ANSYS Nonlinear

Convergence
g Best
Practices

Peter R. Barrett, P.E.

September 27, 2012
Rev. 2/3/2016

2016 CAE Associates

ANSYS Nonlinear Convergence Best Practices

Nonlinearities Overview:
Large Deflection
Material Nonlinearities
Contact

Characterize Convergence Difficulty with Examples

Relatively Straight Forward (easy) Problems
Challenging (i.e. really hard) Problems

Step-by-Step
p y p Convergence
g Procedure
1. Rigid body motion
2. Force balance not obtained
3. Material Instabilities and/or Element formulation error

Q&A

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All Products Exhibit Nonlinearities

Always start with the simplest linear analysis if possible!

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Large deflection Affects Stiffness

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Material properties cannot always be
assumed to be linear

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Contact is the most common source of
nonlinearity and often the most difficult to
solve!

Status
changes,
friction,
pressure

When,
When where?
What is the pressure?

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Characterize Convergence Difficulty
Easier Problems
Deformations
D f ti are relatively
l ti l smallll
Nonlinear strains (plasticity, creep, swelling) are small
Contact status does not oscillate
M d l are smallll and
Models d simplified
i lifi d (2D
(2D, Axisymmetric)
A i ti )
Symmetric boundary conditions are utilized
Displacement based loads
L d result
Loads lt iin ttensile
il memberb stresses
t
Nonlinear buckling to the point of instability (Post buckling not needed)

409 Parts
967 Contact Pairs

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Characterize Convergence Difficulty
Harder Problems
Very large
V l d
deformation
f ti
Large strains with large distortion
Contact chatter and/or loose fitting assemblies
C t t sliding
Contact lidi with
ith hi
high
h ffriction
i ti coefficient
ffi i t
Post buckling response
Large 3D models with complex geometry
N symmetry
No t b boundaries
d i
Force based loads

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Pin Insert Model
Hard Solution
Model the entire Pin / socket assembly
Mesh fine enough to capture local
stress concentrations
Use a force based analysis to model
pin insertion and removal
Determine critical locations / load
steps
Easier Solution
Model a single axi-symmetric
Pin/Socket assembly
Create mapped mesh with refinement
on contact surfaces and areas of high
stress
Use a displacement controlled solution
Use auto time stepping and smart
output controls since max stress might
not occur at the final solution step

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Gasket Assembly

Hard Problem
Large model
Complex loading sequence
Multiple bolt loads
Frictional Contact
Nonlinear material response

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Automatic contact reduces modeling time

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Building Collapse Simulation

Running an analysis dynamically can be used to obtain convergence

Evaluating the thermal-structural response of the World Trade Center collapse

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Elastomeric Bearing with Lead Plug

Force
Deflection of a
Single Truss
Element
Matches
Detailed 3d
Model

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Clevis Pin Pullout

Springs can be used to imposed loads and/or prevent rigid body motion

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Surgical Staple Displ. Controlled Example

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ANSYS Nitinol Material Behavior
Complex Material Response requires many substeps for
accuracy and
d convergence

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Rubber boot with self-contact
Combined Geometric, Material and Contact Nonlinearities

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Vena Cava Filter

IVC filters are used in case of contraindication to anticoagulation

I.e. it captures clots!

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FSI Example Vena Cava Filter
Nonlinear structural response coupled with fluid flow

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FSI Example Vena Cava Filter

Streamlines

Deformation

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My analysis did not converge. Now what?

First step is to determine the cause:

1. Rigid body motion
2. Force balance not obtained
3
3. Material Instabilities
4. Element formulation error
5. Combination of items 1-4 above

We will examine each in detail including:

identifying the problem
d t
determining
i i ththe cause
providing solutions

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Understanding the Solver Output

Whether in WB or Mechanical APDL,

APDL the first step is to read the output file
to determine the origin of the non-convergence

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Rigid Body Motion error messages
DOF limit exceeded.
Negative main diagonal.
Small/Negative Pivot error.
MAX DOF INC = A very large number
*** WARNING *** CP = 11.703 TIME= 16:15:15
Smallest negative equation solver pivot term encountered at UX DOF of
node 98. Check for an insufficiently constrained model.

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Examples of Rigid Body Motion cont.

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Causes of Rigid Body Motion

Insufficient supports
Individual parts of an assembly are not supported. This is the most common
form that is found in a contact analysis where rigid body motion occurs
in the parts not associated with any supports.
Insufficiently connected dissimilar element types (i.e. beams to solids, etc.)

