Structural finite element analysis, topology optimisation and full GD&T / tolerance definition of an aircraft engine mount bracket (SAE 4130) — taking the part from validated simulation to a manufacturable, inspectable, production-ready design.
MSc Dissertation, University of Salford · extended with a self-initiated GD&T, tolerance-management and PLM workflow.
ANSYS Mechanical · CATIA V5 · ASME Y14.5-2018 · Siemens Teamcenter
The engine mount bracket is a flight-critical structural component that carries engine loads into the airframe. This project:
- Models and validates the bracket under representative aerospace load cases (FEA / V&V)
- Reduces mass while preserving structural integrity (topology optimisation)
- Converts the optimised geometry into a controlled, manufacturable definition (GD&T + tolerance stack-up)
- Manages the part through its lifecycle from CAD to release (Teamcenter PLM)
The full arc — analysis → optimisation → producible design — is the closed-loop V-Model workflow used in industry.
- Two candidate designs modelled in CATIA V5 / Creo and analysed in ANSYS Mechanical
- Evaluated across multiple structural load cases (vertical, horizontal, combined) plus modal / vibration analysis (first 5 natural frequencies)
- Tetrahedral mesh with refinement at fastener holes and stress-concentration zones; grid-independence study performed
- Outputs (equivalent stress, shear stress, total deformation, FOS) benchmarked against aerospace loading standards (V&V)
Material: SAE 4130 (chromoly steel), yield strength 460 MPa
| Parameter | Design 1 | Design 2 (selected) |
|---|---|---|
| Max equivalent stress (worst case) | 365.3 MPa | 158.1 MPa |
| Max deformation | 0.124 mm | 0.033 mm |
| Factor of safety | 1.25 | 2.91 |
Design 2 was carried forward — significantly lower stress, deformation and a healthier factor of safety.
- Mass-minimisation subject to stress and displacement constraints
- Optimised design re-analysed under the same load cases to confirm integrity
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Mass (generic → optimised) | 3.259 kg → 2.54 kg |
| Mass reduction | ~22% |
| Optimised max equivalent stress | ~266 MPa (within limits) |
| Optimised factor of safety | ~1.73 |
Extended the topology-optimised geometry into a fully manufacturable, inspectable definition per ASME Y14.5-2018.
- Datum reference frame: A | B | C (3-2-1) — A = base mounting face, B & C = base locating holes
- Controls applied: Flatness · Position (MMC) · Perpendicularity · Cylindricity · Parallelism · Profile of a surface
- Tolerance stack-up: 1D worst-case (±0.35 mm) vs RSS (±0.206 mm) on the pin-bore height above Datum A — RSS band stays inside the mating-clevis allowance
- Fastener fit: floating-fastener rule sets position Ø0.20 Ⓜ; MMC bonus gives up to Ø0.40 allowable; virtual condition (Ø8.20) proves guaranteed assembly
- Design principle: tight controls only on mating / load-path features; the non-mating topology-optimised web gets a deliberately loose profile tolerance — function-driven tolerancing, not blanket-tight
📄 See gdt-tolerance/ for the annotated drawing, the portfolio
one-pager and the full tolerance stack-up workbook (datum scheme, FCF register,
worst-case + RSS stacks, MMC fastener-fit, summary).
Managed the complete part lifecycle in Siemens Teamcenter: item & revision control, EBOM structure, dataset management and workflow-based drawing release — delivering controlled, release-ready engineering data.
| Category | Stack |
|---|---|
| FEA & optimisation | ANSYS Mechanical, ANSYS Topology Optimisation |
| CAD | CATIA V5, Creo (Pro/ENGINEER) |
| Standards | ASME Y14.5-2018 (GD&T), MIL-SPEC, V-Model, V&V |
| PLM | Siemens Teamcenter |
| Tolerance analysis | Worst-case + RSS stack-up, MMC / virtual condition |
engine-bracket-fea-ansys/
├── README.md
├── fea/ # FEA setup, load cases, result plots
├── topology-optimisation/ # TO setup and optimised geometry
└── gdt-tolerance/
├── GDT_Bracket_Drawing.png # Annotated GD&T drawing
├── GDT_Bracket_OnePager.pdf # Portfolio one-pager
└── GDT_Tolerance_Stackup_Bracket.xlsx # WC + RSS + MMC workbook
(Adapt folder names to match your existing repo layout.)
- ML surrogate model trained on this FEA data → aircraft-bracket-fea-surrogate
- aircraft-flight-dynamics-cessna172
- nlf-airfoil-cfd-xflr5
- twin-boom-uav-design
Dinesh Natarajan — Aerospace Engineer (MSc, University of Salford) Bengaluru, India LinkedIn · dineshnatarajan02@gmail.com