Spider elements play a big role in traditional FE Analysis Video : 60 minutes presentation and curated Q and A Every FE Analyst develops a toolbox of favorite techniques The Rigid and Flexible ‘spider’ elements are an essential part of mine Spider element is an ‘unofficial’ term I use because … The elements allow a ‘spider’ […]
Session 13: FEA models under or over constrained!
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 […]
Who are you calling dumb? 1D and 2D elements
I like using analogies. A sausage on a barbecue will always split in the longitudinal direction because hoop stresses are greater than axial stresses in a pressure vessel. I always describe FEA elements as having a certain level of intelligence! 3D continuum elements are what I call, ‘smart’. They understand what happening inside their volume. […]