UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
ME/AE 446: Finite Element Methods in Structural Analysis
Portfolio Project #4 - Solid Body Modeling and Analysis
Due Nov. 30, 1995
As with the previous portfolio projects, the specific application for this study will be selected by the student. The goal of the project is to develop experience in problem formulation, execution and documentation of a case study in structural analysis. For this problem the "structure" should be a three dimensional solid which can be modeled using either tetrahedron or "brick" elements. Particular emphasis will be placed upon the finite element mesh and the appropriate modeling of the the boundary conditions and applied loads. This application study will most likely be limited to the capabilities provided by ALGOR unless you care to write your own solid body modeling and finite element analysis code. Writing your own software will be worth 10 extra points on this project
You will be responsible for preparing two types of documentation for this project. The first is a brief written report which is limited to two written pages. The second is a brief oral report and three "viewgraphs." You should be prepared to overview your project with a 5 min. oral presenation on either Nov. 30, or Dec. 5. The presentation can include no more than three viewgraphs to highlight the problem and your results.
The brief written documentation should include:
- Problem Description
- detail the purpose of the "structure" or component
- any special considerations associated with the structure which is being modeled and analyzed
- Validation of Numerical Results
- discussion and presentation of methods used to evaluate and validate the results
- evaluation of the suitability of the FEM model and analysis results
- Copies of your three "viewgraphs" (not counted in your 2 page limit)
Format for this report and presentation is left to the student's discretion.