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FEA question: Hydrostatic pressure

11 REPLIES 11
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Message 1 of 12
whunter
5196 Views, 11 Replies

FEA question: Hydrostatic pressure

Hi all -- If I enter the Stress Analysis Environment in 2012, I can apply pressures to surfaces, but what if the pressure varies (eg, with height as it does in a tank holding a fluid). Is it possible to apply a variable pressure to a surface with Inventor's FEA? It doesn't seem like it, I also searched this forum and the net, couldn't find anything. Usually one can enter an equation, that also doesn't work. Thanks, William
11 REPLIES 11
Message 2 of 12
henderh
in reply to: whunter

Hi William,

 

  The current workaround is the split the tank face into horizontal bands.  Then, you can apply a specific pressure to each face.

 

Pressure = density * gravitational acceleration * depth (P= rho * g * delta_h)

 

  Calculate the depth at the centriod of the split face band.  (In this case, we can neglect the atmospheric pressure since it acts on the outside of the vessel as well as on free surface of the liquid).

 

  The easy way to do this is to create a parameter where you enter the depth and it calculates the 'depth pressure' for you.

 

  I've attached an example.

 

Please let us know if you have any additional questions, comments or suggestions.

 

Best regards, -Hugh

hydrostatic_pressure_parameters_setup.png



Hugh Henderson
QA Engineer (Fusion Simulation)
Message 3 of 12
whunter
in reply to: henderh

Hi Hugh -- I was hoping there was a more elegant workaround, but that'll have to do for now. Are there any plans to include equation input for loads/pressures in a future release? William
Message 4 of 12
henderh
in reply to: whunter

Hi William,

 

  Although this functionality has been requested before, I couldn't find where we tracked it in our internal database.  I've created wishlist item 1453114 for it.

 

Thank you for your time in bringing this to our attention.

 

Best regards, -Hugh

  



Hugh Henderson
QA Engineer (Fusion Simulation)
Message 5 of 12
bPreves
in reply to: henderh

Hi,

 

This forum is from 2012. It is now 2015, has any progress been made with incorporating hydrostatic testing into Inventor? Any actual plans? More than just a wish list?

 

This seems to be a very basic function to me, and having recently switched software from Solidworks, it is daunting to think that I am unable to do linearly districuted forces or pressures, as these are a very common and valuable tool in stess analysis. I used all the time when designing in Solidworks.

 

 

Message 6 of 12
JDMather
in reply to: bPreves

I am sure you had to purchase some upgrade level of SWx to have the Hydrostatic Analysis add-in

SWx Add-ins.png

 

Similarly,

 

Autodesk has purchased several analysis softwares over the years, including -

Moldflow

PlassoTech

Algor

Blue Ridge Numerics

Firehole

NEi NASTRAN

 

as this would be a limited use functionality not used by all Inventor users, you will probably have to purchase as a separate app.

I recommend that you consult with your VAR for the best Autodesk app for your needs.


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Message 7 of 12
blair
in reply to: JDMather

Or look at Autodesk's Simulation Mechanical (formerly Algor), it does Hydrostatic.


Inventor 2020, In-Cad, Simulation Mechanical

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Message 8 of 12
bPreves
in reply to: JDMather

I did have the Solidworks Premium version. It had nothing to do with Hydrostatic analysis, simply a "gradient feature" incorporated into the force or pressure function that allowed you to vary it linearly, exponentially, etc in any direction. This allowed you to simulate many real life situations, such as hydrostatic analysis, bolt tension simulation, and many others.

 

Since I have Inventor Professional, and it includes Simulation, I figured there would be a similar expectation to provide these type of real life situations, not just refer your customers to buy more software when it can't do its job. 

Message 9 of 12
blair
in reply to: bPreves

I guess at some point you wonder how many features from advanced analysis software will migrate down to Inventor before there is no need for the advanced software.

 

For a long time there was no FEA in Inventor. Then they added the ability to FEA on a single part. Then the ability to transfer loads in an assemble to a single part, then run the FEA on the single part. Then they added the ability to do FEA on the complete assembly. Later on they added Dynamic Simulation to Inventor.

 

At some point they will no longer need to have Simulation Mechanical, or many customers will be dumping their Sim-Mech. It would be nice if ADSK incorporated all the features that I use in Sim-Met into Inventor. Then we wouldn't have any need for Sim-Mech along with the subscription costs associated with Sim-Mech.

 

Since ADSK is a public traded company that requires profits to keep the stock holders/share-holders happy, revenue streams must come from somewhere. Possibly they might add additional levels of Inventor with different levels of FEA features.


Inventor 2020, In-Cad, Simulation Mechanical

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Message 10 of 12
bPreves
in reply to: blair

Those are all fair points, I will have to look into Sim-Mech.

 

Cheers!

Message 11 of 12
w.eger
in reply to: blair

This feature has been available in SolidWorks for a long time.
I also find this a pain in the ___ to deal with.
Sometime you have to offer more features just because your competition offers it.
Message 12 of 12
RobABerger
in reply to: w.eger

I have used both SW and Inventor. Not sure whether Inventor 2016 has added this functionality, but it is true that SW has had linearly varying pressure available out of the box for a long time, and I was stymied to discover this was not available in Inventor.

 

But...I've been able to easily evaluate some designs in Inventor where I finally gave up trying with SW.  So trade-offs as usual.

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