Engineering students can download the free software package to develop & hone much-coveted skills in FEA & CFD.
ANSYS, Inc. recently announced availability of a free version of its, otherwise, super-expensive enterprise solutions. The 'ANSYS Student 16.2' includes:
Though there are numerous other commercial & free solutions for performing virtual Engineering testing & analysis, ANSYS remains the de-facto leader, with its offerings of a wide-range of industry-specific solutions. Thus, it would make sense, as a student, to hone skills using a platform you're most likely to use in the future workplace. The software is available as a 64-bit download, that can currently be installed on Windows 7 & 8.1 only. Hopefully, they release versions compatible with Windows 10 & Linux distros popular with students.
A wide variety of analysis that can be carried out using the package,including:
'ANSYS Student' is restricted by the number of nodes that can be used to solve a model - 32,000 nodes for Structural analysis & 5,12,000 for Fluid analysis - sufficient for students beginning to learn.
Use of methods like Finite Element Analysis [FEA] & Computational Fluid Dynamics [CFD], in product development can help speed up the program, as one can reduce the need to construct a number of iterative physical prototypes to validate a design, a time consuming process. Instead, using software solutions, it can be performed on a Computer, & repeated till an accepted design is achieved. Only then would one need to build a physical model, for the final validation, resulting in significant cost-savings. Not surprisingly, industries today are increasingly adopting such methods in their drive to optimise their R&D efforts.
Download: ANSYS® Student
Godspeed
Also read: Free e-Book - Introducing Windows 10 For IT Professionals