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As an advanced modern engineering tool, the Finite Element Method (FEM) has been widely adopted in current undergraduate engineering curricula, especially in the discipline of mechanical engineering. However, the usage of FEM as a tool integrated into other fundamental engineering classes, such as statics and dynamics, fluid and thermal, and mechanics of materials, is not as common as one might suppose. Including, this present-day engineering tool is proposed to assist the teaching of deformation concepts in mechanics of materials. Due to the inherent complexity of FEM, a small finite element analysis (FEA) program, mini-FEA, developed by Professor Paul S. Steif at Carnegie Mellon University about fifteen years ago, is used to illustrate the concepts and quickly show how it works. For complex geometry, ANSYS Mechanical APDL programs were created by the instructor so that the requirements of student interaction with the program are minimal, and to keep their focus on deformation concepts. The mini-FEA allows the instructor to provide a quick illustration of deformation concepts as well as the basic steps in implementing FEM. The concepts of deformation mechanics are then demonstrated by graphical illustrations from both FEM and the traditional photoelasticity method. The purpose of this paper is to study the effectiveness of integrating FEM and discover how FEM further enhances students’ learning in comparison with the traditionally used photoelasticity method. From the survey feedback, the effectiveness of the FEM model in enhancing student learning is clearly seen. Assessment of this approach and results of teaching strategies are presented.

Finite Element Method as a Useful Modern Engineering Tool to Enhance Learning of Deformation Concepts