An Approach for Improving Correlation of Solid Finite Element Models

The quest to simulate noise problems has led to the building of larger and more detailed finite element models in order to perform vibration solutions to higher frequencies. This leads to the building of solid finite element models of complex geometries, such as castings, which might previously have contained less detail or even been built with shell elements. Unfortunately, detailed geometric representations used to build models do not always agree with as built parts and lead to discrepancies between analysis results and test data. This paper presents an approach that reduces the time and cost necessary to identify these differences.