Structural Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
Comprehensive finite element analysis services for structural integrity, fatigue life, and design optimization of industrial components and assemblies.
What this solution covers
Our structural FEA practice covers design validation from linear static checks through nonlinear, fatigue and dynamic analysis. Clients use it to cut down on physical prototypes and to get designs right the first time.
Pain points we address
Physical prototypes fail during testing, causing project delays and cost overruns
Lack of in-house FEA expertise to validate designs against customer specifications
Uncertainty about fatigue life and long-term structural reliability under service loads
Designs are over-engineered due to insufficient understanding of actual stress distributions
What we solve
Structural adequacy assessment against applicable design codes (ASME, EN, IS)
Fatigue life prediction under constant and variable-amplitude loading
Nonlinear contact, large deformation, and material plasticity analysis
Dynamic response evaluation: modal, harmonic, random vibration and seismic
How we approach it
- 1
Geometry preparation: import native CAD or neutral files, defeature, and extract mid-surfaces for shell elements
- 2
Mesh generation: structured hex meshing for critical regions, automatic tetrahedral meshing with convergence studies
- 3
Boundary conditions: apply realistic constraints and loading from test data, load spectra, or code-specified combinations
- 4
Solution and post-processing: run ANSYS Mechanical solver with appropriate nonlinear controls, extract von Mises stress, fatigue damage, and safety factors
- 5
Reporting: deliver engineering report with methodology, assumptions, results interpretation, and design recommendations
Deliverables
FEA methodology document with assumptions and boundary condition rationale
Detailed results report with stress/deformation contour plots and safety factor mapping
Fatigue life report with damage fractions and critical location identification
Design improvement recommendations with supporting parametric study data
ANSYS Mechanical project files for client internal review and future reanalysis
Expected outcomes
Fewer physical prototype iterations through virtual testing
Design sign-off confidence backed by code-compliant FEA evidence
Lighter designs through stress-driven topology and parametric optimisation
Accelerated development timelines by identifying failure modes early in the design cycle
Why Shirsh
Our engineers bring long experience in structural mechanics, material behaviour and code compliance. We read every result against manufacturing feasibility, the code and how the part will really be used, and we hand over engineering recommendations rather than raw contour plots.
Where this lives
Industries served
Related case studies
FRP Composite Utility Pole Design: Layered Shell FEA for a 33 kV Line
FRP composite utility pole designed and checked ply by ply with layered shell FEA in CalculiX, for an unguyed pole on a rural 33 kV line.
ReadDock Leveller Structural FEA to EN 1398
Structural FEA of a hinged-lip dock leveller range to EN 1398, checking safety factor, deck plate deformation and braking loads for each size.
ReadExplicit Dynamics Hail Impact Simulation of an Aircraft Radome
Explicit dynamics simulation of repeated hail strikes on a composite sandwich radome, mapping how damage starts and grows from one impact to the next.
ReadAxial Fan Rotor Dynamics FEA: Critical Speeds from a Campbell Diagram
Axial fan rotor dynamics FEA in ANSYS Mechanical: belt-loaded shaft, prestressed modal sweep and Campbell diagram to find critical speeds of a VFD fan.
ReadCore Tray Stack FEA: Strength, Transport Vibration and Fatigue of a Polymer Tray
Polymer core tray FEA in ANSYS: elastic-plastic stacking and handling loads, random transport vibration and fatigue life before mould release.
ReadPlanetary Mixer FEA: Blade, Shaft and Gear Strength from CFD Mixing Loads
Planetary mixer FEA in ANSYS with blade torques from CFD of a viscous mix, iterated with the maker until blades, shafts and gears met allowables.
ReadRoof Safety Lifeline FEA: Fall-Arrest and Static Strength Check on Metal Sheet Roofs
Roof safety lifeline FEA in ANSYS: fall-arrest and static strength checks of posts, anchors, rope grips and roof sheet to IS 3521 Part 8 / ISO 16024.
ReadCantilever Rack Arm Weld Joint FEA: Gusset Design to IS 800 and AISC ASD
Cantilever rack arm FEA in ANSYS: weld joint, end plate and gusset options checked to IS 800:2007 WSD and AISC ASD for two rated arm loads.
