ESRD is very excited to announce the release of StressCheck Professional Version 12.0! Read below for details on the what’s new and a link to download.

This major release of our flagship FEA solution delivers substantial refinements to the user interface and greatly improves your modeling, simulation, and post-processing workflows. You will experience immediate benefits to your analyses — from start to finish.

Watch the StressCheck Professional v12.0 Video Tour!

Key Features and Enhancements in StressCheck v12.0

StressCheck Professional 12.0 delivers an extensive list of new features and upgraded capabilities, including:

• Newly refreshed toolbar icons
• New right-click contextual menus
• New assembly meshing with automatic contact detection
• New mesh seeding feature for improved auto meshing results
• Multiple new features for improved simulation post-processing
• Introduced parameter and formula name input validation
• Introduced independent control over solid body colors
• Enhanced index controls for geometry and mesh objects
• Parameter and object set dependency feedback enhancements
• Object and record selection feedback enhancements

Want to know more?

Browse the Release Notes for detailed descriptions of what you’ll see in StressCheck v12.0:

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Get Familiar with the New Toolbar Icons!

StressCheck v12.0 delivers refreshed Toolbars that improve clarity and offer a consistent design aesthetic. We have not altered their arrangement, but to ensure you’re oriented in the new look of the interface we’ve created a Toolbar Guide. Take a look!

Ready to Download?

Download the StressCheck v12.0 MSI from our StressCheck software download page (Software Downloader membership is required):

Note: To run StressCheck v12.0, a license upgrade (and active Software Maintenance & Technical Support contract) is required. If you have not already requested your upgraded license, please do so using the Request for ESRD Support form.

From all of us at ESRD, we wish you a very happy holiday season! We truly feel that each and every one of our users are part of the ESRD family and we are incredibly grateful to get to work with all of you. We hope that you enjoy your year-end celebrations, quality time with friends and family, and wrap up 2023 with a big automesh-patterned bow 😉

There is much we are thankful for as we approach the end of the year. Our ESRD team has grown, we have had the opportunity to engage with our FEA community in new and important ways, and we’ve continued to strengthen our relationships with many of our beloved StressCheck users through conference visits and in-person trainings. We’d like to take a moment to acknowledge some of the reasons we’re looking back fondly on 2023…

ESRD’s New Account Manager

Patrick Goulding joined ESRD back in June as our new Account Manager. Many of you have had the chance to meet or speak with him this year, but if you have not yet been introduced feel free to reach out and say hi anytime, he would be thrilled to hear from you!

Patrick comes to us with several years of technical experience in the CAE industry, primarily with a background in multibody dynamics and mechatronics, and received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of Illinois, Chicago. Patrick works remotely from his home office in Long Beach, CA, where he spends much of his time playing beach volleyball and repairing vintage turntables. If you’re looking for a turntable recommendation for your new stereo setup, he’s your guy.

Before Patrick was an engineer he devoted his career to the arts, co-founding a theatre company in Chicago and managing the day-to-day activities of a startup non-profit. From this experience, he learned the tremendous value of genuine and lasting business relationships. Patrick sees his role at ESRD as an opportunity to partner with talented engineers like yourself, help you to achieve your goals, and further his respect and admiration for those in the aerospace community.

• LinkedIn

Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn.

Blog Series Authored by ESRD Co-founder, Dr. Barna Szabó

Starting in October, Dr. Barna Szabó has authored weekly blog articles published to our ESRD Blog. These concise discussions address hot topics in engineering such as XAI, the misconceptions between Finite Element Modelling and Finite Element Analysis, and the importance of Simulation Governance for today’s engineering managers. We think that not only are these critical topics for our ESRD community to engage in, but that they are compelling insights into the fundamental values our software is built upon.

If you have not yet taken a look, we invite you to browse the currently published articles, choose your topic of interest, and share the discussion with others on your team. Dr. Szabó’s invites feedback and discussion, so feel free to reach out to us and to him with your thoughts and insights!

ASIP Conference 2023

We had a fantastic time attending the ASIP Conference this year and getting the chance to spend time with so many from our ESRD community! We look forward to it every year, because we get to catch up with so many of you and attend wonderful presentations demonstrating StressCheck in the ASIP industry.

Take a look at our recap of the 2023 ASIP Conference in Denver and we look forward to seeing many of you in Austin next year!

Looking Forward to 2024!

