FEA versus Test - Round One!

​Introducing first.... from the red corner. weighing 260 pounds... with 76 wins, 68 by the way of knockout, and only 5 defeats, he is the former HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD…….....................

​“THE HITMAN” TEST RRRRRIIIIIIG!!!

Introducing second.... from the blue corner, weighing 203 pounds... with 56 wins, 37 by the way of knockout, and only 5 defeats, he is the HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD…………………………………. 

“MAGIC MAN” FEAAAAA!!!

 Here's some more information about these two athletes.

“The Hitman” Test Rig

The Hitman” Test Rig is built for damage and strikes a powerful figure. Like a tank in battle he mercilessly marches forward and few opponents want to take him head on. They know he has the sheer brute force to end the fight with a single punch.

​“Sure the fight was fixed. I fixed it with a right hand.” -  "Big" George Foreman on his fight with "Double M" Michael Moorer

When “The Hitman” Test Rig wins a fight, there is no split decision and no debate, his opponent is on the canvas and he's out for the count. 

To test in engineering is to seek closure, validate theories, calculations and simulations. Few people who see a test result will question it with the exception of the person who undertook the test. They know that there is considerable scatter in any test results. 

The greater the complexity of the test such as fatigue, the more scatter in the results. The problem with scatter is that more test samples are needed. A test sample size of one just won't cut it, read up on six sigma to find out suitable sample sizes to gain confidence in test results.

If the assembly has a large number of components in the test rig, it's sometimes hard to figure out which part is seeing the most deflection or what's really caused the part to fracture. 

It may be slow; it may be cumbersome but for final closure you can't beat the knockout punch you get with the test rig results!

​“Magic Man” FEA

“Magic Man” FEA is quick, nimble, light on his feet. He dances around the ring, marks his target with technical precision and unleashes a flurry of jabs. His opponent doesn't see it coming and is bombarded and bewildered.

​“I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark”. - “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali

​“Magic Man” FEA is a magician who can disappear in the eyes of his opponent at the very moment he is under attack. You can't hit what you can't see!

He has the ability to foresee what's coming before anyone else and knows the punch will land before he's thrown it. He's the thinking man's boxer and uses his intelligence to outwit his opponent. Every point counts and points win fights!

​“He can have heart, he can hit harder and he can be stronger, but there’s no fighter smarter than me.”  - Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr.

​The problem with winning on points is one of perception. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is very much like scoring points in a boxing match, one point doesn't count for much but many points persuade the judges that you've done enough to justify your conclusions. 

There's always a difference of opinion in engineering, throw in some company politics and proving your design with FEA is not always easy no matter how clear cut you think the findings are.

The FEA Report is your best friend and lets you showcase your collection of well-earned points. Describe how each point was gained, show how the model was constrained, how it was loaded not just with words but with pictures. Describe and show the expected failure mode, will it crack, will it bend, will it shake, rattle and roll? 

A collection of FEA pictures on their own, pretty as they may be, are about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle. However, put those pretty pictures into a well written and informative report and you may just find the judges’ score cards are in your favour.

"He's too ugly to be the world champ. The world's champ should be pretty like me. If you want to lose your money, then bet on Sonny." - "The Greatest" Muhammad Ali

​Some would go as far to say the FEA Report is more important than the Finite Element Model itself. On occasion, useful information can be gained from a poor FE Model and it has been known for totally inappropriate information to be used in the wrong way from a very good FE Model. The FEA Report is the informer, the messenger, the persuader. Never underestimate the power of words!

So who wins the epic fight of the century between the legendary “The Hitman” Test Rig and the young dynamic “Magic Man” FEA?
​
Well, Don King of course, who else?...............