CHAPTER 6

COMPUTER AIDED
ENGINEERING
MEC435
COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN
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6.1 INTRODUCTION TO
COMPUTER AIDED ENGINEERING (CAE)

Computer-aided engineering (CAE) is the use of computer software to support

engineers basic error checking, analysis, optimization, manufacturability, etc of a product.

It is also applied to simulate performance in order to improve product designs or assist in

the resolution of engineering problems for a wide range of industries.

This includes simulation, validation, and optimization of products, processes, and

manufacturing tools.

CAE tools are very widely used in the automotive industry. It is enabled the automakers to

reduce product development cost and time while improving the safety, comfort, and
durability of the vehicles they produce.

The predictive capability of CAE tools has progressed to the point where much of the

design verification is now done using computer simulations rather than physical
prototype testing. CAE dependability is based upon all proper assumptions as inputs and
must identify critical inputs.

CAE APPLICATIONS
CAE applications support a wide range of engineering disciplines or
phenomena including:
Stress and dynamics analysis on components and assemblies using Finite
Element Analysis (FEA)
Thermal and fluid analysis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
Kinematics and dynamic analysis of mechanisms (multi-body dynamics)
Mechanical event simulation (MES)
Control systems analysis
Simulation of manufacturing processes like casting, molding and die press
forming (MouldFlow)
Optimization of the product or process

MAIN CAE ROLES

a) Finite Element Analysis:

Is a computerized method for predicting how a product reacts to real-world forces,

vibration, heat, fluid flow, and other physical effects.

FEA shows whether a product will break, wear out, or work the way it was designed. It is

called analysis, but in the product development process, it is used to predict what is going
to happen when the product is used.

FEA helps predict the behavior of products affected by many physical effects, including;
Mechanical stress, mechanical vibration, fatigue, motion, heat transfer, fluid flow,
electrostatics and plastic injection molding.

FEA also helps to reduce the need for costly prototypes, eliminating rework and delays, and
saving time and development costs

b) Stress Analysis:
Is an engineering discipline that determines the stress in materials and structures subjected

to static or dynamic forces or loads.

The aim of the analysis by using CAE software is usually to determine whether the element
or collection of elements, usually referred to as a structure, can safely withstand the
specified forces.

c) Crash Analysis
Crash and occupant safety analysis software are able to handle large deformations,

sophisticated material models (for steel and aluminum, rubbers, foams, plastics, and
composites), complex contact conditions among multiple components, and short-duration
impact dynamics.
The software are capable of simulating different types of automobile crash events: frontal
impact, side impact, rear impact, and rollover.
Crashworthiness simulation is less expensive and yields more information than real
experimental techniques. Because of its extensive capabilities for handling crashworthiness

and occupant safety simulations, CAE is used worldwide by leading automobile

manufacturers and their suppliers.

d) Vibration Analysis:
Vibration is mostly undesirable, wasting energy and creating unwanted sound and noise.
For example, the vibration motions of engines, electric motors, or any mechanical device
in operation are typically unwanted. Such vibrations can be analyzed and removed with
the help of CAE software. CAE helps to check the degree of vibration and reduce it before

actually making the product.

e) Fluid dynamics Analysis:

Relies on the use of CAE software to solve the equations that describe the motion of fluids,
i.e., both liquids and gases.
The equations that govern the motion of a fluid are based on the principles of conservation
of mass, momentum and energy, and are familiar to most people in the form of the Navier-

Stokes equations.

e) Ergonomics
Ergonomics is commonly thought of in terms of products. But it can be equally useful in the
design of services or processes.
Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding
of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that

applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being
and overall system performance.

BENEFITS OF CAE

The benefits of CAE include reduced product development cost and time, with improved product

quality and durability.

Design decisions can be made based on their impact on performance.

Designs can be evaluated and refined using computer simulations rather than physical prototype
testing, saving money and time.

CAE can provide performance insights earlier in the development process, when design
changes are less expensive to make.

CAE helps engineering teams manage risk and understand the performance implications of their
designs.

Integrated CAE data and process management extends the ability to effectively leverage
performance insights and improve designs to a broader community.

Warranty exposure is reduced by identifying and eliminating potential problems. When properly
integrated into product and manufacturing development, CAE can enable earlier problem
resolution, which can dramatically reduce the costs associated with the product lifecycle.

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CAE software
Here are examples of CAE software applications:

NX CAE is a fully integrated, modern engineering environment for modeling and simulation of
real-world problems. NX simulation applications include dynamic motion simulation, linear and
nonlinear stress analysis, system-level performance simulation, dynamic response simulation,

vibration analysis, fluid flow and thermal analyses, durability analysis, multi-physics
engineering analysis, and analysis to physical test correlation.
NX Nastran is a finite element solver that analyzes stress, vibration, structural
failure/durability, heat transfer, noise/acoustics and flutter/aeroelasticity.
Femap is a CAD-independent, Windows-native pre- and post-processor for advanced
engineering FEA. It provides engineers and analysts with an FEA modeling solution to handle
even the most complex tasks easily, accurately and affordably.

