Rajesh Bhaskaran’s work seeks to promote the “democratization of simulation” through effective integration of simulation tools into engineering education. He directs the Swanson Lab and has helped introduce industry-standard simulation tools into Cornell courses covering fluid mechanics, heat transfer, solid mechanics, and numerical analysis. Dr. Bhaskaran has led the development of SimCafe.org as an online portal for learning and teaching finite-element and CFD simulations. SimCafe is used worldwide in courses as well as for self-paced learning by students and industry professionals. Dr. Bhaskaran has developed a unified methodology for using simulation in disparate lecture-based and lab courses. This methodology teaches students to approach simulations like an expert rather than just pushing buttons and accepting results at face value. Dr. Bhaskaran’s professional interests include engineering applications of simulation technology, reliable deployment of advanced simulation by generalist engineers, and conceptual change in learners using simulations. He has organized two international workshops on simulation in engineering curricula.
Course Overview
Professor Bhaskaran's framework for solving finite element problems can be applied to an array of situations and contexts. In order to practice applying this framework and create simulations using Ansys, your effort in this course will be focused on problem-based learning. You will examine the big ideas in beam and shell theories which are the basis for many practical static and dynamic simulations. Shell theory details are complex, but we can understand the underlying concepts as an extension of beam theory. You will apply the big ideas in shell theory to solve a practical problem in Ansys, namely a wind turbine blade with realistic geometry and loads.
Professor Bhaskaran will walk you through solving the wind turbine blade example problem in Ansys. The geometry will be provided to you as a CAD file. As you set up and solve the simulation in Ansys, you'll continue to refer back to the big ideas to make sense of the Ansys inputs and outputs. You will follow along in Ansys as Professor Bhaskaran demonstrates best practices for simulating practical shell problems. Your final simulation will be a product of your own efforts and will give you the confidence to create reliable beam and shell simulations.
You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:
- Conceptual Foundations of Finite Element Analysis
- Ansys Mechanical Concepts and Implementation
- Elasticity Applications
Key Course Takeaways
- Construct the mathematical models underlying beam and shell analysis as well as the numerical solution strategies used to solve the models
- Solve an example problem in Ansys involving a wind turbine blade using a shell model
How It Works
Course Author
Who Should Enroll
- Mechanical engineers
- Simulation engineers
- Civil engineers
- Aerospace engineers
- Prospective engineers
- Biomedical engineers
- Design engineers
- Undergraduate and graduate students in engineering
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