StressCheck Professional Training

StressCheck’s underlying technology and architecture differ from conventional FEA codes in that StressCheck is the only FEA code on the market today designed to meet the requirements of Simulation Governance, assuring reliable results. Therefore, it typically requires some minimum training to get started.

Our private, instructor-led courses focus on hands-on training to quickly develop the users’ skills. Students will leave the classes with practical use cases and ready to put their training to use.

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Whereas most FEA is built on the technology of the 1950's and 1960's, StressCheck is built on active technology and proven to get the right answer faster.

All courses can be customized to address specific problems of interest to you and your engineering teams! Please detail custom topics of interest in your Request for Training Quote and we will work with you to adapt the curriculum as needed.

To learn more about the courses we offer, please see descriptions below.

Training Courses

ESRD offers both In-person (on-site or off-site) and Live Web-based trainings to meet your particular organization’s needs.

In-Person Training

On-site: Training is hosted at the ESRD Office in St. Louis, MO.
Off-site: Training is held at the customer’s facility.

Live Web-based Training

Virtual, instructor-led sessions are conducted via Microsoft Teams (or your preferred web-conferencing platform). Flexible scheduling, shorter class times, and cost-savings make this a popular option among our users.

On-Site/Off-Site Training

Basic Training

StressCheck Basic Training

Basic Training is an extensive 2-day (16-hour) course designed to familiarize the student with StressCheck’s graphical user interface and to provide an introduction to the p-version finite element method (p-FEM).

Basic training is a prerequisite to any advanced training workshops.

This training is designed to accomplish the following objectives:

Obtain a basic knowledge of 2D and 3D model construction techniques:
- Creating and importing geometry
- Defining mesh objects such as nodes and elements
- Automeshing
- Defining and assigning linear material properties
- Assigning boundary conditions
Learn how to execute a linear solution by p-extension
Perform a wide range of post-processing operations:
- Error extractions
- Plotting
- Convergence checking
- Gradients

In addition, trainees will receive lectures covering the fundamental concepts of the p-FEM and StressCheck’s technology that include meshing, applying boundary conditions and quality assurance procedures.

Fracture Training

StressCheck Fracture Training

Prerequisite: Basic Training in elasticity and a proficiency building models, solving (linear analysis) and post-processing.

This advanced 1-day (8-hour) course covers a wide range of problem classes and is designed to achieve the following objectives:

Develop an understanding of the contour integral method for computing stress intensity factors (SIF’s) for problems in linear elastic fracture mechanics
How to create the optimal mesh at singularities (crack tips)
How to extract SIF’s at the crack tip for 2D problems and along the crack front for 3D problems (thru cracks and corner cracks)
How to create models for which the crack tip is defined parametrically for use in a design study or automation application
How to perform a 2D planar Crack Path analysis
How to imbed a crack in a solid body (imported CAD model) and invoke the automesher to separate the elements at the crack face and construct a graded mesh refinement towards the crack tip
How to include nonlinear affects (e.g. fastener hole propping or interference-fit bushing) which can greatly influence the magnitude of the stress intensity factor

This course has a 40-minute lecture on Fracture Mechanics that covers specific details about the Contour Integral Method used to extract stress intensity factors. The remainder of the time is hands-on, building and solving problems covering a wide range of practical applications.

Non-Linear Training

StressCheck Non-Linear Training

Prerequisite: Basic Training in elasticity and a proficiency building models, solving (linear analysis) and post-processing.

This advanced 1-day (8-hour) course is designed to achieve the following objectives:

Develop an understanding of the StressCheck GUI and capabilities for performing nonlinear analyses for classes of problems that simulate large strain behavior and/or material plasticity.
Perform a material nonlinear analysis for a single overload event using the deformation theory of plasticity
Perform a geometric nonlinear analysis for cases where there is a strong coupling between membrane and bending (Newton-Raphson)
Perform a load step (Margin Check) analysis
Set up and perform a multi-body contact analysis in which one or more parts undergoes plastic deformation
Set up and solve a material nonlinear problem with multiple load-unload events using the incremental theory of plasticity

This course has a 40-minute lecture on Nonlinear Analysis. The remainder of the time is hands-on, building and solving problems covering a wide range of practical applications.

Composites Training

StressCheck Composites Training

Prerequisite: Basic Training in elasticity and a proficiency building models, solving (linear analysis) and post-processing.

