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ANSYS Tutorial 05 18 04
ANSYS Tutorial 05 18 04
Release 6.1
Finite Element Analysis Software
By Andrew R. Mondi
Using examples and revisions from:
Cosmos-GeoStar Tutorial, January 2000, by Keith M. Mueller
Department of General Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
May 2003
Corrections: May 18, 2004
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This tutorial is based upon Cosmos-Geostar Tutorial written by Dr. Keith M. Mueller in
January 2000. The example problems solved in that tutorial are also solved here. I tried
to incorporate the strengths of Cosmos-GeoStar Tutorial into this ANSYS tutorial, even
though the structure and content of each are quite different.
I thank Professor David E. Goldberg for his guidance while writing this booklet. He is a
skilled manager and leader.
I thank Mr. Raja R. Katta for his assistance. His concise and timely explanations of
difficult material in ANSYS were essential for swiftly completing this project.
Also, I thank Professor Thomas F. Conry for his advice and suggestions for refining and
improving this tutorial.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
What is ANSYS?
Helpful Web Links
Purpose of this Tutorial
Using this Tutorial Effectively
Starting up in a Unix System
Default View in ANSYS
Familiarizing Yourself with ANSYS
2. TRUSS EXAMPLE
Preprocessing
Introduction
Modeling
Element Type
Real Constants
Material Properties
Meshing
Solution Phase
Analysis Type
Apply Constraints
Apply Loads
Apply Solution
Post-processing
Reaction Forces
Member Forces and Axial Stresses
Displacements
3. FRAME EXAMPLE
Preprocessing
Introduction
Modeling
Element Type
Real Constants
Material Properties
Define Sections
Meshing
Solution Phase
Introduction
Analysis Type
Define Frame Constraints
Define Frame Loads
Apply Solution
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4. PLATE EXAMPLE
Preprocessing
Introduction
Modeling
Element Type
Real Constants
Material Properties
Meshing (and refining a mesh)
Solution Phase
Introduction
Analysis Type
Apply Constraints
Apply Loads
Apply Solution
Post-processing
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5. APPENDIX
Working with ANSYS in Unix
Saving an ANSYS file
Opening a previously saved ANSYS file
Printing result tables
Printing graphical output
Managing your EWS Account
How to Access EWS files
Deleting EWS files in Unix
Creating Axisymmetric Models
General Notes on Understanding ANSYS
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1. INTRODUCTION
What is ANSYS?
ANSYS is a finite element analysis (FEA) software package. It uses a preprocessor
software engine to create geometry. Then it uses a solution routine to apply loads to the
meshed geometry. Finally it outputs desired results in post-processing.
Finite element analysis was first developed by the airplane industry to predict the
behavior of metals when formed for wings. Now FEA is used throughout almost all
engineering design including mechanical systems and civil engineering structures.
ANSYS is used throughout industry in many engineering disciplines. This software
package was even used by the engineers that investigated the World Trade Center
collapse in 2001.
More information about the ANSYS FEA package and other ANSYS products can be
found at <www.ansys.com>.
Helpful Web Links
Another ANSYS tutorial produced by the University of Alberta, Canada can be accessed
at <http://www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/>. Links and design tips can be accessed
at <http://www3.hsympatico.ca/peter_budgell/home.html>. Some commentary on the
mathematics behind FEA software by the National Institute of Standards and Technology
can be accessed at <http://math.nist.gov/mcsd/savg/tutorial/ansys/FEM/index.htm>.
Purpose of this Tutorial
The purpose of this tutorial is to guide students in the Department of General Engineering
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign through their structures courses (GE
221 and GE 232). It is designed to familiarize the user with the basic functions of
ANSYS FEA software. Examples of a simple truss, a frame (using beam members), and
a two-dimensional plate are explored.
Using this Tutorial Effectively
This tutorial is designed so that the reader completes each example in the order it is
presented. The latter tutorials (frame and plate) assume the user understands certain
functions of the program covered in earlier examples. First a truss is analyzed. This is
the simplest of the three models investigated in this tutorial. This is also the longest of
the three tutorials because it is the most detailed of the three examples and it does not
assume any prior knowledge of the user.
Next a frame is explored. Here the user defines sections and outputs internal member
moments and member rotations. Once completing this tutorial, the user should be able to
apply its principles to all types of two dimensional beam problems.
