RAMAIAH UNIVERSITY

OF APPLIED SCIENCES

New BEL Road Campus-University House,Gnanagangothri

Campus,MSR Nagar,New BEL Road ,Bengaluru-560054

Peenya Campus- # 470-P, Peenya Industrial Area, 4th Phase,

Peenya, Bengaluru- 560058
MSRUAS Confidential
INRODUCTION TO FINITE ELEMENT MODELING DTLLL

Session by:-Pradeep Kumar

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Why Finite Element Analysis?

The Need

What does it help one accomplish?

Design

 What is design?

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Some Definitions
“Engineering is the applied science of acquiring and applying knowledge to design, analysis, and/or construction of works
for practical purposes.”

“Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or
displacements, and the subsequent effect of the bodies on their environment.”

“Analysis is a systematic examination and evaluation of data.”

“Mathematical Model is an abstract model that uses mathematical language to describe the behavior of a system.”

“Finite Element Method (FEM) is a numerical technique for finding approximate solutions to boundary value
problems.”

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Finite Element Analysis -- Process

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Number of Degrees-of-Freedom (DOF)
Continuum: Infinite

FEM: Finite
In Mechanics, the degree of freedom (DOF) of a Mechanical system is the number of independent
parameters that define its configuration.

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CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) includes DTLLL
the following types of analyses:
 Linear static analysis Optimization

 Non linear analysis CFD analysis

 Dynamic analysis  Crash analysis

 Buckling analysis  Thermal analysis

Fatigue analysis  NVH analysis

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 Definition of FEM
DTLLL
 It is the procedure of converting continuous model to discrete model(Finite degrees of
freedom).
 Finite element method (FEM) is a numerical technique for finding approximate solutions to
boundary value problems.
 A Brief History DTLLL
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was first developed in 1943 by R. Courant, who utilized the Ritz method of
numerical analysis and minimization of variational calculus to obtain approximate solutions to vibration
systems. Shortly thereafter, a paper published in 1956 by M. J. Turner, R. W. Clough, H. C. Martin, and L. J.
Topp established a broader definition of numerical analysis. The paper centered on the "stiffness and
deflection of complex structures"

Richard Courant
 Finite element procedure DTLLL
 Step1:- Modeling the physical object This is usually done by CAD software's like UG,CATIA,PRO-E etc

 Step2:-Discretization of the structure(Meshing) This is the process of converting physical model to FEM model,
generally this is done by HYPERMESH,ANSA etc

 Step3:-Formation of element stiffness matrix

 Step4:-Assembly of element stiffness matrix to form a global stiffness matrix in the form
KU=F where ,K=Global stiffness matrix
U=Model displacement matrix
F=Nodal force matrix

 Step5:-Application of boundary conditions and usage of elimination technique

 Step6:- Calculating the primary data(Nodal displacement)

 Step7:-Calculating the secondary data(stress and strain)

 Step8:-Presentation of results by applying different theories of failure

 Advantages
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Can readily handle complex geometry

Can handle complex loading

Special geometric effects can be modeled

Can handle complex restraints

Disadvantages
The FEM is applied to an approximation of the mathematical model of a system

Experience and Judgment are needed in order to construct a good FEM

Susceptible to user introduced modeling errors

Poor choice of element types

Distorted elements

Geometry not adequately modeled

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 Limitations DTLLL
Larger unwanted data

Selection of proper mesh size is very difficult

Incapable of handling incompressible fluids

Obtaining material properties other than isotropic is very difficult

 General analysis in FEM DTLLL
Structural analysis

Fluid analysis
Two types of analysis that are used in industry DTLLL
2-D modeling
3-D modeling

2-D modeling conserves simplicity and allows the analysis to be run on a relatively normal
computer, it tends to yield less accurate results. 3-D modeling, however, produces more accurate
results while sacrificing the ability to run on all but the fastest computers effectively

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 Stages of Ansys DTLLL
Pre- processing
In this stage the following tasks are carried out

Building the solid model

Selecting the proper element type
Selection of suitable analysis type

Processing(Solution)

Post -processing

In this stage results can be viewed or listed

Data can be queried
Multiple plots are possible

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 Basic Definitions DTLLL
Geometry:-The area mathematics which deals with lines, shapes, points, angles etc

Point:-It is the exact position on plane surface

Line:-A set of points constitutes a line OR The distance between two points

Plane:-Three non collinear points defines a plane OR A flat geometry with zero thickness

Surface:-Boundary of a figure OR a finite area bounded by at least 3 or more lines, they may be curved

Solid:-It is three dimensional geometric body free from cavities

Element:- The division of physical structure is called an element

Node:-Is the most basic finite element entity

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Element Types DTLLL

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 Hyper mesh DTLLL

 HYPER
` Beyond or Above normal
 MESH
` A material made up of a network of Wire or thread
`
 Is a high performance finite element pre-processor that provides a highly interactive and
visual environment to analyze product design performance

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User profiles DTLLL

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 Meshing DTLLL
Creation of grid on the surface

Discretization of a physical geometry is known as

meshing

Why do We Carry Out Meshing?

