Book Image

Practical Finite Element Simulations with SOLIDWORKS 2022

By : Khameel B. Mustapha
Book Image

Practical Finite Element Simulations with SOLIDWORKS 2022

By: Khameel B. Mustapha

Overview of this book

SOLIDWORKS is a dominant computer-aided design (CAD) software for the 3D modeling, designing, and analysis of components. This book helps you get to grips with SOLIDWORKS Simulation, which is a remarkable and integral part of SOLIDWORKS predominantly deployed for advanced product performance assessment and virtual prototyping. With this book, you'll take a hands-on approach to learning SOLIDWORKS Simulation with the help of step-by-step guidelines on various aspects of the simulation workflow. You'll begin by learning about the requirements for effective simulation of parts and components, along with the idealization of physical components and their representation with finite element models. As you progress through the book, you'll find exercises at the end of each chapter, and you'll be able to download the geometry models used in all the chapters from GitHub. Finally, you’ll discover how to set up finite element simulations for the static analysis of components under various types of loads, and with different types of materials, from simple isotropic to composite, and different boundary conditions. By the end of this SOLIDWORKS 2022 book, you'll be able to conduct basic and advanced static analyses with SOLIDWORKS Simulation and have practical knowledge of how to best use the family of elements in the SOLIDWORKS Simulation library.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)
1
Section 1: An Introduction to SOLIDWORKS Simulation
6
Section 2: SOLIDWORKS Simulation with Shell and Solid Elements
10
Section 3: Advanced SOLIDWORKS Simulation with Complex Material and Loading Behavior

Getting started with analyzing thin-walled pressure vessels in a SOLIDWORKS simulation

This first case study demonstrates one of the modeling/simulation approaches for simulating thin-walled pressure vessels. As part of this demonstration, this section illustrates creating a thin surface from a thin-walled body. It also highlights how to apply pressure loads and symmetric boundary conditions. In addition, mesh refinements and methods will be provided so that you can compare the results of multiple simulation studies.

Let's get started.

Problem statement – case study 1

A thin cylindrical vessel with hemispherical heads, as depicted in the following diagram, is to be used as a gas storage tank. It is expected to withstand an internal pressure of 7 MPa. The tank is made of steel with Young's modulus of 200 GPa and a Poisson's ratio of 0.3. The internal diameter, length, and thickness of the cylinder are 75 mm, 250 mm, and 2.5 mm, respectively.

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