Finally a two dimensional plate is analyzed. This example is useful for those users
investigating stress concentrations and other solid mechanics properties.
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The Main Menu is designed so that you complete the steps required to build your model
by beginning at the top of the menu and working your way down. For the purposes
of this tutorial, you will need to be familiar with three of the commands on the Main
Menu: Preprocessor, Solution, and Post-processor (noted as General Postproc on the
ANSYS main menu) as you can see in Fig. 1-5, these are the first three commands on
the Main Menu. The construction steps to be accomplished in each command are listed
below:
Preprocessor
1. Member length
2. Member position
3. Member material
Solution
1. Load position
2. Load magnitude
3. Load direction
Post-processor
Get displacement member
force data in both graphical
and text output.
You will use this Main Menu just like Windows Explorer or any other function that is
organized in a tree fashion.
You should complete these three major steps: (1) Preprocessing stage, (2) Solution, and
(3) Post-processing stage IN THE ORDER GIVEN. If you do not, ANSYS will not
know how to properly solve your structure and give you bad results.
The rest of this tutorial will bring you through three helpful examples that will familiarize
you with ANSYS. Also information concerning printing, managing your EWS account
and other helpful Unix tips is in the Appendix at the end of this tutorial.
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2. TRUSS EXAMPLE
Given the following loaded truss, find the internal forces in all members and
displacements of all joints.
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B. Modeling
1. Keypoints - The first step in
designing any structure in
ANSYS is to define the
Keypoints of the structure. These
points simulate the joints of the
structural members and also serve
as endpoints of the members.
a. On the Main Menu, left click
the plus sign
next to
Preprocessor. A sub-menu
will drop-down listing all of
the commands you can use in
the Preprocessing stage.
b. Left click the small plus sign
next to Modeling. Another
sub-menu of all modeling
commands is listed here.
c. Left click the small plus sign
next to Create. This menu
lists all of the objects you can
create in ANSYS. You will be
creating points and lines.
d. Left click the small plus sign
next to Keypoints. Click the
small icon next to Active CS.
The pop-up window will
prompt you for a keypoint
number and a set of
coordinates for that keypoint.
Note: This sequence of steps will be summarized using the following notation:
Preprocessor>Modeling>Create>Keypoints>Active CS
The Create Keypoints window will appear:
e. At this juncture you should choose how to define all of the Keypoints in
your structure. Remember that Keypoints represent joints of your
structures geometry so number ALL of the joints in your design. It is
often best to number the joints in a logical manner that you can remember
easily. For this example the joints have been defined below:
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zero; if you press OK, ANSYS will define a new point at (0,0,0)!
Note: If you need to remove keypoints that you have already created, go to
Preprocessor>Modeling>Delete. You will find that there are Delete commands that
correspond to all Create commands.
Now all of the points for our truss have been defined.
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e. Define the other six members of the truss in the order they were assigned.
Once all of the lines (members) have been defined, your model should
look like the one below.
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Figure 2-26 Truss after number of divisions per element are set to 1
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Note: Be absolutely sure that your model is correct BEFORE you mesh it together
(upcoming steps). You cannot place loads on your model or find displacements of nodes
until it is meshed. This step is the heart of ANSYS. It might be a good idea to save your
truss now.
12. Go to Preprocessor>Meshing>Mesh>Lines. The Pick Mesh Lines window
will pop-up. Be sure that pick and single are selected.
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II. Solution Phase here you will be applying loads and constraints to your truss.
A. Analysis Type
1. Go to Solution>Analysis Type>New Analysis in the Main Menu. The
Analysis Type window will pop-up.
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2. Select node 1 (coincident with the origin) with a left click near or on the point.
Doing so will highlight the point with a small yellow box.
3. In the Apply U on KPs window, select Apply. The Define Constraints
window will pop-up.
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7. Repeat this process (steps 5 and 6) for node 3 (load = -1000) [units of lbf].
After doing so, your truss should look like the one below.
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This completes the Solution Phase. You are now ready for the final step, Post-processing.
III. Post-processing - this is the last step of the three major analysis steps in ANSYS. In
this section we will order ANSYS to output internal member forces, member axial
stresses, and node displacements.
