Abstract:
Numerical modelling is becoming an increasingly important tool for analyzing
complex problems in the agricultural engineering related problems. Numerical models,
particularly the finite difference and finite element methods, were extensively used for
modelling such a complex systems. A finite element formulation of two-dimensional
groundwater flow and heat transfer problems were developed and a Visual C++ program
is used for this purpose to obtain primary unknowns hydraulic head and temperature at
the nodes. The domain of the problem was discretized into linear triangular elements.
The numerical solutions were obtained for groundwater flow considering pumping and
recharge and heat transfer in an isotropic rectangular region. By the analysis of the
hydraulic head solution results, one can easily obtain the flow direction vectors, flow
velocities and flow rates in different directions and in the same way nodal temperatures
can be used to obtain heat flow rates, thermal flux and thermal gradient. ANSYS is a
general purpose engineering simulation software package based on the finite element
analysis, allowing engineers to refine and validate designs at a stage when cost of
making changes is minimal. ANSYS simulation software can predict how product design
will operate and manufacturing processes will behave in real world environments.
The analysis in ANSYS consists of three steps the pre-processing, the analysis and
the post-processing. By post-processing the obtained results can be presented in a
desired form. In this work two problems were analysed using ANSYS, the heat transfer
in an isotropic medium and the stress analysis of a sub-soiler. The results obtained by
finite element program developed for the heat transfer problem is compared with
ANSYS results and also analytical results and results are found to compare well. From
the stress analysis of the sub-soiler, it is found that the stress near the upper two holes of
the sub-soiler is very small and so the upper two holes can be avoided. FEM improve
accuracy, enhance the design and better insight into critical design parameters, virtual
prototyping, fewer hardware prototypes, a faster and less expensive design cycle,
increased productivity, and increased revenue.
