Advice on FEMAP for new potential user

[Cadmonkey2010]

As a company we build and manufacture large concrete pontoons and steel bridge access structures for these pontoons.
We use Solid edge for all of our 3d work and drafting , and are looking into the possiblity of using an FEA program to assist us with designing our installations.
I have a few basic questions with regards FEMAP :

1. Could it be used by a 'layman' so to say , as well as an experienced structural engineer ? Basically will simple knowledge of how the forces acting on a structure be sufficient to be able to use FEMAP accurately ?
2. Is the process of setting up loads/forces on a structure long winded ? For instance we fabricate 30m+ access bridges for our pontoons - how long would it take to set up the acting forces on this ? our bridges for instance are usually fixed at one edge by a spherical bearing (on a pontoon), and have rollers at the opposite end so that the bridge 'rolls' with the changing of the tides.
3. We work in a marine environment , so is there anyway to represent this in FEMAP ? i.e dynamic loading of a structure to represent wave motion.

Any assitance/advice on this would be most helpful .

Thanks !

 

[rb1957]

i suspect my reply will be the first of many.

the primary lesson of FEA is ... GIGO. Pert near anyone can pick up FeMap in a couple of hours of playing with it, and produce some really nice looking pictures/cartoons. It takes experience, either with FEA or hand calcs, to develop the sense on how to model properly.

pick up a demo, it is quite an intuitive interface, work through some examples. play with it, read the manual, build test cases, get training (after you've used it for a bit, so you know what you don't know).

your loading doesn't sound extreme.

 

[ThomasH]

Hi

I agree with rb1957 but also have a few additions .

I think you can "get started" within a few hours and then work for years without feeling that you "know it all". But Femap is only half of the solution (or maybe two thirds).

Femap is a pre and post processor. You create the model with elements, loads and other boundary conditions. And finally you visualize your results with colours, animations and so on. Hopefully the visualization will have some meaning and not just pretty pictures.

But between the input and the output there is a solver. Femap is strong when it comes to the different Nastran versions (NEi/NX/MSC). It works fine with others solvers also but SIEMENS that develop Femap also develops NX Nastran (hence the Nastran priority). There are also historical reasons since before SIEMENS.

Nevertheless, I think you need to look at the entire package. What you describe does not sound extreem but if you by "wave motion" mean fluid analysis that might be an issue.

I'm not sure about MSC but I think both SIEMENS and NEiSoftware offer demo versions of their solvers together with Femap. They usually have full analysis capabilities but limited model sizes.

Try them before you decide.

Good Luck

Thomas

 

[dwallace1971]

To add to what was said above, FEMAP and NASTRAN are just tools, very much like a mechanics toolkit. And, just like a nice set of wrenches does not a mechanic make, FE software does not an analyst make. To get good analyses, you'll have to invest more into your analyst than into your FE tools. I would strongly advise against using "laymen" to do any analyses on which the success of your design depends.

Structural analyses, when properly implemented, can be a valuable tool in reducing development costs and reducing time to market. When not properly implemented it can be a costly diversion at best and dangerous at worst.

As far as FEMAP is concerned, when paired with a good solver, and in the hands of a capable analyst, it is a powerful tool. It is one of the most user friendly pre/post processors I've, personally, ever used. It is decidedly less expensive than other options, and provides quite the bang for the buck.

I hope this helps.

DW