Finite Element Model Model Research Articles

A FEM Modeling of the Concrete Pavement Made of the Recycling Material

Paper is a brief review of the research focused on formulation an numerical model for the concrete pavement which is made by the recycling material. For numerical modeling the finite element model (FEM) and the 3D finite element model were applied. The software EverFE 2.25, was used. The results of FEM analysis is in a chapter shape showing move value change, strees and deflections for all layers a construction road model. In the next phase of the research was provided by FEM software with appropriate general purpose non-linear models, which allows the analysis of the real behavior of solid pavement under load.

Computational Simulation of Scleral Buckling Surgery for Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment: On the Effect of the Band Size on the Myopization

A finite element model (FE) of the eye including cornea, sclera, crystalline lens, and ciliary body was created to analyze the influence of the silicone encircling bandwidth and the tightness degree on the myopia induced by scleral buckling (SB) procedure for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was applied to the reference geometry of the FE model and then SB surgery was simulated with encircling bandwidths of 1, 2, and 2.5 mm. Different levels of tightening and three values of IOP were applied. The anterior segment resulted as unaffected by the surgery. The highest value of Cauchy stress appeared in the surroundings of the implant, whereas no increment of stress was observed either in anterior segment or in the optic nerve head. The initial IOP did not appear to play any role in the induced myopia. The wider the band, the greater the induced myopia: 0.44, 0.88, and 1.07 diopters (D) for the 1, 2, and 2.5 mm bandwidth, respectively. Therefore, patients become more myopic with a wider encircling element. The proposed simulations allow determining the effect of the bandwidth or the tightness degree on the axial lengthening, thus predicting the myopic increment caused by the encircling surgery.

Development and initial evaluation of a finite element model of the pediatric craniocervical junction.

OBJECT There is a significant deficiency in understanding the biomechanics of the pediatric craniocervical junction (CCJ) (occiput-C2), primarily because of a lack of human pediatric cadaveric tissue and the relatively small number of treated patients. To overcome this deficiency, a finite element model (FEM) of the pediatric CCJ was created using pediatric geometry and parameterized adult material properties. The model was evaluated under the physiological range of motion (ROM) for flexion-extension, axial rotation, and lateral bending and under tensile loading. METHODS This research utilizes the FEM method, which is a numerical solution technique for discretizing and analyzing systems. The FEM method has been widely used in the field of biomechanics. A CT scan of a 13-month-old female patient was used to create the 3D geometry and surfaces of the FEM model, and an open-source FEM software suite was used to apply the material properties and boundary and loading conditions and analyze the model. The published adult ligament properties were reduced to 50%, 25%, and 10% of the original stiffness in various iterations of the model, and the resulting ROMs for flexion-extension, axial rotation, and lateral bending were compared. The flexion-extension ROMs and tensile stiffness that were predicted by the model were evaluated using previously published experimental measurements from pediatric cadaveric tissues. RESULTS The model predicted a ROM within 1 standard deviation of the published pediatric ROM data for flexion-extension at 10% of adult ligament stiffness. The model's response in terms of axial tension also coincided well with published experimental tension characterization data. The model behaved relatively stiffer in extension than in flexion. The axial rotation and lateral bending results showed symmetric ROM, but there are currently no published pediatric experimental data available for comparison. The model predicts a relatively stiffer ROM in both axial rotation and lateral bending in comparison with flexion-extension. As expected, the flexion-extension, axial rotation, and lateral bending ROMs increased with the decrease in ligament stiffness. CONCLUSIONS An FEM of the pediatric CCJ was created that accurately predicts flexion-extension ROM and axial force displacement of occiput-C2 when the ligament material properties are reduced to 10% of the published adult ligament properties. This model gives a reasonable prediction of pediatric cervical spine ligament stiffness, the relationship between flexion-extension ROM, and ligament stiffness at the CCJ. The creation of this model using open-source software means that other researchers will be able to use the model as a starting point for research.

Bulge testing of copper and niobium tubes for hydroformed RF cavities

The heat treatment, tensile testing, and bulge testing of Cu and Nb tubes has been carried out to gain experience for the subsequent hydroforming of Nb tube into seamless superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities for high energy particle acceleration. In the experimental part of the study samples removed from representative tubes were prepared for heat treatment, tensile testing, residual resistance ratio measurement, and orientation imaging electron microscopy (OIM). After being optimally heat treated Cu and Nb tubes were subjected to hydraulic bulge testing and the results analyzed. In the final part of the study finite-element models (FEM) incorporating constitutive (stress–strain) relationships analytically derived from the tensile and bulge tests, respectively, were used to replicate the bulge test. As expected, agreement was obtained between the experimental bulge parameters and the FEM model based on the bulge-derived constitutive relationship. Not so for the FEM model based on tensile-test data. It is concluded that a constitutive relationship based on bulge testing is necessary to predict a material's performance under hydraulic deformation.

