UofA ANSYS Tutorial

INTERMED ADVANCED POSTPROC. COMMAND ANSYS BASIC PRINTABLE IATE UTILITIES TUTORIALS TUTORIALS TUTORIALS LINE FILESVERSION TUTORIAL S

Two Dimensional Truss Bicycle Space Frame Plane Stress Bracket Modeling Tools Solid Modeling

Modeling Tools in ANSYS

Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.1 The purpose of the tutorial is to show several modeling tools available in ANSYS. Three methods will be shown to create the meshed plate shown below.

Index

Contributions Comments MecE 563 Mechanical Engineering University of Alberta

ANSYS Inc.

Copyright 2001 University of Alberta

Using Cutlines in ANSYS

1. Give example a Title Utility Menu > File > Change Title ... 2. Open preprocessor menu ANSYS Main Menu > Preprocessor
/PREP7 /title, meshing a plate using cutlines

3. Create a block at origin (0,0) with a width and height of 1 Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Rectangle > By 2 Corners...
blc4,0,0,1,1

4. Divide the area into 4 parts using 2 diagonal lines o Create a line Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Lines > Lines > Straight Line o Select the top left keypoint and draw the line to the bottom right keypoint by clicking on that keypoint o Now divide the area into 2 areas using the line by selecting Preprocessor > Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Divide > Area by Line o Select the area and click OK in the 'Divide Area by Line' window o Now select the line and click OK in the 'Divide Area by Line' window The area is now divided into 2 as shown in the figure below. A warning may appear with the statement "Line 5 is attached to 2 area(s) and cannot be deleted. This is expected because the command which divides the area deletes the line used to create the area. However, in this case, the line is required to define the new areas. Click OK and ignore the warning.

Now we need to further divide the 2 areas to make 4 areas. Using the same method, create a line from the top right keypoint to the bottom left. Be sure to select both areas to divide, otherwise, you will have to create the line again to divide the second area. 5. Define the Type of Element
o

Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete... > Add... >

Structural Mass, Solid > Quad 4node 42 For this problem we will use the PLANE42 (2D plane stress or plane strain) element. This element has 4 nodes each with 2 degrees of freedom(translation along the X and Y axes). 6. Select Plane Stress with Thickness In the Element Types window, select Options... and in Element behavior select Plane strs w/thk 7. Define Real Constants Preprocessor > Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete > Add... > OK In the 'Real Constants for PLANE42' window, enter the thickness: 0.1 8. Define Element Material Properties Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for steel: Young's modulus EX: 200000 Poisson's Ratio PRXY: 0.3 Define Mesh Size
i. ii.

Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Lines > All Lines... To obtain the desired mesh we need to set NDIV to 2 3 Create a hardpoint Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > Hard PT on line > Hard PT by ratio For demonstration purposes only, we are going to create a hardpoint on one of the diagonal lines. Select the bottom right diagonal line and enter a ratio of 0.41 This will ensure the creation of a node at a location 41% down the line

Mesh the frame Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > click 'Pick All'
amesh,all

The mesh should then appear as shown below. Note that the node is not at the midway point on the bottom right diagonal line due to the hardpoint.

Merging Objects in ANSYS

1. Clear the memory and start a new model Utility Menu > File > Clear & Start New ...
/clear

2. Give example a Title Utility Menu > File > Change Title ... 3. Open preprocessor menu ANSYS Main Menu > Preprocessor
/PREP7 /title, meshing a plate by copying elements

4. Define Keypoints Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > In Active CS...
K,#,x,y,z

We are going to define 3 keypoints as given in the following table: Keypoint 1 2 3 5. Create Area Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Arbitrary > Through KPs
a,k1,k2,k3...

