Problem Based Learning in Finite Element Analysis

With the advancement in computing power and the evolution of different engineering software, a lot of engineering design and development uses computational modeling. Finite element analysis is one of the most popular computational approaches to engineering design and assessment. At the W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology’s Automotive and Vehicle Engineering Technology program, a course in Finite Element Analysis is taught in the 3rd year of a four-year Bachelor’s program. In this work, we present the problem-based learning (PBL) approach that we use in this course to teach the principles of finite element analysis and applying them to two real-world engineering problems. For these problems, the students are taught ANSYS software, which is popular in the industry. In a PBL setting using a constructivist environment, we are able to engage the students and successfully deliver the concepts.