What is a Stress Tensor and How is it Used in FEA Analysis?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of the stress tensor and its application in finite element analysis (FEA), particularly in the context of meeting ASME standards. Participants are seeking ways to explain the concept of tensors to someone without a technical background.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant, Matt, describes his challenges in explaining tensors to his boss and requests simple resources to aid in this explanation.
  • Another participant provides a visual analogy comparing the stress tensor to a cube, detailing how each face of the cube represents different stress components: normal stress and shear stress.
  • A link to a visual representation of the stress tensor is shared to support the explanation.
  • A further link to a resource on solid mechanics is provided, though its relevance to the original request is not explicitly stated.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion does not present any explicit areas of agreement or disagreement, as it primarily consists of a request for resources and an explanation of the stress tensor.

Contextual Notes

No specific limitations or unresolved issues are noted in the discussion.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for individuals involved in finite element analysis, particularly those needing to explain complex concepts like stress tensors to non-technical stakeholders.

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Hello, I perform FEA (finite element analysis) and write massive amounts of VBA code in Access in order to streamline heat exchanger designs and I have a Boss with no experience with Tensors and the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Section VIII, Div. 2 requires one to calculate the Stress Tensor through the use of FEA software such as ANSYS. I have tried to explain Tensors to this man before and it resulted in catastrophe. Does anyone know of a very basic paper something on the order of "Tensor for Idiots" that I could use to help him (me) out?

Thanks
Matt
 
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Try this explanation, it's one I use frequently:

Just as a vector is typically pictured as an arrow, the stress tensor can be pictured as the surface of a cube. Each face has three directions associated with it: one normal to the surface and two which lie in the surface. The normal component corresponds to pressure which makes the cube larger or smaller, while the other two correspond to shear stress, which act to deform the cube into a parallelogram.

It helps if there's a pic to go along with the verbiage, for example:

http://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/kap_5/illustr/stress_tensor.gif
 
Thanks a lot.
 

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