Engineering Assignment | Online Assignment

Entry-level Solidworks analysis, ME 083 S2020 COMPUTATIONAL MECHANICAL ENG. LAB
Final Project Description
Project idea:FINAL DUE DATE:
Project Overview
The purpose of this final project is for your team (or you as an individual) to perform a computational FEA analysis of a structure, structural component, or mechanical part of your choosing and that is of interest to you. Results from your FEA study are to be compared with analytical calculations performed using methods from the Solid Mechanics (ME 14 / CE 100) curriculum. The results, outcomes, and conclusions from your study are to be presented in the format of a formal scientific article or report.
Please be aware that the geometry of the particular structure or component part you choose to analyze must be sufficiently simple, or reduced to a simplified model geometry, in order to both mesh the geometry and solve the governing equations on a single processor computing machine while at the same time performing an analytical analysis on paper using the appropriate methodologies from solid mechanics.
When selecting a structure to analyze, you are required to find a ‘real world’ part or component, provide a photograph the object, and include measurements from the part to be used in your analysis. It is not necessary that you physically have the item in your possession.
 Final reports are to be posted to Blackboard as a .pdf. They should follow the commonly accepted organizational structure of a professional, scientific journal article (see below).
Group Members & Topics
Projects are to be completed in groups of three to four (3 – 4) students. I will now also be allowing students to complete this individually as well. Please post to this assignment a brief description (1 to 2 paragraphs) of your project topic for approval and to identify group members by no later than Tuesday, March 31, 2020 by 4pm. The Final Report should be posted to the Final Report Assignment Posting by Tuesday, April 28, 2020 by 4pm.
Final Report – Organizational Structure & Grading Metrics
Introduction, Motivation, and/or Background – (10%)
Provide the real world context, motivation for study, and/or the application in which your structure or mechanical part provides utility. Be sure to include key background and technical information in order to orient the reader. This should include, at minimum, a photograph of your part, a working
technical drawing with dimensions, material and/or thermophysical properties, and a brief description of the type and magnitude of mechanical forces that this part may experience.
Theory – (15%)
Provide and discuss the scientific and engineering theory that has been employed in your study and analysis of the forces, stresses, strains, and thermal response of your part to the various loadings that may be experienced by the material structure. This should include both the FEA / computational theory as well as the analytical theory. Be sure to include any relevant equations and properly cite any references in-line with the text.
Methodology – (20%)
In this section, discuss the methods and procedure that is employed during your study. Be sure to discuss and justify, with sound scientific and engineering arguments, any simplifications, assumptions, and modeling parameters implemented during the examination of your part.
– Finite Element Analysis (FEA) using SolidWorks
Here you are to include a discussion of the FEA approach as it is employed in the study of solid mechanics and materials. Be sure to discuss the over-arching FEA method as well as any relevant specifics to the commercial software that you are using. This should NOT be a set of step-by-step, tutorial like instructions for using SolidWorks, but rather this should be an overview of the FEA modeling approach. Be sure to include any modeling specifics such as mesh size, number of finite elements, relevant meshing details, grid insensitivity studies, boundary conditions, and any other relevant FEA modeling parameters that would be necessary for a third party to recreate the study.
– Analytical Models from Solid Mechanics Curriculum
Here you are to include a discussion of the analytical models, methods, and calculations as they are employed in the study of the stress, strain, and the response of your mechanical part under the various loadings considered. Be sure to include the appropriate equations, parameters, and justify any assumptions that are required to perform your analytical assessment of the material reactions. Be sure to cite any references in-line with the text and be sure to discuss any limitations of the analytical model.
Results & Discussion – (35%)
In this section, provide the results of your study. Results should be clearly delineated between FEA and analytical models. All plots, charts, figures, and tables should be properly labeled with headings, axis labels, units and dimensions. Be sure to include captions for figures. Comparisons between the analytical results and the results from FEA modeling should be discussed along with any disparities. Also, be sure to discuss any key findings and how these findings may influence the functionality of the part and / or lead to the failure of the part; include any suggestions for improvements in the design of the next generation part that are supported by your study and any behavioral trends in the data should be disclosed. Be sure to estimate and discuss the degree of
error and uncertainty in the results owing to modeling assumptions in both the FEA and analytical approaches.
Conclusions – (15%)
Conclusions should be drawn from the results of the study and key findings should be summarized. This should include summary statements, from an engineering perspective, as to the overall material behavior of the part and recommendations for improving both the study itself as well as the design of the part. Highlights and a summary of what was learned from this study should be stated. Conclusions should be concise and to the point; details of the results should NOT be re-stated. However, unique and/or key findings should be mentioned.
References & Citations – (5%)
Be sure to cite any references in-line with the manuscript text and include a page of references at the end of your document. The sequential order of references on the reference page should be chronological based on the order of appearance of the citations within the manuscript.
Project Suggestions
The following is a list of possible topics for final projects. It is by no means comprehensive and is intended only to provide suggestions and ideas. Project ideas are nearly unlimited and you are encouraged to work on a topic of interest to you. Your project topic need not come from this list.
Please keep in mind, as stated above, the geometry of the particular structure or component part to be analyzed must be sufficiently simple, or reduced to a simplified model geometry, in order to both mesh the geometry and solve the governing equations on a single processor computing machine while at the same time performing an analytical analysis on paper using the appropriate methodologies from solid mechanics.
 Bicycle components (seat post, brake levers, rims, handlebars, forks, etc…)
 Automotive / Vehicle components (springs, struts, pistons, connecting rods, crankshaft, etc…)
 Furniture (chairs, tables, lamps, etc…)
 Hand-Held Tools (pliers, hammers, screw-drivers, wood splitting maul, shovels, rakes, etc…)
 Athletic Equipment (protective pads, helmets, ski poles, hockey sticks, etc…)
 Building Structural Components (trusses, piers, awnings, columns, etc…)
 Ski lift tower / chair
 Skateboard components
 Kitchen Items (knives, forks, pots, pans, blender & food processer blades, etc…)
 Backpacking equipment
 Plus many, many more……