IntroductiontoSolidModelingUsingSolidWorks2012

SolidWorksSimulationTutorial

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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.

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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,mayberequired.

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

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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.

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Material:OneofthemostimportantinputstothemodelistheelasticmodulusEofthematerial.The
elasticmodulusdefinesthestiffness(resistancetodeflection)ofthematerial.Itsvalueisdetermined
frommaterialtests.AmaterialwithahighvalueofEwilldeflectlessthanonewithalowervalueof
E.Forcomparison,steelhasanEvalueofabout30,000,000psi(poundspersquareinch).Aluminum
hasanEvalueof10,000,000psi.TheABSplasticthatwehavechosenhasavalueforEof320,000
psi,soitisabout100timeslessstiffthansteel.
Anassumptionofourmodelisthatthematerialsbehaviorisperfectlylinear,sothatthedeflectionis
exactlyproportionaltotheload.Thismodelisanidealizationformanyplasticmaterials,which
exhibitsomeamountofnonlinearbehavior.
Mostmaterialsreachapointbeforetheybreakatwhichadditionalloadingproducesmuchlarger
deflections.Wesaythatthematerialhasyieldedatthispoint,andourlinearmodelisnotvalid
beyondtheyieldpointofthematerial.

Wenowneedtoconsiderhowthebracketisconstrained(theboundaryconditions)andwhatforces
thatitwillbesubjectedto(theloadings).

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

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

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

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Thepressureiscalculatedfromthe50lbloadappliedtothesurface,whichisoneinchindiameterwith
ainchholeinthecenter:
50 lb

84.9 psi
0.5
in
1
4

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?Sometimesitisnecessarytoexperimentwithdifferentmeshesuntiltheresults
convergetoasolution.Inothercases,themeshcanberefinedtocreatemoreelementsinalocal
areawherestressesaregreatest.

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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.

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

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,thesoftwarecomputedthevonMisesequivalent
stress,whichcanbecomparedtothematerialsyieldstrengthtopredictyieldingofthepart.Inour
case,themaximumvonMisesstressisabout3700psi.Ifthematerialsyieldstrengthis6100psi,
thenweconcludethatthepartwillnotfail.However,thefactorofsafetyof6100/3700=1.65is
probablymuchlowerthanwewouldliketohaveinmostapplications.Thefactorofsafetyischosen
toaccountforallofthemanyuncertaintiesassociatedwiththeanalysis(loading,materialproperties,
environmentaldegradationofmaterial,etc.)Insomeindustries,factorsofsafetyof10ormoreare
common.Inaerospaceapplications,whereweightiscritical,factorsofsafetyoflessthantwoare
typical.Whenalowerfactorofsafetyisused,extensivematerialtestingandanalysisareusedto
reduceuncertaintyasmuchasispractical.
Thedefinitionoffailureshouldalsobementionedhere.Ultimatefailurereferstothefractureofthe
material.However,weusuallysaythataparthasfailedifthematerialhasyielded,sothatadditional
loadingproduceslargedeflections.Insomeapplications,excessivedeflectionitselfmaybedefinedas
failure.

RightclicktheplotcalledDisplacement1andselectShow.RightclickagainandselectChartOptions.
Setthenumericaldisplaytofloating,withthreedecimalplaces.

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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.