Finite Element Analysis of Plate and Shell Structures in Python
An analysis pipeline for thick and thin plate and shell structures, a roadmap from theory to toolbox
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- You will understand how the Reissner-Mindlin formulation enables us to accurately capture both thin and thick plate and shell behaviour, and the key advantages it offers over Kirchhoff plate theory.
- You will understand how to turn your understanding of the fundamental mechanics of plate behaviour into a custom finite element solver written in Python.
- You will have developed versatile and powerful meshing workflows that utilise Blender and the powerful open-source meshing engine, Gmesh, to create meshes to feed into your solver.
- In addition to using your own custom finite element code, you will be comfortable validating your results using OpenSeesPy and Pynite, two of the most widely used open-source finite element analysis libraries
Analytical techniques are great for modelling the simplified behaviour of plate and shell structures, but we quickly run into their limitations when we stray beyond the limiting geometry or assumptions that the models are built upon.
Analytical modelling of a hyperboloid shell using thin plate membrane theory.
This is where finite element modelling comes into its own. In this course, we’ll cover the finite element modelling of plate and shell structures by building our own solver based on the incredibly versatile Reissner-Mindlin theory. This approach will allow us to model both thick and thin plate and shell elements, resulting in an extremely versatile and accurate analysis pipeline.
Finite element analysis of a hyperboloid capturing both membrane and bending behaviour and not limited by thin plate theory assumptions.
Building your own solver will give you a much deeper understanding of the underlying theory. That said, we’ll also cover how to implement the same solutions using OpenSeesPy and Pynite - two free and open-source Python libraries.
To complete our modelling and analysis toolset, we’ll also cover mesh generation using vertex modelling in Blender and a more procedural and powerful workflow that uses GMSH, another incredibly powerful open-source meshing library.
Once you’ve completed this course, you’ll have a complete workflow for the analysis of plate and shell structures, backed by a fundamental understanding of the Reissner-Mindlin theory that powers it all!
EngineeringSkills members will get access to each course section as it's finished and released. Non-members will be able to enroll on completion of the full course. Sign up above to get notified when it goes live for all users.
In the meantime, consider enrolling in Finite Element Analysis of Continuum Structures in Python. Much of what we do in this plates and shells course will be a development on material we've already covered in Finite Element Analysis of Continuum Structures in Python.
Who is this course for?
- Engineers and student engineers that want to build a deeper understanding of the mechanics of plate and shell structures.
- Engineers that want to leverage the power of Python and in particular open-source tools for complex structural analysis.
- Anyone who has completed Finite Element Analysis of Continuum Structures in Python and wants to expand on what was covered in that course.
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