We’ve been working VERY hard on what we consider the most significant release of StressCheck in years, StressCheck v12.0! Our developers are in the very final stages of testing, making sure we deliver the highest quality analysis tool for you to use in 2024.

While we wait patiently for its debut, we want to make sure each of you know what to expect with the new functionalities, GUI updates, and overall improvements. Please schedule your demo of StressCheck v12.0 using the form below:

Wishing good tidings to you and your family!

On February 7, 2023 a 2-hour webinar titled “What’s New and Improved in StressCheck Professional” was provided by ESRD’s Brent Lancaster to a group of StressCheck enthusiasts. This webinar provided demonstrations of the “latest and greatest” enhancements in StressCheck v11.1, and a look toward future development activities happening in StressCheck v11.2. In case you missed it, the webinar slides and the webinar recording are now available!

Some highlights of the webinar included:

• Overview of recent features and enhancements already implemented in StressCheck Professional
• Demonstration of key features and enhancements available in StressCheck v11.1
• Overview of current development activities and future plans for StressCheck Professional
• Demonstration of key features and enhancements expected with the release of StressCheck v11.2
• Open discussion and Q&A

Many thanks to the StressCheck enthusiasts who attended the live webinar and subsequent Q&A session, as well as the StressCheck enthusiasts taking the time from their busy schedules to view the webinar recording.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns about StressCheck Professional and we’ll be happy to assist!

Clicking on the above link will redirect you to the original webinar post and will automatically scroll you to the webinar recordings section. For your viewing convenience the 2-hour webinar recording was edited into two parts, each approximately 57 minutes in length.

Clicking the above link will redirect you to the ESRD Resource Library where you may download a PDF of the PowerPoint slides presented during the webinar. Note: as the webinar slides are in PDF format, they do not included the video demonstrations. These demonstrations can be found individually at the following links (or viewed from the webinar recordings):

• StressCheck Tutorial: Automeshing Thin Regions with Pentas and Hexas via the Thin Section Method
• StressCheck Tutorial: Mixed (Hexa/Penta) Boundary Layer Automesh Refinement
• StressCheck Tutorial: Crack Front Automeshing with Mixed Mesh, Integration Layer and Grade Toward Ends Options
• StressCheck Tutorial: Parametric TLAP Scaling for Nonlinear Events

Interested in a StressCheck Training Course?

If you would like to learn more about mastering StressCheck via an instructor-led training course, virtual or on-site, please complete the form below and we will be happy to reach out to you at your earliest convenience.

Ivo Babuška, co-founder of ESRD, passed away on April 12, 2023 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

He earned his Ph.D. in civil engineering from the Technical University of Prague and his D.Sc in mathematics from the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Prior to his retirement from the University of Texas at Austin, he held the Robert B. Trull Chair in Engineering.

He made important contributions to the reliability of finite element methods, the development of a general framework for finite element error estimation, and the development of the p- and hp-versions of the finite element method.

Some of his contributions, such as the realization of exponential convergence rates, superconvergent extraction of stress intensity factors and high precision regional mapping procedures, were implemented in StressCheck.

He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the European Academy of Sciences, and the Engineering Academy of the Czech Republic.

Among his numerous awards and recognitions are five honorary doctorates, the George David Birkhoff Prize from the American Mathematical Society and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Congress Medal from the International Association on Computational Mechanics, the John von Neumann Medal from the U.S. Association for Computational Mechanics, the Bolzano Medal from the Czech Academy of Science and the Leroy P. Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement, American Mathematical Society. An asteroid, discovered in 1999, was officially named after him.

Ivo Babuška published more than 320 papers in refereed journals, more than 80 papers in conference proceedings, and eight books, most recently with Dr. Szabó for May 2021’s “Finite Element Analysis: Method, Verification and Validation, 2nd Edition“. He was invited speaker at major international conferences and member of numerous editorial boards for scientific journals.

We will miss his counsel, his unique insights and quick wit.

NAFEMS has named Simulation Governance a “Big Issue”. But what is it?

We hope you had Happy (and S.A.F.E.R.) Holidays! We look forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting back to work for you.

You may have heard of Simulation Governance, or may be familiar with the phrase. As we are heavily involved in the conceptualization and implementation of Simulation Governance standards and practice, we have developed a one-stop page that provides historical background, thought leadership and resources on this topic.