Vibration Reduction of Inductors Under Magnetostrictive and Maxwell Forces Excitation

This paper analyzes the phenomenon of vibrations in U-shaped (two-limb) inductors with distributed air gaps due to both Maxwell and magnetostriction forces. A weak 2-D magnetomechanical finite-element model (FEM), including magnetostrictive tensor, is developed under the GetDP open-source simulation environment. A simple analytical model of the reactor core vibration under magnetic forces is established and validated using the FEM model. The resonance effect of magnetostriction and Maxwell forces on the inductor structure is analyzed, and a sensitivity analysis is run on some of the inductor geometrical parameters. An example of inductor is presented, and a methodology to reduce vertical vibrations under magnetic force excitation is proposed by opposing the magnetostrictive and Maxwell forces. This technique is validated using both the analytical and the FEM models.

Development of a hyperelastic material model of subsynovial connective tissue using finite element modeling

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is one of the most common disorders of the hand. Assessment of carpal tunnel tissue mechanical behavior, especially that of the subsynovial connective tissue (SSCT), is important to better understand the mechanisms of CTS. The aim of this study was to develop a hyperelastic material model of human SSCT using mechanical test data and finite element modeling (FEM). Experimental shear test data of SSCT from 7 normal subjects and 7 CTS patients collected in a prior study was used to define material response. Hyperelastic coefficients (μ and α) from the first-order Ogden material property definition were iteratively solved using specimen-specific FEM models simulating the mechanical test conditions. A typical Ogden hyperelastic response for the normal and CTS SSCT was characterized by doing the same with data from all samples averaged together. The mean Ogden coefficients (μ/α) for the normal cadaver and CTS patient SSCT were 1.25×10−5MPa/4.51 and 1.99×10−6MPa/10.6, respectively when evaluating coefficients for individual specimens. The Ogden coefficients for the typical (averaged data) model for normal cadaver and CTS patient SSCT were 1.63×10−5MPa/3.93 and 5.00×10−7MPa/9.55, respectively. Assessment of SSCT mechanical response with a hyperelastic material model demonstrated significant differences between patient and normal cadaver. The refined assessment of these differences with this model may be important for future model development and in understanding clinical presentation of CTS.

External pressure induced buckling collapse of high density polyethylene (HDPE) liners: FEM modeling and predictions

Thermoplastic polymers such as HDPE are nowadays widely used as lining materials for oil and gas pipelines. However, during maintenance or unexpected service stoppages, these liners can undergo external pressure induced bucking collapse. The objective of this work is to assess the mechanical response of HDPE liners undergoing buckling collapse by means of Finite element modeling (FEM) simulations on Abaqus 6.10. To accomplish this, an advanced constitutive model, namely the Three Network Model (TNM) was employed. In order to determine the input parameters for the model, a series of tensile and compressive uniaxial tests were conducted. The suitability of the model for this particular application was assessed by contrasting the simulation and the experimental results of a diametral compression test. The complex strain rate and pressure dependent mechanical response of HDPE liners was analyzed by modeling the buckling collapse dynamic event as an increasing volume of fluid entering the gap cavity between liner and host pipe. The model predictions allowed establishing a mathematical relationship between the depressurization velocity of the tubes and the resulting collapse pressure. These relations can be used to improve the current design guidelines for plastic liners.