A. Reaction Forces
1. Go to General Postprocessor>List Results>Reaction Solution. In the pop-up
window select All items and OK. The Reaction Solution window will pop-up.
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2. Choose your plot preference; for this example plot deformed and undeformed.
3. Click OK. This will close the window.
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3. FRAME EXAMPLE
As you should already know, the major difference between trusses and frames is that
members are beams and thus can have a reaction moment. The following frame will be
constructed:
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W12x54
3
30
12000
12
0
0
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2. For clarity, let us have the dimensions of each beam correspond with the same
Real Constant Set. For the W 8x42 beam (Real Constant set 1) enter the
following:
a. ID = 1
b. Name = W8x42
c. Sub Type = I (from drop-down menu)
d. Offset to centroid
e. W1 = W2 = W3 = 8
f. T1 = T2 = T3 = 1
g. Select Apply. This will save the information for the W 8x42 beam.
Note: all of these dimension values are expressed in units of inches.
3. Repeat step 4 for the other two beam types with values from the following
table. Once you are complete select OK.
Table 3-3 Section Definitions
ID
1
2
3
Name
W8x42 W10x48 W12x54
Sub Type
I
I
I
Offset
Centroid Centroid Centroid
W1, W2, W3
8
10
12
T1, T2, T3
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G. Meshing
1. Go to Preprocessor>Meshing>Size Cntrls>ManualSize>Lines>All lines in the
Main Menu. The Element Size box will appear. Set the number of divisions
(ndiv) to 25. Leave the other boxes blank and select OK. Your frame will
now appear to be of dashed lines.
Note: The ndiv function divides the element into small pieces, finite elements. For the
truss, we set the number of divisions per element to 1. It was not necessary for any
further divisions because in a truss there are no internal moments or rotations that need
to be calculated. For this frame example (and for all structures that have members with
internal forces that vary with position, such as beams) we need to be able to calculate
internal moments, rotations, and other structural properties so we need several elements
per part to get accurate results. Thus we have selected 25 divisions per element as a
good manageable value.
Also note that you could choose a different number of divisions per element. Just
remember that your results may be less accurate with fewer finite elements. However, do
not create too many elements as your analysis will become computationally more
expensive possibly causing the program to crash or freeze. This is also why it is so
important to save often while conducting your analysis and especially before Meshing!
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6. It is always a good idea to save your project before meshing do this now.
7. Go to Preprocessor>Meshing>Mesh>Lines. Select all of the lines and OK. If
the mesh was successful the frame will made of blue-green solid lines.
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II. Solution
A. Introduction the most significant change from the truss tutorial is the presence
of the distributed load.
1. Analysis Type (similar - static)
2. Define Frame Constraints (different - three fixed ends)
3. Define Frame Loads (different - distributed)
4. Apply Solution (similar)
B. Analysis Type just like in the truss tutorial, this is a static analysis.
1. Go to Solution>Analysis Type>New Analysis in the Main Menu. The
Analysis Type window will appear.
2. Select the first option, Static, and OK.
C. Define Frame Constraints we will fix the three bottom ends of the frame.
1. Go to Solution>Define Loads>Apply>Structural>Displacement>On
Keypoints in the Main Menu. Just as with the truss tutorial, a selection box
will appear.
2. Single left click on all three bottom nodes; each will be highlighted by small
yellow boxes. Select OK in the selection box. The Apply Constraints box will
appear.
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Figure 3-8 ANSYS workspace window after the top of the frame is selected for
application of a distributed load
4. Undoubtedly, you will select some of the vertical supports where you do not
want to apply the distributed load, thus you must deselect these locations. In
the Apply Pressure on Beams selection window (Figure 3-7), change the Pick
option (at the top) to Unpick and the Box option to Single. Then individually
left click on the each small yellow box on the vertical supports where no load
should be applied.
5. Once you are certain that only the nodes where the load should be applied are
highlighted, select OK in the Apply F/M on Nodes window. The define
pressure on beams window will appear.
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2. Take note of the nodal numbers in significant places such as those at the ends
of each beam. Note that the nodal numbering will increase or decrease
linearly from one end of a beam to another.
B. Reaction Forces
1. Go to General Postproc>List Results>Reaction Solution. In the pop-up
window select All items and OK. The Reaction Solution window will pop-up.
