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.

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.

On February 12, 2020 a webinar on tips & resources for enhancing our users’ StressCheck Professional knowledge, titled “Mastering StressCheck: Practical Training Approaches & Online Resources for A&D Engineers”, was provided by ESRD’s Brent Lancaster. Thanks to all who attended! In case you missed it, the webinar slides and on-demand recording are now available.

Keys to mastering StressCheck Professional are explored.

In this user-oriented webinar, we discussed the latest StressCheck training options for Aerospace & Defense (A&D) engineering analysts, how to improve your mastery of StressCheck via the Getting Started page, software FAQ’s, on-demand video tutorials & best practices in the ESRD Resource Library, and why investing in StressCheck for detail analyses is well worth your time. We also provided a live demo of a sample Introduction to StressCheck training course topic (“Tips for Practical StressCheck Usage”).

Here was the webinar agenda:

• The “Nuts & Bolts” of ESRD’s StressCheck.
  • Typical Aerospace & Defense (A&D) engineering applications solved by StressCheck.
• Why get StressCheck training?
  • StressCheck training topics and options.
• Introduction to StressCheck training course preview.
  • Tips for Practical StressCheck Usage.
• Accessing & navigating StressCheck resources:
  • Getting Started with StressCheck.
  • FAQ Articles.
  • ESRD Resource Library and on-demand video tutorials.

View Webinar Recording

Click the button below to view the 1 hour 20 minute webinar recording (scroll to the bottom of the webinar landing page to find the videos):

View Recording

View Webinar Slides

Click the button below to view the webinar slides (PowerPoint Show):

View Slides

Want to Set Up an Instructor-Led Training?

Click the below button to get a quote for an on-site, off-site or web-based training course:

Request Training

StressCheck User Experience Survey v2.0

If you have not already, please take a few minutes to give us some feedback about how you use, or would like to use, StressCheck Professional. Your answers are very valuable to us!

After completing the survey, you will automatically be entered into a random drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card:

Take the Survey

In February 2020, ESRD presented a webinar titled “Mastering StressCheck: Practical Training Approaches & Online Resources for A&D Engineers” in order to provide a roadmap for success in StressCheck Professional.

With the release of StressCheck v11 in December 2020, ESRD unveiled a significantly improved user interface experience, a voluminous online documentation portal, and a re-written Getting Started Guide with a companion video tutorial. In addition, we’ve revamped our Getting Started page, with helpful links for member registration, licensing & installation, the basics of StressCheck usage, and other key links & resources. In short, it’s never been easier to learn StressCheck!

Below are a few tips and links to help you become more acquainted with StressCheck Professional and its latest features. Note: Customer-level membership may be required to access certain e-Learning resources. Not yet a customer? Contact us to get started with a trial evaluation or request pricing information.

New Tutorials to Boost StressCheck v11 Proficiency

To better explore the new features and enhancements in StressCheck v11, we have recently published a variety of video demos and tutorials to the ESRD Resource Library. Click any of the below links to view the latest StressCheck demos and tutorials:

• StressCheck Demo: What’s New in StressCheck v11
• StressCheck Tutorial: v11 GUI Improvements Overview
• StressCheck Tutorial: Getting Started Guide
• StressCheck Tutorial: Automeshing Controls and Refinement Guidelines (Customer-level login required)
• StressCheck Tutorial: Crack Front Automeshing/Auto Integration Radius Features (Customer-level login required)
• StressCheck Tutorial: Multi-Body Contact Solver Options/Plot Functions (Customer-level login required)

As of this post, 150+ StressCheck tutorials and demos have been uploaded to the ESRD Resource Library, with more coming soon! To view the full list of tutorials and demos, click the button below:

View All Videos

Introducing the StressCheck e-Learning Video Showcase

To shorten the learning curve for new (and rusty!) StressCheck users, we have curated and published a suite of 20+ e-Learning videos (Customer-level login is required). This approximately 4-hour e-Learning video collection provides an introduction to the technology and usage of StressCheck Professional, with selected presentations, tutorials, demos and practical applications.

