Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a powerful tool used by engineers to analyze the behavior of complex designs under various loading conditions. At the heart of FEA lies the concept of meshing, which plays a critical role in achieving accurate and efficient simulation results. This article dives into the three main meshing techniques employed in SOLIDWORKS: 1D, 2D, and 3D meshing.
1D MESHING:
• Used for geometries having one of the dimensions very large in comparison to rest of the two (Refer fig.1).
•Element Shape: Line (Refer fig.2)
•Element Type: Rod, beam, Pipe etc,.
• Practical Example: Long shaft, beam, pin joint, Connection elements. In SOLIDWORKS, We use beam element for 1D meshing. Beam elements are capable of resisting axial, bending, shear, and torsional loads.
2D MESHING
• Used for geometries having two of the dimensions very large in comparison to last dimension.
• Element shape: Triangle
•Type of the Element : Thin shell, membrane, plate.
• Practical application: Sheet metal parts, Plastic components like instrument panel
3D MESHING
• Used for all 3D objects.
•Element shape in SOLIDWORKS: Tetragonal.
• Type of the Element: Solid
• Practical application: Gear Box, Engine Block, Crankshaft.
Appropriate meshing:
You can mesh a sheetmetal part with Solid tetrahedral element but meshing a sheetmetal with shell element gives you approximate result and reduce computational effort which will be handy for any simulation engineer. likewise, you should mesh a beam or rod using beam element.
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