Learn FEA 1

[irfan08]

Hi all,

I have a strong interest in this time of career to get involve in FEA work. I never had a chance to even touch any software but I do have a significant reading, which is obviously employers don't look. I can take any suggestion here be it be a book, free software, training or whatever.
I want to evolve from being a CAD specialist and use my education which I intended.

Thnaks

 

[JT100]

i've recently started working on caesar 2 stress analysis software, i believe you can download a working demo of it, try here

http://www.coade.com/support_downloads.asp?varflag=CAESARII&varreturn=dl

 

[DanStro]

A more general tool, and free, is:

http://www.calculix.de/

 

[nickelkid]

irfan08 (Aerospace)

http://www.proengineer.com/

http://www.ansys.com/

The software above is applicable to your industry. They have trial downloads, enjoy and good luck.

 

[GBor]

A First Course in the Finite Element Method by Logan is a good start for understanding the theory. I like the software packages that have been mentioned, although ProEngineer is more of a CAD package than an FEA package...ProMechanica is a p-element convergence method that has some usefulness. Nastran is probably more widely used and accepted:

http://www.neinastran.com

http://www.nxnastran.com

http://www.mscnastran.com

With the exception of calculix (which is free) and ceasar 2 (which I haven't priced), these packages are generally very expensive, but will offer node-limited or time-limited versions. I also like:

http://www.algor.com

http://www.roshaz.com

http://www.ampstech.com

For general processing:

geometry
mesh
boudary conditions (where most people go wrong)
loads (which are sometimes hard to predict)
analysis
post-process (understand fatigue and failure analysis and how to pull the necessary information from the FEA)

Enjoy!

Garland E. Borowski, PE
Engineering Manager
Star Aviation

 

[irfan08]

cool!

I am also trying to find a school near me as I would need some practical exposure to problem than just the software, wish me luck.

 

[RGNCJN]

My company currently has Cosmosworks Advanced professional. We are a company that specializes in cast polyurethane. I have very little to no experience with FEA so I'm looking for a starting point. Gbor would you recommend this book to someone who will be using FEA for the analysis of polymers. Is it necessary to buy a book like mentioned above for basics then looking for more advanced books dealing strictly with non-linear behavior? What are some good books dealing with non-linear FEA or FEA with elastomers??

Thank you

 

[GBor]

Spyrakos wrote some books that were easily understood, but they are now several years old and they used Algor for examples, but the basic understanding was well-presented. Finite Element Modeling and another that was on non-linear behaviour...don't remember the title. I also critiqued a book once called Metal Forming Analysis written by Wagoner and Chenot. Good book for those of us that are highly analytical...would probably put everyone else to sleep.

Polymers are an unusual creature primarily because the failure modes are poorly defined to date. There seems to be no single failure analysis method...at least not in the fiber reinforced composites area.

I would look around the industry and see what material models other companies are using to try to analyze your particular polymer and try to study that particular material model to begin.

If you have no background in FEA, then I would start with the book by Logan to understand the convergence methods and calculations...what's going on inside the "black box". Build from there. See if you can get some trial versions of various software packages and walk through the tutorials that are usually included with them. Don't get them all at the same time...they are usually time-dependent.

My 2 cents...