Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Minimizing Run Time Of Finite Element Analyses: Applications In Conformable Cng Tank Modeling, Paul M. Roehm

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

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 …