Coordinates (x,y) (0,0) (1,0) (0.5,0.5)

We are going to define an area through keypoints 1,2,3. Select keypoints 1,2 and 3 and then select 'OK'. 6. Define the Type of Element Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete... > Add... > Structural Mass, Solid > Quad 4node 42 As in the previous mesh, we will use the PLANE42 (2D plane stress or plane strain) element. This element has 4 nodes each with 2 degrees of freedom(translation along the X and Y axes). 7. Select Plane Stress with Thickness In the Element Types window, select Options... and in Element behavior select Plane strs w/thk 8. Define Real Constants Preprocessor > Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete > Add... > OK In the 'Real Constants for PLANE42' window, enter the

thickness: 0.1 9. Define Element Material Properties Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for steel: i. ii. 10. Define Mesh Size Young's modulus EX: 200000 Poisson's Ratio PRXY: 0.3

Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Lines > All Lines... To obtain the desired mesh we need to set NDIV to 2 11. Mesh the area Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > click 'Pick All'
amesh,all

12. Mirror the geometry

o

Create local coord system to mirror geom. Select: Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Local Coordinate Systems > Create Local CS > At specified Loc We are first going to mirror the geometry about the diagonal from node 1 to 4. Click on the lower left node (bottom corner) and select 'OK' As shown below, create a coordinate system rotated 45 degrees about Z

Next, mirror the geometry Select: Preprocessor > Modeling > Reflect > Areas Click 'Pick All' o In the window that appears select X-Z plane Y and click 'OK'. This will mirror the geometry about the X-Z plane o Use the same technique to obtain the full geometry Re-activate the global coordinate system
o

Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Change Active CS to > Global Cartesian
csys,0

Plot Elements Utility Menu > Plot > Elements Your mesh should now appear as follows:

However, you are not done! If you plot the node numbers you will note that some duplicate nodes exist (created in mirroring). 4 Merge duplicate nodes/elements Preprocessor > Numbering Ctrls > Merge Items > All
nummrg,all

Gluing Areas in ANSYS

1. Clear the memory and start a new model Utility Menu > File > Clear & Start New ...
/clear

2. Give example a Title Utility Menu > File > Change Title ... 3. Open preprocessor menu ANSYS Main Menu > Preprocessor
/PREP7 /title, meshing a plate by copying areas

4. Define Keypoints Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > In Active

CS...

K,#,x,y,z

We are going to define 7 keypoints as given in the following table: Keypoint 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 5. Create Area Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Arbitrary > Through KPs
a,k1,k2,k3...

Coordinates (x,y) (0,0) (0.5,0) (1,0) (0.75,0.25) (0.5,0.5) (0.25,0.25) (0.5,0.166667)

Now we are going to define 3 areas; (1,2,7,6), (2,3,4,7), (4,5,6,7) 6. Mirror the geometry o As shown in the previous section, create a local coordinate system and mirror the geometry Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Local Coordinate Systems > Create Local CS > At specified Loc o Then, mirror the geometry, select: Preprocessor > Modeling > Reflect > Areas o Do this twice to obtain the full geometry 7. Re-activate the global coordinate system Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Change Active CS to > Global Cartesian
csys,0

8. Glue the areas together Preprocessor > Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Glue > Areas

aglue,all

We need to glue the areas together so that the areas are attached but that the subdivided areas remain to give us the elements we want 9. Define the Type of Element Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete... > Add... > Structural Mass, Solid > Quad 4node 42 As in the previous mesh, we will use the PLANE42 (2D plane stress or plane strain) element. This element has 4 nodes each with 2 degrees of freedom(translation along the X and Y axes). 10. Select Plane Stress with Thickness In the Element Types window, select Options... and in Element behavior select Plane strs w/thk 11. Define Real Constants Preprocessor > Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete > Add... > OK In the 'Real Constants for PLANE42' window, enter the thickness: 0.1 12. Define Element Material Properties Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for steel: Young's modulus EX: 200000 Poisson's Ratio PRXY: 0.3 Define Mesh Size
i. ii.

Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Areas > All Areas... To obtain the desired mesh we need to set SIZE to 1

Mesh the area Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > click 'Pick All'
amesh,all

And again we obtain the desired mesh:

UofA ANSYS Tutorial

ANSYS BASIC INTERMED ADVANCED POSTPROC. COMMAND PRINTABLE UTILITIES TUTORIALS IATE TUTORIALS TUTORIALS LINE FILES VERSION TUTORIAL S

Two Dimensional Truss

Plane Stress Bracket

| Verification Example | | Preprocessing | | Solution | | Postprocessing | | Command Line | | Bracket Example | | Preprocessing | | Solution | | Postprocessing | | Command Line |

Bicycle Space Frame

Plane Stress Bracket

Modeling Tools

Introduction
Solid Modeling

This tutorial is the second of three basic tutorials created to illustrate commom features in ANSYS. The plane stress bracket tutorial builds upon techniques covered in the first tutorial (3D Bicycle Space Frame), it is therefore essential that you have completed that tutorial prior to beginning this one. The 2D Plane Stress Bracket will introduce boolean operations, plane stress, and uniform pressure loading.

