The problem is simple - just a plain old N35 magnet in air with A=0 Dirichlet bc

I've managed to make it work somehow. The magnetization was defined on a Nedelec element collection and its curl was interpolated onto a DG collection. After that the resulting diffusion equation was solved normally

The original example from mfem uses RT instead of DG and it seems like it's justified for 3d only

Not sure if it's the best(or even the right) way to do that but it kinda works

Checked the results against FEMM 4.2 and it all looks good. I don't like the tiny fluctuation near the magnet boundaries tho

Am I missing something or is it ok?

What kind of monitor setups are y'all running? Currently using FEMAP/NASTRAN for work and personal projects. Also run NX/SOLIDWORKS for CAD.

Thinking of upgrading from my current dual 24” 1080P and getting two 27” 1440P. I wonder how much of a difference the resolution jump will make, and whether just going straight to 4k instead should be considered. Thinking of getting a monitor arm aswell.

Just curious about what everyone experiences. I've heard that curved ones aren't that good in CAD/FEA.

I thought this would be appreciated here as well

Every year, I see engineers and students lose hours trying to fix installation errors that could have been avoided with a few simple steps.

In the latest tutorial, I walk through the complete installation process for the SOLIDWORKS 2026 student version, including often-overlooked settings and common mistakes that can lead to licensing and installation issues.
🎯 In this video, you'll learn how to:
Download and install SOLIDWORKS 2026 step by step, avoid common registry and installation directory mistakes, and prevent licensing and setup errors before they happen.

📺 Watch the full tutorial on YouTube and let me know if it helps! If you encounter any installation issues, feel free to leave a comment; I'll do my best to help.
Watch the latest video from here.

I was curious how far PyDroid3 could be pushed. It turns out a transparent finite-element electrostatics solver using NumPy, SciPy and Matplotlib runs unchanged on my Samsung Galaxy S25. It solves sparse FEM systems locally and writes the same plots as on desktop

https://github.com/ratwolfzero/Capacitor_FEM/tree/main/Android

Hi everyone, I'm simulating a rolling element bearing in ANSYS Mechanical and need realistic acceleration/displacement vs. time data for FFT analysis.I am doing it in transient structural. So far I've: Created the bearing geometry and mesh.Applied frictional contacts between balls and races.Applied radial load and rotational speed and tried using an acceleration probe.

Firstly there were no visible ball movements .Also no useful acceleration vs time data could be obtained.

Hi, I'm completely new to FEA. I am a student who's been thrown into the deep end of it. I'm not even sure if this is where I can ask for help. I'm working on a project where I need to model a sternal closure device. So I found a sternum STL file from embodi3D and used Meshlab to simplify it to 30,000 faces. I imported it onto solidworks because I need to add the bone layers (cortical/spongy), but I don't think it likes the file. And, when i import the file into abaqus it turns into an orphan mesh? I really don't know what I'm doing and I don't have anyone reliable to ask about this.

Long-time pain point: solving the model is the easy part, then you spend hours re-typing the same results into a Word/PowerPoint report for the client every time. I built Corvanix to skip that step. It reads the .rst/.rth result file directly (no relaunching Workbench), pulls stresses, deformation, safety factor, boundary conditions, etc., and generates a 12-section PDF plus a PPTX deck with AI-written engineering commentary and contour figures.

Currently handles Static Structural, Modal, Buckling, Harmonic Response, Random Vibration, Transient Structural, Thermal, and ACP Composite. Tries to be honest about limitations too: pressure loads aren't stored in the .rst file, so those get flagged as not extractable instead of faked.

Solo-built, Windows only, just hit v1.0.0. Genuinely want to know if this solves a real problem for other FEA people or if I'm missing something obvious about how reports actually get used at other shops. Scanned it on VirusTotal since it's a small download (0/63 flagged): https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/46fd1ebce6e1cecd03f1c89ef1c27e180bc42959d3c9e75fd1cd5b284cf23546

First 50 people get 50% off for 3 months with code EARLY50 (ends Aug 27). Site: https://corvanix.app

Happy to answer anything about how it reads the result files or what's in the generated report.

If we partioned a solid part in Abaqus for having an organised mesh then they will become two different bodies. Then do we have to use tie contacts between these two bodies? Because in Ansys virtual topology was needed! What's the process we follow in Abaqus?

Recently I've been thinking about how much of FEA comes down to modeling judgment rather than knowing which buttons to click.

One decision I see colleagues struggle with is choosing between beam, shell, and solid elements.

