fe-net >project overview >

• project overview
• fenet worldwide survey
• project participants
• network newsletter

Project Overview

FENET was a four year project initiated in 2001 to provide a vehicle for informed users of FEA technology in Europe to network together on a regular basis. Its broad objective was to improve the competitiveness of European industry through better use of finite element and related technologies. It aimed to do this by:

• Disseminating a better understanding of the current state of the art
• Promoting current best practice
• Identifying improvements needed to the state of the art in relevant areas.

Funding was obtained from the European Commission to operate it as a Thematic Network, which enabled members to meet together on a regular basis and to focus on identified deliverables.

At the core of its modus operandi was an annual industry-driven meeting supplemented by a number of technology focused workshops. The Annual Industry Meeting  reviewed the state of practice in 8 industry sectors, with emphasis on a defined theme, and attempted to “roadmap” key industry technology issues. These issues are documented in a series of Annual Industry Reports .

Technology Workshops then addressed the key technical and dissemination issues identified on the road map with the aim of producing deliverables of lasting value.

The Industry Reports evolved over the four years as a result of debate and discussion and now represent an authoritative collective statement about the FEA related issues confronting each industry sector.

The FE technology used in various industrial sectors was examined from the perspective of both the State of Practice and the State of the Art. Here, the State of Practise refers to the degree of uptake of a technology by industry – it is in effect a reflection of the maturity of the industrial usage. State of the Art refers to the degree to which a technology has been developed to meet a perceived need.

Three measure were used to qualify the situation in the various industry sectors: Technology Readiness Level (TRL) quantifies the availability of the required technology (0 not available ,9 fully developed), Maturity level (ML) quantifies the extent to which the technology has been adopted (0 not adopted, 9 fully utilised) and Priority Level quantifies the importance of the technology to the industry sector (0 not needed, 9 business critical) The reports also considered such issues as Areas for Research, Business Drivers and the Barriers to further uptake of the technology. 

The consortium consisted of over 120 organisations over four years. The project also undertook the largest ever independent international survey on the use of Finite Element technology, with over 1300 responses.

Finite Element Simulation of Fracture and Crack Growth
Finite Element Simulation of Fracture and Crack Growth Workshop Introduction and Objectives N. Petrone (University of Padova – Italy) Three Dimensional …more

11th Sep 2002
, Italy
Technical Area: DLE

Finite Element Simulation of Welds and Joints
Finite Element Simulation of Welds and Joints Finite Element Modelling of Features Common in Fabricated Plate/Shell Construction J. Wood (Strathclyde Univ., U…more

26th Feb 2003
, Spain
Technical Area: DLE

Modeling Fatigue of Metals
Modeling Fatigue of Metals Introduction / Objectives N. Petrone (Univ. of Padova, I) Recent Developments in 3D Fatigue Crack Growth Prediction Using the Finite El…more

8th Oct 2003
, Netherlands
Technical Area: DLE

Advanced FE Contact Benchmarks III
Advanced FE Contact Benchmarks III Presentations for Download Advanced FE Contact Benchmarks – Users Feedback A.A. Becker (University of Nottingham, UK) …;more

7th Oct 2004
, UK
Technical Area: DLE

Design by Analysis: The Use of Finite Element Analysis in Design Codes of Practice 1
Design by Analysis: The Use of Finite Element Analysis in Design Codes of Practice FEM in Pressure Vessel Design By Analysis D. Mackenzie (University of Strathclyde, U…more

24th Feb 2005
, Hungary
Technical Area: DLE

FE Issues Related to Creep and Viscoelasticity
A summary report of the FENet Durability and Life Extension (DLE) workshop in Majorca, Spain, 25th – 26th March 2004. By Prof. Adib Becker, University of Nottingham, UK …more

24th Mar 2004
, Spain
Technical Area: DLE

Advanced FE Contact Benchmarks I
Finite Element Simulation of Contact Problems Workshop Description This is the first workshop in the FENET EU Thematic Network on issues related to Durability and Life E…more

27th Feb 2002
, Denmark
Technical Area: DLE

FE Issues Related to Structural Integrity (Fracture, Fatigue, Creep)
FE Issues Related to Structural Integrity (Fracture, Fatigue, Creep) The first two workshops on the FENET technology theme of Durability and Life Extension identified s…more

13th Jun 2002
, Switzerland
Technical Area: DLE

Advanced FE Contact Benchmarks II
A summary report of the FENet Durability and Life Extension (DLE) workshop in Majorca,Spain, 25th March 2004. By Prof. Adib Becker, University of Nottingham, UK Introducti…more

24th Mar 2004
, Spain
Technical Area: DLE

Design by Analysis: The Use of Finite Element Analysis in Design Codes of Practice 2
Design by Analysis: The Use of Finite Element Analysis in Design Codes of Practice Introduction J. Smart (North East Wales Institute at Wrexham, United Kingdom) …more

24th Feb 2005
, Hungary
Technical Area: DLE

Advanced FE Contact Benchmarks IV
Advanced FE Contact Benchmarks IV Background to the FENET Contact Benchmarks A. A. Becker (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom) FENET Contact Benchmarks – S…more

24th Feb 2005
, Hungary
Technical Area: DLE

Durability & Life Extension – Initial Discussion
Advanced Assessment Concepts for Leight Weight Structures Alfred Cornec, GKSS Research Centre, Geesthacht, Germany The presentation shows some aspects from t…more

13th Nov 2001
, Germany
Technical Area: DLE