Applying virtual reality techniques to the interactive stress analysis of a tractor lift arm

The objective of this research is to examine the challenges of applying vir tual reality techniques to the interactive stress analysis of a tractor lif t arm. NURBS-based free form deformation, finite element analysis, sensitiv ity analysis, collision detection, and virtual reality are combined to crea te an interactive environment for designers to view and modify part shape, evaluate the resulting stresses, and check for interference of the new part shape and surrounding parts in real-time. These methods are implemented us ing a surround screen virtual environment where the part of interest and as sociated geometry surrounding that part are displayed together using stereo projection to provide a three-dimensional view of the assembly. (C) 2000 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.