A Tool for Verifying the Local Quality of a 3D F.E. Analysis in Design

In many practical situations, it is necessary to have reliable evaluations of local quantities. For example, this is the case in design where dimensioning criteria nearly always involve local quantities (stresses in specified zones, Von Mises’ stresses, displacements, stress intensity factors, ...). In current industrial practice, these quantities are evaluated using F.E. analysis. Even if the mechanical model chosen is adequate (good description of the geometry, good knowledge of the material’s characteristics and of the loading), the F.E. analysis introduces errors in the quantities being calculated. For the engineer, it is essential to study and, if possible, to evaluate the quality of the calculations carried out in order to validate the results. In this work, we are concerned with the quality of a linear F.E. analysis. We propose a tool, based on the concept of error in constitutive relation, which enables one to evaluate the local quality of the stresses. We show that this approach gives good results.