Dassault Systemes. Theoretical Manual SolidWorks Simulation

Dassault Systemes, 2015. — 114 p.An investigator seeking the solution of the partial differential equations which govern the behavior of deformable bodies soon discovers that few exact analytical descriptions are available and that those that are available are very much limited in applicability. Solutions are generally obtainable only for regions having certain regular geometric shapes (circles, rectangles, spheres, etc.) and then only for restricted boundary conditions. The need for results for more complex structures leads to the use of approximate methods of solution.
In recent years the finite element method has been applied to mechanics problems other than those of structural analysis, i.e., fluid flow and thermal analysis. It has been extended to permit the solution of nonlinear as well as linear problems, those of large deformation geometric nonlinearity and/or material property nonlinearity, for example. It is hard to think of any field in which finite elements are not extensively used to provide answers to problems which would have been unsolvable only a few years ago.