My Story and the Story Behind the Book: The Who, Why, What, and How

Have you ever searched for a book on a given subject without ever finding it? This is what I experienced when I decided to become an FEA specialist; therefore, after many years of intensive FEA performance in the aerospace industry, I decided to write this book, "Practical Finite Element Analysis for Mechanical Engineers", to help the FEA community learn how to build reliable finite element models.

Allow me to tell you my story as well as the complete story of this book: the who, why, what, and how.

Who

I was born in France in a small town close to La Rochelle in the west of the country, near the Atlantic Coast. I grew up in a modest family. My father was a teacher and my mother a housewife. I was an average student, but I became hooked on science and technology at an early age. I spent my time reading all the books I could find about aerospace, astrophysics, and motorsports. I am sure I read everything on these subjects in the library of the small town where my family lived (I cannot say it was a huge library, but it had a respectable number of relevant books).

In school, I was not captivated by my classes, and I struggled to make the connection between the teachers’ lessons and my passion for aerospace and astrophysics. Nevertheless, when it came time to go to university, I logically chose the sciences. I devoted my first two years of university to the study of advanced mathematics and fundamental physics (classical physics, solid mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, quantum physics, relativity).

I have fond memories of those first two years at university, but my passion for aerospace still resonated deeply within me; therefore, after graduating in mathematics and physics, I listened to my heart and went to pursue a Master's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering in Toulouse, one of the leading cities in this field in Europe.

Like most students in mechanical engineering, I learned the basis of the finite element method; however, I was intrigued by FEA from the very beginning. I immediately understood that it was a very powerful tool that was about to undergo rapid sensational growth. I had such a passion for FEA that I decided to specialize in the field, and, thanks to several internships in the aerospace industry, I was able to do so.

Immediately after graduating, I was involved as a structural engineer in highly stimulating aerospace assignments with European companies such as Airbus, Dassault Aviation, and Hispano-Suiza (now Safran). I had the opportunity to work on projects such as the Airbus A340 and A380 as well as the Falcon 7X.

Then, after 10 years in the industry, I decided to emigrate to North America. I settled in Montreal, Canada, where I worked as a freelance structural engineer on incredible projects such as the CRJ700-900-1000, Learjet 85, Bell 429, C-Series/A220, PW800, and B747-FTB for Bombardier Aerospace, Bell Helicopter, and Pratt & Whitney Canada.

Why

Although I have been involved in some remarkably interesting projects, my learning process in FEA was a long series of frustrations based on trial and error because of the poor quality of the literature concerning the practical aspects of FEA.

Indeed, when I started out in the aerospace industry, the use of FEA was not very developed, so it was difficult to find mentors to rely on and learn from. As a result, I had to learn on my own, by experiencing the concepts one by one, step by step. The process was rather tedious and challenging at first, but it also allowed me to understand the discipline in depth.

While honing my knowledge of modeling techniques, I noticed that many engineers had learned FEA from a software point of view. They skipped the first stages which consist of learning the basic theory and proper modeling techniques. Such an approach is problematic because many FEA analysts make incorrect assumptions and generate flawed analyses, simply because they are unaware of basic FEA rules.

What

Consequently, 20 years later, I made the decision to write the book that I would have liked to read when I started my career. I wanted to write a book for all structural engineers wishing to solve complex problems using FEA, including both experienced engineers and students in mechanical structural engineering. I wanted to write a book to assist with the FEA learning process and to help engineers avoid a similar sense of frustration.

While there is much information in the published literature regarding FEM theory, there is little on practical FEA modeling techniques for mechanical engineers. This book fills the void by offering the best practical methods and guidelines available for the development and validation of finite element models. Based on my own experience as an FEA analyst, it contains the methods I have experimented and perfected during my 20 years as an aerospace engineer— the methods I use every day and that I know give good results.

How

Over the last 10 years, while working as a freelance structural engineer, I have had the opportunity to teach what I have learned in FEA since the beginning of my career to young engineers and trainees. One of the most frequent questions I am asked is, “How can I learn FEA?”

Just like me, beginners were looking for references about practical FEA in the literature, but they could not find them. Therefore, I collected their questions, and, together with the notebooks that I had kept throughout my past experiences, used them to build my table of contents. In July 2016, while I was an FEA freelancer in the aerospace industry, I started to write the manuscript in my free time.

The work was progressing well but not that fast. Then, on October 21, 2017, I had a serious accident. I crashed my aircraft in a forest owing to an engine failure. Miraculously, I only broke my legs, but I suffered very serious fractures in both. Considering the statistics for this type of accident, I should have died. However, life had a different plan for me, and, after two surgeries and a long rehabilitation process to learn to walk again, I recovered completely.

After this event, I prioritized certain projects, and writing this book was one of them. While I was still in the hospital and rehabilitation center, I passed the time by writing. Then, when I returned home, I continued to write. From the end of 2017 to the end of 2019, I must have spent most of my free time on the manuscript.

To produce this book, I had to spend long hours alone in my office— long hours that I sometimes stole from and could not give back to my wonderful and lovely family (my wife Severine, my son Charly and my daughter Sydney). On the other hand, this experience also allowed me to teach my children that passion and perseverance can be the driving forces that enable us to achieve our goals. My family supported me continuously throughout this process and have been my source of inspiration. Feeling their daily presence and love at my side helped me and gave me all the serenity I needed to produce this work. I could not have done it without them.

At the start of 2020, I set up a technical review committee of 10 experts in the field of FEA to ensure the content corresponded to what readers would want to read and find in such a book. After a few adjustments, the manuscript was completed.

At this point, I could have gone in search of a publisher, but that is not me. I am a rather independent person. Moreover, I strongly wished to retain my copyright and creative control of the book. Consequently, I decided to take a class to study the publishing process. During this class, I realized that I could create my own publishing company and transform myself into a publishing director just for this project: all I had to do was hire the right professionals at every step. That is what I did, and, in nine months, thanks to these incredible professionals in the publishing industry, the book was born.

It was a long journey, but, let me tell you, as an engineer and as a person, I learned a lot from this project. I met incredible people, and the process allowed me to open up new horizons that I will explore in the near future.

If I had to do it again, I would not change anything. I would do everything the same way. Believe me, my next book will follow the exact same path.

My greatest interest, from now on, is in helping the FEA community learn our wonderful discipline. So, stay tuned, there is more to come from me.

https://www.fea-academy.com