IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2013 SolidWorksSimulationTutorial Page1

Inthistutorial,wewillusetheSolidWorksSimulationfiniteelementanalysis(FEA)programtoanalyze
theresponseofacomponenttoanappliedload.Finiteelementanalysisisapowerfultoolthatallows
engineerstoquicklyanalyzeandrefineadesign.Itcanbeappliedtoproblemsinvolvingvibrations,heat
transfer,fluidflow,andmanyotherareas.ThemostcommonuseofFEAisinstructuralanalysis,and
thisintroductorytutorialwillbelimitedtothatuse.

TherehasbeenmuchdiscussionduringthepastdecadeoverwhoshouldbeusingFEAsoftware.Asthe
softwarehasbecomeeasiertouse,thepotentialformisusehasrisen.Aninexperiencedusercan
quicklyobtainresults,buttheinterpretationoftheresults
requiresknowledgeoftheapplicableengineeringtheories.In
thistutorial,wewillpointoutwherechoicesandassumptions
aremadethatcouldaffecttheaccuracyoftheresults.

Theparttobeanalyzedisthebracketfromthetutorialof
Chapter3.

Openthepartfile.Fromthemain
menu,selectTools:AddInsandcheck
theSolidWorksSimulationbox.Click
OKtoclosethewelcomebox.

Ifyouchecktheboxtotherightofthe
addinname,thenthataddinwillbe
activatedwheneverSolidWorksis
started.MostuserswillprefertoactivatetheSimulationprogramonlywhenitisneededforananalysis.

WhenSolidWorksSimulationisactivated,anewmenuitemiscreated,andaSimulationtabisaddedto
theCommandManager.

ManyofthetoolsintheSimulationGroupoftheCommandManagerhave
anAdvisorfeature.Forexample,ifyouselecttheStudyAdvisorTool,
thenthesoftwareleadsyouthroughseveralquestionstohelpyouchoose
thebestanalysistype.WewillbeskippingtheAdvisorsandselecting
analysisoptionsdirectlyfromthepulldownmenusbeloweachAdvisor
Tool.

ClicktheSimulationtaboftheCommandManager.Fromthepulldown
menuundertheStudyAdvisorTool,selectNewStudy.

Astudydefinesaspecificanalysisanditsresults.Asinglepartfilecanhavemultiplestudies.
 IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2013 SolidWorksSimulationTutorial Page2

Namethestudy50lbLoad.Clickthecheckmarktoacceptthedefaultanalysis
type(static).

NoticethatthePropertyManagernowshowsasplitscreenwiththemodel
parametersshownontopandtheanalysistoolsshownbelow.Notethatanewtab
hasbeenaddedatthebottomofthescreen.Thisallowsyoutotogglebetweenthe
solidmodelandtheanalysis(anewtabwillbecreatedforeachnewstudy).

AnalysisType:Inastaticanalysis,weassumethatthatloadsareappliedslowly.Ifloadsareapplied
almostinstantaneously,thendynamiceffectsneedtobeconsidered.Alinearstaticanalysisassumes
thattheresponseofthestructureislinearforexample,a20lbloadproducesstressesand
deflectionsthatareexactlytwicethatofa10lbload.However,ifthedeflectionsarerelativelylarge,
thenthestiffnessofthepartchangesasthepartdeflects.Inthatcase,alargedeflectionanalysis,in
whichtheloadisappliedincrementallyandthestiffnessrecalculatedateverystep,maybe
required.

Fromthemainmenu,selectSimulation:Options.UndertheDefaultOptionstab,selectEnglish(IPS)as
theunitsystem.ClickOK.

