Video : 60 minutes presentation and curated Q and A Over-constrained, under-constrained or somewhere in the middle with FEA! Boundary conditions are probably the most difficult aspect of static FEA Underconstrained models: It is easy to forget to apply adequate constraints – Rigid Body Modes result! Over constraining is more subtle: The physics of the […]
Plane Stress and Plane Strain – simplifying models
Background A previous article explained that even with powerful modern computers, there is often a motivation to use simplifying techniques in Structural FE Analysis. This follow-on article describes how two closely related methods can be used to take 2D slices through a complex structure at regions of interest. The resulting FEA models can give valuable […]
Session 1: St Venant’s Principle
Session 1: St Venant’s Principle 30 minutes presentation, 30 minutes curated Q and A This principle is often quoted in FEA. It is a very generalized statement, but what does it mean and how can we use it in practice? I explore the background to the principle and discuss how it can be used […]
Session 2: FEA quick sanity checks
Session 2: FEA quick sanity checks 30 minutes presentation, 30 minutes curated Q and A Making sure we don’t fall into the trap: “Garbage in – Garbage out” is vital in FEA. I show some sanity checks we can use in static and dynamic analysis to quickly make sure we are on the right […]
Session 3: Free Body Diagrams
Session 3: Free Body Diagrams – what are they and why do they go wrong? 30 minutes presentation, 30 minutes curated Q and A Free body diagrams are used in structural analysis to try to reduce the problem to its simplest description. Where does the load get applied and where does the load get […]
Session 4: Mohr’s circle
Session 4: Why is Mohr’s circle so disliked? Giving it another chance … 30 minutes presentation, 30 minutes curated Q and A Mohr’s circle seems to be a very unpopular topic in structural mechanics courses! I think it is because it seems to be: Very arcane Very procedural Very confusing Never used in practical […]