Case based approach for mesh specification in adaptive finite element analysis

This paper describes the application of an Artificial Intelligence paradigm called CBR (Case Based Reasoning) to the initial mesh selection in the adaptive finite element analysis system. It gives a brief overview of the system modules which perform the analysis on the structures by accessing the main module of the system called Case Base where previously salved cases are stored for future use. The system matches the current problem with similar stored case. The mesh distribution in the form of numerical values is represented by the object-oriented technique, which can be easily adapted by the topology of new problem in the same structural domain. As building of Case Based Reasoner, even in its simplest form involves a number of issues, such as case representation, case indexing, case matching and retrieval. All these issues are briefly discussed in this paper. It is believed that the use of developed knowledge representation scheme in the CBR systems will be a step ahead for Case Based Reasoning to become a powerful problem solving tool in the structural analysis domain.