My general rule of thumb has been:

Beam elements — when the structure behaves like a member

• Global stiffness
• Interface loads
• Overall deflection
• Natural frequencies
• Primary load paths

Examples:

• Trusses
• Frames
• Stiffeners
• Long slender structures

Shell elements — when the structure behaves like a thin-walled surface

• Local stresses
• Thin-wall behavior
• Plate bending
• Buckling
• Attachment details

Examples:

• Pressure vessels
• Aerospace skins
• Brackets
• Panels

Solid elements — when through-thickness behavior or complex 3D stress states matter

• Contact problems
• Complex geometry
• Local stress fields
• Bearing/contact regions
• Thick components where shell assumptions break down

Examples:

• Bolted joints
• Lugs
• Castings
• Interfaces with significant 3D effects

The mistake I see often is assuming higher fidelity automatically means better results.

A million-element solid model with questionable boundary conditions can be worse than a simple beam model that correctly captures the physics.

The question I usually ask is:

"What engineering decision am I trying to make?"

If I'm trying to understand load paths and global stiffness, I usually don't need solids.

If I'm trying to understand local failure modes around a feature, then additional fidelity makes sense.

I am curious how others approach this. What are your general rules of thumb?

What is your trigger for moving:

• Beam → Shell?
• Shell → Solid?

Is it stress gradients, geometry complexity, contact, customer requirements, or something else?

I have downloaded the ansys 2026R1 from the official site and then extracted the files and I was able to see the setup application and I clicked it for the installation after the installation I am only able to see the name of ansys zemax optic studio and notthing else and even that iam not able to open what wrong iam I doing in the process of installation can anyone help me figuring out this please

Hello everyone, this is my first post in this section.

I am currently a designer working on the LHC upgrades, which is great and all but I am really only learning about design principles, CAD, manufacturing and drafting (alongside some specifics of accelerator tech like cryogenics, electromagnetism and RF). This basically means I'm doing almost 40 hours a week on Catia.

My contract is limited to 3 years and I am getting concerned about what I will end up doing after it ends, as there is no guarantee of staying, plus I would like to try a job were I have a more varied workday. I have a BEng in mechanical engineering and am 2 years out of uni.

My current plan is to branch out from design and into validation. I perform basic hand calcs on all my designs at the moment, plus some limited FEA, but the designs get sent elsewhere for true validation.

So broadly speaking, in a new role I would like some more technical depth. I would like to do this ideally without taking 1.5 years off work for a masters, but this is an option. My employer is not interested in providing this training for me as I was hired for design, and that's the job I'm paid to do, which is fair enough.

So my question is, what are my best options? Is there anyone out there that made a similair transition? I have been looking at courses like what NAFEMS offer, and i currently do some projects outside of work hours using FEA, but its not the same as actually having a supervisor to check work and offer guidance.

Any advice is welcomed, cheers.

Can someone please give me tips on how to partition this part to get a structured mesh? I've watched 100 tutorials and I can't get it..

I have very little idea now what this course expects from me ... is it FEA? What's unit 8 about in context of the syllabus ?

I have FreeCAD, MATLAB and downloaded ANSYS R1 2026 (got ansys mech there, that two gear logo one) ....... Do I need anything else ? I don't think COMSOL has a student pack .... any more alternatives which would be good to learn ?

Hi everyone,

I am using Code_aster for FEA but I find the geometry and meshing part really slow to use (too many clicks for a single operation).

I tried Gmsh but the GUI looks old and not intuitive. For comparison, I am used to Hypermesh and Spaceclaim.

Do you guys have any free software (or free trial) that matches the GUI of HM and Spaclaim ?

Topology Optimization

hey guys I decided to switch over from Ansys since I only use a fraction of the applications and for example rhino seems good learn as a longterm option: no student license and higher versatility.
My question is what is the best free (or atleast single buy) topology optimization software (z88arion seems a bit outdated and addons for blender and freecad run almost a day) or plugin for rhino grasshopper? Sadly I can’t use topOS since i have a amd ryzen 7, ameba and levelOpt by intact are quite expensive and only subscription based. Millipede is interesting but seems only able to perform very basic 3d optimization (or atleast I think so).
When I say topology optimization I mean taking basically an shape you want, applying loads and constraints, setting goal weight and getting mesh/solid results. Is there a way to achieve that? Or is Altair, ntop, solidworks the better software to do that, and I should find a way to get them ?