ReadSolar MMS Structural Due Diligence and Retrofit FEA for Operating Plants
Structural due diligence of operating solar MMS to IS 875 and IS 801, with an ANSYS FEA check of the bracing retrofit for the worst-rated plant.
ReadStructural FEA of a Stack Parking Structure with Pallet Assembly
Static FEA of a stack parking structure under wheel loads. It found overstressed vertical members and checked the changes that brought the design within limits.
ReadStructural FEA of a Rotary Car Parking System for Wind and Seismic Loads to IS 800
Rotary car parking FEA to IS 800, IS 875 and IS 1893: frame, chain, shaft and pallet checked for wind and seismic loads, with redesign advice.
ReadFEA Qualification of a Locomotive Transformer Oil Cooler to EN 12663 and IEC 61373
Static, fatigue, random vibration and shock FEA of a rail transformer oil cooler, qualified to EN 12663-1 and IEC 61373 by analysis.
ReadDesign-by-Analysis of Two-Stage Reactor Cyclones to ASME VIII Div 2
ASME VIII Div 2 design-by-analysis of hanging reactor cyclones, covering pressure, a catalyst-full emergency load, hanger rods and lifting lugs.
ReadStructural FEA of a Level Locking Bracket for a Multilevel Parking System
Static FEA of a welded level locking bracket for a multilevel car park, done to settle a load question that had put its production on hold.
ReadWind Load FEA of a Telescopic Communications Mast to IS 875 Part 3
Static FEA of a telescopic communications mast in two payload variants, under operational and survival wind from three directions to IS 875 Part 3.
ReadTransient Thermal Simulation of Multi-Pass Valve Welding
Transient thermal FEA of a multi-pass field weld on a trunnion-mounted ball valve, checking that the soft seals stay below their temperature limit on an accelerated welding schedule.
ReadFEA-Based Load Capacity of Racking Beams and Decking Panels
FEA of racking beams and decking panels across sections, thicknesses and spans, turned into safe load capacities checked for deflection, bending and shear.
ReadVariable Thickness Composite FEA of a Type-4 CNG Cylinder
Composite FEA of a filament-wound Type-4 CNG cylinder under proof pressure, with continuous ply thickness so the dome transitions show no false stress peaks.
ReadFloating Solar Engineering: CFD Wind Loads and Hydrostatic Buoyancy FEA of Panels and Floats
Floating solar engineering: CFD wind loads on every panel and float in ANSYS Fluent, plus hydrostatic buoyancy, draft and float response by FEA.
ReadGround Screw Foundation FEA for a Fixed-Tilt Solar Mounting Structure
Ground screw foundation FEA for a fixed-tilt solar MMS: wind uplift traced from the modules to the screw head in ANSYS, leading to stronger head plates.
ReadVortex Shedding Check of a Ground-Mounted Solar Structure with Wind CFD and Modal FEA
Solar structure vortex shedding check with transient CFD in ANSYS Fluent, CFD wind pressures mapped into FEA and a modal study of a fixed-tilt MMS.
ReadBESS Container CFD and Structural FEA: Cooling Airflow, Wind and Seismic Checks
CFD of cooling airflow around battery racks and FEA of the container for wind and seismic loads, so a BESS integrator could fix its layout early.
ReadPV Module Frame FEA Under Wind and Snow Load: Choosing the Right Aluminium Profile
PV module frame FEA under wind and heavy snow load: three aluminium extrusion profiles compared with a full laminate model and a Coulomb-Mohr check.
ReadSingle-Axis Solar Tracker CFD and FEA: Wind Pressure Mapping and Structural Qualification
Single-axis solar tracker CFD and FEA: wind pressures at three tilt positions mapped onto a nonlinear ANSYS model, plus an IS 800 pivot bolt check.
ReadForklift Impact Simulation of a Warehouse Guard Rail with Explicit Dynamics FEA
Explicit dynamics FEA of a warehouse guard rail hit by a loaded forklift, with real steel curves, to prove the rail and posts absorb the impact.
