In this blog, we cover fatigue enhancements and as usual, first we discuss the durability role in 3D Experience platform followed by standalone fe-safe updates.

Durability enhancements in 3D Experience

• The new licensing scheme:

There is no need for a separate add-on role anymore. The advanced structural role called mechanical analyst (SMU) has been deprecated and replaced by structural analysis engineer role (SYE). All the durability tools available on 3DX are in SYE role now. The user interface for durability is integrated with mechanical scenario app and sequential execution of structural and durability jobs can be done through simulate tab.

• FKM weld assessments:

A new class of weld libraries has been added as per FKM guidelines. Please note that this is completely different from weld fatigue in Verity. This is because verity does not include FKM welds and at the same time many features of verity do not exist in 3D Experience yet. FKM has an exhaustive list of parameters many of which can be left as default. The weld fillet must be modeled and compatible meshes must exist across fusion interfaces. There is no limit on number of FKM weld assessments per fatigue case.

• Unified material definition interface:

With the integration of structural and durability apps, the material forms have been integrated as well. The structural properties, fatigue properties as well as FKM properties can now be defined on a single form as a single behavior.

Durability enhancements in standalone Fe-Safe

• Verity improvements:

Weld line detection is now much more robust. In certain cases, as shown below, if weld line needs to be broken, verity will do so automatically.

The need to have perfectly structured meshes through the thickness below weld line have been eliminated. However, element faces should exist on the assumed crack faces do partitioning is necessary. Verity now includes frequency domain based PSD methods as well.

• Fatigue of Nitinol:

Nitinol is material of choice for stents in cardio vascular applications. To capture the fatigue behavior of Nitinol, a plug-in has been developed. It works on infinite life, strain based, critical plane methods including mean-stress effects.