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Try Nafems http://www.nafems.org/events/training/introfea/ Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk

I think the problem is probably due to the way you have applied your constraints. For a pinned joint you need to apply constraints to allow rotation only in the plane of buckling. The FEA results should be almost identical to textbook formulas from Roark. Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk

Mixing beams and bricks for contact problems is not a good idea unless you are sure your software can handle it. Try using just bricks for both and it should be OK. Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk

It sounds like you have applied 'no separation' or 'bonded' contact elements. Try 'frictionless' contact instead and this should allow separation. Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk

Corus, The Nafems certificate does state on it the type of work you are capable of doing. I know there are people who only do one kind of analysis but these people should also be capable of doing hand calculations and other types of analysis as well. I think this is taken into account when they...

Loki3000, I agree with you, I have seen this scenario many times. Sometimes it's cheaper to use FEA and sometimes hand calcs. There are some very good engineers who have a wealth of experience but have very limited knowledge of FEA or they once had a bad experience with FEA and don't trust it...

I became a Nafems Registered Analyst in 2004. Most employers don't know what it is or indeed ask for it in job advertisements. However, I think it has some credibility from people who have already heard of Nafems. If you are an FEA jockey and don't understand how to do traditional hand...

People who don't have degrees but have extensive experience can still get Chartered but if they already hold a position like 'Chief Stress Engineer' then why bother? Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk

I think using beam elements would be a better way of doing this type of analysis. You could model a greater length of pipe and constrain at 7.5m intervals. The rigidity of the supports will determine how you apply the nodal constraints. Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk

Wind farms may be an alternative to nuclear power in a couple of decades but for now they only produce a small fraction of the power we need. The fact is that we need nuclear power stations and we will be getting them anyway, it's a shame that we can't build our own and when a medium sized...

Sheffield Forgemasters was declined a government loan of £80 million to build nuclear reactors parts. This would have created a couple of hundred jobs plus many more in the supply chain. The reasons given by the UK government are lack of funds. If ever there was a case to give UK manufacturing a...

If it is not a fatigue case then from a design point of view it is best to keep stress values below yeild. However, if you ever put your component on test you will probably find that it fails when the average stress across the cross sectional area has exceeded yield and this will be at a load...

Last time I checked you don't need a degree to be used car salesman! I am quite well paid for an engineer but not compared to other proffesions. Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk

Why do people give up engineering? Because they can! Because the pay doesn't reflect their level of training and qualifications! Because they don't get enough recognition from employers or society! Because there is almost no job security. Because they are young enough to change careers...

In the UK the title 'engineer' is not protected. You can earn more money as a train driver, used car salesman, store manager, police officer and the list goes on. If the title 'engineer' was protected it may become a more sought after career! Most insurance companies don't even list the job...

I'm doing a contact analysis right now with 10 node tets. It would run much faster with 4 node quads but it would take too long to mesh. I think solver time, accuracy and meshing effort is an important consideration. Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk

Linear analysis is much quicker to solve than nonlinear but you can use both. You need good element shape properties such as aspect ratio, warping and distortion in the contact region. Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk

A good place to start is to first of all determine your operating frequency range in Hz. This could be due to any external pulsating force such as earthquate etc. Then check the mode frequencies of your structure within your operating frequency range. If any of the modes are within your...

A good practical FEA book I recommend is 'Building Better Products with Finite Element Analysis'. It's a bit old but still relevent. The Nafems courses are also very good. Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk

I've got Machinery's Handbook 28th edition and use it all the time for bolt calculations. Maybe they have added more bolt stuff since the 21st edition? Chris www.value-design-consulting.co.uk