Finite Element Simulations Using ANSYS

The complexity of modern-day problems in mechanical engineering makes relying on pure theory or pure experiment impractical at best and time-consuming and unwieldy at worst. And for a large class of engineering problems writing computer codes from scratch is seldom found in practice. Use of reputable, trustworthy software can save time, effort, and resources while still providing reliable results. Finite Elements Simulations Using ANSYS focuses on the application of this design software in solving practical engineering problems. The book presents fundamental knowledge of numerical simulation using ANSYS. It covers all disciplines in mechanical engineering: structure, solid mechanics, vibration, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics, with adequate background material to explain the physics behind the computations. The author treats each physical phenomenon independently, enabling readers to single out subjects or related chapters and study them as self-contained units. Because a finite element solution is greatly affected by the quality of the mesh, a separate chapter on mesh generation is included as a simple meshing guide, emphasizing the basics. Each chapter contains a number of pictorially guided problems with appropriate screenshots that provide a step-by-step, easy-to-follow technical demonstration. The book includes end-of-chapter problems, several practical, open-ended case studies, and a number of complete tutorials on using ANSYS to resolve the issues engineers tackle on a regular basis. Instructors can liberally select appropriate chapters to be covered depending on the objectives of the course. The author first explains multiphysics analyses, such as structure-thermal or fluid-thermal analyses, in terms of theory, then derives the equations governing the physical phenomena and presents modeling techniques. Many of the sample problems, questions, and solved examples were used in CAD courses in many universities around the world. They cover structural analysis, solid mechanics and vibration, steady-state and transient heat-transfer analysis, fluid dynamics, multiphysics simulations, and modeling and meshing. Written and organized so that it can easily be used for self-study, this book guides readers through the basic modeling requirements to the correct and physically meaningful numerical result.