This presentation was made at the 2019 NAFEMS World Congress in Quebec Canada

Resource Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to introduce the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) process development activities at a multinational company. The cyclic activity of process development is going to be presented via a case study. The FEA process development starts with the development of FE model itself, which is supported by strong Verification and Validation (V&V) procedures to ensure that the simulations represent the physics of interest correctly. If V&V demands are fulfilled for the given FE model, the process development is continued with the documentation and automation of it. After the process workflow and its guideline documentation have been created, the usage of the process by experienced analysts can start. When relevant level of usage experience is gained, the process can be automated and used by less experienced analysts or even by suppliers. The processes are managed by a Simulation Process and Data Management (SPDM) solution. Each process can be checked-out from a separate repository by applying a sub-version controlling application. Process development is supported by applying an online project management and issue collection platform, which facilitates the maintenance of processes as well. The application of a process closes with the validation by control tests.