Forward modeling of radio imaging (RIM) data with the Comsol RF module

Radio imaging method (RIM) is an electromagnetic (EM) tomographic method, which can be applied to image the electrical properties (principally the conductivity) in the plane defined by two boreholes. RIM employs the EM waves at radio frequencies between 100kHz and 10MHz, and the manner that these waves propagate around subsurface ore bodies has not been studied thoroughly. We studied the wave propagation using the finite element modeling (FEM) algorithm as implemented in the Comsol RF module. An appropriate element size is quantified by comparing the Comsol modeling results of 6 types of element sizes at 4 frequencies with the analytical solution in the homogeneous whole space. The FEM model data with 5 elements per wavelength have errors less than 5%; 7–8 elements per wavelength provide the errors around 1%; when there are 10 elements per wavelength, the errors are less than 1%. Comparison studies for more complicated models with anomalous conductivity structures show that the Comsol modeling results are consistent with results derived from analytical solutions, finite-difference time-domain methods and integral equations. To illustrate the flexibility of the Comsol method for RIM modeling, we provide an example with two moderately conductive bodies between boreholes. Receiver profiles and a relative variation map show that when the conductive bodies are two wavelengths away from the source, the EM wave attenuation and reflection by the conductive bodies can be observed. The amplitude tomography of the model data reveals that with the SIRT algorithm, the location of the conductive anomalies can be reconstructed successfully, although, some limitations exist such as low resolution, incorrect conductivity estimation, and some artifacts. From our work, we conclude that Comsol modeling is helpful to study radio wave propagation and imaging methods.

ZIG-ZAG GROUNDING TRANSFORMER MODELING FOR ZERO-SEQUNCE IMPEDANCE CALCULATION USING FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

The grounding transformer is one of most important equipment in power energy system. This paper describes the modeling of zig-zag grounding transformer type with varying degrees of complexity. In this paper, the Finite Element model (FEM) of zig-zag grounding transformer with non-linear magnetic characteristic for iron is built using ANSYS software electromagnetic package. A numerical method, based on Finite Element Analysis (FEA), is presented for computing the zero-sequence impedance of grounding transformer. The analysis method is based on the two dimensions (2D) model and this model was solved by using the magnetic vector potential formulation (A).The main purpose of this paper is performing the modeling of the three-phase zig-zag grounding wound core transformer in 2D FEM for any capacity of transformer (100KVA- 1000KVA) and the Finite Element techniques are used for the magnetic field analysis to evaluate the magnetic field and to determine their distribution at any region inside the window and winding. Two types of analyses were performed, including static and transient analysis. The transient analysis in this work is simulated by direct coupling the 2D transformer model with external circuit (voltage sources) .The simulation results prove the analysis' correctness and validity, and the result of zero-sequence impedance of grounding transformer is verified by comparison with experimental result. Those measured in the Diyala transformer factory once the grounding transformer has been built. A good agreement of the computational results with experimental result by using this FEM model of zig-zag grounding transformer allowing us to know the transformer behavior before manufacturing them and, thus reducing the design time and cost.

Crystallographic effects during micromachining — A finite-element model

Mechanical micromachining is a powerful and effective way for manufacturing small sized machine parts. Even though the micromachining process is similar to the traditional machining, the material behavior during the process is much different. In particular, many researchers report that the basic mechanics of the work material is affected by microstructures and their crystallographic orientations. For example, crystallographic orientations of the work material have significant influence on force response, chip formation and surface finish. In order to thoroughly understand the effect of crystallographic orientations on the micromachining process, finite-element model (FEM) simulating orthogonal cutting process of single crystallographic material was presented. For modeling the work material, rate sensitive single crystal plasticity of face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal was implemented. For the chip formation during the simulation, element deletion technique was used. The simulation model is developed using ABAQUS/explicit with user material subroutine via user material subroutine (VUMAT). Simulations showed that variation of the specific cutting energy at different crystallographic orientations of work material shows significant anisotropy. The developed FEM model can be a useful prediction tool of micromachining of crystalline materials.

Microstructural simulation of friction stir welding using a cellular automaton method: a microstructure prediction of AZ91 magnesium alloy

Recently, some researchers have simulated FSW using FEM and studied the influence of process parameters and tool geometry on material flow, welding force, and temperature and strain distributions during friction stir processing. Additionally, in terms of microstructure modeling, various approaches such as the Cellular Automaton (CA) model have been developed to simulate microstructural evolution during plastic deformation processes. In this work, a finite element model (FEM) is established to study the microstructure evolution during friction stir welding (FSW) of AZ91 magnesium alloy. To this aim, first, the hot compression tests at different temperatures and strain rates were carried out to achieve the flow stress curves. Then, the hardening parameter, the recovery parameter and the strain rate sensitivity were calculated according to flow stress results and using the Kocks−Mecking model. Next, a continuum based thermo-mechanically coupled rigid-viscoplastic FEM model was proposed in Deform-3D software to simulate the FSW of AZ91 magnesium alloy. To evaluate microstructure of the weld zone a model is proposed based on the combination of Cellular Automaton and Laasraoui-Jonas models. Temperature history, strain distribution and welding force are achieved through thermomechanical model and microstructure and grain size distribution are achieved by microstructure evolution model. The effects of rotational and traverse speeds on the grain size and microstructure of weld zone are considered. There is a good agreement between results of numerical models and experiments in the aspects of welding forces, temperature history and grain size. Additionally, the proposed microstructure evolution model can simulate accurately the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) process during FSW and its resulted microstructure.

