Level 5 – Virtual Engineering

Pearson/Edexcel BTEC Level 5 Engineering – Virtual Engineering

This unit can be studied  as part of a BTEC HND in Engineering. 

Unit introduction

The work of an engineer increasingly involves the use of powerful software modelling tools (virtual modelling). These tools allow us to predict potential manufacturing difficulties, suggest how a product or component is likely to behave in service, and undertake rapid and low cost design iteration and optimisation, to reduce costs, pre-empt failure and enhance performance.
This unit introduces  the application of relevant Computer Aided Design (CAD) and analysis engineering tools in contemporary engineering. You will learn about standards, regulations and legal compliance within the context of engineering.
Topics included in this unit are: dimensioning and tolerances, standardisation and regulatory compliance (BS, ASTM, ISO, etc.), material properties and selection, manufacturing processes, 2D, 3D, CAD, solid modelling, one-dimensional and multi-dimensional problems, meshing and boundary conditions, and the finite volume method. On successful completion of this unit you will be able to consider how to perform computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, develop finite element product and system models, explain the identification of faults in the application of simulation techniques and discuss the modelling method and data accuracy.

By the end of this you will be able to:

1. Explore the capabilities and limitations of computer-based models in meeting design fundamentals and their use in solving problems in engineering.
2. Analyse finite element product and system models in order to find and solve potential structural or performance issues.
3. Perform CFD simulations to evaluate pressure and velocity distributions within an engineering setting.
4. Determine faults in the application of simulation techniques to evaluate the modelling method and data accuracy.

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