ReadRolling Shutter Wind Load FEA to IS 875 Part 3 and ASCE 7-10
Wind load FEA of a large industrial rolling shutter to IS 875 Part 3 and ASCE 7-10, with curtain, guides, shaft, hubs and brackets checked.
ReadBollard Impact Simulation: Hollow vs Concrete-Filled Steel Bollard Under Vehicle Strike
Bollard impact simulation with explicit dynamics FEA. Hollow and concrete-filled steel bollards compared under the same vehicle strike.
ReadRelated insights
Why Fixed-Tilt Ground-Mount Solar Structures Fail
Fixed-tilt ground-mount is the structure everyone treats as solved. No moving parts, a straight load path from module to rail to post to ground, a static wind check, done. That reputation for simplicity is precisely why these structures fail, not from exotic physics, but from foundations pulled out of the soil, connections detailed for the wrong load direction, slender members that buckled under uplift, and corners that saw far more wind than a borrowed coefficient ever admitted. Walk the load path with a failed array in front of you and the causes are rarely mysterious. Here is how to read the damage, and the analysis chain that would have caught it on paper.
ReadWhat Failure Reviews Teach About Where Structures Really Fail
Read a failure investigation and the first piece to let go is rarely the middle of a member. It is usually a connection, a small weld or a load path that changed after the calculations were done. I look at five public investigations and what they changed in the way I review FEA models.
ReadWhy Single-Axis Solar Trackers Need FEA, CFD and Aeroelastic Analysis Beyond IS 875
A single-axis solar tracker can clear every line of IS 875, pass its static frame analysis, and still fail in a windstorm that never reached the code design speed. The reason is uncomfortable but simple: the code hands you a static pressure, and the structure that tore apart was responding to a dynamic, fluid-structure problem the code was never written to see. This is sharpest with single-axis trackers, which behave less like a stiff steel frame and more like a bridge deck on a torsional spring. Here is where IS 875 stops, where FEA and CFD pick up, and why "passes the code" and "survives the wind" are two different questions.
ReadFour Quiet Ways the IS 875 Wind Load Goes Wrong on a Solar Array
The wind-load calculation almost never fails an audit. It fails the structure. IS 875 (Part 3) is a sound loading code, and the arithmetic in most reports is right. What moves the answer is a handful of small choices in how the code gets applied, and on a light tilted array those small moves decide which members are under-built. Here is the chain done properly, and the four places it usually slips.
ReadHow to Check a Cold-Formed Solar Mounting Structure to IS 801: A Step-by-Step Guide
Most ground-mounted solar structures in India are made from cold-formed steel: thin steel sheet bent into channels and hat sections. Engineers find the wind load from IS 875 Part 3, then check the steel using IS 801. Two mistakes are very common. First, engineers use the full cross-section, but thin steel does not work that way: part of it buckles early, so the code makes you use only the "effective" part. Second, engineers check only the steady (static) load and skip the moving (dynamic) effects. This guide explains both problems in simple steps. It then checks the four main members of a solar structure: post, rafter, bracing, and a 1 mm hat purlin: with full numbers, so you can see exactly where the common shortcuts go wrong.
ReadStress Singularities in FEA: How to Tell a Real Peak from a Mesh Artefact
A red spot at a sharp corner that climbs every time you refine the mesh is usually a stress singularity, not a real stress. Using a simple L-bracket study run at five mesh sizes, this article shows how to recognise one, why the highest number in a model can end up at a support, and the methods that give a stress you can actually design with.
ReadHand Calc, Quick CFD or Full Study: Matching Effort to the Decision
A store room ventilation check and a Grade A sign-off can both be called a CFD job, yet they deserve very different effort. I think the decision a result will carry should set the level of analysis. Here is how I choose between a hand calculation, a quick run and a full study.
ReadWhy a Simulation Report Should Show Its Mesh Check on Page One
Most simulation reports bury the mesh check in an appendix, if they include it at all. I think it belongs on page one, beside the number the decision depends on. Here is why, and what that block should contain.
ReadWant to learn this?
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