END OF LESSON 1

The preprocessing stage of the FEA includes the following steps:

1. Create a study

2. Apply material

3. Apply fixtures

4. Apply loads

5. Mesh the model

The density of finite element mesh (does / does not) have considerable impact on the analysis results.

In general, we would favor (finer / coarser) meshes to obtain reliable analysis results. Therefore, the
time required to solve the analysis will (increase / decrease), but this is an unavoidable consequence.

Ultimately, we will try to design optimum meshes providing reasonable accuracy levels and resulting in
acceptable run times.

The primary unknown in finite element analysis is (displacements / strains / stresses). This quantity is
therefore the most accurate.

The accuracy levels of (displacements / strains / stresses) and (displacements / strains / stresses) are
approximately the same, but significantly worse than that of (displacements / strains / stresses).
Therefore, to obtain good (displacement / strain / stress) results, the mesh must be reasonably fine.

(Refining / Coarsening) the mesh results in solutions approaching the analytical solution of a
mathematical model.

END OF LESSON 2

Why do we often eliminate fillets and small rounds if such suppression can lead to locally inaccurate
stress results? Does it imply that the stress results are inaccurate for the whole model?

These features are removed to simplify the model, making it solve in a reasonable amount of time. The
stress results are not inaccurate for the whole model because of Saint-Venant's Principle.

Are displacements affected by the suppression of small features (fillets, rounds) as much as stresses?
Why?

They are only affected by a very small margin (often negligible) again, because of Saint-Venant's
Principle..

END OF LESSON 3
As a review, the available component condition types are:

Bonded, Allow Penetration and No Penetration

The available local contact condition types are:

Bonded, Allow Penetration, No Penetration, Shrink Fit and Virtual Wall

The (component / local) contact condition is given the highest priority.

To simplify the analysis in this lesson, the flat was suppressed and a Fixed Geometry fixture was applied
on the jaws. Thus, we made an assumption that the stiffness of the flat is infinite.

This assumption can only be made if the stiffness of the plate is significant, relative to the stiffness of the
rest of the assembly. Can you propose a more accurate solution? (Hint: Browse through the available
connectors types in the SOLIDWORKS Simulation Connections folder.)

A contact could be defined between the flat and jaws. A Bonded contact would be appropriate.

END OF LESSON 7

When a model contains sheet metal features, the corresponding shell mesh will be formed
automatically on the (outside face/ midplane/ inside face) of the sheet metal. The thickness of the shell
features (must/may not) be specified manually.

• When creating shell mesh manually, ideally it should be defined on the (outside face/ midplane /inside
face). Placing them on the (outside face/ midplane /inside face), results in acceptable difference of
(0.0001%/a couple of percent/ tens of percent). If the error is significantly larger, shell elements are not
suitable for such structure and solid elements should be used instead.

• Shell elements can be used to mesh thin sheet like components. The characteristic span length vs.
thickness ratios indicating when to use solid, thin, or thick shells are.

solid elements: 10

thick shells: 10 to 20

thin shells: 20

• The figure below shows a flat plate with a thickness t=5mm, and planar dimensions of a=200mm and
b=75. The bold and dashed lines indicate simply supported (hinged) and free edges, respectively. The
best element type fit for this structure is solids/ thick shells/ thin shells.

• To accurately model the stress and strain gradients when using solid mesh, a minimum of 5 Draft
quality or 3 High quality solid elements should be required in the through the thickness direction.
• If a sufficient number of elements is generated, (solid / thick shell / thin shell) elements will always
provide the most accurate solution. We sacrifice a little accuracy by using shell elements to mesh thin
features because this reduces the solution time.

END OF LESSON 8

After generating all bonded contacts and successfully meshing a complex assembly you attempt to solve
the analysis. The solver displays the following error message:

Frequently some of the bonded contacts are defined incorrectly or not at all as it is easy to
unintentionally forget to define some of the contacts. Lack of proper fixtures or bonded contacts makes
models unstable, resulting in the solver displaying the above message.

Propose a solution how to locate missing/incorrect restraints or bonded contacts.

Perform a Unconstrained Bodies analysis on the system.

• A bonded contact between the shell and solid components (does / does not) require a local bonded
contact condition.

END OF LESSON 9

How many degrees of freedom does each node of a beam element have? 6 How are beam elements
different from solid and shell elements?

Beams are another class of structural elements where all of the cross sectional characteristics are
accounted for during the derivation of the element stiffness matrix. As a beneficial consequence, these
cross sectional characteristics do not need to be reflected in the finite element mesh, thus, greatly
simplifying the model preparation and analysis.

Beam elements have two nodes with six degrees of freedom in each node.

• What is the difference between beam elements and truss elements?

A truss element is a special type of beam element that can only resist axial deformations. Trusses are
commonly used in architectural and structural applications such as bridges, roofs, power towers, and
others. A truss element has two nodes with three degrees of freedom in each node (displacements in
three directions, no rotations).

• For a beam element to produce acceptable results, the length of the beam should be 10 times larger
than the largest dimension of its cross-section.

• The bending stresses plotted on the 3D profile of a beam element (can/cannot) show variation
through the thickness.

END OF LESSON 12
SOLIDWORKS Simulation suite computations (are / are not) limited to small displacement analyses only.

• SOLIDWORKS Simulation suite computations (are / are not) limited to models that experience stresses
below the material yield strength.