The following introductory topics are covered in the e-Learning showcase:

• Why Use StressCheck?
• StressCheck GUI Overview
• Object Selection & Visualization
• Parametric Modeling
• Automeshing Tips & Tricks
• Traction & Bearing Loads
• Material Property Definition & Assignment
• 2D & 3D Stress Concentration Factors
• Multi-Body Contact Setup & Analysis
• Global-Local Analysis Methods, Tips & Tricks

The following is a short video on how to use the e-Learning showcase to gain proficiency in StressCheck Professional within a matter of several hours:

To view the e-Learning video showcase, click the button below:

View the e-Learning Showcase

Note: the e-Learning showcase is not a substitute for an instructor-led basic training course, it provides enough guidance and examples to get you comfortable with the software. To schedule a web-based training course with an ESRD instructor, contact ESRD Training.

Browse the StressCheck Online Documentation

The static documentation associated with previous StressCheck installations (Master Guide) has been replaced by a dynamic, responsive and media-rich documentation portal.

This searchable, user-friendly resource is available to registered customers, and is populated with helpful feature descriptions, relevant graphics, examples, links, embedded video demos and more! The documentation is regularly updated to ensure our customers have the latest content.

Check out the StressCheck online documentation by clicking the button below (Customer-level login required to view articles):

View the Documentation

Note: a PDF of the StressCheck v10.5 Master Guide is included in the StressCheck v11 installation, and may also be accessed here.

We would like to thank NAFEMS for allowing us to co-sponsor, exhibit and present at the NAFEMS 2017 Aerospace Simulation Engineering conference in Wichita, KS on November 8th.  It was a pleasure to meet the other vendors, co-sponsors, attendees and NAFEMS community.

ESRD’s President and CEO Dr. Ricardo Actis presented on how Simulation Governance is a requirement for Democratization of Simulation, and ESRD Project Engineer Mr. Eric Buettmann presented on improving global-local simulation workflows for detailed Aerospace Simulation Engineering.  Both presentations spent time addressing several Big Issues in the Aerospace & Defense industry.

These presentations are now available to download from our ESRD Resource Library:

• The Role of Simulation Governance in the Democratization of Simulation Through Sim Apps in the A&D Industry.
• Improving Global-Local Simulation Workflows for High-Fidelity Stress and Damage Tolerance Analysis.

Reminder: ESRD will be attending and exhibiting at ASIP 2017 next week.  We hope to see you there!

ESRD’s Matt Watkins (left) talks to an ASIP 2017 attendee.

This past week at ASIP 2017, ESRD provided a training course titled “How to use the Crack Propagation Analysis Tool for 3D Crack Simulation”, presented a track presentation titled “Pros and Cons of 3D Crack Growth Simulation using Finite Elements” and exhibited at our booth (above image).

We enjoyed meeting many of the attendees, connecting with our customers and colleagues, and sharing our perspective on DaDT analysis with the ASIP community. Thanks to those that stopped by to say hello, and attend the training.

You can view Mr. Watkins’ ASIP training presentation here: Crack Propagation Analysis Tool for 3D Crack Simulation: A Simulation App Case Study

You can view Mr. Watkins’ ASIP track presentation here: Pros and Cons of 3D Crack Growth Simulation using Finite Elements

Upcoming Webinar…

Don’t forget to sign up for our December 14th webinar “High-Fidelity Stress Analysis for S.A.F.E.R. Structural Simulation“:

Extraction of minimum principal stresses for the aircraft keel section case study. Digital Engineering case study results (bottom right) compared well with StressCheck’s live dynamic extractions (bottom left, images courtesy of Digital Engineering/ESRD).

Introductory Remarks

In recent years, Digital Engineering began publishing articles on practical engineering simulation case studies, walk-thrus and software overviews for a variety of FEA software tools. In each article, FETraining developer and NAFEMS FEA training instructor Tony Abbey selected a commercially-available FEA software tool to analyze a mechanical component under various loads and constraints, and provided commentary, tips, tricks and process workflow of how he arrived at the results. His goal for each article was to focus on general instruction and best practices for FEA rather than in the particular FEA tool used for solving the problem.

With the consent of Mr. Abbey, ESRD selected four (4) case studies from his list of Digital Engineering simulation articles and were provided the geometric description, material properties and boundary conditions to solve these problems in StressCheck Professional.

For comparative and instructional purposes, ESRD then recorded and published video demonstrations of the modeling, solution and live dynamic results extractions of each case study to our Resource Library.

Note: while these were not “blind” case studies (the Digital Engineering case study results were known in advance), the video demonstrations show the unaltered, associated StressCheck process workflow, with solution verification provided for each result to ensure that the approximation error is sufficiently small.

