• Institution: Jomo Kenyatta University of A
Jomo Kenyatta University of A
Ranking: 2015 SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) Score: 0.330 | 281/718 Mechanical Engineering | 484/1066 Education (Scopus®)

Time and Space Management in Structural Analysis Problems

  1. John M. Kihiu
    1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, PO Box 62000, Nairobi, Kenya
  2. Stephen M. Mutuli
    1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nairobi, PO Box 30197, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

In this work, a static linear elastic stress analysis has been performed on a thick-walled cylinder with closed ends under internal pressure. The displacement formulation of the finite element method of structural analysis has been used. Three programs using different solution schemes in Fortran code have been developed. Each of the solution schemes was tested on the different operating systems of DOS and Windows. The thick-walled cylinder was discretized in the radial, hoop and axial directions. The time taken to evaluate the primary and secondary variables during each of the possible discretization modes and the accuracy achieved were determined. The effect of the discretization mode on the time and accuracy of the solution has been presented and highlighted. The results obtained by using the two different operating systems have been compared and the advantages of each system are discussed. The results of using any of the solution schemes have been presented and discussed. The advantages, disadvantages and limitations of all the solution schemes are also discussed and highlighted. The importance and applications of the results obtained are emphasized.

  • Received March 25, 1997.
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