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Find the Rigid Body Motion

Plot the unconverged or last converged displacement solution and verify

displacement scaling
The example below is a converged solution where the rigid body motion is only
restrained by weak springs
Note the unrealistic 10e-6 displacement scaling

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Use modal analysis to find Rigid Body Motion

If it is not clear what constraint is required to eliminate rigid body motion

motion, a
modal analysis can be performed.
A modal analysis determines the vibration modes including rigid body motion.
Each rigid body mode is predicted as a zero frequency mode
Animating the zero frequency mode shape illustrates the rigidly moving model.

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Correct the rigid body motion
Take advantage of symmetries

Axisymmetry
Rotational
Planar or reflective
Repetitive or translational

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Correct the rigid body motion

Isolate the error by creating a smaller simpler model KISS!

Make a 2d Sector model
Delete/Suppress parts or fix DOF until you get an answer
Add supports and/or use displacement controlled solution
Adding a rigid region and pushing it with displacements will usually converge
better than a force loading.

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Correct the rigid body motion

Use bonded contact for debugging

If interfaces are all in compression, one might be able to leave as bonded
Modify to standard contact one pair at a time
Adjust the parts to all start in contact
Can use adjust to touch ANSYS option, but be careful since the geometry will
be changed
Increase pinball region
Corrects interference fits
Add friction

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Correct the rigid body motion
Avoid mistakes from wrong assumptions
Make sure to include large deflections when displacements are significant
You can never get the wrong answer by adding large displacement effects
Check Displacement Scaling
Large deflections included!

Li
Linear solution
l ti

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Correct the rigid body motion

Use bonded contact to tie dissimilar

element types
Example Shells or beams to solids
Use MPC contact option to eliminate
iterations and penalty stiffness dependency
Add/adjust weak spring stiffness
Be sure to check reactions to make sure no
error is introduced

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Correct the rigid body motion
Add Contact Stabilization Damping
Rigid body motion often can occur in the beginning of a static analysis due
to the fact that the initial contact condition is not well established.

Fn
Ft
Pdn d n u n
Contact
Pd1,d
Pd 1 d t u1
Target
Pdn
2
Pd 2 d t u 2

Contact Stabilization introduces a viscous damping traction proportional to

b t opposite
but it to
t the
th relative
l ti pseudod velocities
l iti bbetween
t th
the ttwo surfaces
f
along contact normal and/or tangential directions.
Where: d n = damping coefficient in normal direction
d t = damping coefficient in tangential direction
u = pseudo velocity
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Contact Stabilization Damping

Example: Consider a fixed pin interfacing with a hole in plate with initial
radial clearance and under a force based load
Stabilization captures localized stress distribution more accurately because it
does not change the shape of the pin
Conventional Adjust to Touch Contact Stabilization Damping

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Correct the rigid body motion
Buckling Response
Nonlinear stabilization
Local instabilities and global
instability.
Used
U d ttogetherth with
ith liline search
h and
d
automatic time stepping
Arc-length method
Circumvent g global instability
y when
forces are applied.
Simulate the negative slope portion
of a load-vs.-displacement curve.
Running
R nning a static problem as a
"slow dynamic" analysis in ANSYS
Running a static problem as a
"slow
slow dynamic"
dynamic analysis in
ANSYS/LS-DYNA

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Connections that prevent Rigid Body Motion

Automation tools can save a lot of time in tying assemblies together

Constraint equations

Springs

Spot
Welds

Beam connections

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Examples of Force equilibrium not obtained

Definition:
Convergence value is greater than criterion after min. load increment and max.
number of iterations are solved

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Equilibrium Iterations

A nonlinear structure is analyzed using an iterative series of linear

approximations, with corrections.

ANSYS uses an iterative process called the Newton-Raphson

Method. Each iteration is known as an equilibrium iteration.
Load
F
4 A full Newton-Raphson
3
2 iterative analysis for one
increment of load. (Four
1 iterations are shown.)
u
Displacement
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Convergence Procedure

loads, {Fa} - {Fnr},

The difference between external and internal loads } is called
the residual. It is a measure of the force imbalance in the structure.
The goal is to iterate until the residual becomes acceptably small; less
than the criterion, where the solution is then considered converged.
When convergence is achieved, the solution is in equilibrium, within an
acceptable tolerance
tolerance.

