There is no doubt in my mind that Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is the cornerstone of my career. I attribute most of my career successes to both engineering and FEA knowledge. However, when I started, I really hated FEA... it was an intimidating thing I had to do for my Ph.D... and I almost exclusively [...]
FEA accuracy is a topic that often provokes discussions. Without a doubt, there are FEA evangelists (I would include myself to the group!) and FEA disbelievers. So, let's take a look and wonder how accurate is Finite Element Analysis. FEA is almost like a calculator: it's as accurate as its user. But it's also quite [...]
Nodes and Elements are the very backbones of Finite Element Analysis. You will use them in every analysis you will perform in FEA, so learning about them seems like a good idea! So, what are Nodes and Elements in Finite Element Analysis? In FEA, you divide your model into small pieces. Those are called Finite Elements [...]
Interpreting analysis outcomes is not simple. Even if you already have proper values from your FEA analysis, still you need to decide how to interpret FEA results. Let's take a closer look at how to approach this task! Firstly let's wonder how to interpret FEA results? In structural design, you have to perform several checks. Firstly, [...]
During last week I've posted a tip in the FEA Guild about using Benchmarks. Some great pointers were in the comments, but one got my attention the most: While there is no chance that I will build such database myself, I'm pretty sure we have a chance of making one together! I will try to [...]
This topic was on my mind (and on my to-write list) for a very long time. Finally, I had the time to organize what I want to write about it in my head. I wonder what is your take on this matter - be sure to leave a comment below! What does it mean to [...]
I got a really interesting question on my email from Fateme. I wanted to address this issue so many times now, so finally there is a great occasion to do this! In Abaqus, can we review the capability of a structural member? Whether or not it can bear the load like: shear, bending, twisting, axial [...]
Last time I described 5 steps to FEA results verification. Among those steps were FEA results verification with hand calculations. I figured it makes sense to expand on this idea. Especially since Luke asked me about something on this topic via email. Luke asks: How is the eigenvalue calculated, can this be done longhand? Can [...]
Whatever we design life will verify it at the end... but I would rather know if my design has a fighting chance before any major collapse occurs! This is why FEA results verification is a very important thing. When you are solving a known problem (i.e. as a benchmark) this is easy to do. You [...]
If you are starting with nonlinear FEA you most likely heard the term load multiplier. Usually, people associate this with some sort of "safety factor" but frankly this has nothing to do with safety. In fact, this is the only way you can get an outcome out of nonlinear analysis and today I will explain [...]
When I first started working with Finite Element Analysis (FEA) I had a huge problem in understanding what to do. I had a basic engineering knowledge but I simply did not understand what was the order of the steps. Suddenly the software had many "modules" and each was screaming at me that some data is [...]
Designing steel silos with analytical approach always yields very conservative results. Nonlinear Finite Element Method allow for great optimization of those structures (and other shell structures as well!). I will discuss this based on a silo I have recently designed. […]