Automated Finite Element Analysis of Stiffened Tanks Using Multifidelity Modeling

Accurate structural analysis of stiffened thin-walled pressure vessels enables critical design decisions to be made during the conceptual and baseline design phases. Furthermore, having multifidelity finite element models that couple shell and solid representations facilitates exploring many design iterations quickly with sufficient accuracy. However, multifidelity model creation and utilization can be cumbersome to perform interactively, such that automated model creation, mesh generation, analysis submission, and results postprocessing are highly desirable. Of particular difficulty is generating multifidelity meshes robustly. A framework for automatic multifidelity model development using parameterized scripting in commercial finite element packages is developed to address these critical modeling needs. Issues associated with automated meshing of highly complex assemblies are examined, and a volume decomposition scheme based upon face partitions is proposed. Application is made to a complex stiffened thin-walled pressure vessel with full shell and solid/shell multifidelity model accuracies assessed by comparison against all solid models. Results indicate the proposed technique’s potential for design iteration improvements with significant reductions in interactive model preparation and postprocessing costs, as well as overall computational effort. Potential novel applications and improvements to the presented framework that can enable its application to complex problems are discussed.