What is the Performance Index Finder?

The Performance Index Finder lets you find a performance index, based on specified design parameters, and to plot the index on a chart as a combined property.

The parameters used in the performance index finder are related to the performance index you want to use:

• The function, which is the geometry of the component and how it is loaded.
• A fixed variable is one that has been constrained by the design.
• A free variable is a parameter whose value the designer is free to change.
• Constraints are the requirements that the design must meet. The limiting constraint represents the method by which the design is most likely to fail.
• The objective is the property to optimize the design for.

For designs that have multiple functions (e.g. loaded in both tension and bending), identify which function is the dominant loading geometry that the design is most likely to fail by, and use that loading geometry for the analysis.