what-if" scenarios such as in-flight load changes that may occur during critical situations -- for example, such as tilting the plane while landing, which forces fuel into or out of pumps. Accurate simulation allowed FR-HiTEMP Limited and its OEM customer to meet its design objective that the pumps would transfer fuel correctly under all conditions.

Saber can simulate and model various systems, sub-systems and components, including sensors, wire harnesses, power systems, hydraulic actuators, flight control components and fuel systems. The simulation challenge for FR-HiTEMP was increased by the need to replicate the behavior of the more than 20 fuel pumps distributed throughout a typical commercial aircraft which required the company to simulate multiple engineering domains.

"Aerospace industry requirements and the increased complexity in the systems require a solution that allow engineers to design as efficiently as possible without compromising the quality of their product," said Bijan Kiani, vice president of marketing for the analog and mixed signal business at Synopsys. "Saber offers extensive modeling capabilities and is uniquely qualified to verify complex and advanced systems. Synopsys will continue to invest in solutions for multi-technology simulation that address the growing needs of designers in the aerospace industry."

About Saber

Saber is the de-facto standard for system-level, multi-technology simulation, which includes thousands of generic and characterized models in its library using the MAST modeling language. Saber technology allows the development, optimization and verification of electrical, electronic, hydraulic and mechanical designs for manufacturing various components within the different transportation subsystems.

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS) is the world leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software for integrated circuit (IC) design. The company delivers technology-leading IC design and verification platforms to the global electronics market, enabling the development of complex systems-on-chips (SoCs). Synopsys also provides intellectual property and design services to simplify the design process and accelerate time-to-market for its customers. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and has offices in more than 60 locations throughout North America, Europe, Japan and Asia. Visit Synopsys online at http://www.synopsys.com/.

Synopsys is a registered trademark of Synopsys Inc. Saber is a registered trademark of American Airlines licensed to Synopsys, Inc. Discovery is a trademark of Synopsys. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.