InChapter3,weappliedABSasthematerialofthebracket(ABSstandsforAcrylonitrilebutadiene
styrene,acommonthermoplasticusedinavarietyofapplications).Wecanacceptthismaterialforour
analysis,selectanothermaterialfromalibraryofSolidWorksmaterials,orenterpropertiesmanually.
AnexcellentsourceforpropertydataistheonlinedatabaseMatWeb(matweb.com).Ifyouenter
ABSasasearchterminthisdatabase,thenyouwillfindalmost2000listings.Itisimportanttoknow
thepropertiesofthespecificmaterialthatistobeused,asthepropertiescanvarywidelyfordifferent
 IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2013 SolidWorksSimulationTutorial Page3

grades,additives,fillers,andsuppliers.WewilluseageneralpurposeABSfromGlobalPolymers
Corporation,ABS406.ThefollowingpropertiesareobtainedfromMatWeb:
E(Elasticmodulus)=320,000psi
Yieldstrength=6100psi
Massdensity=0.0376lb/in3

ClicktheApplyMaterialtool.IntheMaterial
Window,collapsetheSolidWorksMaterialsand
expandtheCustomMaterials.Rightclickonthe
PlasticgroupoftheCustomMaterialsand
chooseNewMaterial.

EnterBracketABS:asthematerialname.ChooseEnglish(IPS)forthe
units.LeavethedefaultmaterialtypeasLinearElasticIsotropicandthe
defaultfailurecriterionasMaxvonMisesStress.Clickoneachproperty
valueandenterthevaluesaboveintheproperplaces.Alsoenteravalue
of0.40forthePoissonsratio(thisisatypicalvalueforaplastic).Onlythe
fourpropertiesshowninredarerequiredforthisanalysis;othervaluesmaybedeleted.ClickApplyto
applyandsavetheproperties,andthenclickClose.

 IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2013 SolidWorksSimulationTutorial Page4

Material:OneofthemostimportantinputstothemodelistheelasticmodulusEofthematerial.
Theelasticmodulusdefinesthestiffness(resistancetodeflection)ofthematerial.Itsvalueis
determinedfrommaterialtests.AmaterialwithahighvalueofEwilldeflectlessthanonewitha
lowervalueofE.Forcomparison,steelhasanEvalueofabout30,000,000psi(poundspersquare
inch).AluminumhasanEvalueof10,000,000psi.TheABSplasticthatwehavechosenhasavalue
forEof320,000psi,soitisabout100timeslessstiffthansteel.
Anassumptionofourmodelisthatthematerialsbehaviorisperfectlylinear,sothatthedeflection
isexactlyproportionaltotheload.Thismodelisanidealizationformanyplasticmaterials,which
exhibitsomeamountofnonlinearbehavior.
Mostmaterialsreachapointbeforetheybreakatwhichadditionalloadingproducesmuchlarger
deflections.Wesaythatthematerialhasyieldedatthispoint,andourlinearmodelisnotvalid
beyondtheyieldpointofthematerial.

Wenowneedtoconsiderhowthebracketisconstrained(theboundaryconditions)andwhatforces
thatitwillbesubjectedto(theloadings).

FromthepulldownmenubelowtheFixturesAdvisor,selectFixed
Geometry.Rotatetheviewuntilthebacksurfaceofthebracketis
visible,andclickthebacksurface.Clickthecheckmarktoapply
theconstraint.

BoundaryConditions:Whenacomponentisisolatedforanalysis,thewayinwhichthatcomponent
isattachedtoanothermustbesimulatedwithboundaryconditions.Inthiscase,wehavechosena
fixedrestraint,whichmeansthateverypointonthebackfaceofthebracketispreventedfrom
movinginanydirection.Whilethisseemstobeareasonableassumption,itmaynotbeentirely
accurate.Ifscrewsareusedtoattachthebrackettoawall,thenthetopscrewsmaystretchenough
toallowthetopofthebrackettoseparatefromthewall.Also,thewallitselfmaydeflectslightly.
Thechoiceofproperboundaryconditionstosimulateactualconstraintsisoftenoneofthemost
importantdecisionstobemadeforananalysis.

FromthepulldownmenubelowtheExternalLoadsAdvisor,selectPressure.Clickonthefacearound
theinchholeasshownhere.Setthepressureas84.9psi(besuretosettheunitstopsi).

 IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2013 SolidWorksSimulationTutorial Page5

Thepressureiscalculatedfromthe50lbloadappliedtothesurface,
whichisoneinchindiameterwithainchholeinthecenter:
50 lb
84.9 psi
4 1 0.5 in

Notethatoftenaloadorconstraintistobeappliedtoonlyaportionofanexistingfaceoredge.In
thesecases,theuseofasplitlinecanbehelpful.Asplitlinesimplydividesafaceintomultiplefaces
thatcanbeselectedseparately.SeetheSolidWorkshelpfilesforinformationaboutcreatingsplitlines.

FromthepulldownmenubelowtheRunTool,selectCreateMesh.Movethesliderbartowardthe
right(fine)andclickthecheckmark.

Whencomplete,themeshwillbedisplayed.

MeshSize:Afinermesh,withmoreelements,willgenerallyproducemoreaccurateresultsatthe
expenseoflongerprocessingtime.Forsimplepartsandarelativelyfastcomputer,thelonger
processingtimeisnotsignificant.However,forcomplexanalyses(suchasnonlinearandtime
dependentanalyses),meshsizecansignificantlyimpactprocessingtime.Howmanyelementsare
neededforaccuracy?Sometimesitisnecessarytoexperimentwithdifferentmeshesuntilthe
resultsconvergetoasolution.Inothercases,themeshcanberefinedtocreatemoreelementsina
localareawherestressesaregreatest.

 IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2013 SolidWorksSimulationTutorial Page6

ElementType:Therearemanyelementtypes,suchasplates,shells,trussmembers,beamelements,
andsolidelements.SolidWorksSimulationallowsforsolidelementstobecreatedfromsolids,or
shellelementstobecreatedfromeithersurfacesorsolidmidsurfaces.Althoughsolidelementsare
typicallychosenwhenasolidmodelisavailable,solidelementsarenotalwaysthebestchoicefor
manyapplications.Often,afewbeamorshellelementswillprovidemoreaccurateresultsthan
hundredsofsolidelements.

FromthepulldownmenubelowtheRunTool,selectRun.

Whiletheanalysisisbeingperformed,astatusboxwillappearon
thescreen.ClickingtheMorebuttonwilldisplayadditionaldetails
abouttheanalysis.Forthisanalysis,about20,500elementswere
created(yournumbermaybemoreorless,dependingonhowfar
totherightyoumovedthemeshsizesliderbar).Thereareabout
35,000nodes,orpointswheretheelementsmeet.Eachnodehas
threedegreesoffreedom,orpossibledisplacement,exceptfor
thoseonthebackfacethathavebeenconstrained.Eachdegreeof
freedomhasanassociatedequationforitsdisplacement.While
thesolverisrunning,theseequationsarebeingformulatedand
solved.

Thisanalysisshouldtakeonlyafewsecondsonareasonablyfastcomputer.(Aremarkablefeat,
consideringtherearealmost100,000simultaneousequationstobesolved!)Aftertheanalysisis
complete,resultscanbeviewedinseveralways.Bydefault,thevonMisesstressesareshown.

RightclickonStress1andchooseChartOptions.ChecktheboxlabeledShowmaxannotation.Also,
changethenumericdisplaytofloating,withnodecimalplacesshown.Clickthecheckmark.

 IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2013 SolidWorksSimulationTutorial Page7

Theresultingplotisshownhere.Notethe
valueofthemaximumstress,about3,690
psi,whichoccursinthecenterrib.(Your
valuesmaydifferslightly,dependingon
themeshsizechosen.)

Bydefault,thedeflectedshapeofthe
modelwillbedisplayed,withthe
displacementsgreatlyexaggerated.The
deflectedshapecanbetoggledoffandon
byclickingtheDeformedResultstool.

