Most organizations that use FEA services lean on them to predict how structures, components, products, and systems will perform. There is another branch of finite element analysis, though, that focuses on trying to reconstruct why these same things might have failed. Let's examine how FEA consulting can fit into this more backward-looking process.

Reviewing Initial Models

Thanks to the established history of FEA, there are many cases where you can find initial models from long before something failed. If you're trying to deconstruct the history of a member failing in a bridge, for example, you might be able to pull the models from older FEA work from the preconstruction period. These models often provide insights into why certain choices were made and how someone might have missed a scenario. Likewise, they might show that the failure didn't fall into a predictable set of outcomes at the time of the bridge's design. That can help you to consider less likely scenarios.

Starting from Scratch

At the same time, FEA services can start competing analyses from scratch. This oftentimes has benefits because there's more computing power available today than there was even one or two decades ago. Starting from scratch is often beneficial when you're either at a complete loss or just speculating about what could have happened. Running simulations across thousands of related scenarios might help you narrow in on which ones seem to lead to simulated failures. You can then compare the commonalities and develop a working theory.

Re-assessing Prior Assumptions

Once you've looked at past and present models, you can also start to reexamine prior assumptions. For example, if the simulations of a suspension failure in a car could only occur if a supplier didn't make the part to specifications, you have to start looking at the part. Similarly, you have to think about how the manufacturing and quality control processes might have factored into the failure. You can even perform a more detailed analysis on the part, and you may want to directly test the materials, too. If you see failure conditions similar to what appears in the simulations and real-world reports, then you have a potential culprit.

Producing Reports

When anything fails, people want answers. As much as FEA consulting is about making sense of complex systems, it's also about reporting. An FEA services provider can supply a detailed analysis of the real-world failure and how it may or may not match with simulations run to failure, too. These can aid people who are developing reports.

If you'd like to learn more, contact FEA services.