Design by (FEM)-Analysis
Mechanical and thermal structure analysis by means of FEM
The finite element method (FEM) is a numerical simulation process which is now being used in nearly all fields for engineering and development work. As a “qualified“ tool, it very often supplements in practice the pocket calculator of the engineer.
With the ever increasing importance of this method the number of publications is growing constantly. In line with the objective of this forum, the practitioner will find some – in our opinion – “classics” which can be used for his everyday work in our literature recommendations.
Our engineering office mainly uses the FEM in the area of the analysis of loads of components in the construction of apparatus and plants.
Our special strength is, in conjunction with our decades of experience, the calculation of components in this field and we can offer our customers the optimum analysis procedure, whether stationary or transient loads, at high or low temperatures.
For the adjacent tube bottom, for example, we succeeded in achieving considerable weight savings while retaining sufficient strength within a very short time in the offer phase thanks to the combination of analytical and numerical calculations. These finally resulted in a low-cost offer and receipt of order by our customer.
But we do not only supply you with “coloured pictures“! You will also receive from us an evaluation of the results according to the criteria defined in national and international standards of apparatus construction. Here, we do not confine ourselves to the evaluation as per the stress categories in ASME VIII/2, KTA and/or AD Codes of Practice. Creep, fatigue and ratcheting are not foreign words for us.
We would like to highlight the possibility of “parameterising” our FE models. This is especially interesting for the construction of apparatus and plants. It is in these very fields that there are many components with geometrically similar contours which only differ in their dimensions. Here, we have not only got the “common nozzle macros“ in all conceivable configurations. We can also offer you parameterised models for
- manholes in double shells,
- heating surface profiles,
- consoles,
- vessel skirts,
- container feet,
- ring carriers,
- lifting lugs and brackets
- …..
Do you have your own structures that need to be converted into parameterized FE models?
Then consult us.
The many years of daily work with modelling and a qualification-oriented division of labour permit us to offer you low-cost modelling work.
Finally, we can also revert to “old” models we have developed.
Why not recycle an “old” model?
For the offer phase an estimate is often sufficient. With a simple model or one already available you will at least obtain low-cost information on the level of the loads in your structures, and you could test different loads without a lot of modelling work. Even if the models used do not exactly correspond to your structures, you have not really got any better possibilities of studying the behaviour of a part or component, and the proof of strength under combined thermal and mechanical loading can be the necessary precondition for initiating a project, especially for temperature-loaded components. Here, analytical solutions often reach their limits too quickly. “Old models” do at least provide useful key data. Many of our customers are already making use of this possibility – why don’t you, too?