Industry Findings
In the last decade or so, finite element technology has become a generic enabling technology across a broad spectrum of industrial sectors. However the scale, depth and level of maturity of application varies widely. This diversity is to be expected given the differing issues and drivers confronting the different industrial sectors. Nevertheless there are a number of common issues reported from all industrial sectors. FENET determined that the principal issues are:
- Integration of finite element technology and simulation into the wider business enterprise in order to deliver real business benefit.
- How to ensure and measure quality of finite element analysis. (this covers diverse topics including verification and validation, Q.A., the role of testing, data provenance etc.)
- How to categorise and analyse modern materials.
- How to allow, in a rational way, for the uncertainty that characterises real world problems. There is increasing recognition that as computer models become potentially more accurate, traditional deterministic descriptions can compromise this improvement. Accordingly there is increased interest in methods such as probabilistic analysis, fuzzy logic and possibility theory.
Some of the other principal issues emerging from each of the industrial sectors covered in the network are discussed in the Industry Reports.
