DAYANANDA SAGAR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

Kumaraswamy Layout, Bengaluru-560078

A case study report on

“ROLE OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS IN
THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN PROCESS”
Submitted By
ROHITH S - (1DS17AE406)
6th semester
Department of Aeronautical Engineering

To
Prathik S
(Subject teacher of Finite Element Analysis)
Assistant Professor
Department of Aeronautical Engineering

AAT-2 Marks awarded out of 10

*AAT-Alternate Assessment Tool

I
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SL NO TITLE PAGE NO

1 3
INTRODUCTION TO FINITE ELEMENT
METHOD
2 STEPS IN FINITE ELEMENT METHOD 4

3 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 6

4 APPLICATIONS OF FEM 8

5 ADVANTAGES OF FEM 8

6 ROLE OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS IN 9

THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN PROCESS

7 LIMITATIONS & CHALLENGES OF FEA 10

II
Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

ROLE OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS IN THE

STRUCTURAL DESIGN PROCESS

INTRODUCTION TO FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

The finite element method (FEM), is a numerical method for solving
problems of engineering and mathematical physics. Finite Element Method
is a process where the continuous system having infinite degrees of freedom
are broken down to discrete system with finite degrees of freedom and then
solved to get the unknown solutions (displacement). Typical problem areas
of interest include structural analysis, heat transfer, fluid flow, mass
transport, and electromagnetic potential. The analytical solution of these
problems generally requires the solution to boundary value problems for
partial differential equations.

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 3

Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

The basic idea of FEM is to divide the body into finite elements, often
just called elements, connected by nodes, and obtain an approximate
solution. This is called the finite element mesh and the process of making the
mesh is called mesh generation.

STEPS IN FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

The solution of a general continuum problem by the finite element
method always follows an orderly step-by-step process. With reference to
static structural problems, the step-by-step procedure can be stated as
follows:
Step (1): Discretization of the structure
The first step in the finite element method is to divide the structure or
solution region into subdivisions or elements. Hence, the structure is to be
modeled with suitable finite elements. The number, type, size, and
arrangement of the elements are to be decided. These elements can be 1 – D,
2 – D, 3 – D or Axis symmetric.

Step (2): Selection of a proper interpolation or displacement model

Since the displacement solution of a complex structure under any
specified load conditions cannot be predicted exactly, we assume some
suitable solution within an element to approximate the unknown solution.
The assumed solution must be simple from a computational standpoint, but it
should satisfy certain convergence requirements. In general, the solution or
the interpolation model is taken in the form of a polynomial.

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 4

Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

Step (3): Derivation of element stiffness matrices and load vectors

From the assumed displacement model, the stiffness matrix [K (e)] and
the load vector Pe of element e are to be derived by using either equilibrium
conditions or a suitable variational principle.
Step (4): Assemblage of element equations to obtain the overall
equilibrium equations

Step (5): Solution for the unknown nodal displacements

Step (6): Computation of element strains and stresses

From the known nodal displacements, if required, the element strains
and stresses can be computed by using the necessary equations of solid or
structural mechanics. The terminology used in the previous six steps has to
be modified if we want to extend the concept to other fields. For example,
we have to use the term continuum or domain in place of structure, field
variable in place of displacement, characteristic matrix in place of stiffness
matrix, and element resultants in place of element strains.

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 5

Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

In general, a finite element solution may be broken into following three

stages. This is a general guideline that can be used for setting up any finite
element analysis.
1. Pre-processing: Defining the problem .The major steps in pre-
processing are given below:
a. Define key points/lines/areas/volumes (or building a solid
model)
b. Define element type and material/geometric properties
c. Mesh line/areas/volumes as required.
The amount of detail required depends on the dimensionality of the
analysis (i.e. 1-D, 2-D, 3-D axis symmetric).

2. Solution: assigning loads, constrains and solving; here we specify the

loads (point or pressure), constraints (translational and rotational) and
finally solve the resulting set of equations.

3. Post processing: further processing and viewing of results in this

stage one may wish to see:
a. List of nodal displacements
b. Element forces and moments
c. Deflection plots d. Stress contour diagram.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
While it is difficult to quote a date of the invention of the finite
element method, the method originated from the need to solve complex
elasticity and structural analysis problems in civil and aeronautical
engineering. Its development can be traced back to the work by A.
Hrennikoff and R. Courant in the early 1940s. Another pioneer was Ioannis
Argyris. In the USSR, the introduction of the practical application of the
method is usually connected with name of Leonard Oganesyan. In China, in
the later 1950s and early 1960s, based on the computations of dam
constructions, K. Feng proposed a systematic numerical method for solving

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 6

Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

partial differential equations. The method was called the finite difference
method based on variation principle, which was another independent
invention of the finite element method. Although the approaches used by
these pioneers are different, they share one essential characteristic: mesh
discretization of a continuous domain into a set of discrete sub-domains,
usually called elements.
Hrennikoff work discretizes the domain by using a lattice analogy,
while Courant's approach divides the domain into finite triangular subregions
to solve second order elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs) that arise
from the problem of torsion of a cylinder. Courant's contribution was
evolutionary, drawing on a large body of earlier results for PDEs developed
by Rayleigh, Ritz, and Galerkin.
The finite element method obtained its real impetus in the 1960s and
1970s by the developments of J. H. Argyris with co-workers at the
University of Stuttgart, R. W. Clough with co-workers at UC Berkeley, O. C.
Zienkiewicz with co-workers Ernest Hinton, Bruce Irons and others at the
University of Swansea, Philippe G. Ciarlet at the University of Paris 6 and
Richard Gallagher with co-workers at Cornell University. Further impetus
was provided in these years by available open source finite element software
programs.
NASA sponsored the original version of NASTRAN, and UC
Berkeley made the finite element program SAP IV widely available. In
Norway the ship classification society Det Norske Veritas (now DNV GL)
developed Sesam in 1969 for use in analysis of ships. A rigorous
mathematical basis to the finite element method was provided in 1973 with
the publication by Strang and Fix. The method has since been generalized
for the numerical modeling of physical systems in a wide variety of
engineering disciplines, e.g., electromagnetism, heat transfer, and fluid
dynamics.

