# Transcript

Dr. Keith Martin, The Open University

It’s important to consider the results of a finite element analysis with as much rigour as went into the modelling stage. The basic result is the deflection of the structure stored as displacements, ux, uy, and uz, at all the nodes. This is what the solver produces.

Other data are computed directly from these displacements. The displacements are differentiated to produce strains. And then stresses are found using the material properties.

Reaction forces at restraints are computed from the displacements and structural stiffness. Then we have to apply our engineering judgments on these predicted results. We would check for factors of safety and material yield, using perhaps the von Mises equivalent effective stress plots. For potential fatigue life predictions, we may be more interested in principal tensile stress plots. Remember that Red Bull had their own criteria for lifing the components, which would be logged and the components replaced on a regular basis.