Tutorial Finite Element Simulation in Structural and Solid Mechanics

The theoretical knowledge from the lecture “Introduction to the Finite Element Method” is applied and extended in this tutorial. Therefore, the commercial finite element software ANSYS is used to solve various problems from structural and solid mechanics.

Four practical exercises are carried out to gain a better insight into the workflow with a FEM software tool. The exercises and the documentation of results will be done in teams of 2 students. Each of the problems will be first introduced and discussed in a common session, then the teams will have 2-3 weeks to solve the current problem and document their results.

Participants should have basic knowledge in the FEM, e.g. from completing the lecture “Introduction to the Finite Element Method” or similar.

• Computation of practical application cases from structural and solid mechanics using the FEM software package ANSYS
• Model abstraction and generation of FE grids (meshing)
• Using various element types (2D/3D, beams, shells)
• Consideration of nonlinearities (e.g., finite deformations, nonlinear material behavior, contact)
• Dynamic and modal analysis
• Form optimization
• Evaluation of results (post-processing) and error estimation
• Documentation of FEA results