If you need any of the following

• Optimisation of a product design
• An understanding of the environmental limitations of your design
• An improved product life cycle
• Knowledge of how and why an existing part is failing in operation
• A solution that will reduce trial and test time

Experts in non-linear FEA

Product analysis doesn’t start with a prototype in a test rig. It starts with understanding how the material you have chosen will behave in the geometry that you (or we, if you like) have designed for your environment and under your operating conditions.

We understand that. Which is why we will analyse any rubber compound using non-linear FEA. Anyone who knows something about measuring a stress/strain relationship will know that offering to test only a handful of core material grades isn’t enough. We will take a moulded sample of the actual material you want to manufacture your product from, and use the data from that specific compound mix to run the analysis. Not only that, but if you are bonding your rubber to a plastic, metal or composite part, we will include the properties of that material and look at how the relationship will impact the rubber component.

What will we analyse through FEA?

• Linear and non-linear structural static: compression and tension loading applications, such as isolators
• Large strain deformation: applications such as bump stops and CV boots
• Thermal effects: looking at material property reduction at temperature elevation and heat transfer
• Transient dynamics: for example, the effect of a rolling wheel under deformation
• Harmonic multi-loading: applications such as system isolators and anti-vibration mounts
• Coupled analyses of the above
• Fluid mechanics with CFD

Which materials will we analyse using FEA?

• Isotropic – those materials which have identical properties in all directions, so that when a load is applied at any point in any axis, the same strength, stress, strain and young’s modulus will be exhibited. Examples of isotropic materials are metals such as steel and aluminium.
• Anisotropic – those materials which are made up of unsymmetrical structures and whose responses to a load are direction-dependent. An example of an anisotropic materials is wood.
• All rubber compounds
  • Hyper elastic/non-linear elastic
• All PTFE compounds
  • Bi-linear elasto-plastic
• Multi-layer composite materials with a bi-directional structural dependency