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CAE software
Here are examples of CAE software applications:

Solid Edge Simulation is a built-in FEA tool for design engineers to validate part and
assembly designs digitally within the Solid Edge environment. Solid Edge Simulation
significantly reduces the need for physical prototypes, thereby reducing material and
testing costs, while saving design time.

Parasolid is 3D geometric modeling component software, enabling users of Parasolidbased products to model complex parts and assemblies. It is used as the geometry engine
in hundreds of different CAD, CAM and CAE applications.

D-Cubed Components are six software libraries that can be licensed by software
developers for integration into their products. The capabilities they provide include
parametric sketching, part and assembly design, motion simulation, collision detection,

clearance measurement and hidden line visualization.

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6.2 MESH CONVERGENCE STUDIES

In finite element modeling, a finer mesh typically results in a more accurate solution.
However, as a mesh is made finer, the computation time increases.

The following basic steps are required in order to perform a mesh convergence study
manually:

- Create a mesh using the fewest, reasonable number of elements and analyze the model.
- Recreate the mesh with a denser element distribution, re-analyze it, and compare the results
to those of the previous mesh.
- Keep increasing the mesh density and re-analyzing the model until the results converge
satisfactorily.
- This type of mesh convergence study can enable you to obtain an accurate solution with a
mesh that is sufficiently dense and not overly demanding of computing resources.

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6.2 MESH CONVERGENCE STUDIES

To modify the density of a finite element mesh, you can use a number of features including:

For a hand-generated mesh:

Return to the unmeshed wireframe geometry and modify the number of divisions; or
Use surface mesh enhancement.
For a two-dimensional automatically generated mesh:
Right-click the 2-D Mesh heading near the bottom of the Browser (tree view) and choose
the Edit command to access the "2-D Mesh Generation" dialog box; then, modify the Mesh

Density value or the Mesh Size value.

For a solid mesh:
Click the 3D Mesh Setting command to access the Model Mesh Settings dialog box. Move the
Mesh Size slider bar to alter the mesh size or click the Options button dialog and specify
the Size value.

The size may be specified as a percent of automatic or an absolute size

dimension. Or,
Use surface mesh enhancement.

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6.2 MESH CONVERGENCE STUDIES

Types of elements
Mesh elements can be 1D (lines), or 2D (triangles, or quadrilaterals.), but most of the time,
when starting with 3D CAD data, the elements will be tetrahedra (tets; 3-sided pyramids),
hexahedra (hexes or bricks), polyhedra (with any number of sides), prisms, or pyramids
(with 5 sides.)

If a mesh is built from hexes, it can be structured (with all elements connected in a regular
addressable pattern.) Meshes composed of hexes that are not connected in a regular
pattern, or of tets or polyhedra, are unstructured. Its possible to have hybrid meshes, with
a combination of both structured and unstructured elements.

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6.2 MESH CONVERGENCE STUDIES

Types of elements
Mesh elements can be 1D (lines), or 2D (triangles, or quadrilaterals.), but most of the time,
when starting with 3D CAD data, the elements will be tetrahedra (tets; 3-sided pyramids),
hexahedra (hexes or bricks), polyhedra (with any number of sides), prisms, or pyramids
(with 5 sides.)

If a mesh is built from hexes, it can be structured (with all elements connected in a regular
addressable pattern.) Meshes composed of hexes that are not connected in a regular
pattern, or of tets or polyhedra, are unstructured. Its possible to have hybrid meshes, with
a combination of both structured and unstructured elements.

Mesh Size
Mesh Type
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6.3 DISPLACEMENT AND

STRESS DISTRIBUTION

Translational Displacement vector images are used to

visualize displacement field patterns, which represent a vector field
quantity equal to the variation of position vectors of material particles of the
system as a result of environmental action (loading).

Translational Displacement vector Image objects can belong to Static Case

Solution objects sets or to Frequency Case Solution objects sets.

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6.3 DISPLACEMENT AND

STRESS DISTRIBUTION

The displacement resulting from part loading is important for a correct

understanding of the way in which the part behaves.

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6.3 DISPLACEMENT AND

STRESS DISTRIBUTION

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6.3 DISPLACEMENT AND

STRESS DISTRIBUTION

Von Mises Stress images are used to visualize Von Mises Stress field
patterns, which represent a scalar field quantity obtained from the volume
distortion energy density and used to measure the state of stress.

Von Mises Stress Image objects belong to Static Case Solution objects
sets.

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6.3 DISPLACEMENT AND

STRESS DISTRIBUTION

The volume distortion energy density is often used in conjunction with the
material yield stress value to check part structural integrity according to the
Von Mises criterion. For a sound structural design, the maximum value of
the Von Mises stress should be less than this yield value.

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6.3 DISPLACEMENT AND

STRESS DISTRIBUTION

The volume distortion energy density is often used in conjunction with the
material yield stress value to check part structural integrity according to the
Von Mises criterion. For a sound structural design, the maximum value of
the Von Mises stress should be less than this yield value.

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