FEA

G'day. I have been trialling this program 'LISA' **LINK** to investigate wing spars for model aircraft prior to machining the moulds for some carbon fibre/epoxy prototypes (Warren Truss inter-spar webs).

The 1300 node limit for the free version is very useful. Although the modulus for my home baked composite laminates is a guesstimate, the stress analysis diagrams show where materials may be usefully deployed for maximum efficiency.

Could be useful for other projects such hot air engines (beams).

To put this in simpler terms, the program graphically illustrates where stress is concentrated.

It 'apparently' has an interface to CAD programs but I have not reached this stage yet.

Anyway, just thought that this one could be of interest.

* Danny M *

Without wishing to sound like a Fusion 360 evangelist, FEA comes free with (free) Fusion 360. In this case it's recognisably the same FEA that is part of Inventor.

Solidworks and Solid Edge also include a similar FEA but obviously they aren't free.

In each case you can go for static or nodal (resonances etc). You place the constraints (fixed features) and the applied forces, then run the analysis and then display the resulting stress, strain or displacement.

Here's one I did before Xmas on a bracket. I didn't finish the exercise but as a first look it gave me an idea of how it would face up to worst case loading.

Murray