Index

Contributions

Problem Description

Comments

The problem to be modeled in this example is a simple bracket shown in the following figure. This bracket is to be built from a 20 mm thick steel plate. A figure of the plate is shown below.

MecE 563

Mechanical Engineering

University of Alberta

ANSYS Inc.

Copyright 2001 University of Alberta

This plate will be fixed at the two small holes on the left and have a load applied to the larger hole on the right.

Verification Example
The first step is to simplify the problem. Whenever you are trying out a new analysis type, you need something (ie analytical solution or experimental data) to compare the results to. This way you can be sure that you've gotten the correct analysis type, units, scale factors, etc. The simplified version that will be used for this problem is that of a flat rectangular plate with a hole shown in the following figure:

Preprocessing: Defining the Problem 1. Give the Simplified Version a Title Utility Menu > File > Change Title 2. Form Geometry

Boolean operations provide a means to create complicated solid models. These procedures make it easy to combine simple geometric entities to create more complex bodies. Subtraction will used to create this model, however, many other Boolean operations can be used in ANSYS.
a. Create the main rectangular shape

Instead of creating the geometry using keypoints, we will create an area (using GUI)
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Rectangle > By 2 Corners

Fill in the window as shown above. This will create a rectangle where the bottom left corner has the coordinates 0,0,0 and the top right corner has the coordinates 200,100,0.

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above command is BLC4,0,0,200,100)
b. Create the circle Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Circle > Solid Circle

Fill in the window as shown above. This will create a circle where the center has the coordinates 100,50,0 (the center of the rectangle) and the radius of the circle is 20 mm.

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above command is CYL4,100,50,20 )
c. Subtraction

Now we want to subtract the circle from the rectangle. Prior to this operation, your image should resemble the following:

To perform the Boolean operation, from the Preprocessor menu select: Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Subtract > Areas

At this point a 'Subtract Areas' window will pop up and the ANSYS Input window will display the following message: [ASBA] Pick or enter base areas from which to subtract (as shown below)

Therefore, select the base area (the rectangle) by clicking on it. Note: The selected area will turn pink once it is selected. The following window may appear because there are 2 areas at the location you clicked.

Ensure that the entire rectangular area is selected (otherwise click 'Next') and then click 'OK'. Click 'OK' on the 'Subtract Areas' window. Now you will be prompted to select the areas to be subtracted, select the circle by clicking on it and then click 'OK'.

You should now have the following model:

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ASBA,1,2)
3. Define the Type of Element

It is now necessary to define the type of element to use for our

problem: Preprocessor Menu > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete

o

Add the following type of element: Solid (under the Structural heading) and the Quad 82 element, as shown in the above figure.

PLANE82 is a higher order version of the two-dimensional, four-node element (PLANE42). PLANE82 is an eight noded quadrilateral element which is better suited to model curved boundaries. For this example, we need a plane stress element with thickness, therefore
o

Click on the 'Options...' button. Click and hold the K3 button, and select 'Plane strs w/thk', as shown below.

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ET,1,PLANE82 followed by KEYOPT,1,3,3)

Define Geometric Properties o As in previous examples Preprocessor menu > Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete o Enter a thickness of 20 as shown in the figure below. This defines a plate thickness of 20mm)

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is R,1,20)
3 Element Material Properties o As shown in previous examples, select Preprocessor > Material Props > Material models > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic

We are going to give the properties of Steel. Enter the following when prompted:
EX 200000 PRXY 0.3

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is MP,EX,1,200000 followed by MP,PRXY,1,0.3)
4 Mesh Size

To tell ANSYS how big the elements should be, Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > Manual Size > Areas > All Areas

Select an element edge length of 25. We will return later to determine if this was adequate for the problem.

