Precision Engineering Meets Sustainability
As part of the FEA Water Tower Challenge 2025, our team designed and analysed a lightweight, biodegradable water tower, balancing structural efficiency with environmental responsibility through advanced finite element analysis.
Design Challenges
Load Optimization
Maximising load-bearing capacity while minimising material usage through strategic structural design and analysis.
Sustainable Materials
Using biodegradable pasta materials while maintaining structural integrity and performance requirements.
Buckling Prevention
Preventing structural instability and buckling under load through advanced finite element analysis.
FEA-Driven Solution
Using ANSYS, we conducted extensive static and buckling analyses, refining our design through iterative simulations to achieve optimal load-bearing capacity and structural stability.
Static Analysis
Comprehensive stress and displacement analysis to optimise material distribution and structural efficiency.
Buckling Analysis
Critical load factor determination and instability prevention through eigenvalue buckling analysis.
Iterative Optimisation
Multiple design iterations guided by FEA results to achieve maximum performance efficiency.
Validation Testing
Physical testing with pasta construction confirming simulation accuracy and design effectiveness.
Key Results
- Maximum load capacity achieved
- Zero buckling failure
- Optimal material distribution
- 93% prediction accuracy
- Sustainable design approach
- 1st place competition finish
Analysis Process
Initial Design
Conceptualising tower geometry and establishing design constraints for biodegradable material properties.
FEA Modeling
Creating detailed ANSYS models with appropriate boundary conditions and material definitions.
Analysis & Optimisation
Running static and buckling analyses, identifying stress concentrations and optimising design geometry.
Physical Validation
Constructing the optimised design with pasta and validating FEA predictions through load testing.
Analysis Documentation
Extract of documentation of our FEA methodology, stress analysis results, and design optimisation process that led to our competition victory.
Championship Results
Our accurate FEA predictions were validated when our pasta tower successfully supported the highest weight in the competition, demonstrating the precision of our structural simulations and securing 1st place.
Competition Victory
First place finish in FEA Water Tower Challenge 2025 among all competing teams
Perfect Prediction
93% accuracy between FEA simulations and physical testing results under load
Sustainable Innovation
Successfully balanced maximum performance with environmentally responsible material use
"This challenge demonstrated how precise finite element analysis can bridge the gap between theoretical design and real-world performance, validating the power of simulation-driven engineering."
