Does anyone have an idea for a FEA and structural engineering hobby project

[drennon236]

Is there anything interesting (and not too difficult) in structural engineering that we could use finite element method to analyze?
Preferebly using the commercial finite element software Abaqus.

 

[MegaStructures]

I take it you are trying to learn. Here's some ideas, who knows if they are interesting

i) I believe Abaqus displays some verification problems in their user manual. Recreate them yourself and compare the answers. Tweak the mesh, loads, and boundary conditions and see how things change
ii) Create some simple plates in Abaqus with shell elements and solid elements and compare your FEA solutions to hand solutions found in Roarks
iii) Create a simple beam model with shell mesh and compare maximum stresses to those found by hand calcs. Bonus points if you overstress the beam and then run a non-linear material analysis, see how the results change
iv) Start creating assembly models with a simple two plate model connected by one bolt

“The most successful people in life are the ones who ask questions. They’re always learning. They’re always growing. They’re always pushing.” Robert Kiyosaki

 

[rb1957]

do problems you can hand calc ... SS beam, propped cantilever, double cantilever, ...

do problems relevant to your industry, things you'll apply

another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?