Meshing Methods in FEA

There are two main meshing methods in FEA: Free mesh and Mappped mesh

 

Free Mesh/Automated Mesh/Unstructured Mesh

•Has no element shape restrictions.

•The mesh does not follow any pattern.

•Suitable for complex shaped areas and volumes.

 

Free mesh

 

 

 

Mapped Mesh/Manual Mesh/Structured Mesh

•Restricts element shapes to quadrilaterals for areas and hexahedral (bricks) for volumes.

•Typically has a regular pattern with obvious rows of elements.

•Suitable only for “regular” areas and volumes such as rectangles and bricks.

 

Mapped mesh

How the results are achieved in FEA

•Formulation of the components 'stiffness' matrix

•This may be used to evaluate the displacements of the structure

•On evaluation of the displacements, they are differentiated to give six strain distributions, 3 mutually perpendicular direct strains & 3 corresponding shear strains.

•Finally six stress distributions are determined via the stress/strain relationships of the material.

•A point to note is that at least one of the displacements must be known before the rest can be determined (before the system of equations can be solved). These known displacements are referred to as boundary conditions

What is FEA? Why FEA? What do you get from FEA?….

What is FEA....

When the Finite Element Method (FEM) is applied to a specific field of analysis (like stress analysis, thermal analysis, or vibration analysis) it is often referred to as Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
 
Why FEA....
FEA consists of a computer model of a material or design that is stressed and analyzed for specific results. It is used to verify a proposed design that  will be able to perform to the client's specifications prior to manufacturing or construction. 

 

 In case of structural failure, FEA may be used to help determine the design modifications to meet the new condition. 

 

Part of Engineering Design process which  takes preliminary design as input and gives final design as output 

 

Analysis deals with different parameters like deflection, strain, stress, stiffness, natural  frequencies, mode shapes, temperature distribution, temperature gradients, heat flux,etc. 

 

We can get detailed visualization of where structures bend or twist, and the distribution of stresses and displacements, etc.