Case Studies in Detailed Stress Analysis

Case Study #1: “Stress in Finite Element Analysis”, Digital Engineering May 2016

Cross brace structure showing constraint and loading set up (image courtesy of Digital Engineering).

In this particular case study, Mr. Abbey’s focus was to examine detailed cross-sectional stresses for a 3D solid cross brace geometry under off-axis loading. This involved defining multiple “zones” for extracting stresses, for a multitude of stress components and local system directions:

Zones of interest A through E and the SX stress distribution (image courtesy of Digital Engineering).

The following video demonstrates how StressCheck was used to reproduce the 3D detailed cross brace analysis and how cross-sectional lines were added after the solution for mesh-independent, curve-based stress gradient extractions. It is shown that StressCheck’s live, dynamic extractions compared favorably with Digital Engineering’s zone-based detailed stress results:

Case Study #2: “Dealing with Stress Concentrations and Singularities”, May 2017

Geometry and mesh of filleted model (image courtesy of Digital Engineering).

For this case study, Mr. Abbey discussed the influence of stress singularities on the FEA solution, and why it is important to model radii and fillets in regions of interest for more accurate stresses if a subsequent fatigue analysis is the goal. He studied the convergence of the stresses in a shoulder fillet geometry by increasing the mesh refinement until the difference in his results was small:

Stress distributions for the filleted model (image courtesy of Digital Engineering).

The following video demonstrates how the 3D shoulder fillet detailed stress analysis was performed in StressCheck, including the steps required to show convergence in the peak stresses. The results were nearly identical with Digital Engineering’s computed peak stress of 65.6 ksi:

Case Study #3: “Siemens FEMAP with NX NASTRAN Overview”, March 2018

Initial imported geometry and cut-out region (image courtesy of Digital Engineering).

For this case study, Mr. Abbey utilized Siemens FEMAP with NX NASTRAN to model and solve a 3D solid tie rod under axial loading. He also recorded videos for how to perform the pre-processing, solution and post-processing and deployed them on his website, FETraining.net.

Below are the von Mises stress contours from the NX NASTRAN results, with an unaveraged peak von Mises stress of ~43.6 ksi:

von Mises stresses (image courtesy of Digital Engineering).

The following video demonstrates how the full 3D tie rod geometry is imported into StressCheck, modified to remove all solid material outside of the cut-out region, automeshed with curved tetra elements, assigned the appropriate boundary conditions and solved with a p-extension process to increase degrees of freedom (DOF) on the fixed mesh.

Then, the converged peak von Mises stress was computed from the hierarchic sequence of linear solutions via a live dynamic extraction request and was observed to compare closely to Digital Engineering’s refined mesh NX NASTRAN result:

Case Study #4: “SOLIDWORKS Simulation Overview”, July 2018

Applied loads and boundary conditions (image courtesy of Tony Abbey/Digital Engineering).

For this case study, Mr. Abbey utilized SOLIDWORKS from Dassault Systèmes to analyze a 3D solid aircraft keel section, in which several load cases (vertical and lateral loads) were applied to the structure’s attachment points via sinusoidal bearing distributions. From Mr. Abbey about the origin of this aircraft keel section structure:

The keel section is on the lower centerline of a combat aircraft fuselage. It transmits undercarriage loads into the fuselage. It also provides a load path through the lower fuselage section in overall bending and torsion loading due to maneuvers. The geometry has been created in SOLIDWORKS. Many of the smaller fillet radii have been defeatured in preparation.

Of interest were the peak von Mises stresses and minimum principal stresses in the left-hand end upper fillet radii (38.46 ksi and ~-37.5 ksi, respectively):

Von Mises stress distribution in the left-hand end upper fillet regions (image courtesy of Digital Engineering).

Minimum principal stress, P3, plotted around the left-hand end upper fillet (image courtesy of Digital Engineering).

The following video demonstrates how the 3D solid aircraft keel section was imported in StressCheck as a Parasolid and analyzed for detailed stresses in the left-hand end upper fillet regions for the vertical/lateral load cases and end abuttment/bolt radial constraints. The end abuttments were represented by symmetry constraints, and the bolt radial by stiff normal springs. The vertical and lateral load cases would be represented by sinusoidal bearing load distributions applied to the lug holes.

Again, the solution was obtained by increasing the polynomial order of the approximation functions on the fixed mesh, and the solutions for each load case were available for live dynamic processing.

