Estimating defeaturing-induced engineering analysis errors for arbitrary 3D features

Defeaturing is a widely used technique in preparing CAD models for meshing for use in finite element analysis. However, defeaturing invariably leads to analysis errors that affect the final analysis results. A practical numerical approach is proposed in this paper to estimate this defeaturing-induced engineering analysis error, in terms of changes to particular quantities of engineering interest. The proposed approach can handle arbitrary 3D negative and positive features of any size. They can either be free or be subject to external loading. Our estimator is expressed in a residual form defined over a suppressed feature, and can be explicitly evaluated using solutions of the defeatured model or its extensions. Experimental results on practical engineering parts show the performance of the approach.

► An approach is proposed to estimate defeaturing-induced engineering analysis errors. ► It can handle either 3D negative and positive features. ► They can either be free or be subject to external loading. ► Our derived estimator can be evaluated using solutions of the defeatured model. ► Experimental results on practical engineering parts show the performance of the approach.