Combined effect of asphalt concrete cross-anisotropy and temperature variation on pavement stress–strain under dynamic loading

This study investigates the combined effects of asphalt concrete (AC) cross-anisotropy and temperature on asphalt pavement’s stress–strain under moving wheel loads. To facilitate this study, a dynamic Finite Element Model (FEM) of an instrumented pavement section on Interstate-40 (I-40) near Albuquerque, New Mexico, is developed in ABAQUS incorporating depth-temperature variations in the AC layer under a truck wheel loading. Cross-anisotropy in the model is defined as the ratio of horizontal to vertical modulus (n-value) of the AC. Field compacted AC cores were collected from the instrumented pavement section and tested in the laboratory to determine the n-value and viscoelastic parameters, which are incorporated in the FEM model using the User Defined Material (UMAT) interface in ABAQUS. Model is validated using field measured deflections and strains values under Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) test. The validated model is used for a parametric study by varying n-values of AC material under different pavement temperatures. It is observed that the horizontal tensile strain at bottom of the AC layer decreases as the n-value approaches 1.0 (isotropy). It indicates that the horizontal tensile strain decreases as the horizontal modulus of the AC increases. It is also observed that the vertical strains on top of pavement layers decreases with an increase in n-value. It indicates that increase in horizontal modulus of the AC leads to decrease in the vertical strains of pavement layers. The parametric study based on pavement temperature variation shows that horizontal tensile strain at bottom of the AC layer as well as vertical strains on top of AC, base, subbase, and subgrade are highly sensitive to temperature variation in AC layer.

System identification of R/C girder bridges based on field measurements and numerical simulations

Original scientific paper An overview of research performed in the framework of the NATO Project SfP 983828 is given in the paper. The scope of the research was to identify the parameters affecting the dynamic response of an existing R/C girder bridge, based on ambient vibration measurements and numerical simulations using finite element models (FEM). For this purpose, the bridge across the river Bosnia near Sarajevo and the soil surrounding the bridge were instrumented. Ambient vibration tests and geophysical investigations were performed. The results are studied and a refined three-dimensional (3D) FEM is developed that takes into consideration the soil-structure interaction and superstructure-substructure interaction. The FEM’s with designed parameters and parameters obtained by measurements were developed. The developed FEM models are comparatively assessed and FEM model with congruence between the measured and computationally predicted dynamic characteristics of the structure was defined. The results of the analysis show that the adequate determination of the pier, deck and bearings stiffness is the key parameter for reliable system identification.

Computational and experimental analysis of TMS-induced electric field vectors critical to neuronal activation

Objective. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) represents a powerful technique to noninvasively modulate cortical neurophysiology in the brain. However, the relationship between the magnetic fields created by TMS coils and neuronal activation in the cortex is still not well-understood, making predictable cortical activation by TMS difficult to achieve. Our goal in this study was to investigate the relationship between induced electric fields and cortical activation measured by blood flow response. Particularly, we sought to discover the E-field characteristics that lead to cortical activation. Approach. Subject-specific finite element models (FEMs) of the head and brain were constructed for each of six subjects using magnetic resonance image scans. Positron emission tomography (PET) measured each subject’s cortical response to image-guided robotically-positioned TMS to the primary motor cortex. FEM models that employed the given coil position, orientation, and stimulus intensity in experimental applications of TMS were used to calculate the electric field (E-field) vectors within a region of interest for each subject. TMS-induced E-fields were analyzed to better understand what vector components led to regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) responses recorded by PET. Main results. This study found that decomposing the E-field into orthogonal vector components based on the cortical surface geometry (and hence, cortical neuron directions) led to significant differences between the regions of cortex that were active and nonactive. Specifically, active regions had significantly higher E-field components in the normal inward direction (i.e., parallel to pyramidal neurons in the dendrite-to-axon orientation) and in the tangential direction (i.e., parallel to interneurons) at high gradient. In contrast, nonactive regions had higher E-field vectors in the outward normal direction suggesting inhibitory responses. Significance. These results provide critical new understanding of the factors by which TMS induces cortical activation necessary for predictive and repeatable use of this noninvasive stimulation modality.