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is AESIZE,ALL,25,)
5 Mesh

Now the frame can be meshed.

o

In the 'Preprocessor' menu select Meshing > Mesh > Areas > Free and select the area when prompted

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is AMESH,ALL) You should now have the following:

Saving Your Job Utility Menu > File > Save as...
Solution Phase: Assigning Loads and Solving

You have now defined your model. It is now time to apply the load(s) and constraint(s) and solve the the resulting system of equations.
1. Define Analysis Type o Ensure that a Static Analysis will be performed (Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis).

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ANTYPE,0)
2. Apply Constraints

As shown previously, the left end of the plate is fixed.

o o o

In the Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Lines Select the left end of the plate and click on 'Apply' in the 'Apply U,ROT on Lines' window. Fill in the window as shown below.

This location is fixed which means that all DOF's are

constrained. Therefore, select 'All DOF' by clicking on it and enter '0' in the Value field as shown above.

You will see some blue triangles in the graphics window indicating the displacement contraints. (Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is DL,4,,ALL,0)
3. Apply Loads o As shown in the diagram, there is a load of 20N/mm distributed on the right hand side of the plate. To apply this load: Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Pressure > On Lines
o o o

When the window appears, select the line along the right hand edge of the plate and click 'OK' Calculate the pressure on the plate end by dividing the distributed load by the thickness of the plate (1 MPa). Fill in the "Apply PRES on lines" window as shown below. NOTE: The pressure is uniform along the surface of the plate, therefore the last field is left blank. The pressure is acting away from the surface of the plate, and is therefore defined as a negative pressure.

The applied loads and constraints should now appear as shown

below.
o

4. Solving the System Solution > Solve > Current LS Postprocessing: Viewing the Results 1. Hand Calculations

Now, since the purpose of this exercise was to verify the results - we need to calculate what we should find. Deflection: The maximum deflection occurs on the right hand side of the plate and was calculated to be 0.001 mm - neglecting the effects of the hole in the plate (ie - just a flat plate). The actual deflection of the plate is therefore expected to be greater but in the same range of magnitude. Stress: The maximum stress occurs at the top and bottom of the hole in the plate and was found to be 3.9 MPa.
2. Convergence using ANSYS

At this point we need to find whether or not the final result has

converged. We will do this by looking at the deflection and stress at particular nodes while changing the size of the meshing element. Since we have an analytical solution for the maximum stress point, we will check the stress at this point. First we need to find the node corresponding to the top of the hole in the plate. First plot and number the nodes
Utility Menu > Plot > Nodes Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Numbering...
o

The plot should look similar to the one shown below. Make a note of the node closest to the top of the circle (ie. #49)

List the stresses (General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution > Stress, Principals SPRIN) and check the SEQV (Equivalent Stress / von Mises Stress) for the node in question. (as shown below in red)

The equivalent stress was found to be 2.9141 MPa at this point. We will use smaller elements to try to get a more accurate solution.
o

Resize Elements a. To change the element size, we need to go back to the Preprocessor Menu Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > Manual Size > Areas > All Areas now decrease the element edge length (ie 20) b. Now remesh the model (Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > Free). Once you have selected the area and clicked 'OK' the following window will appear:

c. Click 'OK'. This will remesh the model using the new element edge length. d. Solve the system again (note that the constraints need not be reapplied). ( Solution Menu > Current LS ) Repeat steps 'a' through 'd' until the model has converged. (note - the number of the node at the top of the hole has most likely changed. It is essential that you plot the nodes again to select the appropriate node). Plot the stress/deflection at varying mesh sizes as shown below to confirm that convergence has occured.

Note the shapes of both the deflection and stress curves. As the number of elements in the mesh increases (ie - the element edge length decreases), the values converge towards a final solution. The von Mises stress at the top of the hole in the plate was found to be approximatly 3.8 MPa. This is a mere 2.5% difference between the

analytical solution and the solution found using ANSYS. The approximate maximum displacement was found to be 0.0012 mm, this is 20% greater than the analytical solution. However, the analytical solution does not account for the large hole in the center of the plate which was expected to significantly increase the deflection at the end of the plate. Therefore, the results using ANSYS were determined to be appropriate for the verification model.
3. Deformation o General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape > Def + undeformd to view both the deformed and the undeformed object.

o Observe the locations of deflection. 4. Deflection o General Postproc > Plot Results > Nodal Solution... Then select DOF solution, USUM in the window.

