Simulation

• FEA stands for Finite Elements Analysis
• FEA is digital testing of parts of a building used to test all sorts of mechanical components from roof trusses to steel beams and other load bearing members.
• FEA is also referred to as Digital Prototyping and gives conceptual designs (new designs) the ability to be virtually tested
• Architects and structural engineers use Digital Prototyping to design, test, optimize, validate and visualize their products digitally throughout the product development process
• FEA is determining how a solid body will respond to various forces applied to it
• Benefits of FEA:

  • Reduce the number of physical prototypes needed to validate the design
  • can identify design problems up front. manufacturers experiences fewer changes later
  • companies can also perform simulation in early stages of the product development cycle, so they avoid failure during testing or manufacturing phases
• CFD stands for Computation Fluid Dynamics
• CFD is a form of digitally testing the airflow through the internals of a building.
• CFD can be beneficial to designers for the following reasons:

  • identify the location of radiators
  • simulate heat flow
  • identify air flow/fresh air, air conditioning
  • identify where noise may travel
  • identify the amount of drag on moving parts
• CFD shows architectures where to place duct venting, positions of internal walls and furniture, height of ceilings etc.
• Applications of CFD:

  • blowers/fans
  • electronics
  • building ventilation
  • lighting
  • mixing
  • valves
  • medical
  • filtration
  • heat exchangers
  • pumps
  • boilers
  • automotive
• Marketers use FEA to create photorealistic rendering and animations of products prior to manufacturing
• FEA is a way of showing if a product will fail or not and see how products will interact with others
• Before using FEA, you should;

  • select material
  • select environmental conditions like temperature
  • apply constraints or fixing points
  • apply forces in the correct position
  • set scale of units
  • select static or dynamic load or force variant over time