Structural Analysis

2490 Words5 Pages

Undoubtedly the most important topics in this research are structural analysis, finite element methods and the basic review on Abaqus software due to the fact that this software is used as a research tool for examining the behaviour of structures. Therefore, it is essential to know about these topics and the relationships between them. An effort is made to review the important structural analysis and finite element method approaches, reports and fundamentals guiding the structural analysis of the CNC machine research in a coherent way, along with a few relevant examples from literature.

2.2 STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

According to Mike N.Thomas, “structural analysis can be described as a physical law and mathematical calculation required for the prediction of the behaviour of any structure” (Thomas M. N., 2005). Indeed, structural analysis must put forth some other aspects that cannot be treated in a precise manner such as sound working patterns, conservation design and the concept of safety. The term structural (or structure) implies not only civil engineering structures such as bridges and buildings, but also naval, aeronautical, and mechanical structures such as ship hulls, aircraft bodies, and machine housings, as well as mechanical components such as pistons, machine parts, and tools (ANSYS PRODUCT). Although structural analysis uses the analytical methods for predicting the structure behaviour, regardless of those methods the formulation is based on the same fundamental relations such as equilibrium, constitutive and compatibility.

Galileo Galilei, Robert Hooke and Issac Newton were pioneers of modern structural analysis in the 17th century with their scientific works. The beginning of structural analysis was in 1638 when Gal...

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2.3.1 BENEFITS OF FEM

However there are so many benefits that can be described for FEMs, but the most important benefits of finite element methods can be classified as follows:

• FEMs help tremendously in producing stiffness and strength visualizations in a structural simulation and also minimizing weight, materials and costs (DS.SIMULIA, 2007).

• It can show the critical area where structures bend or twist and also can visualize the distribution of stresses and displacements (Miodrag Skolowich, 2006).

• It can visualize the engineering design for many industrial applications.

• Other benefits of FEM can be mentioned as an understanding about critical design parameter, virtual prototyping, faster and less expensive manufacturing process. Clearly FEM allows designs to be constructed, refined and optimized before the design is manufactured (Bhushan, 2010).

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