Documentation and enhancement of the traceability of finite-element-analysis

Abstract

The approach presented in this paper is based on the CAE-environment of the product development process. Simulations and results often are safety-relevant and thus have to be traceable even years after the engineering process is completed, especially if structural stiffness, durability and crash behaviour are concerned. At present, the documentation mostly focuses on the results. Since these are influenced by many more parameters than just the geometry to simulate, the way the simulation model is defined should be documented as well. The concept intends to enhance the quality of FEA-simulation documentation and to make a comparison of simulation models and results possible. Additionally, it allows the reliable reproduction of simulations. The core components are a database for the storage of simulation models and a so-called processing tool, which reads in new simulation files into and generates the documentation files out of the database. Besides that, another database supports the engineer in building simulation models for new cases.