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Your Partner in FE Analysis Training and Consulting
TRAINING
Training Class Description
Composite Analysis using FEA(E-Learning)
Background
Many designs now use composite structures or components, taking advantage of the
increased structural strength and stiffness to weight ratios, simpler manufacturing
process or more innovative design capability that composites bring. The nature of the
composite used can range from cheap and freely available glass fiber reinforced
systems to exotic and specifically tailored carbon or kevlar systems, with many forms of
manufacturing process available.
The challenge for the designer and analyst is to determine the resulting stiffness and
strength of the design. Faced with the complexity of real world structural systems the
analyst has to make decisions on the type of idealization and level of detail required in the
FEA analysis.
Your design may include thick composite sections with large numbers of plies, there may
be regions of significant ply drop off. Tee joints may be loaded in tension. In these cases
the through thickness effects become very important for strength prediction.
The shape of the structure may imply changes in draping angle or layup thickness and it
may be important to model this accurately.
There are a wide range of failure theories, together with potentially large amounts of
stress or strain data from a multi ply layup. Due to the nature of the composite the stress
components can include many more terms than a conventional metallic material for
example.
Whatever the nature of the challenge, this objective of this course is to break down the
composite analysis process into clearly defined steps, give an overview of the physics
involved and show how to successfully implement practical solutions using Finite
Element Analysis.
In the current climate travel and training budgets are tight. To help you still meet your
training needs the following e-learning course has been developed to complement the
live class. The e-learning course runs over a four week period with a single two hour
session per week.
E-learning classes are ideal for companies with a group of engineers requiring training. E-
learning classes can be provided to suit your needs and timescale. Contact us to discuss
your requirements.
The course is completely code independent. No software is required.
Each topic in the class is treated as a building block and is presented using an overview
of the physics and theory involved. The math is kept simple and the emphasis is on
practical examples from real life to illustrate the topic. The mapping to Finite Element
analysis techniques is shown with numerous workshops. The tutor will be running
analysis interactively and involving the students in the process via Q and A periods during
each session, follow up emails and a Course Bulletin Board
Students are shown the various approximation methods and how to judge which are
acceptable and appropriate for solving a wide range of practical problems. Practical
considerations of loadings, boundary conditions, ply layup and structural details are
shown by numerous examples.
Of equal importance is the assessment and interpretation of results. There is potentially
a great deal of data produced from the FE analysis, with many plies and stress
components to sort through. The failure criterion used may mask the physical
interpretation of the structural response. A practical approach is shown to over viewing
the results and then assessing key plies and stress components in detail.
Interaction is encouraged throughout the course, with the planning and design of
complete FEA projects. Options for composite system modelling, loads and boundary
conditions and solution methods are discussed interactively with the students. The tutor
then runs the analyses using this input and the results are investigated. Using this
approach, classic errors are shown and corrected in a real world scenario.
The session covers a wide range of application techniques available and shows typical
applications and best practices across industry. The objective is to show students how
to assess the nature of the composite structure and what tools can be used, together
with the scope of the various solutions.
Students are welcome to send in problems from Industry and these will be discussed as
time permits.
Full notes are provided for the students, together with personal passwords for e-learning
backup material, bulletin board access etc.
This course is aimed at practicing engineers who wish to learn more about how to apply
finite element techniques to composite analysis in the most effective manner. Ideally a
student should have some experience of FEA analysis, but this is not essential. The
material that is presented is independent of any particular software package, making it
ideally suited to current and potential users of all commercial finite element software
systems. This course is a must for all engineers aiming to use FEA as a reliable
predictive tool for dynamic analysis.
Session 1
• Finite Element Analysis Overview
• FEA Basic Principals
• Introduction to composite systems
• Strength and Stiffness of plies
• Comparison with published data or test results
• 2D shell stress strain relationship - Classical Laminate Theory
• Ply angle effect
• Simulation of single ply using FEA
• Sandwich structures and failure modes
• workshops
Session 2
• Multi ply layups – evaluation of stiffness
• A B D matrix terms and their importance in design and analysis
• Interlaminar shear stresses
• FEA model simulations of varying layups
• Symmetric and balanced layups
• Special types of Layup
• Failure criteria
• Handling large amounts of output data
• Strength assessment
• Workshops
Session 3
• Practical composite modeling
• Inner or outer mold line considerations
• Ply drop off, draping effects
• Edge effects and stress raisers such as holes
• Plane stress modeling
• 3D element background and application
• Workshops
Session 4
• More 3d situations, delamination effects
• Comparison of 2D shell and solid element solutions
• Advanced failure methods
• Progressive ply failure methods
• Virtual Crack Closure methods in delamination
• Overview of composite fatigue
• Workshops
Who Should Attend?
Class Program
| In Partnership with NAFEMS |
Why an e-Learning class?