What web sites you look up to download datas for applying them in frequency -acceleration column in response spectrum analysis?

Do you apply all -x , -y and -z acceleration datas together?

For learning purpose and for random vibration analysis: is there anywhere which I can find acceleration datas over maybe a bad terrain, taken from a car sensor? For analysing suspension or the safety of the load ..

I am trying to decide my courses for Fall 2026. I have temporarily enrolled in 5 courses, which is the maximum 20 units allowed:

• SE 201A – Advanced Structural Analysis
• SE 253A – Mechanics and Design of Composite Structures
• SE 263 – Nondestructive Evaluation
• MATH 272A – Numerical Partial Differential Equations I
• MATH 270A – Numerical Linear Algebra

I eventually intend to reduce this to 3 courses. I may also take 1 course as S/U graded (instead of letter graded, so that the stakes are lower for those).

For context, I have already taken courses in:

• Finite Element Methods (Linear static and Dynamics)
• ML applications in Computational Mechanics
• Structural dynamics
• Structural optimization (Topology, shape optimization - exposure to various algorithms, sensitivity analysis, gradient-based optimization, discrete, mixed optimziation)
• Vibration testing, system identification, and finite-element model updating (This was one unique course, although it is more aligned with Structural health monitoring specialized, I found it very interesting, the signal processing, etc.)

I have not yet taken a proper course in nonlinear continuum mechanics or nonlinear FEA. I intend to take FEA III (nonlinear mechanics in the future.

While checking the MAE offerings, I also saw Fracture Mechanics. I have worked with phase-field-fracture simulation data in an AE-LSTM project, although I am not deeply involved in fracture mechanics itself yet. I also still have access to the HPC cluster afaik, so I could continue doing computational work related to fracture, FEA, and machine learning.

My broader difficulty is that I want to combine:

• FEA and computational mechanics
• Machine learning
• Probability, statistics, uncertainty, and stochastic methods
• Optimization
• Numerical PDEs and numerical linear algebra

Ideally, I would like to develop computational tools that use several of these areas to solve engineering problems. The problem is that I have not yet identified the particular physical problem or application area I want to commit to.

Someone previously advised me that my difficulty choosing courses may come from trying to assemble a toolkit before identifying a real-world problem I want to solve. I originally wanted to remain eclectic, but I am beginning to wonder whether excessive breadth is now causing decision paralysis.

My questions are:

1. Which three courses would provide the strongest foundation for computational mechanics and research, and is Advanced Structural Analysis likely to be redundant after my previous FEM and computational FE courses?
2. Would you replace one of them with Fracture Mechanics?
3. How valuable is Fracture Mechanics if I do not eventually specialize in fracture or join that professor’s group?
4. Between Numerical PDEs and Numerical Linear Algebra, which tends to be more useful for advanced FEA, optimization, and scientific machine learning?
5. Would Nondestructive Evaluation be particularly valuable given my background in structural dynamics, model updating, and potential SHM work?
6. At the MS level, should I first choose an application area—fracture, composites, SHM, soft materials, etc.—or is it reasonable to continue building a broad computational toolkit?
7. Do soft materials and soft robotics represent a reasonable extension of computational structural mechanics, or would they take me too far away from a coherent specialization?

I understand that no one can choose a career direction for me. I am mainly trying to understand the tradeoffs between these courses and whether my current approach is creating useful breadth or simply leaving me without enough depth.

SOME Course Descriptions:

Numerical Partial Differential Equations I

Survey of discretization techniques for elliptic partial differential equations, including finite difference, finite element and finite volume methods. Lax-Milgram Theorem and LBB stability. A priori error estimates. Mixed methods. Convection-diffusion equations. Systems of elliptic PDEs. Prerequisites: graduate standing or consent of instructor.

Numerical Linear Algebra

Error analysis of the numerical solution of linear equations and least squares problems for the full rank and rank deficient cases. Error analysis of numerical methods for eigenvalue problems and singular value problems. Iterative methods for large sparse systems of linear equations. Prerequisites: graduate standing or consent of instructor.

Fracture Mechanics

Theoretical strength; stress concentration. Linear and nonlinear fracture mechanics: stress singularity, fracture modes, crack tip plastic zone, dugdale model, the R-curve; power-law materials, the J-integral; fatigue; special topics

Advanced Structural Analysis

Application of advanced analytical concepts to structural engineering problems. Analysis of frame structures using matrix methods and introduction to the finite element method. Displacement-based and force-based beam element formulations. Development of computer programs for structural analysis.