The fundamental importance of stress engineering

Stress – or structural – engineering has always been acritical part of large engineering projects. Any complex project comprises components that need to interact with each other, and that often happens under a certain level of stress. So, understanding the relationship between external loading, materials, weight, tolerances, temperature, plus many other factors is a fundamental part of any project.

Stress engineering is critical across a range of industries, including marine, energy, automotive, rail – any engineering project, in fact.

‍Getting in at the start

‍Stress engineers ideally come into a project right at the beginning. Often, if a stress or structural engineer is brought in later in the project, it’s because something isn’t working properly, or there have been problems in early testing. This can set the project back and incur additional costs – neither of which are good prospects for a programme manager. Getting the design right at the start can allow a smooth passage through certification, avoiding costly changes or additional unforeseen work to be needed in quick fashion when everyone is under pressure to deliver.

So, using stress engineers at the start of a project can help to avoid problems further down the line, making your design more efficient and effective, whilst also covering key considerations such as weight, materials, interaction with other components, external load and geometry of the component.

Additionally, there will be stress requirements to consider that are specific to the nature of the project. For example, an aerospace project will need to consider the effects of vibration, a marine project may need to consider the effects of salt water, and other projects may need to consider the effects of extreme temperature.

‍When should you call a stress engineer?

‍Some businesses have internal stress engineering experts whilst others use external resources as and when they need them. You may need stress engineers for a brand new project or for modification work on an existing project. The most common situations for the team at Cascade include:·    

• Developing a new structural solution, where weight is critical, but strength paramount.   

• Where a major change to an existing structure is needed and clients want to know the authorities will still let it operate.       

• Understanding the lifespan of a product and defining the structural service schedule.       

• Improving the performance of a structure, or where the performance of a product can only be improved through a major structural change.       

• Knowing the product may be hit by something at high speed and needing to ensure it will survive such a collision.

To find out more about how we can help manage stress or structural engineering on a current or upcoming project, contact us today.