Finite Element Analysis Best-Practices | Ansys FEA

Additional Finite Element Analysis Best-Practices

The way things should be done is usually laid out in a large book that engineering departments frequently maintain on hand.  It is the recommended operational method for the department.  In other words, it’s their best practices (to use modern jargon).

1. Obtain Formal Training Before Starting

While it’s true engineers might be able to learn how to utilize various FEA program components on their own.  For most engineers, gaining traditional classroom instruction and web-based distance learning, has proved especially valuable new users.  In short, there are skills you’ll pick up in class that you might not have on your own.  For example, choosing the appropriate material model and analysis kinds. Despite having a wealth of material data, which material model should you pick?  How can the behavior of piezoelectric materials be analyzed?   This type of guidance and direction is provided by proper training.

2. Make Rough Calculations before Creating a FEA Model

This recommended practice serves as a wake-up call.  Indeed, FEA is not a “black box” that users may enter inaccurate data into to receive helpful results. Because of this, it’s best to anticipate how a model will act.

Making a list of commonly used calculations or techniques that give a second check of FEA findings is another core best-practice. Expected outcomes can also be a product of existing knowledge and experiments. Keep in mind that FEA is simply one of many engineering tools and does not take the role of experience and experiments. Likewise, FEA engineering is a potent auxiliary tool when applied properly.

3. Condensing CAD Models to the Minimum Required Detail

As it is, CAD models frequently contain all necessary manufacturing information, which is often excessive.  Unfortunately, this makes CAD models ‘out-of-the-box’  very large, and difficult to test various simulations with.

Consider what actually has to be simulated first.  What aspects of the analysis are crucial? Most likely, it’s not the whole thing.

For instance, a heat sink, screws with threads, cables, and other details might be present in the CAD model of a circuit board. These components could combine with many other components, but are they essential to the analysis?  They might just make the necessary heat transfer simulation more difficult and time-consuming.

In order to manage huge CAD models, defeaturing tools have been provided by FEA engineers. However, since it’s so simple to import whole models, the tools might never be used.

4. Consider all Environmental Factors that May Impact the Design

5. Double-Checking your Materials Properties

The ideal approach for FEA engineers is to double-check the material properties. Using MatWeb.com is one approach to go about it.  Access to material properties is free.  For instance, the outcomes of a search for polymers with coefficients of friction in the range of 0.2 and 0.4.  The values required for analysis can be retrieved by selecting a material name (shown in blue).

FEA engineers can collaborate with other designers and peers in real-time with the use of tools for web-ready report development. Ansys FEA Software, for instance, provides a web-ready report that can be reviewed by a simulation specialist.

Before you present your findings to internal engineering management, an expert can offer their input on the model and analysis in this situation. Members of the design team may easily communicate about the progress of the design and guarantee efficacy.  In effect, real-time cooperation makes our list of FEA/finite best practice.