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 7

Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

APPLICATIONS OF FEM
Finite element methodology is vast expanding into almost all fields of
science and engineering, and based on its necessity, its application is too
large to list. But looking from global perspective a few applications are listed
below:
 Stress and thermal analysis of aircraft and automobile parts including
industrial parts such as electronic chips, electric devices, valves, pipes,
pressure vessels etc.
 Seismic analysis of dams, power plants, cities and high-rise buildings
 Crash analysis of cars, trains and aircraft including problems related to
bird hit.
 Fluid flow analysis of coolant ponds, pollutants and contaminants, and
air in ventilation systems.
 Electromagnetic analysis of antennas, transistors and aircraft
signatures
 Analysis of surgical procedures such as plastic surgery, jaw
reconstruction, correction of scoliosis and many others.
 Aeroelastic analysis of lengthy bridges, high vertical towers, aircraft
components (flutter analysis, gust response, buffet, divergence
studies).

ADVANTAGES OF FEM
 Model irregular shaped bodies quite easily.
 FEM can handle unlimited number of boundary conditions and with
different kinds.
 In FEM there is no limitation or difficulty in applying general or
irregular loads.
 It is flexible enough to allow modelling with unlimited number of
different materials of composed bodies.
 Feasibility in altering the Finite element model relatively easily and
cost effectively.
 FEM allows users to handle non-linear behaviour with large
deformation and non-linear materials.

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 8

Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

FEM ERRORS
FEM errors take places at 3 stages of solution:
 Error during conversion of mathematical model to solid model
 Discretization error
 Solution error

Some of the FEM packages

 ABAQUS,
 ANSYS,
 NASTRAN,
 HYPERWORKS,
 LS DYNA etc.

ROLE OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS IN THE

STRUCTURAL DESIGN PROCESS
Computer simulation is the use of powerful computers to model a
physical system in order to understand its behaviour under external stimuli.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a computer simulation technique used to
solve a wide variety of engineering and physics problems. The basic
approach of FEA involves dividing the physical domain of the object under
“ ” (
3D or triangles in 2D). The mathematical equations representing the physics
are converted into a simplified form (i.e. from partial differential equations
to algebraic equations) that can capture the behaviour of the system at the
level of each finite element. The simple equations for each element are
assembled into a larger set of equations that capture the behaviour of the
entire system.

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 9

Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

FEA can be applied to problems in solid/ structural mechanics, fluid

mechanics, heat transfer and electromagnetics. However, FEA is most
widely used in the structural design process in various industries such as
aerospace, automotive, construction equipment, electronics and medical
devices. While FEA is an approximation of the real structural behaviour, it
provides sufficient accuracy for most practical problems of interest to
engineers. As shown in the graphic above, a variety of structural tests can be
simulated using FEA.

LIMITATIONS & CHALLENGES OF FEA

 Solution of material non-linearity is sometimes difficult.

 It is tedious process in sub dividing the given continuum, to generate
error free data to the computer.

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 10

Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

 To get approximate solution close to exact solution, sometimes even

simple problems requires relatively large amount of computer
memory and time

FEA requires powerful computers along with dedicated software. An expert

FEA engineer has the right technical training combined with several years of
real world experience working on a variety of simulation problems. The
engineer needs to have a good understanding of real world physics along
with the ability to model this behaviour accurately to obtain correct results.
FEA relies on structural test data for certain modelling parameters such as
material properties. Results of FEA may need to be validated by comparing
with test data in some cases. While FEA provides several advantages, the
capital investment required is an important consideration for any business.
Hiring and developing a team of engineers with the requisite skillset
becomes an additional challenge. Both these factors need to be considered by
a business while deciding to build in-house capabilities in this domain.

Case Study:

Finite element analysis of a steering system pin-joint. The image on the

right shows a picture of a pin-joint between the steering box and steering
arm of an off-highway truck (in the red box). This joint is a critical part of
the steering system of the vehicle and was failing in the field.

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 11

Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

FEA was used to model the system, identify the regions of high stress and
propose an alternative design. Some of the challenges involved were:
1. identifying the correct load cases,
2. modelling yielding behaviour in the steering box casting and
steering arm forging,
3. analysing the effect of bearing press-fit into the pin joint bores,
and
4. modelling of surface contact between various components.

The applied load was a static force coming from the 2 tie-rods, obtained by
instrumenting them with strain gages in the field. The FEA on the initial
design indicated very high stresses in the steering arm and steering box.
Different design options tested included surface hardening of the
steering box (leading to an increase in yield stress) and use of hat bearings
instead of sleeve bearings (leading to better distribution of stresses in the
members). FEA was used to validate the new design and the final design
was implemented as a retrofit in the field, leading to better performance of
the steering system.

CONCLUSIONS:

 With an unreasonably coarse mesh, ANSYS only allows you to extract

a certain amount of modes.
 Since the theory section uses approximations to calculate the natural
frequencies, the theoretical answer is not precise.
 The deviation in solution is due to low number of elements and nodes.
Solution of higher accuracy can be obtained by increasing number of
elements.
 ANSYS does not provide natural frequencies if the mesh is too coarse.

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 12

Title of the case study (use times new roman, 10 font, single spacing, left justified

Department of Aeronautical Engineering, DSCE, Bengaluru-78 Page 13