The Effect of Discharge Products on the Impedance Spectra in Li-Air Batteries with Organic Electrolyte

There has been a growing interest in electrochemical storages devices such as batteries, fuel cells and supercapacitors in recent years. This interest is due to our growing dependence on electronic devices and on the high demand for energy storage from the electric transport vehicles and electrical power grid industries. As we transition towards cleaner renewable fuel sources such as solar, wind, tidal, etc. our dependence on energy storage devices will continue to grow. Li-air offers much higher energy density among the present known electrochemical storage devices. However, these batteries currently suffer from a number of critical issues such as low number of charge-discharge cycles and the practical energy density is lower than the theoretical energy density. The deposition of lithium peroxide on the surface of the cathode is one of the main causes for low practical specific capacities of lithium-air batteries with organic electrolyte. Recently, we have developed a finite element model (FEM) for computing the electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) for Li-air batteries with organic electrolyte with the double layer [1]. The FEM is based on the theory of concentrated solutions and provides an accurate description of lithium-ion and oxygen diffusion in the anode, separator and the cathode regions. It also takes into account the electron conductivity in the carbon cathode and Butler-Volmer kinetics at anode and cathode, but neglects the effects of deposition of discharge products. The impedance spectra are computed by applying small-signal linear perturbations to the transport equations and solving the final linear system of equations numerically. The FEM model is implemented numerically in our in-house simulation platform RandFlux. The model can predict the impedance response at low d.c. currents and low discharges, when the reaction product formation is not significant and the deposition is uniform, however these assumptions fail in the regime of medium or high d.c. currents and deep discharges. In this presentation we expand the model presented in [1] to include the effects of discharge products. The model considers different physical and structural properties of the cathode such as surface to volume ratio (specific area), porosity, pore structure and pore size distribution, and the conductivity of the discharge layer (using an exponential approximation of quantum tunneling effects [2]) to describe the deposition of Li2O2 inside the cathode. We show that the major effect of the discharge products is to increases the total impedance response due to the increase in the electronic and charge transfer resistance. This effect can be noticed in the figure below which presents two impedance responses: the impedance response computed taking into account the discharge product (symbol) and the impedance response computed without the resistive layer (solid line). The simulations suggest that when EIS is measured at the start of the experiment, the resistive nature of the Li2O2has very small effect on the Nyquist plot (figure a) but if the same experiment is performed near the end of the battery cycle, the additional impedance due to the resistive nature of the lithium peroxide layer is much higher (figure b) and cannot be neglected.

Multi-axis force sensing using a resonant composite piezoelectric plate: model and experiments

Wrist force/torque sensors used in robotic applications increase the performances and flexibility of the automated tasks. They also offer new possibilities in the manufacturing process, where physical contact between the work-piece and environment is required. The wide spreading of these sensors is for now restricted by their features. As an alternative to the existing strain-gauges force sensors, this paper presents a resonant composite structure, which is sensitive to multiple components of force that are considered via the pre-stress effect. Structurally bonded piezoelectric patches are used to bring the structure to its resonance, which is shifted according to applied forces. The relationship between force and frequency shift is modelled considering the multi-physics of this smart structure. This model is built using Hamiltonʼs principle and takes into account pre-stress phenomena. A finite element model (FEM) based on Mindlin theory for plates, has been derived from the analytical model. The FEM model is implemented in MATLAB and compared with commercial FE software. Finally, an experimental prototype validates the model, and shows that it is possible to measure multiple force-components with one single sensing element such as a plate.

Establishment of a finite element model for extracting chemical reaction kinetics in a micro-flow injection system with high throughput sampling

Numerical simulation can provide valuable insights for complex microfluidic phenomena coupling mixing and diffusion processes. Herein, a novel finite element model (FEM) has been established to extract chemical reaction kinetics in a microfluidic flow injection analysis (micro-FIA) system using high throughput sample introduction. To reduce the computation burden, the finite element mesh generation is performed with different scales based on the different geometric sizes of micro-FIA. In order to study the contribution of chemical reaction kinetics under non-equilibrium condition, a pseudo-first-order chemical kinetics equation is adopted in the numerical simulations. The effect of reactants diffusion on reaction products is evaluated, and the results demonstrate that the Taylor dispersion plays a determining role in the micro-FIA system. In addition, the effects of flow velocity and injection volume on the reaction product are also simulated. The simulated results agree well with the ones from experiments. Although gravity driven flow is used to the numerical model in the present study, the FEM model also can be applied into the systems with other driving forces such as pressure. Therefore, the established FEM model will facilitate the understanding of reaction mechanism in micro-FIA systems and help us to optimize the manifold of micro-FIA systems.