Learn how Simulation Governance was introduced, how it came to be one of the Big Issues of NAFEMS, and how ESRD’s leadership and other world-renowned simulation experts are using this powerful function for enhancing reliability of modern numerical simulation.

Learn More

By Dr. Barna Szabó, ESRD Co-Founder & Chairman

All major engineering organizations use numerical simulation in support of decisions pertaining to design and design certification. The question of how well numerical simulation is managed is being addressed by the various stakeholders with increasing urgency. It is now generally recognized that numerical simulation, properly managed, can be a major corporate asset but poorly managed, or not managed at all, can become a major corporate liability.

What Is Simulation Governance?

By its definition in Wikipedia: “Simulation governance is a managerial function concerned with assurance of reliability of information generated by numerical simulation. The term was introduced in 2011 [1] and specific technical requirements were addressed from the perspective of mechanical design in 2012 [2]. Its strategic importance was addressed in 2017 [3] [4]. At the 2017 NAFEMS World Congress in Stockholm simulation governance was identified as the first of eight “big issues” in numerical simulation.

Simulation governance is concerned with (a) selection and adoption of the best available simulation technology, (b) formulation of mathematical models, (c) management of experimental data, (d) data and solution verification procedures, and (e) revision of mathematical models in the light of new information collected from physical experiments and field observations [5].”

Why Is Simulation Governance Important?

To appreciate the fundamental importance of simulation governance, please consider the following scenarios.

Scenario #1

A senior executive (SE) of a Fortune 500 corporation, in charge of a multi-billion dollar program, came to suspect that something was very wrong with the way finite element modeling was being done. There were large discrepancies between the outcomes of physical tests and the outcomes predicted by engineer-analysts. This made it necessary to do more testing than originally planned, resulting in substantial delays and cost overruns.

Getting reliable and timely correlation between predicted and realized test results was particularly important because new materials were being introduced for which design rules had to be developed, yet the discrepancies between predicted and realized outcomes were substantial, to say the least.

The SE invited outside consultants to address his concerns. He also invited five senior engineers to the first meeting. These engineers were responsible for finite element modeling in one way or another. Each of them had impeccable academic credentials and decades of experience.

The consultants explained the difference between finite element modeling and numerical simulation. They conveyed (in as diplomatic a way as they could) that the erroneous predictions were caused by the now obsolete practice of finite element modeling which can produce reasonable results in structural calculations but is not suited for strength calculations.

The engineers were visibly upset by the suggestion that the method they have been using for years is now obsolete. Their strong opposition to any substantive change in current practices became obvious. What do you think the SE should do?

Scenario #2

Your corporation grew over time by acquisition. Each acquisition brought with it a corporate culture, engineering manuals, software, Excel-based calculations and the like. Just to see what would happen, you gave a problem to three engineer-analysts and you got three different answers. What do you think you should do?

Scenario #3

You feel overwhelmed by the number of software products used by your engineering staff. You would like to streamline the workflows and initiate a vendor-reduction program. Your senior engineers agree with your goals but do not agree on what streamlining means and what criteria should be used in the vendor-reduction program. What will you do?

Scenario #4

A flight-critical component of a rotorcraft is to be tested in a fatigue experiment. A finite element model predicted that the probability is 90% that failure will occur between 100 and 250 thousand cycles. The failure occurred at 80 thousand cycles. If you were the engineer in charge of the design, what would you do?

Scenario #5

Your organization decided to introduce a new type of composite material for which design rules are not yet available. You were assigned to set up a program for the development of design rules. Your senior analysts proposed three different ideas on how the failure criteria should be formulated. How will you decide which one to use?

Scenario #6

The cost of unscheduled maintenance is much higher than the cost of scheduled maintenance. You would like to justify postponing maintenance actions relating to safety critical components to scheduled times. How would you go about establishing guidelines?

Scenario #7 – The JSF Story

In 2011 and 2012, two high-ranking US military officials commented on the (costly) lessons learned from the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project. From JSF program chief Vice Admiral David Venlet (AOL Defense, 2011):

JSF’s build and test was a miscalculation…. Fatigue testing and analysis are turning up so many potential cracks and hot spots in the Joint Strike Fighter’s airframe that the production rate of the F-35 should slowed further over the next few years… The cost burden sucks the wind out of your lungs.