Fa
{ Fnr
{Fa} {Fnr}

u
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Newton Raphson Residuals

Plot Newton Raphson Residuals to determine critical contact pair

Note that these controls need to be activated prior to the solution

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Causes of Force balance not obtained

Contact Stiffness is too large

Load is stepped too rapidly
For small load increments, MINREF criterion exceeded
Material instability
Buckling

Definition of non-convergence,
sum of R (unbalanced forces)
never getst below
b l .5%
5% off th
the
sum of F (sum of external loads,
reactions, etc.))

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Ideal Load Stepping

Convergence after 3 to 5 iterations each substep

Use more substeps to reduce iterations, use less if only one or two are
needed. (One exception: If contact without friction is the only nonlinearity,
sometimes one substepp with lots of iterations can be an efficient solution
method)

Load
Load Step 2
4
3 Load Step 1
2
equilibrium
iterations
1
Substeps

Time

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Causes of Force balance not obtained
Contact Stiffness is too large. Note: In V16 and beyond default stiffness
h been
has b reduced
d d by
b about
b t a ffactor
t off 10
10x ffrom previous
i versions.
i
Oscillation of contact status & force balance caused by contact stiffness.
A typical range of ANSYS penalty stiffness is .01 to 10 times the ANSYS
i t
internal
l stiffness
tiff value
l which
hi h iis a ffunction
ti off material
t i l and
d mesh
hbbutt nott
geometry

F=KU

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Causes of Force balance not obtained
Load is stepped too rapidly
U Mi
Use Min, MMax andd starting
t ti substep
b t control
t l tto iimprove convergence. Y
You
cannot get the wrong answer by adding too many substeps
Load

Incorrect
Time Strain Energy

tstart tmin tmax

Rule of Thumb:
The more nonlinearities, the
more substeps required

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Overcome the Force Unbalance
Nonlinear Solution Corrective Action
ANSYS WB Mechanical offers a toolbox of options under the analysis
settings branch for achieving successful convergence.
Step
p Control - Load steps
p and substeps
p
Nonlinear Controls - N-R convergence criteria

Contact Settings
g

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Overcome the Force Unbalance

Reduce Normal Stiffness Factor

Increase the number of Substeps

General Rule more nonlinearities use more substeps

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Overcome the Force Unbalance
Change contact stiffness update
Recommend using iteration based adjustments
Try Aggressive Update for tough problems
Ramp on the interference fit

Use Higher Order Elements

Especially with curved surface contact

Refine the mesh

The more points in contact the better the convergence

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Overcome the Force Unbalance
Increase the MINREF criterion
If the criterion is very small this will not effect the solution accuracy

Extend the Stress-Strain curve

Adjust the convergence tolerance

If the unbalance force difference is very small this can increase solution speed
significantly
i ifi tl

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Review Initial Contact Settings and eliminate gaps

See the ANSYS output file or run CNCHECK before solving

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Adjust Contact Pinball Region

Default pinball region is different based on analysis type

type. (see below)
Increase for large initial penetrations

Default Contact Contact Surface Initial Penetration Behavior

PINB* Classification Behavior KEYOPT(9)

3 x Depth** Rigid/Flex Standard Default (Include Everything)

4 x Depth Rigid or Flex Standard Include Everything/with Ramped effects
2 x Depth Flex/Flex Standard Default (Include Everything)
0.50x Depth Flex/Flex Bonded or No Separation Default (Include Everything)
0.75x Depth
p Rigid/Flex
g Bonded or No Separation
p Default ((Include Everything)
y g)
1.00x Depth Rigid/Flex Bonded or No Separation Include Everything/with Ramped effects

* Values are for NLGEOM,ON and are reduced by 50% for NLGEOM,OFF
**Depth
Depth = Underlying element depth (for solid elements)
**Depth = 4 x element thickness (for shells and beams)

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Surface Projection Based Contact

More accurate distribution of contact stresses.

stresses
Satisfies moment equilibrium when an offset exists between contact and
target surfaces with friction.
Can help with
ith contact con
convergence.
ergence
Better handling of sliding contact.
KEYOPT,<contact element type>,4 ,3

Default Contact Settings Surface Projection Contact

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Examples of Material Instabilities

Depending upon the size of the residual these can be caused by large
force unbalance or can be a result of incorrect material properties

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Causes of Material Instabilities

Force balance not obtained

Material law cannot handle large load and/or time increment. If the force
unbalance is very large, the material model might not be the problem
Element distorted shape results in negative volume calculation
calculation. Check the
mesh, but again with very large force unbalances the material model might not
be the problem

Too large of plastic or creep strain increment

Max. increment can be adjusted as part of cutback controls, but typically force
balance is the controlling criterion and thus this is rarely changed.