The basic idea of FEA is to make calculations at only limited (Finite) number of points and then interpolate the
results for the entire domain (surface or volume). Any continuous object has infinite degrees of freedom and it’s
just not possible to solve the problem in this format. Finite Element Method reduces the degrees of freedom from
infinite to finite with the help of discretization or meshing (nodes and elements).

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 Hyper Mesh Command Keys DTLLL
F1=Hidden line Shift+F1=Color
F2=Delete Shift+F2=Delete Temporary Nodes
F3=Replace Shift+F3=Edges
F4=Distance Shift+F4=Translate
F5=Mask Shift+F5=Find
F6=Edit element Shift+F6=Split
F7=Node edit Shift+F7=Project
F8=Create node Shift+F8=Node Edit
F9=Line edit Shift+F9=Surface Edit
F10=Check elements Shift+F10=Normal
F11=Quick edit Shift+F11=Organize
F12=Auto mesh Shift+F12=Smooth

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Basic Element Types - Shapes DTLLL

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Hyper Mesh Geometry Terminology DTLLL

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 Four types of surface edges DTLLL
 Free edges
A free edge is an edge that is owned by only one surface.
Free edges are colored red by default.

Shared edges
A shared edge is an edge that is owned, or shared, by two
adjacent surfaces. Shared edges are colored green by
default
Suppressed edges
A suppressed edge is shared by two surfaces but it is
ignored by the auto mesher. Suppressed edges are colored
blue by default
 Non-manifold edges
A non-manifold edge is owned by three or more surfaces.
Non-manifold edges are colored yellow by default

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How to Decide the Element Type DTLLL

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Structure of 3-D Elements DTLLL

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 Preliminary steps to be followed DTLLL
 Import the geometry

 Geometry cleanup

 Check for symmetry

 Split the geometry

 Identify the critical features

 Assign collector

 Mesh

 Check for equivalence

 Check elements

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Check for Symmetry DTLLL

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Mesh pattern DTLLL

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How Not to Mesh DTLLL

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Auto-meshed model DTLLL

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Manually meshed model DTLLL

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If quads are better than trias, why not always DTLLL

mesh using only quad elements? Why do FEA

software provide the option for tria
elements????
 Mesh transition: In structural and fatigue analysis, rather than a uniform mesh, what helps is a
small element size in the critical areas and a coarse mesh or bigger elements in general areas. This
type of mesh gives good accuracy with manageable Dof’s. Trias help in creating a smooth mesh
transition from a dense mesh to a coarse mesh

 Complex geometry: Geometry features like rib ends or sharp cutouts demand for the use of
triangular elements. If quads are used instead of trias, then it will result in poor quality elements.

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Better mesh flow: For crash or non linear analysis, systematic mesh flow lines where all the
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elements satisfy the required quality parameters is very important. Using a mix-mode element
type instead of pure quad element type helps to achieve better flow lines and convergence of
solution

Mold flow analysis : Mold flow analysis requires triangular elements

Tetra meshing (conversion from Tria to Tetra): For tetra meshing, all the outer surfaces
are meshed using 2-D triangular elements and then trias are converted to tetras.

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 Connectors-what are they? DTLLL
Connectors are a geometric representation of connections between entities. The advantage of
connectors is the ability to create multiple connections at a single time. Hundreds or even
thousands of connections that would normally have to be created manually one at a time can be
mass created, even before the part is meshed. They can be used to create numerous types of
connection elements such as:

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 ID -Elements DTLLL

Practical applications- Long shafts, beams, pin joint and connection elements

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 Elements DTLLL
• Mass21:-Is a point element up to 6DOF at each node.3R & 3T

• Shell 63:-has both bending & membrane capabilities.6DOF at each node

• Pipe16:-Is a uniaxial element with tension, compression & bending capabilities.6DOFat node

• Solid 45:-Used for 3d modeling of solid structure, defined by 8 nodes having 3DOF at each node

• Plane 42:-Used for 2d modeling solid structures, defined by 4nodes having 2DOF at each node

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 Element characteristic shape DTLLL
In general, 4shapes are possible.
• Point
• Line
• Area
• Volume

• Point:-Is typically defined by node

Ex:- A mass element.

• Line:-Is typically represented by a connecting two or three nodes

Ex:-Beams,spars,pipes…etc

• Area:-Is typically a triangle and quadrilateral shape, may be 2d solid or shell element

• Volume:-Tetrahedral or brick shape usually a 3d solid element

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Element Quality considerations DTLLL

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Thank you

Website : msruas.ac.in
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