Page 17 - Finite Element Modeling and Simulations with ANSYS Workbench

2 Finite Element Modeling and Simulation with ANSYS Workbench

FIGURE 1.1
®
Objects built with simple and small pieces: (a) a fire engine built with LEGO (http://lego.wikia.com/
wiki/10020_Santa_Fe_Super_Chief); and (b) a house built with many elements—bricks, beams, columns, pan-
els, and so on.

CAD CAE
Design Design Design Design
concept modeling analysis optimization

Customer Design
market evaluation

Quality Production Process
Packaging
control planning planning
CAM

FIGURE 1.2
A sketch of the computer-aided product development process.

thermal, or electromagnetic loading. There are numerous finite element applications
in industries, ranging from automotive, aerospace, defense, consumer products, and
industrial equipment to energy, transportation and construction, as shown by some
examples in Table 1.1. The applications of the FEA have also been extended to materials
science, biomedical engineering, geophysics, and many other emerging fields in recent
years.

TABLE 1.1
Examples of Engineering Applications Using FEA
Field of Study Examples of Engineering Applications
Structural and solid mechanics Offshore structure reliability analysis, vehicle crash simulation,
nuclear reactor component integrity analysis, wind turbine blade
design optimization
Heat transfer Electronics cooling modeling, casting modeling, combustion engine
heat-transfer analysis
Fluid flow Aerodynamic analysis of race car designs, modeling of airflow
patterns in buildings, seepage analysis through porous media
Electrostatics/electromagnetics Field calculations in sensors and actuators, performance prediction of
antenna designs, electromagnetic interference suppression analysis