Elements with mixed u-P constraints not satisfied

Modifyy the Volumetric Constraint

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Causes of Element Formulation Errors

Element Shape distortion

Excessive strain
Volumetric locking (PLESOL,NL,HPRES)
Hourglass modes
Using Higher order elements or change to
enhanced strain to eliminate reduced
integration issues in lower order elements
Buckling
Reduce rate of loading
V
Very llarge fforce unbalance
b l

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Correct Element Formulation Errors

Mechanical APDL commands

Use CHECK command for overall verification including missing elastic
properties, unconstrained model, and element shape checks.
MCHECK command can help you identify defects in the mesh such as holes or
cracks.

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Correct Element Formulation Errors
Make sure to use the correct material input
Make sure to input True Stress vs. Log Strain
Conversion from engineering data , :

l ln 1 1
Always extend your material law will beyond
expected
p strain levels

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Element Selection

Use Higher Order elements for curved surface contact for faster
faster, more
accurate results

20 node bricks

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Solver Type and Tolerance

Suggest using Direct (Sparse) solver unless PCG is significantly faster per
iteration

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Correct Element Formulation Errors
Add intermediate substeps
p
Rezoning
Generally only used for very large strain cases like forming operations or seals
Adjust the starting mesh shapes this is the most common solution
Change Element type / formulation
Use shell or beam elements
Faster and more efficient solutions
sol tions where
here applicable
Test with 1 Element model
Change the HyperElastic material model
Modify
f creep law or coefficients
ff

Start mesh shape so that deformed

elements become more square

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Element type selection

Select the appropriate element type to maximize results efficiency and

quality
Simple is almost always better and definitely easier to debug

Complex 3-D
geometries

Slender structures
(twisted pipe
Shell elements
model)

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Remesh the model part way through the analysis

Rezoning
Automatically map existing stresses and strains so that the solution history is
preserved

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Change material models

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Hyperelastic material models

Yeoh is very robust for large strain problems such as seals

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The value of the one element test case
Testing nonlinear material models
Make sure the material converges for all stress / strain levels expected with the
one element model before running full model
Especially critical step for hyperelastic and creep analyses
Testing of macros and user-defined routines
Evaluation of the impact of large aspect ratios, skew angles or warped
elements

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Element Shape

Robust well shaped elements can improve solution convergence and time

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Mesh Controls

Numerous controls are available to locally modify the mesh to reduce

stress gradients through multiple elements
Example showing the value of symmetry

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Mesh refinement

Automated mesh refinement will increase the solution quality and

sometimes speed
Automated mesh refinement in workbench is generally only used in linear
analyses

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Element Formulation

Solver Output records the element technology being activated based on

the element order chosen (midside nodes) and the material association.
Workbench uses higher order 2d elements by default
Elastic material or
metal plasticity with
higher order
elements
Default URI
2D Plane Stress
Elastic material or
Metal Plasticity with
lower order elements
Enhanced Strain
2D Plain Strain
Elastic material or
Metal Plasticity with
lower order elements Simplified Enhanced Strain
Fully incompressible
hyperelasticity with
h h or lower
higher l
order elements
B-Bar with Mixed u-P
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You have a solution!

How do you make the solution more efficient?

Change the mesh
Refine areas of steep gradient
C
Coarsen areas where
h stresses
t are llow
Adjust initial element shapes to create better deformed shapes
Change the Substep settings
Add substeps to reduce bisections
Reduce substeps where convergence takes 1 or 2 iterations max.
Include Material Nonlinearities?

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Improve Performance in Subsequent Analyses

The Force Convergence graph clearly indicates that starting with more
substeps would eliminate the 27 iterations performed before the first
bisection. Reducing the starting number of substeps might eliminate this
bisection

Force Residual vs. Iterations

Time vs. Cumulative Iteration

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Thoroughly investigate your results

List and plot results to check to make sure you solved the problem
intended and that the results make sense

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Check the quality of your results - forces

First check should always be a free body diagram

Applied loads

Matching reaction forces

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Check the quality of your stress results

Comparing average vs.

vs un-average stresses can provide an estimate of
mesh error

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Understand the data generated

Displacements are based on original coordinate system

Stresses and strain component data rotate with the elements

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Need more information?

Additional Information on all of these topics is available in the ANSYS Help

or through mentoring or training classes

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