Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Open Access Master's Report
Degree Name
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MS)
Administrative Home Department
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Advisor 1
Gregory Odegard
Committee Member 1
Paul van Susante
Committee Member 2
Adam Loukus
Abstract
REL Inc. has proposed a CNG tank that deviates from typical cylindrical storage methods. The goal of REL working with Michigan Tech is to minimize mass and meet NGV2 safety standards for pressure and drop testing for this tank.
The model has undulated outer surfaces and Schwarz P-surface internal geometry. To accurately mesh this, a small element size is necessary; this creates a model with millions of elements. In explicit analyses, this requires a large amount of computational resources to run.
This report focuses on methods to reduce model run time without reducing accuracy. Methods covered include creating symmetric building blocks, gradient meshing, and hybrid (shell to solid) meshing. Results indicate that building block and gradient methods reduce run time by 84% and 78% respectively for an accuracy cost below 5%. Hybrid meshing shows a potential of 50% additional reduction but element formulation must be changed to reduce accuracy cost.
Recommended Citation
Roehm, Paul M., "Minimizing Run Time of Finite Element Analyses: Applications in Conformable CNG Tank Modeling", Open Access Master's Report, Michigan Technological University, 2017.