At DIANA FEA we offer a wide range of training opportunities for users who are completely new to finite element analysis, and DIANA FEA - to advanced users wishing to expand their existing skills.
All of our courses consist of a well balanced mixture of lectures, instruction and hands-on tutorials, sometimes followed up by "Q&A" a few days later. Each course is run by one, or more of our DIANA Training Specialists who are on hand to impart their expertise, and give the best advice.
Throughout the period of each course, the DIANA software is made available, enabling participants to try out the software for themselves. Upon successful completion certification is required.*
Throughout the year, we run a range of courses for different levels of experience. Sign up for our newsletter to ensure you hear about re-runs of existing courses, and new courses which will be released later this year. See the list below for the courses on offer, along with our next planned dates. If you have a request for training in a specific area, would like to find out more about one of the courses listed below or discuss tailor made courses, please get in contact via our Training Enquiry Form.
* for engineers based in the Netherlands, Constructeursregister KE/PE points are available for all of our courses.
Our most popular course for new users of DIANA FEA, consisting of six modules which include training and follow up Q&A sessions over a period of two weeks. Emphasis is placed upon nonlinear analysis of (reinforced) concrete structures, with a spotlight on crack modelling, and failure analysis. Delegates will learn good practice in nonlinear finite element analysis, and also the criteria for choosing the correct crack model from those available, how to converge criteria, and the setting of corresponding parameters.
- Module G-1: Getting Started with DIANA (Beginner)
- Module I-1: Python Scripting & Automatization (Intermediate)
- Module I-2: Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis (Intermediate)
- Module I-3: Reinforced Concrete Analysis (Intermediate)
- Module I-4: Thermo-Stress Analysis (Intermediate)
- Module I-5: Heat of Hydration & Early Age Concrete Cracking (Intermediate)
Each module can be booked separately, although we strongly suggest if you have not used DIANA FEA before, you register for Module G-1, before proceeding to the Intermediate modules.
Next course: March 2023
This 4-module course, which takes place over two weeks, focuses on getting participants familiar with finite element analysis, and provides a basic practical level of expertise with DIANA FEA. Each module can be booked individually:
- Module G-1-1: Basic principles of finite element analysis
- Module G-1-2: Finite element formulation
- Module G-1-3: Geometry modeling and analysis types
- Module G-1-4: Simplify your model
Next Course: to be confirmed, contact us for further information
This course will prepare the participants to understand the range of materials used the architecture, the best way to model geometry for the situation, and which analyses should be carried out. After completing this module, you will gain a good understanding of the behavior of masonry structures, and the capabilities of DIANA regarding their assessment.
Topics covered:
- Overview on general behavior of masonry structures
- Different components of masonry structures and modelling strategies
- Materials models for masonry
- Micro modelling (discrete crack approach)
- Macro modelling (smeared crack approach)
- Total strain cracked model
- Engineering masonry model
- Analysis for structural assessment of masonry structures
- NLTH
- Pushover
- Strengthening of masonry structures and modelling strategies
Next Course: to be confirmed, contact us for further information
The aim of this course is to provide a general overview of the geotechnical challenges in modelling soil and soil-structure interaction by FEA and how DIANA can help engineers in overcoming them, with particular emphasis on excavation engineering applications in hard and soft soil. Learning objectives include:
- To recognize the characteristics of soils & rocks behavior
- To explain the meaning of model parameters
- To calculate the stress and strain response for simple continuum models
- To recognize the capabilities and limitations of models
- To evaluate the applicability of models in practical geotechnical applications
- To calibrate the model parameters based on soil data including possible range and sensitivity analysis
- To judge the results of geotechnical FEM models
Next course: to be confirmed, contact us for further information
Participants with the necessary knowledge to deal with complex reinforced concrete designs, and proficiency in choosing the right mesh, material and analysis options applicable to the design of wind turbine foundations. After completing this module, you will have a good understanding of the design of wind turbine foundations, and how utilizing a nonlinear 3D solid FEA model can help create a safe, and cost-efficient design. Topics covered:
- Workflow: Design of the wind turbine foundation
- on grade, or on piles
- size of the wind turbine foundation
- 3D Nonlinear model
- structured mesh
- design of reinforcement
- recommended material models
- analysis & checking
- Automating the whole process
Next Course: to be confirmed, contact us for further information
Participants will gain a good understanding of how to set up a groundwater flow analysis; and how to design different types of groundwater flow boundaries, including how to couple the flow analysis with the structural analysis. Topics covered:
- Steady state analysis
- Transient analysis
- Groundwater flow material parameters
- Groundwater boundary flow conditions
- Exercise: Two-dimensional analysis of an earthfill dam (insight)
- Q&A
Next Course: to be confirmed, contact us for further information
With particular emphasis on the dynamic specific modeling aspects and analysis types, the course objectives include:
- To recognize and discuss the dynamic specific modeling aspects (wave speeds, mass, damping, etc.)
- To discuss the characteristics of dissipative materials for dynamic, loadings and absorbing boundaries.
- To give an overview on the various dynamic analysis types and their specific outputs
Next Course: to be confirmed, contact us for further information
Upon completion of this module, you will have an indepth understanding of the HFTD method, and the pro's and con's of this approach.
Throughout this course, we will impart upon you the dedicated knowledge of Hybrid Frequency Time Domain (HFTD) analysis in DIANA, drawing particular focus to dam structures, included lessons:
- the background theory of the HFTD method
- application of HFTD analysis for seismic assessment of dam structures
- important modelling aspects (mass, damping, frequency dependent reservoir properties, earthquake accelerograms)
- specific analysis settings (model reduction, time segments, excitation frequency filtering and convergence)
- a comparison between standard nonlinear transient dynamic analysis and HFTD analysis
Next course: to be confirmed, contact us for further information
After completing this module, you will gain an in-depth understanding of concrete crack modelling and the pros/cons of the different approaches. Topics cover include:
- Discrete cracking (physical & empirical models)
- Smeared cracking
- Multiple fixed crack model
- Total strain based crack model
- Rankine principal stress model
- Modeling approach for fiber reinforced concrete
- Random fields
- Tips & Tricks for advanced concrete crack analysis
Next Course: to be confirmed, contact us for further information
Participants will gain an indepth understanding of the different solutions procedures available in DIANA FEA, and the pros/cons of the different approaches.
Topics covered:
- Types of nonlinearities
- Geometric nonlinearity
- Material nonlinearity
- Transient
- Solution procedures for nonlinear FEA
- Regular Newton-Raphson method
- Modified Newton-Raphson method
- Linear Stiffness iterative method
- Quasi Newton-Raphson method
- Convergence criteria
- Line-search method
- Arc-length method
- Guidelines for NLFEA
- Setting up NLFEA in DIANA
- Case studies
- Post-processing results
Next Course: to be confirmed, contact us for further information
After completing this module, you will have gained a good understanding of how to model structures in fire, based on Eurocodes, how to set up a heat flow analysis; and how to design different types of heat flow boundaries. Topics covered:
- Steady State Analysis
- Transient Analysis
- Heat Flow Material Parameters
- Heat Flow Boundary Conditions
- Model Code Input
Next Course: to be confirmed, contact us for further information