And, from Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff (Defense News, 2012):

There was a view that we had advanced to a stage of aircraft design where we could design an airplane that would be near perfect the first time it flew. I think we actually believed that. And I think we’ve demonstrated in a compelling way that that’s foolishness.

What do you think should have been done differently? What steps did your organization take to avoid similar problems in the future?

Scenario #8

You asked your principal vendor of finite element analysis software; what tools are provided to support solution verification? The response was that the software had been tested against all NAFEMS benchmark problems and the correct solutions were obtained. Should you be satisfied with this answer? Have you communicated your technical requirements to your software vendors? Is solution verification among your technical requirements? – Should it be?

Planning For Simulation Governance

The concept of simulation governance is easily grasped, however formulation of a plan for simulation governance for a particular organization is not simple at all.

Recognizing that technology advances and the available information increases over time, planning must incorporate data management and systematic updates of simulation practices so as to take advantage of new data and technology.

The preservation and maintenance of corporate know-how and institutional knowledge are important objectives of simulation governance. The productivity of newly hired engineers rapidly increases if routine simulation procedures are standardized so that applications consistently produce certifiable results.

A plan for simulation governance has to be tailored to fit the mission of each organization or department within an organization:

• If the mission is application of existing design rules, then the goal should be:
  • Standardize recurring numerical simulation procedures through the creation of smart applications. Smart applications, also called “simulation apps” are expert-designed, in such a way that the use of those applications does not require expertise in numerical simulation.
  • Economic benefits: Improved productivity and improved reliability.
• If the mission is formulation of design rules, then the plan should focus on:
  • Collection, maintenance and documentation of experimental data.
  • Management of solution and data verification procedures.
  • Revision and updating mathematical models in the light of new information collected from physical experiments and field observation.
  • Economic benefits: Substantial savings through optimization of design and certification procedures.
• If the mission is to support condition-based maintenance (CBM), then the main activities are:
  • Collection, maintenance and documentation of field data.
  • Update calibration records based on unit-specific information.
  • Standardize recurring analysis tasks.
  • Economic benefits: Substantial savings through improved disposition decisions.

Implementation

The first and perhaps the most challenging problem is to overcome widespread misunderstanding of what numerical simulation is. Most managers and many individuals who present themselves as experts in numerical simulation confuse numerical simulation with “finite element modeling” or “numerical modeling “. Those are outdated concepts, responsible for much of the disappointing results.

Existing simulation and data management practices have to be reviewed and evaluated in terms of efficiency and reliability. When a need for change is identified, a business case and consensus among the stakeholders have to be developed.

Metrics that measure the economic value of numerical simulation have to be established.

References

[1] Szabó B. and Actis R. Simulation governance: New technical requirements for software tools in computational solid mechanics. International Workshop on Verification and Validation in Computational Science University of Notre Dame 17-19 October 2011.
[2] Szabó B. and Actis R. Simulation governance: Technical requirements for mechanical design. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 249-252 158-168, 2012.
[3] Meintjes J. Simulation Governance: Managing Simulation as a Strategic Capability. NAFEMS Benchmark Magazine, January 2015.
[4] Imbert J-F. Simulation Governance – Building confidence, a key dimension of simulation strategy. NAFEMS World Congress NWC15 San Diego, June 2015.
[5] Oberkampf WL and Pilch M, Simulation Verification and Validation for Managers. NAFEMS, 2017. ISBN 978-1-910643-33-4.

Request a Simulation Governance Briefing

Would you like to request a Simulation Governance briefing with our team of experts? Complete the form below and we’ll be happy to reach out with more information:

As we continue to adapt to a mix of remote and in-office work, we hope that this past year you found our software products, customer support, training options/courses, “StressCheck Tip of the Week” posts, and e-Learning resources to be helpful and accommodating. We certainly couldn’t do it without your valuable feedback and contributions! We are committed to supporting your current and future engineering endeavors and look forward to what the future holds in 2023.

In 2022, we re-designed StressCheck’s documentation to include online and offline versions, attended ASIP 2022 as exhibitors and presenters, released StressCheck v11.1 (our best release yet!), and made numerous additions to our resource library to aid in a more efficient and enjoyable StressCheck onboarding process. The following are a few highlights that we’d like to share from this past year.

