One of the pain points when it comes to implementing your own solvers is coming up with the geometry that defines your structure. Fortunately, we have access to an amazing open-source modelling tool that fits seamlessly into our workflow - Blender.
In this section, we’ll use Blender and demonstrate how you can use it to generate and export the data that fully defines your structure. If you’re not familiar with Blender, I’ve included an appendix section at the end of the course that will get you up and running with the software.
In addition to manual modelling, in this section, we’ll also introduce some of Blender’s extended functionality - in particular, its cloth simulation tools. Blender has an extensive physics engine, and we can use this as a form-finding tool to generate the initial geometry of our cables. On larger, more complex structures, this is going to be a huge time saver.
At the end of this section, you will have a better understanding of just how useful Blender can be to you as an Engineer and you’ll have a good understanding of how to harness its potential.
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Non-linear Finite Element Analysis of 2D Catenary & Cable Structures using Python
Build an iterative solution toolbox to analyse structures that exhibit geometric non-linearity due to large deflections.
After completing this course...
- You will understand the concept of geometric non-linearity and when it should be considered.
- You will understand how to modify the axially loaded element stiffness matrix to account for large deflections and changes in geometry.
- You will have implemented a Newton-Raphson iterative solution algorithm that seeks to converge on the deformed state of the structure.
- You will have a workflow that leverages open-source modelling tools in Blender to quickly generate the initial structural geometry.