Stress:Thesimplestdefinitionofstressisthatstressisequaltoforceperunitarea.Therefore,the
unitsofstressarepoundspersquareinchornewtonspersquaremeter(pascals).However,stressis
notasinglevalue.Therearenormalstressesinallthreedirections.Normalstressescauseamaterial
tostretchorcontract.Therearealsoshearstressesinallthreeplanes.Shearstressescausea
materialtowarpordistort.Thesesixstresscomponentsareoftencombinedtofindprincipal
stresses.
Strengthisdefinedasthestressatwhichamaterialwillfail.Therefore,forasimplestateofstress,
suchasawirebeingstretchedinonedirection,wecansimplycomparethestresstothestrengthto
determineifthewirewillbreak.Foramorecomplexstateofstress,wemustchooseafailuretheory
inordertopredictwhetherornotthepartwillfail.OneofthemostwidelyusedinthevonMises,or
maximumdistortionenergytheory.Inouranalysis,thesoftwarecomputedthevonMises
equivalentstress,whichcanbecomparedtothematerialsyieldstrengthtopredictyieldingofthe
part.Inourcase,themaximumvonMisesstressisabout3700psi.Ifthematerialsyieldstrengthis
6100psi,thenweconcludethatthepartwillnotfail.However,thefactorofsafetyof6100/3700=
1.65isprobablymuchlowerthanwewouldliketohaveinmostapplications.Thefactorofsafetyis
chosentoaccountforallofthemanyuncertaintiesassociatedwiththeanalysis(loading,material
properties,environmentaldegradationofmaterial,etc.)Insomeindustries,factorsofsafetyof10or
morearecommon.Inaerospaceapplications,whereweightiscritical,factorsofsafetyoflessthan
twoaretypical.Whenalowerfactorofsafetyisused,extensivematerialtestingandanalysisare
usedtoreduceuncertaintyasmuchasispractical.
Thedefinitionoffailureshouldalsobementionedhere.Ultimatefailurereferstothefractureofthe
material.However,weusuallysaythataparthasfailedifthematerialhasyielded,sothatadditional
loadingproduceslargedeflections.Insomeapplications,excessivedeflectionitselfmaybedefined
asfailure.

RightclicktheplotcalledDisplacement1andselectShow.RightclickagainandselectChartOptions.
Setthenumericaldisplaytofloating,withthreedecimalplaces.
 IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2013 SolidWorksSimulationTutorial Page8

Themaximumdeflectionisshownasabout0.212inches.Thisvalueistheresultantofthedeflectionin
allthreedirections.Ifyouchangethedeflectiontypetotheydirectiondisplacementonly,youwillsee
thatthedownwarddeflectionaccountsforalmosttheentiremagnitudeoftheresultant.

Notethatthedeflectionsareexaggeratedinthedisplayofthedeflectedshape.Sincethedeflectionsof
moststructuralpartsareusuallyverysmall,scalingtheirvaluestoproducethedeflectedshapeisa
commonpractice.Thedeflectedshapegivestheengineerinsightintothebehaviorofthestructure,
beyondthenumericalresults.

Hopefully,thisexercisehasshownthatfiniteelementanalysisisanincrediblyusefultooltosupplement
engineeringanalysis,andthatusingFEAcorrectlyrequiresagreatdealofengineeringjudgment.For
structuralanalysis,acourseinmechanicsofmaterials,usuallytakenatthesophomoreorjuniorlevel,is
agoodstart.Inthiscourse,youwilllearnaboutstress,strain,anddeflection,andtherelationships
betweenthem.Mechanicalandaerospaceengineerswillalsotakemoreadvancedcoursesdealingwith
fatigue(repeatedloadings)andvibrationsofmachines.Civilengineerswillalsostudyvibrationsfor
earthquakeanalysis.Anintroductorycourseinfiniteelementtheoryisalsorecommendedforanyone
whowillberesponsibleforconductinganalysis.

Also,thetoolsavailableareconstantlychanging.Practicingengineersneedtokeepupwiththenewest
toolsthroughconstantreeducationandtraining.