FE Modeling Strategy

• Decide on details from design• Find smallest dimension of interest• Pick element types– 1D Beams– 2D Plate or Shell– 3D Tetrahedron or Brick

• Estimate number of elements, nodes & “dofs”• Decide if run time will be reasonable

FE Modeling Strategy (continued)

• Input Geometry– CAD file– Inside FE code

• Generate Mesh– Pick parameters: elements/length, element size, …– Select regions to mesh– Generate and check• Aspect ratio• Degenerate elements

FE Modeling Strategy (continued)

• Apply displacement boundary conditions– check for rigid body motion

• Apply surface loads• Apply body forces

FE Solution Strategy

• Pick solution strategy– Linear or nonlinear– Eigenvalue (natural frequencies or buckling)– Transient or static– Parametric, optimization or probabilistic