This advanced 1-day (8-hour) course is designed to achieve the following objectives:

Develop a comprehensive understanding of the StressCheck Composites GUI and pre- and post-processing capabilities for performing detailed analyses for composite structure.
Create laminate-orthotropic material property records and assign them to element sets in Cartesian or cylindrical coordinate systems
Use Mapped Laminate material assignment to align ply orientation with the general curvature of an element
Use the Automatic Lamination wizard to build ply stacks and assign the stack to a set of elements
Construct parametric models of typical composite joints and details (e.g. T-stiffened skins, bonded lap/scarf joints, Pi-joints, etc…)
Model singularities (e.g. ply terminations, adhesive run-outs, etc.)
Use the Failure Criteria interface to combine mechanical and thermal strains

This course has a 40-minute lecture presenting an overview on capabilities and functionality in StressCheck Composites. The remainder of the time is hands-on, building and solving problems covering a wide range of practical applications.

COM API Training

StressCheck COM API + Scripting Training

Prerequisite: Basic Training in elasticity and a proficiency building models, solving (linear analysis) and post-processing. Also, a basic understanding of programming.

This advanced 1-day (8-hour) course is designed to achieve the following objectives:

Review Object Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts
- Terminology, Definitions and Standards (Class Hierarchy).
Access objects, properties, and methods in StressCheck’s COM API:
- Application, Document, and Model classes.
- Assigning object references and methods.
Gain Tips and Tricks for getting started with StressCheck COM API scripting:
- Fundamental commands for opening, solving and post-processing models.
“On-the-fly” model construction and analysis via the StressCheck COM API:
- Identify 1:1 correlations between COM API and GUI.
Learn Modular VBA and use of functions and subroutines with StressCheck’s COM API:
- Efficient and standardized scripts for repetitive tasks and analysis.

Residual Stress Training

StressCheck Residual Stress Training

Prerequisite: Basic Training in elasticity and a proficiency building models, solving (linear analysis) and post-processing.

This advanced 1-day (8-hour) course is designed to achieve the following objectives:

Understand what is the difference between residual stress and what we are applying as
an initial stress (or eigenstrain) load.
Create boundary layer meshes.
Understand the different methods for assigning SRS loads, and things to watch out for.
Understand the different methods for assigning BRS loads.
Understand how to compute distortion and extract residual stress after loading a
problem with SRS and BRS loads

Live Web-Based Training

The Live Web-based Trainings use the same training content as the In-Person options (details above).

The structure of each course differs, however, in the following manner:

Each day consists of a 4-hour session (3 hours of instructor-led training followed by ~1 hour of post-class homework).

StressCheck Basic Training: 5-day course
Advanced Fracture Training: 3-day course
Advanced Non-Linear Training: 3-day course
Advanced Composites Training: 3-day course
Advanced COM API Training: 3-day course

Training Class Sizes

In-Person On-site Training: Minimum two (2) and maximum six (6) students.

In-Person Off-site Training: Maximum six (6) students per instructor. Multiple instructors available.

Live Web-based Training: Maximum two (2) students per instructor. Multiple instructors available.

Request A Training Quote

Testimonials

“At DST Group, we have effectively used StressCheck over the last 10 years to determine accurate stress intensity factors. The results have been used to improve our residual strength and structural life estimates for aircraft in service with the Royal Australian Airforce, including C-130, P-3C and F/A-18 A/B. We have found it to be extremely easy to use and a very versatile code with which to create parametric models.

We have recently used StressCheck to obtain improved stress intensity factor solutions (Improved stress intensity factors for selected configurations in cracked plates and Improved stress intensity factors for a single corner crack at a loaded fastener hole) for five key generic configurations. These transferable parametric results have been published externally. One specific example is the non-linear contact analysis of a cracked, filled fastener hole, with both fastener and remote plate loading.”

Dr. Manfred Heller, Head
Structural & Damage Mechanics, DST Group

Training

StressCheck Professional Training

Are you interested in scheduling a Training?

Training Courses

On-Site/Off-Site Training

Basic Training

StressCheck Basic Training

Fracture Training

StressCheck Fracture Training

Non-Linear Training

StressCheck Non-Linear Training

Composites Training

StressCheck Composites Training

COM API Training

StressCheck COM API + Scripting Training

Residual Stress Training

StressCheck Residual Stress Training

Live Web-Based Training

Training Class Sizes

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Testimonials

Dr. Manfred Heller, Head