FEM Geometry Preparation and Meshing

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Revision as of 13:08, 28 December 2023 by NewJoker (talk | contribs) (Created page with "== Background == Geometry preparation and meshing are crucial parts of preprocessing of simulations using Finite Element Method (FEM). While easily accessible simulation software connected with CAD environment (such as the FEM Workbench in FreeCAD) makes it tempting to perform analyses on fresh designs, it is very important to remember that FEM is advanced method and requires properly prepared geometry and mesh to provide reasonable, accurate results....")
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Background

Geometry preparation and meshing are crucial parts of preprocessing of simulations using Finite Element Method (FEM). While easily accessible simulation software connected with CAD environment (such as the FEM Workbench in FreeCAD) makes it tempting to perform analyses on fresh designs, it is very important to remember that FEM is advanced method and requires properly prepared geometry and mesh to provide reasonable, accurate results. The old garbage in, garbage out rule is particularly important here. There are also other crucial settings on which FEM accuracy highly depends (such as material properties and boundary conditions) but the first steps and some of the most common sources of issues are geometry preparation and meshing, discussed on this page.

Types of geometry used for FEM in FreeCAD

  • Lines (wires) - used for analyses with beam elements
  • Surfaces - used for analyses with shell elements
  • Solids - used for analyses with solid elements

Choice of the type of geometry

While most designs consist of solids, it's often highly recommended to use wires or surfaces for FEM if the structure allows for thatː

  • if a part is slender (long and thin) and beam-like and has a regular cross-section of one of the supported beam section types (rectangular, circular or pipe) then it should be analyzed using beam elements (unless there are some specific forms of loading, response or unavoidable geometry details that invalidate this assumption). Basically, one should draw a centerline (some tips can be found in forum thread) and apply proper beam section with optional rotation. There's no single rule dictating when beam elements can be used but it's often advised that the cross-section dimensions should be < 1/10 of part's length for the beam assumption to be valid.
  • if a part is thin-walled (such as sheetmetal parts) then it should be analyzed using shell elements (unless accurate contact results are needed or there are some limitations of shell elements are encountered). This is very important and often overlooked. To obtain proper accuracy of results (especially when bending is involved) for thin-walled parts, one needs a few elements (at least 3-5) in the thickness direction. This usually results in large meshes (especially when tetrahedrons are used since hexahedral elements can't be generated in FreeCAD) and large computational cost - high computer power requirements and long solving time. Again, there's no single rule but it's usually recommended that the thickness should be < 1/10 of a typical global dimension (length/width) for the shell assumption to be valid.

One should remember that beam and shell elements used in CalculiX are not true beam/shell elements (they don't use the beam/shell element formulations known from literature and other software) - they are internally expanded to solids. Still, their use is recommended in the aforementioned cases.