You can save lots of time and money if you first spend a little time with a piece of paper and a pencil to try to understand the problem you are planning to analyze. Before initiating numerical modeling on the computer and generating a finite element model, it is imperative that you develop a sense of or a feel for the problem. There are many questions that a good engineer will ask before proceeding with the modeling process: Is the material under axial loading? Is the body under bending moments or twisting moments or a combination of the two? Do we need to worry about buckling? Can we approximate the behavior of the material with a two-dimensional model? Does heat transfer play a significant role in the problem? Which modes of heat transfer are influential? If you choose to employ FEA, " back-of-the-envelope" calculations will greatly enhance your understanding of the problem, in turn helping you to develop a good, reasonable finite element model, particularly in terms of your selection of element types.
Some practicing engineers still use finite element analysis to solve a problem that could have been solved more easily by hand by someone with a good grasp of the fundamental concepts of the mechanics of materials and heat transfer. To shed more light on this very important point, consider the following examples.
No comments:
Post a Comment