The recent discussions concerning finite element analysis (FEA) was a reminder that I needed to begin to master this subject at some point for my naval architecture (NA) studies. I took graduate-level courses in NA and hydrodynamics in college and find that these were just introductory in nature compared to the current studies that I am involved in for NA (do we find ourselves being humbled on a more regular basis as we age or are we just more aware of our deficiencies? J) The FEA course I took in college was graduate-level also and at a time when FEA was just becoming prevalent (mid-80’s). Computer programs today make it possible to produce very professional results but as I have found out with my various NA software programs, unless I have a thorough understanding of the program’s underlying principles, I cannot tell if my answers are even in the ballpark, they just look good. For those that might be interested in learning more on the subject, there is a LINUX-based program FEA and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) that will boot from a DVD (without messing up your Windows op system) that is economical (freeware: http://www.caelinux.com/CMS/) and there is a MIT Open Courseware program that has the notes, exercises, examples, exercises, etc. for their Finite Element Analysis of Solids and Fluids available free on the Internet at http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Mechanical-Engineering/2-094Spring-2008/CourseHome/index.htm. The course wares remind me of all of the questions that need to be asked concerning your model, mesh, and analysis method. R/Jay Resepectfully, Jay K. Jeffries Andros Is., Bahamas Save the whales, collect the whole set. |