Introduction to Finite Element Analysis & Design by Analysis of Pressure Vessels

For copies of the presentation slides, please email Jim directly:- jim.wood@nafems.org

Overview

Pressure vessels and many items of process plant exist in regulated industry sectors where safety and risk are of significant importance.

While most such equipment is designed using well established rules in the pressure vessel codes of practice, there is an increasing use of finite element analysis for this purpose. The Design by Analysis (DBA) approach is nowadays a design route that is well enshrined in pressure vessel codes.

This webinar introduced you to the challenges inherent in using FEA for this purpose. The responsibilities that such a route brings was discussed and useful resources highlighted.

After a review of the technology and the pressure vessel specific topic of Design by Analysis, as outlined by the ASME VIII Div2 and EN13445 codes, two extensive tutor-led courses was highlighted:

As was shown, these courses are aimed at providing some of the education, experience and engineering judgement required in using FEA and DBA in this broad and challenging area.

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This webinar was available for free to the engineering analysis community, as part of NAFEMS' efforts to bring the community together online.

About the speaker

Dr Jim Wood PhD, CEng, FIMechE, FIMMM, FIEIS, NTechF, PSE

Jim has spent most of his working life involved with FEA and pressure vessels in one way or another.

Jim’s undergraduate degree at Paisley College of Technology had a good flavour of the pressure vessel and power generation industry, due to the close vicinity of companies active in this area.

On graduating, Jim joined Babcock & Wilcox as a junior site engineer, erecting a new radiant fired boiler in the BP refinery at Grangemouth, before returning to university to do his PhD on mitred pipe bends.

After becoming an academic member of staff, Jim taught FEA for 10 years on a part-time MSc on pressure vessel design, for local companies.

Later Dr Wood joined the long-standing pressure systems group at Strathclyde University, where he continued with his research and consultancy work in fatigue & buckling, in the power, process plant & pressure-vessel areas. Jim has also ran on-site courses on FEA & DBA both in the UK and abroad.

Jim led the EU-funded CCOPPS project which developed a competency framework for FEA in the power and pressure systems area, along with 2 work-based learning modules designed to focus on these competencies.

Jim has been a member of NAFEMS since its inception, including a member of the Education and Training Working Group since 1997 and the Simulation Governance and Management Working Group since 2005. He is currently a member of council, the PSE board and served on the paper review committees for the NAFEMS World Congresses since 1995.