Alternatively, obtain these results as a list. (General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution...) o Are these results what you expected? Note that all translational degrees of freedom were constrained to zero at the left end of the plate. 5. Stresses o General Postproc > Plot Results > Nodal Solution... Then select Stress, von Mises in the window.
o

You can list the von Mises stresses to verify the results at certain nodes General Postproc > List Results. Select Stress, Principals SPRIN

Command File Mode of Solution

The above example was solved using a mixture of the Graphical User Interface (or GUI) and the command language interface of ANSYS. This problem has also been solved using the ANSYS command language interface that you may want to browse. Open the .HTML version, copy and paste the code into Notepad or a similar text editor and save it to your computer. Now go to 'File > Read input from...' and select the file. A .PDF version is also available for printing.

Bracket Example

Now we will return to the analysis of the bracket. A combination of GUI and the Command line will be used for this example. The problem to be modeled in this example is a simple bracket shown in the following figure. This bracket is to be built from a 20 mm thick steel plate. A figure of the plate is shown below.

This plate will be fixed at the two small holes on the left and have a load applied to the larger hole on the right.

Preprocessing: Defining the Problem

1. Give the Bracket example a Title Utility Menu > File > Change Title 2. Form Geometry

Again, Boolean operations will be used to create the basic geometry of the Bracket.
a. Create the main rectangular shape

The main rectangular shape has a width of 80 mm, a height of 100mm and the bottom left corner is located at coordinates

(0,0)

Ensure that the Preprocessor menu is open. (Alternatively type /PREP7 into the command line window) Now instead of using the GUI window we are going to enter code into the 'command line'. Now I will explain the line required to create a rectangle:
BLC4, XCORNER, YCORNER, WIDTH, HEIGHT BLC4, X coord (bottom left), Y coord (bottom left), width, height

Therefore, the command line for this rectangle is BLC4,0,0,80,100 b. Create the circular end on the right hand side

The center of the circle is located at (80,50) and has a radius of 50 mm The following code is used to create a circular area:
CYL4, XCENTER, YCENTER, RAD1 CYL4, X coord for the center, Y coord for the center, radius

Therefore, the command line for this circle is CYL4,80,50,50 c. Now create a second and third circle for the left hand side using the following dimensions: parame circle circle ter 2 3

XCENTER 0 YCENTER 20 RADIUS 20

0 80 20

d. Create a rectangle on the left hand end to fill the gap between the two small circles. XCORN ER 20 YCORNE 20 R

WIDTH

20

HEIGHT 60

e. Your screen should now look like the following... f.

g. Boolean Operations - Addition

We now want to add these five discrete areas together to form one area.

To perform the Boolean operation, from the Preprocessor menu select: Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Add > Areas

In the 'Add Areas' window, click on 'Pick All'

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is AADD,ALL) You should now have the following model:

h. Create the Bolt Holes We now want to remove the bolt holes from this plate. Create the three circles with the parameters given below: parame circle circle circle ter 1 2 3 WP X WP Y radius

80 50 30

0 20 10

0 80 10

Now select Preprocessor > Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Subtract > Areas

Select the base areas from which to subract (the large plate that was created) Next select the three circles that we just created. Click on the three circles that you just created and click 'OK'.

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ASBA,6,ALL) Now you should have the following: i.

3. Define the Type of Element

As in the verification model, PLANE82 will be used for this example

o o

Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete Use the 'Options...' button to get a plane stress element with thickness

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ET,1,PLANE82 followed by KEYOPT,1,3,3)
Under the Extra Element Output K5 select nodal stress. Define Geometric Contants o Preprocessor > Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete o Enter a thickness of 20mm.
o

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step

is R,1,20)
3 Element Material Properties o Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Library > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic

We are going to give the properties of Steel. Enter the following when prompted:
EX 200000 PRXY 0.3

(The command line code for the above step is MP,EX,1,200000 followed by MP,PRXY,1,0.3)
4 Mesh Size o Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > Manual Size > Areas > All Areas o Select an element edge length of 5. Again, we will need to make sure the model has converged.