ASIP Conference 2022 Impressions…

In late November 2022, ESRD exhibited at the ASIP Conference and enjoyed re-connecting with StressCheck users, industry colleagues and our partners Hill Engineering (BAMpF 3D fatigue crack growth software developers) and LexTech (AFGROW developers). We also provided a training course and conference paper on the modeling and analysis of bonded doubler repairs.

Read more about our conference proceedings here.

StressCheck v11.1 Released…

We were pleased to release StressCheck v11.1 in late July 2022, made possible by the dedication and hard work of our development and QA teams. This release was packed with new features and enhancements in the areas of automatic meshing, fracture mechanics and global-local applications:

For a quick recap of the highlights in StressCheck v11.1 view the following short video:

Does your organization have an active StressCheck SM&TS contract but hasn’t yet upgraded to StressCheck v11.1? Contact us to get started with the upgrade!

Live Webinar Coming Soon…

On February 7th, 2023, we are planning for a live webinar to review what’s new and improved with the release of StressCheck v11.1, as well as preview the new features and enhancements under development for StressCheck v11.2 (targeted for release in Summer 2023).

Some highlights of features under development include (but are not limited to):

• Mesh seeding to guide the Automesh by automatically using pre-existing node locations.
• Upgraded toolbar icons for a clear and improved user experience.
• New option to select the toolbar icons between 16×16 (default), 20×20 and 24×24 pixels size.
• Movable Min/Max labels for Results plotting and extractions.
• A Dependencies button on the Parameter pane which lists all dependencies on the selected parameter.
• Column sorting and filtering for Parameters pane table including “Go To” to search for parameters.
• Predictive text on input fields has been implemented for parameter and formula names.
• Enhanced Index controls for filtering and sorting Geometry and Mesh object lists. including “Go To ID…” to access a specific ID.
• Improved visualization of Selected status on dropdown lists containing assignment/set records.
• Overhauled the Display Objects pane to support selective number ranges and additional object types.
• Re-designed color definitions pane.
• A list of object IDs belonging to a set “Contents:” and a list of objects that reference the set “Used By:” are now displayed when selecting a record on the Sets page.
• Improved consistency of DeLast/Undo functionality

Pre-register for the “What’s New and Improved in StressCheck” webinar by completing the form below:

Wishing for Good Tidings and Good Health

Finally, we’d like to wish all of our customers, partners and friends Happy/Safe Holidays and a Happier/Healthier 2023!

Keep up with the latest from ESRD by subscribing to our newsletter:

ESRD is pleased to announce that we’ve officially released StressCheck v11.1. With the release of StressCheck v11.1, we have made tremendous improvements to model rendering, load arrow drawing and load record updating performances to provide the user with maximum efficiency. This release also provides new mixed element meshing functionality in the Crack Front and Boundary Layer methods as well as the all-new Thin Section method, which allow the user to utilize pentahedral and hexahedral elements together with a traditional all-tetrahedral automesh. These improved, high-quality meshes can provide the user more accurate results with less computational cost, especially for fracture and contact problems.

Mixed meshing, integration layer and grade toward ends options in the enhanced Crack Front automesh method

Symmetric thru-crack mode I SIF’s for different Crack Front automeshing options (tetra only, mixed, mixed + graded)

StressCheck v11.1 also boasts improvements for Global-Local analysis in the form of TLAP scaling parameters and improved GUI options for point load/constraint rendering, as well as updates to the COM API functionality and the StressCheck Offline Documentation.

Key Features and Enhancements in StressCheck v11.1

StressCheck v11.1 includes the following key features and enhancements since the release of StressCheck v11.0 Update 1 in June 2021:

• General GUI Tune-ups for Improving the User Experience
• Performance Improvements for Model Rendering & Load Display/Updating
• New Thin Section Automesh Method with Penta or Hexa-Dominant Option
• Boundary Layer Automesh Method Now with Mixed Mesh (Hexa/Penta/Tetra) and Shrink-To-Fit/Trim-to-Fit Options
• Crack Front Automesh Method Now with Curvature D/H, Mixed Mesh, Integration Layer, and Grade Toward Ends Options
• New Global-Local Features for Load Scaling/Reversal
• Improvements to COM API Functionality and Online Documentation
• New Getting Started and Offline Documentation Available in Help Menu
• Upgrades to Spatial Interop and MeshSim Libraries

Watch the StressCheck v11.1 Demo

Watch this short video for a demonstration of some of the new features and enhancements available in StressCheck v11.1:

Learn More About StressCheck v11.1

Scroll through the below PDF to view detailed descriptions of the new StressCheck v11.1 features and enhancements:

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Download StressCheck v11.1

Download the StressCheck v11.1 MSI from our StressCheck software download page (Software Downloader membership is required):

Note: StressCheck v11.1 may be installed concurrently with StressCheck v10.x. Installing StressCheck v11.1 will automatically uninstall StressCheck v11.0.