Finite Element Simulation and Validation of Chip Formation and Cutting Forces in Dry and Cryogenic Cutting of Ti–6Al–4V

Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy is a popular material in industrial applications (e.g. aerospace, oil & gas, medical) due to its superior mechanical properties, although its low thermal conductivity and high chemical reactivity with other materials make it a hard-to-cut material. A finite element model (FEM) was developed in the present investigation to simulate dry and cryogenic orthogonal cutting of Ti-6Al-4V by using TiAlN coated carbide inserts. Numerical prediction of the effect of the superior cryogenic cooling on chip formation, cutting and thrust forces were investigated. The simulations were validated by the comparison with experimental results. The model calibration was performed with experimental data on dry cutting and then the model was used for predicting the cryogenic cooling case. The validated FEM models were used to compare the chip formation in dry cutting and cryogenic cutting in order to point out some differences in terms of chip segmentation frequency and chip thickness and gain additional knowledge.

BGA Board Level Reliability Analysis & Optimization

The solder joint reliability of semiconductor package interconnects to printed circuit boards is critical for product durability. A dominant failure mode is solder fatigue due to the CTE mismatch between the BGA component and PCB at thermal cycling. However, it is well known that other factors can impact fatigue behavior and time to failure such as solder joint geometry, die geometry, solder system, etc. Finite element modeling (FEM) and simulation can play an integral role in providing deeper insight into the impact of these package parameters on the overall assembly. However, a major challenge of accurately modeling these systems includes simulation of multiple length scales from the package, substrate, and solder joints. The FEM approach addressing these can lead to reduced cycle time, accurate simulation, and improved package performance. In this work, the finite element modeling and simulation procedure is demonstrated for a BGA package at accelerated temperature cycling conditions. At the component level, key details regarding the properties and constituents of the BGA package mold compound and substrate are established by coupling measured experimental warpage data and finite element modeling. Comparison of simulated & Thermoire measurements shows excellent agreement at the package level, with warpage correlation achieved over the entire temperature range. At the assembly level, the truncated sphere model is used to arrive at precise solder joint profiles for accurate representation to tie the package to the board. The combined validated package-level results and solder joint profiles are employed towards a subsequent thermo-mechanical analysis of the full BGA assembly. The entire simulation procedure is demonstrated for a BGA design, where inelastic creep and reliability test data are compared. High strain regions in the solder joint array are shown to compare closely with regions of failure from experimental reliability test data. The validated FEM model allows for extrapolating to similar package conditions allowing faster design cycle time and less time consuming experimental work.

Temperature‐ and Moisture‐Based Modeling for Prediction of Starch Gelatinization and Crumb Softness during Bread‐Baking Process

AbstractTemperature, starch gelatinization, moisture content and softness of bread define the formation of crust and crumb regions during the baking process. A computational model was developed to study the volume expansion, temperature profile and moisture content of the bread during the baking process. An arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method was applied to describe mesh movement during volume expansion. Model predictions were validated with experimental measurements of bread temperature, moisture content and volume expansion. Occurrence of two distinct zones having different moisture contents, i.e., crust (<10%) and crumb (≈39%), was observed. Extent of starch gelatinization and browning of the bread surface was also studied using earlier published kinetic model. Moreover, softness development for the bread crumb was also modeled based on the degree of starch gelatinization. This study concluded that apart from heat and mass transfer, inclusion of volume expansion in the model predicts more accurate bread temperature, starch gelatinization and crumb softness.Practical ApplicationsCrumb softness and starch gelatinization of bread can be predicted based on temperature and moisture content of bread using computational modeling approach. A finite element model (FEM) is developed for the bread‐baking process, accounting for heat and mass transfer along with the volume expansion of bread. FEM model is validated with the experimental measurements of temperature, moisture content and volume expansion during bread‐baking process. This model helps in predicting the major quality attributes of the bread such as starch gelatinization, browning of the bread surface and crumb softness. Therefore, this model can be useful in predicting temperature, moisture along with other bread quality parameters. For the bakery industry, it will help to determine the baking time of bread with desired product quality based on oven temperature.