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is AESIZE,ALL,5,)
5 Mesh
o

Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > Free and select the area when prompted

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is AMESH,ALL)

Saving Your Job Utility Menu > File > Save as...

Solution Phase: Assigning Loads and Solving

You have now defined your model. It is now time to apply the load(s) and constraint(s) and solve the the resulting system of equations.
1. Define Analysis Type o 'Solution' > 'New Analysis' and select 'Static'.

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ANTYPE,0)
2. Apply Constraints

As illustrated, the plate is fixed at both of the smaller holes on the left hand side.
o o

Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Nodes Instead of selecting one node at a time, you have the

option of creating a box, polygon, or circle of which all the nodes in that area will be selected. For this case, select 'circle' as shown in the window below. (You may want to zoom in to select the points Utilty Menu / PlotCtrls / Pan, Zoom, Rotate...) Click at the center of the bolt hole and drag the circle out so that it touches all of the nodes on the border of the hole.

Click on 'Apply' in the 'Apply U,ROT on Lines' window and constrain all DOF's in the 'Apply U,ROT on Nodes' window. o Repeat for the second bolt hole. 3. Apply Loads
o

As shown in the diagram, there is a single vertical load of 1000N, at the bottom of the large bolt hole. Apply this force to the respective keypoint ( Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Keypoints Select a force in the y direction of -1000) The applied loads and constraints should now appear as shown below.

4. Solving the System

Solution > Solve > Current LS

Post-Processing: Viewing the Results

We are now ready to view the results. We will take a look at the deflected shape and the stress contours once we determine convergence has occured. 1. Convergence using ANSYS

As shown previously, it is necessary to prove that the solution has converged. Reduce the mesh size until there is no longer a sizeable change in your convergence criteria.
2. Deformation o General Postproc > Plot Results > Def + undeformed to view both the deformed and the undeformed object.

The graphic should be similar to the following

Observe the locations of deflection. Ensure that the deflection at the bolt hole is indeed 0. 3. Deflection o To plot the nodal deflections use General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solution then select DOF Solution - USUM in the window.
o

Alternatively, obtain these results as a list. (General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution...) o Are these results what you expected? Note that all translational degrees of freedom were constrained to zero at the bolt holes. 4. Stresses o General Postproc > Plot Results > Nodal Solution... Then select von Mises Stress in the window.
o

You can list the von Mises stresses to verify the results at certain nodes General Postproc > List Results. Select Stress, Principals SPRIN

Command File Mode of Solution

The above example was solved using a mixture of the Graphical User Interface (or GUI) and the command language interface of ANSYS. This problem has also been solved using the ANSYS command language interface that you may want to browse. Open the .HTML version, copy and paste the code into Notepad or a similar text editor and save it to your computer. Now go to 'File > Read input from...' and select the file. A .PDF version is also available for printing.

Quitting ANSYS

To quit ANSYS, click 'QUIT' on the ANSYS Toolbar or select Utility Menu > File > Exit... In the window that appears, select 'Save Everything' (assuming that you want to) and then click 'OK'.

UofA ANSYS Tutorial

ANSYS BASIC INTERMED ADVANCED POSTPROC. COMMAND PRINTABLE UTILITIES TUTORIALS IATE TUTORIALS TUTORIALS LINE FILESVERSION TUTORIAL S

Effect of Self Weight

Graphical Solution Tracking

Introduction

Distributed Loading

NonLinear Analysis

Solution Tracking

This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 This will act as an explanation of what the Graphical Solution Tracking plot is acutally describing. An example of such a plot is shown below and will be used throughout the explanation.

Buckling

NonLinear Materials

Dynamic - Modal

Dynamic - Harmonic

Dynamic - Transient

Thermal-Conduction

Thermal-Mixed Bndry

1. Title and Axis Labels

Transient Heat

Axisymmetric

Index

The title of the graph is really just the time value of the last calculated iteration. In this example, the time at the end of the analysis was set to 1. This can be changed with the Time command before the Solve command is issued. For more information regarding setting the time value, and many other solution control option, see Chapter 8.5 of the Structural Analysis Guide in the Help file.

