L1-L3 – Structural Distillation/FEA/CFD – Detail Design Stage
Irrespective of Level, this is the stage to complete those last minute check and find errors, before we do when we mark it!
This is the final stage and your design is should be nearly complete. At this stage you’re refining the design and checking the finer detail. The embodiment stage should have given you a broad idea of the numbers you’re to experience and just how much refining the final model needs.
A well executed Embodiment Design stage means that this section should be quite straightforward. However, if you’ve drastically changed your layout in the last step then you will have more to do. This stage should simply be applying the same cases to the current model but with the final detail added, such as; fillets and radii, decisions on plate thicknesses, discreet changes in arm length in relation to torques etc. You should not be trying to devise entirely new load cases and Structural Distillations having rearranged it completey in the last step.
Take a moment to error check all forces, torques, moments, bending, tensions, compressions, velocities and temperatures that may act on it, using Free-Body Diagrams and other techniques you’ve used many times before. Based on these results you may still need to slightly modify the design and update it in accordance with the results. This is perfectly normal, it does not show weakness, but you should not be making drastic changes. Additionally it’s far better to realise those mistakes now before it gets too late.
Revisit the FOS and ensure you’re still working to it, it should however be etched on your brain by now! Use Equation 1 below.L2-L3, Remember;
1 – Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software is not guaranteed to be correct.
2 – Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software is not guaranteed to be correct.
3 – A computer is only as good as its operator’s inputs.
A result is only as reliable as the inputs; if the inputs have been incorrectly applied, it stands that the results are unreliable as well. Where possible, you should validate your simulations using Hand Calculations and/or physical testing. When your hand calculations match up with the result you see on screen, only then can you begin to trust the results. This is why you should concentrate on using Structural Distillation to evaluate your design before you even try running a simulation.
Figure 1 – Computer Simulation Flowchart
Following this stage of refinement, your product should be even closer to completion.
Back to Detail Design
Back to MAE Design Model
Selected References
http://www.autopartslib.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/range-rover-steering-system-components-parts-diagram.png