Finite Element Analysis Laboratory

Laboratory Report Cover Page

Student Name Student ID Number
Ethan Coyne 19503383
Title of Experiment Experiment Number
CAD Imports and Thermal Analysis 6

Class (3BM / 3BG / 3BSE / 3OA) 3BM1

BME3132 Finite Element Methods in
Subject Code & Name
Engineering
Lecturer

Date of Attendance 2022

Sate of Submission

Deduction for late submission

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

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accepted on the understanding that it is their own work and written in their own words except
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from anywhere without giving a reference to the source. Sources include the Internet, other
students’ work, books, journal articles, etc.

You must ensure that you have read the University Regulations relating to plagiarism, which
can be found on the NUIG website: https://www.nuigalway.ie/plagiarism/

I have read and understood the University Code of Practice on plagiarism and
confirm that the content of this document is my own work and has not been
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Signature of Student
 Performing a Thermal Analysis on a Model Imported to a Finite
Element Analysis Software
19503383
Introduction
The purpose of this laboratory is to provide the essential ability to perform finite element
analysis on structures designed in and imported from commonly used computer aided design
software. For the purposes of this laboratory and this course, analysis is to be performed using
Autodesk Inventor for the CAD modelling and Abaqus for the finite element analysis. The
skills provided in this lab will prove to be crucial, as year after year finite element analysis is
being treated as a more fundamental aspect of engineering design, and thus the ability to
perform a variety of forms of analysis will serve to the benefit of all who partake in this lab.

Method
To begin the lab, open a new part in inventor and select a plane. It is important to ensure that
the origin is the centre of the model, otherwise issues will be encountered later on in the
experiment. Model a part to the desired specifications, with the particular part for this
experiment being a pipe.

To import the model from CAD, go to file > import > part, and select the SAT file from
inventor. Next, apply the specified properties to the model. In the model tree, double click
materials to generate a new material profile, and input the desired material properties. Apply
the material to the part and create a new part instance. Next, double click Steps to create an
analysis step. Again, refer to your particular design brief to determine the desired step
requirements. Creating interactions comes next, with the particular interactions in this
experiment being surface film conditions. As part of creating this surface film condition, an
amplitude must also be generated. There are two surface film conditions to be created, one for
the outer surface and the other for the inner surface. Next, set initial conditions, also known as
the Predefined Fields. Select field type and input desired data. Mesh the part and assign
appropriate element type to all nodes. Finally, create a job, ensuring that precision is set to
full, and submit. Upon submission, should all data be correct, the thermal analysis should be
complete. Next comes the stress analysis. In the model tree, right click on the model and
select ‘copy model’. Replace the heat transfer step with a static, general step, ensuring to turn
on NLGEOM. Apply a pressure load within the step. In the initial step, apply boundary
conditions to the axes of symmetry so that the part can be mirrored about said axes. As this
part is a pipe and flange, which is of a somewhat complex geometry, an equation condition
must be created in order to achieve desired symmetry. Once applied, open the predefined field
manager, and select the box labelled created under the initial row, changing data to that from
the output database file created in the thermal analysis. Select propagated under step 2 and set
fields to match provided data. Again, re-enter the mesh and select the appropriate element
type before applying to the part. Create a new job, submit, and save.

Results

From the above image, we can see that the thermal lode applied to the pipe is most densely
concentrated in the main cylinder wall, whereas the flange face is relatively cool in
comparison. This implies that thermal loading is less important when determining thermal
properties for the flange, whereas more care is required when choosing the thermal properties
of the material used for the pipe itself.

In the image above, the magnitude of the applied forces can be seen. It is evident that the
forces are primarily concentrated on the face of the flange, and slowly dissipates as one
inspects further points along the pipe.
From the above images, it can be concluded that the primary stresses act not only on the
flange, but act primarily on the outer edge of the flange. This implies that it is of greater
significance to ensure that the materials chosen for flanges are well suited to higher stresses,
whereas thermal properties will play a somewhat lesser role.

Conclusion
From observing the obtained data, it is evident that forces will act in nonlinear fashion even
when linearly applied. This is a result of geometry and material properties. Additionally, the
data shows that forces will primarily act on the outermost edges of a cylindrical object with
width variance. Bolt holes also demonstrate a weak point in the face of the flange, which is in
line with theory. I believe that this laboratory has successfully conveyed the importance of
performing finite element analysis on parts in engineering, as well as demonstrated the utility
of such a skill. My understanding of the software involved allows for rapid modelling and
prototyping to be performed not from a workshop or a laboratory, but from any place in the
world with a sufficiently powerful laptop. It is apparent to me why such skills are now being
taught and why such tasks are now being performed as a part of everyday engineering work.