Note: StressCheck v11.1 requires a license upgrade so if you have not already received it from the ESRD support team, please contact support@esrd.com or fill out our Request for ESRD Support form to request your license upgrade.

ESRD is pleased to announce that we’ve released StressCheck Professional v11 Update 1. In addition to all the improvements introduced with the release of StressCheck v11, in Update 1 we have optimized the Solve and Results panes for maximum efficiency and improved user flow. Each solver tab now contains all the appropriate solver inputs, user-defined solution settings, and commands to seamlessly perform the desired analysis. Similarly, all extraction settings are automatically labeled and available directly on each tab.

StressCheck v11 Update 1 includes the following key features and enhancements since the release of StressCheck v11 in December 2020:

• General GUI Cleanup, Tune-ups, Optimizations & Fixes
• Optimized Solve and Results Panes for Improved User Flow
• Dockable Panes Extended to Display Objects, View Controls, & More
• New Feature for Exporting & Importing Solution and/or Extracting Settings
• Significantly Improved Accuracy of Mesh Region Assignments
• Offline Documentation Now Available

Watch the StressCheck v11 Update 1 Demo

Watch this short video for a demonstration of some of the new features and enhancements available in StressCheck v11 Update 1:

Learn More About StressCheck v11 Update 1

Scroll through the below PDF to view detailed descriptions of the new StressCheck v11 Update 1 features and enhancements:

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Download StressCheck v11 Update 1

Download the StressCheck v11 Update 1 MSI from our StressCheck software download page (Software Downloader membership is required):

Note: StressCheck v11 Update 1 may be installed concurrently with StressCheck v10.x. Installing StressCheck v11 Update 1 will automatically uninstall StressCheck v11. StressCheck v11 Update 1 does not require a license upgrade if StressCheck v11 licenses are already installed.

Last week, ESRD wrote a guest contribution for Altair’s Innovation Intelligence blog titled “Hyper-Fidelity Structural Analysis for S.A.F.E.R. Numerical Simulation in the Aerospace Industry“.  Thanks to Altair for their collaboration and support of S.A.F.E.R. Simulation.

This guest contribution was intended to compliment and preview Altair’s October 17th ESRD use case webinar (don’t worry if you missed this webinar, the recording is already available).

Here’s an excerpt from the Innovation Intelligence blog article:

Across the engineering community there is much discussion about the democratization of simulation; meaning the reliable use of numerical simulation by non-simulation experts who may be design engineers, new analysts, or occasional users. The hope is that much of the complexity, time, and risk of performing FEA can be wrung out of simulation in a way that finally allows simulation-driven design to be led by design engineers. Indeed democratization has great potential in the A&D industry to compress the product development lifecycle, but is it realistic? The answer few may want to hear is that this will not be easy to accomplish using legacy FEA technologies, methodologies, and software tools.

The key takeaways are as follows:

• The pressure on engineering organizations to support the increasing complexity, higher performance, shorter design cycles, and longer life expectancy of products they produce and maintain is relentless.
• Legacy computational methodologies, software tools, and simulation processes that have been used for years to perform FEA are slow to master, precarious to use, and unreliable in the hands of the non-expert or infrequent user. Sources of errors are numerous and results are often dependent on the user, model, mesh, and software.
• There is unfortunately a reluctance by some managers and team leaders to support the performance of more computationally-based 3D detail stress analysis due to the perceived time and complexity involved, especially when compared to relying on handbook solutions, design curves, closed form approximations, homegrown spreadsheets, higher margins of safety, or ultimately more time for physical prototyping and testing.
• A different approach to numerical simulation has been developed and commercialized by APA partner ESRD which takes much of the art and craft out of finite element modelling.
• The result is that the performance of structural analysis is more simple, accurate, fast, efficient, and reliable for both the frequent expert and only occasional user (S.A.F.E.R.).

Thoughts? Feedback? Leave us a comment!