It can be observed that the peak von Mises stress in the left-hand end upper fillet radii converges tightly to a value similar to that produced in Digital Engineering’s results, and the live dynamic principal stress gradient extractions were also quite similar in nature to those produced by Mr. Abbey in SOLIDWORKS probes:

Case Study Summary and a Note on Benchmarking

Many thanks to Mr. Abbey, FETraining.net and Digital Engineering for providing the model files to ESRD. The outcome of these case studies reinforce that only with careful engineering analysis methodologies, appropriate modeling assumptions, and tight control of approximation errors is meaningful to perform comparisons of stress results produced by different analysts using different FEA software tools.

Also, as we highlighted in the above case studies, the practice of solution verification is especially important for any benchmarking, round-robin or other comparisons involving the computation of the results of interest by numerical means for a well-defined mathematical problem. Reporting results without objective measures of the size of the approximation errors does not meet the technical requirements of Simulation Governance.

Finally, if you are interested in results of published benchmark problems solved with StressCheck, check out our solutions to the Standard NAFEMS Benchmarks:

The Standard NAFEMS Benchmarks: Linear Elastic Tests

StressCheck Result for NAFEMS LE1: Plane Stress – Elliptic Membrane

To compliment and bolster our recent S.A.F.E.R. Simulation articles, and to provide the engineering analysis community quantifiable insight into the performance of our Numerical Simulation technology, verified StressCheck results for “The Standard NAFEMS Benchmarks” are now available for download in our Resource Library.

In the first volume of the StressCheck Benchmarks Guide, we focused on solving the Linear Elastic Test benchmarks referenced in “The Standard NAFEMS Benchmarks”, Rev. 3, October 1990.  In accordance with Simulation Governance rules, we ensured the benchmark’s target extraction converged before reporting our results or comparing with the NAFEMS benchmark reference.

You can download the first volume here:

View Benchmark Results

About Our Results

• ESRD defines a “Minimum Mesh” as the least-refined mesh required to achieve numerical convergence within 1% of the target extraction, and “Dense Mesh” as an overly-refined mesh relative to the “Minimum Mesh” to demonstrate that adding more elements produced insignificant changes in the target extraction.
• The discretization error was reported to be < 1% for all StressCheck results in all benchmark models.  This means that the results no longer changed significantly as the degrees of freedom were increased, thus providing solution verification in our results.
• The StressCheck results and the NAFEMS reference benchmark solutions differed by < 3% for all benchmarks.  Differences in results were justified in the notes for each problem.

Benchmark Suggestions/References?

Do you have a benchmark challenge for ESRD?  If you can provide a reference, and it is within our current capabilities, we will be happy to consider it for future publication!

This past year, ESRD’s Drs. Barna Szabó and Ricardo Actis collaborated with Naval Air Systems Command’s Mr. Dave Rusk on a technical paper titled “Fatigue Life Prediction of Flaw-Tolerant Damaged Rotorcraft Structures”.  This paper was presented at the American Helicopter Society Annual Forum 74 in Phoenix, Arizona May 14-17, 2018.

The presentation and paper report the work done by ESRD and NAVAIR under a SBIR program to develop an analytical approach to predicting the remaining useful fatigue life of metallic rotorcraft structural components with surface flaws.  Below is the paper’s abstract:

A phenomenological model has been developed to predict the remaining useful life of flaw-damaged Ti 6Al-4V Beta-STOA titanium and 7075-T73 aluminum rotorcraft components. The model extends the use of traditional notched fatigue analysis methods that were developed for machined notches, down to the scale of small surface flaws such as dents, dings, scratches, gouges and corrosion pits. The highly stressed volume in the vicinity of flaws is used for reference in the model calibration. This eliminates the requirement to define an equivalent notch root radius for an arbitrary flaw shape. Calibration of the model was performed using sets of dogbone fatigue coupons with embedded surface flaws. Validation of the model was performed using other sets of dogbone and double-edge notched tension (DENT) flawed coupon fatigue test data, under both constant amplitude and spectrum loading. Validation results have shown that the model provides reasonably accurate life predictions within the range of calibration of the model, when compared to a reference S-N working curve. The analytical capability demonstrated here has important implications for current life management practices of rotorcraft dynamic components. Fatigue life prediction of flaw damaged components is a key enabling technology for the application of Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) practices to rotor system structures.

The paper and presentation can be downloaded below:

Fatigue Life Prediction of Flaw-Tolerant Damaged Rotorcraft Structures