Structural Analysis Introductory Tutorial

Various analyses of an Elbow Bracket using the Structural

Mechanics Module
General information on structural analysis within the COMSOL
environment

Structural Analysis in the COMSOL

Environment
Analysis types available in COMSOL Multiphysics:

Static
Transient
Frequency-response
Eigenfrequency (modal analysis)
Damped eigenfrequency
Elastoplastic
Thermal stress
Viscoelastic
Creep
Hyperelastic
Poroelastic
Contact
and more including Multiphysics analysis: Flow, Electromagnetics, Heat, Piezo

CAD Interoperability
Bidirectional Associative Parametric Interfaces with SolidWorks
and Autodesk Inventor

CAD Interoperability
Import of CAD Files* from:

SolidWorks
Autodesk Inventor
STEP
IGES
X_T (Parasolid)
SAT (ACIS)
Pro/E
CATIA
Inventor
NX (Unigraphics)
Solid Edge
VDA-FS

* Trademarks of respective holders

CAD Repair and Defeaturing Tools

Parasolid-based CAD Geometry Repair and Defeaturing tools
ease meshing of large CAD parts and assemblies

CAD Repair Tools for easier meshing

CAD repair
Repair CAD model and prepare for FEA analysis: remove small
surfaces, fill in gaps, etc.

CAD Repair Tools for easier meshing

Remove small faces

Before
After

CAD Defeaturing for easier meshing

Remove holes

Before
After

CAD Defeaturing for easier meshing

Remove fillets (rounded corners)

Before
After

Material Library
Data for more than 2500 materials.
A given material entry store data for up to 24 different properties by
default can be extended upon by user.
Focus on elastic and thermal properties. Each of these material
properties is described as a function of some variable, typically
temperature T.
In all, the Material Library contains a total of almost 20,000
property functions (material curves).
Search Feature: look for materials by name, UNS number, or DIN
number.

Material Library
More than 2500
materials

Material Library
Search function

Material Library Example: Elasticity (E) vs.

Temperature (T) of Ti-Ni shape memory alloy

Material Library

Detailed references

Create your Own Material and Material

Functions

Some Structural Analysis Examples

(Available as Step-by-step Tutorials in the Structural Mechanics Module Documentation )

Modal Analysis of a Crank Shaft

(here with mesh imported from NASTRAN)

Contact Analysis of Cell-Phone Screen

Assembly

Large Deformation Contact Analysis of SnapHook Fastener

Viscoelastic Analysis Including Transient

Hysteresis

Fatigue Analysis of a Wheel Rim

Hyperelastic Analysis of a Boot Seal

Viscoplastic Creep of Solder Joints

Elastoacoustic Waves Nondestructive Testing

with Structural Nonlinearities (Murnaghan
Material)

Piezoelectric Examples

Radially polarized disc

Shear bender beam

Piezo-Dielectric
Heating

Distributed Mode
Actuator

Ultrasonic Transducer

Piezo-Acoustic
Transducer

SAW Sensor

Piezo-Actuators

Multiphysics Analysis: Fluid-Structure-Heat

Interaction in Aluminum Extrusion

Elbow Bracket Tutorial

Analysis types demonstrated by this tutorial:

Static
Transient
Frequency-response
Eigenfrequency (modal analysis)
Damped eigenfrequency
Elastoplastic
Thermal stress

Full step-by-step PDF available in the product manual

Static Analysis: Setup

Finds the deflection at static equilibrium

Most straightforward analysis type
Glued at one end: fixed displacement
A distributed load at an angle at the other end:
Fx=3.0 MPa
Fy=0.0 MPa
Fz=3.0 MPa

Distributed load

Fixed

Static Analysis: Setup

Default Mesh:
66765 degrees of freedom (nodes)
13339 quadratic elements

Static Analysis: Results

von Mises effective stress maximum at 190 MPa
Compare with yield stress
350 MPa: 54 % utilization

Modal/Eigenfrequency Analysis: Setup

Default settings finds the 6
lowest vibrational modes and
frequencies
Deformations for modal
analysis are normalized and
mesh dependent
Deformation values not important
for modal analysis

Important quantities:
Frequency
Overall mode shape

Fixed

Modal/Eigenfrequency Analysis: Results

Mode shape at 416 Hz

Modal/Eigenfrequency Analysis: Results

416 Hz

570 Hz

1926 Hz

2454 Hz

3110 Hz

3931 Hz

Transient Analysis: Setup

Transient sinusoidal load
A distributed load in the xdirection
Rayleigh damping
parameters:

alpha = 300
beta = 3.2e-5

Transient Analysis: Results

x-displacement
at this point

Frequency-response Analysis: Setup

Response to sinusoidal loads of varying frequencies
Glued at one end: fixed displacement
A sinusoidal distributed load at an angle at the other end:

Fx=3.0cos(2ft) MPa
Fy=0.0 MPa
Fz=3.0*cos(2 ft) MPa

Sweep from 350 Hz to 650 Hz

Fixed

Distributed load

Frequency-response Analysis: Results

Response from 350 Hz to 650
Hz at a point on the loaded
surface
Resonance peaks as
indicated by earlier mode
analysis at 416 Hz and 570
Hz

z-displacement amplitude
x-displacement amplitude

y-displacement amplitude

Parametric Analysis: Setup

Perform a parametric sweep over the angle of the distributed
load
Fx=3106 cos( /180) N/m2
Fz=3106 sin( /180) N/m2

Parametric Analysis: Results

-45

-0

-20

-45

Transient Thermal-Stress Analysis: Setup

Combined Thermal and Structural Analysis
Quasi-static approach: transient thermal analysis combined with
static structural analysis
Ends held at fixed temperature
Applied mechanical load and temperature load
T = 500 C

T = 20 C

Mechanical load

Transient Thermal-Stress Analysis: Setup

Thermal load from
heat transfer application

Heat Transfer

Solid, Stress-Strain

Transient Thermal-Stress Analysis: Results

Temperature and deformation

at t=1000 s
von Mises stress at t=1000 s

Transient Thermal-Stress Analysis: Results

Total displacement
at this point

Elasto-Plastic Analysis: Setup

3D elbow bracket
Elasto-plastic constitutive model
Isotropic hardening
Hardening function: experimental stress-strain curve

Distributed load

Fixed

Elasto-Plastic Analysis: Setup

Function interpolated from experimental stress strain data

Elasto-Plastic Analysis: Setup

Apply the elasto-plastic
material data
Apply boundary conditions
Solve the problem by stepping
up the distributed load with
the parametric solver

Elasto-Plastic Analysis: Results

Plastic region at the final load step