Contributions

Comments

MecE 563

The x-axis is labelled Cumulative Iteration Number. As ANSYS steps through non-linear analysis, it uses a solver (Newton-Raphson, etc) that iterates to find a solution. If the problem is relatively linear, very few iterations will be required and thus the length of the graph will be small. However, if the solution is highly non-linear, or is not converging, many iterations will be required. The length of the graph in these cases can be quite long. Again, for more information about changing iteration settings, you can see Chapter 8.5 in the help file. The y-axis is labelled Absolute Convergence Norm. In the case of a structural analysis, which this graph is taken from, this absolute convergence norm refers to non-normalized values (ie there are units associated with these values). Some analyses use normalized values. In reality it doesn't really matter because it is only a comparison that is going on. This is what will be explained next.
2. Curves and Legend As can be guessed from the legend labels, this graph relates to forces and moments. These values are graphed because they are the corresponding values in the solution vector for the DOF's that are active in the elements being used. If this graph were from a thermal analysis, the curves may be for temperature.

Mechanical Engineering

University of Alberta

ANSYS Inc.

Copyright 2001 University of Alberta

For each parameter, there are two curves plotted. For ease of explanation, we will look at the force curves.
The F CRIT curve refers to the convergence criteria force value. This value is equal to the product of VALUE x TOLER. The default value of VALUE is the square root of
o

the sum of the squares (SRSS) of the applied loads, orMINREF (which defaults to 0.001), which ever is greater. This value can be changed using the CNVTOLcommand, which is discussed in the help file. The value of TOLER defaults to 0.5% for loads.

One may inquire why the F CRIT value increases as the number of iterations increases. This is because the analysis is made up of a number of substeps. In the case of a structural example, such as this, these substeps are basically portions of the total load being applied over time. For instance, a 100N load broken up with 20 substeps means 20, 5N loads will be applied consequtively until the entire 100N is applied. Thus, the F CRIT value at the start will be 1/20th of the final F CRIT value.
The F L2 curve refers to the L2 Vector Norm of the forces. The L2 norm is the SRSS of the force imbalances for all DOF's. In simpler terms, this is the SRSS of the difference between the calculated internal force at a particular DOF and the external force in that direction.
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For each substep, ANSYS iterates until the F L2 value is below the F CRIT value. Once this occurs, it is deemed the solution is within tolerance of the correct solution and it moves on to the next substep. Generally, when the curves peak this is the start of a new substep. As can be seen in the graph above, a peak follow everytime the L2 value drops below the CRIT value, as expected.

UofA ANSYS Tutorial

ANSYS BASIC INTERMED ADVANCED POSTPROC. COMMAND PRINTABLE UTILITIES TUTORIALS IATE TUTORIALS TUTORIALS LINE FILESVERSION TUTORIAL S

X-Sectional Results

Advanced X-Sec Res

Advanced X-Sectional Results: Using Paths to Post Process Results

Introduction

Data Plotting

Graphical Properties

Index

This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to create and use 'paths' to provide extra detail during post processing. For example, one may want to determine the effects of stress concentrators along a certain path. Rather than plotting the entire contour plot, a plot of the stress along that path can be made.

Contributions

Comments

MecE 563

Mechanical Engineering

University of Alberta

ANSYS Inc.

In this tutorial, a steel plate measuring 100 mm X 200 mm X 10 mm will be used. Three holes are drilled through the vertical centerline of the plate. The

plate is constrained in the y-direction at the bottom and a uniform, distributed Copyright 2001 load is pulling on the top of the plate. University of Alberta

Preprocessing: Defining the Problem

1. Give the example a Title o Utility Menu > File > Change Title ... 2. Open preprocessor menu o ANSYS Main Menu > Preprocessor
/PREP7 /title, Use of Paths for Post Processing

3. Define Rectangular Ares o Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Rectangle > By 2 Corners Create a rectangle where the bottom left corner has the coordinates 0,0 and the width and height are 200 and 100 respectively. 4. Create Circles o Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Circle > Solid Circle
o cyl4,WP X,WP Y,Radius o BLC4,0,0,200,100

Create three circles with parameters shown below. Parameters Circ W W Radiu le P P s X Y 1 2 50 50 10 50 0 15 50 0 10 10

10

5. Subtract the Circles o Preprocessor > Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Subtract > Areas o First, select the area to remain (ie. the rectangle) and click OK. Then, select the areas to be subtracted (ie. the circles) and click OK.

