Finite element analysis (FEA) is a computational technique used to predict how a part or
assembly behaves under given conditions, thus reducing the need for physical prototypes in
product design while enabling the exploration of a large number of potential designs. It can
be used, for example, to simulate the buckling of a wind turbine blade, the deformation of a
pressure vessel, or the vibrational response of an electronics enclosure; these are all
problems that can be solved computationally that would otherwise be impossible to do by
hand. FEA also helps you generate clear visual representations of your solution that make
interpretation by humans much easier and enable us to develop physical intuition. To ensure
that your solutions accurately represent reality, however, you first need to understand how
the "black box" of your modeling software functions and have methods to verify and validate
your results.
In this course, you will investigate the major elements of what is inside the black box to gain
a deep conceptual understanding of how FEA software produces solutions. This will help you
build an intuitive understanding of the fundamental mathematical models and physics
underlying simulations of static and dynamic behavior of engineering structures. You will also
familiarize yourself with the numerical solution strategy employed to solve the mathematical
models using the finite element method as well as how to minimize errors. Ultimately, this
course will prepare you to build reliable and valid FEA simulations for practical problems using
industry-standard simulation software such as Ansys.