The remaining area should look as shown below.

6. Define the Type of Element o Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete... o For this problem we will use the PLANE2 (Solid Triangle 6node) element. This element has 2 degrees of freedom (translation along the X and Y axes). o In the 'Element Types' window, click 'Options...' and set 'Element behavior' to Plane strs w/thk 7. Define Real Constants o Preprocessor > Real Constants... > Add... o In the 'Real Constants for PLANE2' window, enter a thickness of 10. 8. Define Element Material Properties o Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic o In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for steel: i. Young's modulus EX: 200000 ii. Poisson's Ratio PRXY: 0.3 9. Define Mesh Size o Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Areas > All Areas... o For this example we will use an element edge length of 5mm. 10. Mesh the Area

Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > Free > click 'Pick All'

Solution Phase: Assigning Loads and Solving

1. Define Analysis Type o Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Static 2. Apply Constraints o Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Lines o Constrain the bottom of the area in the UY direction. 3. Apply Loads o Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Pressure > On Lines o Apply a constant, uniform pressure of -200 on the top of the area.
ANTYPE,0

The model should now look like the figure below.

4. Solve the System o Solution > Solve > Current LS

SOLVE

Postprocessing: Viewing the Results

To see the stress distribution on the plate, you could create a normal contour plot, which would have the distribution over the entire plate. However, if the stress near the holes are of interest, you could create a path through the center of the plate and plot the stress on that path. Both cases will be plotted below on a split screen.
1. Contour Plot o Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Window Controls > Window Layout o Fill in the 'Window Layout' as seen below

General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu > Stress > von Mises

The display should now look like this.

To ensure the top plot is not erased when the second plot is created, you must make a couple of changes.
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Window Controls > Window On or Off. Turn window 1 'off'. o To keep window 1 visible during replots, select Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Erase Option > Erase Between Plotsand ensure there is no check-mark, meaning this function off. o To have the next graph plot in the bottom half of the screen, select Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Window Controls > Window Layout and select 'Window 2 > Bottom Half > Do not replot'. 2. Create Path o General PostProc > Path Operations > Define Path > By Location o In the window, shown below, name the path Cutline and set the 'Number of divisions' to 1000
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Fill the next two window in with the following parameters Parameters Path Point Number 1 2 X Y Z Lo Lo Lo c c c 0 50 0 20 50 0 0

3. Map the Stress onto the Path

When the third window pops up, click 'Cancle' because we only enabled two points on the path in the previous step. Now the path is defined, you must choose what to map to the path, or in other words, what results should be available to the path. For this example, equivalent stress is desired.

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General Postproc > Path Operations > Map onto Path Fill the next window in as shown below [Stress > von Mises] and click OK.

The warning shown below will probably pop up. This is just saying that some of the 1000 points you defined earlier are not on interpolation points (special points on the elements) therefore there is no data to map. This is of little concern though, since there are plenty of points that do lie on interpolation points to produce the necessary plot, so disregard the warning.

4. Plot the Path Data o General Postproc > Path Operations > Plot Path Item > On Geometry o Fill the window in as shown below

The display should look like the following. Note, there will be dots on the plot showing node locations. Due to resolution restrictions, these dots are not shown here.

This plot makes it easy to see how the stress is concentrated around the holes.

Command File Mode of Solution

The above example was solved using a mixture of the Graphical User Interface (or GUI) and the command language interface of ANSYS. This problem has also been solved using the ANSYS command language interface that you may want to browse. Open the .HTML version, copy and paste the code into Notepad or a similar text editor and save it to your computer. Now go to 'File > Read input from...' and select the file. A .PDF version is also available for printing.