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4. PLATE EXAMPLE
For this example we will model the plate below. Although it has a thickness, ANSYS
allows us to model it as a two dimensional representation.
20 steel square plate with 4 diameter hole
thickness = .1
uniform tensile loading of 8 psi
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Figure 4-5 Model after defining both rectangular and circular areas.
5. Just like when using a CAD program, you must perform a Boolean operation
to remove the circle from the rectangle. Go to Preprocessor>
Modeling>Operate>Booleans>Subtract>Areas. The Subtract Area selection
window will appear.
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E. Material Properties - note nothing in this section has changed from previous
tutorials try doing this on your own!
1. Go to Preprocessor>Material Props>Material Models. In the Define Material
Properties window select Structural>Linear>Elastic>Isotropic.
2. In the pop up window set the modulus of elasticity (EX) to 290000000
(remember we are working in pounds and inches so this number is in psi!) and
Poisson's ratio (PRXY) to 0.3.
F. Meshing be sure to save right now!
1. Go to Preprocessor>Meshing>MeshTool. The MeshTool box will appear.
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5. Select OK in the Mesh Selection window. Now your element has been
meshed and should appear to be divided into quadrilaterals.
However, we know that the most important stresses in this plate are near the hole.
Consequently, we should Refine our mesh in this area. There is no need to Refine the
mesh elsewhere since other stresses in the plate are not as important.
6. On the MeshTool select Refine (near the bottom of the MeshTool). Note that
the MeshTool is already set to refine at elements (directly above the refine
button). A Refine Selection box will appear just like the Mesh Selection box.
7. Single left click on all of the finite elements adjacent to the hole (see below).
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E. Apply Solution - now all the loads are applied and you are ready to solve. Go to
Solution>Solve>Current LS. Select OK in the series of boxes that appear just as
in the other tutorials. You are now ready for post-processing.
III. Post-processing The major difference between post-processing with the plate and
with the other examples is that you will probably find the graphical outputs most
helpful. As you might guess, tabular output will list far too many nodes to be helpful.
The graphical output will likely be the easiest and most meaningful for your analysis.
All graphical outputs that you will need can be accessed from:
General Postproc> Plot Results>Contour Plot>Nodal Solu.
This set of commands will output the stress, displacement, rotation, energy or any
other relevant outputs. Results will be generated in the workspace. If you desire, you
can refer to the Truss Example tutorial Post-processing section to review this process.
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5. APPENDIX
Some common tasks such as saving, opening and printing files may be different from
working in other operating systems that may already be more familiar to you. The
purpose of the section is to outline these tasks to make using ANSYS easier for you. The
second section outlines how to access and manipulate files on your EWS account.
I. Working with ANSYS and Unix
A. Saving an ANSYS file ANSYS is set to save files automatically to your EWS
(Engineering WorkStation) account. This is ideal for your finite element analyses
because several files are created throughout the analysis including the main
database file (.db), a backup database file (.dbb), and various solution and results
files. In order for you analysis to operate properly, it is important that all of these
files be in the same location so that ANSYS can access them when necessary.
The EWS account is especially convenient because you can access it from any
EWS computer and you do not have the worries that are associated with using a
disk (such as it being damaged or lost).
Below are a few steps to follow to save your project:
1. From the top menu bar, go to File>Save As. The Save window will appear.
You should include the file type extension which is .db. If you want to call
your file truss1, then in the box enter: truss1.db
2. Note that you are already set to save in your EWS account. This directory is
listed in the bottom box of the Save As window. For this example, let us
name our file truss1.db You must include the file type extension (.db)
otherwise you will not be able to see it when you want to reopen your project.
3. At the end of the account name enter and select OK. You can confirm your
save was successful by going to File>Save As again and noting the name in
the right hand box.
Note: You may also notice (especially if you have already saved projects before) that
there is a file called file.db on your account. This is a default ANSYS file. If you do not
specify a name for your project, all of your data will be saved into this file. It is a good
idea to depend on this function only for backup purposes.
B. Open a previously saved ANSYS file
1. ANSYS uses the work Resume instead of Open. Let us say that you want
to open truss1.db. Go to File>Resume From. The Resume From window will
appear.
2. You will already be in your EWS account where all of your ANSYS files
should be located. Highlight truss1.db and select OK. Your project will
launch.
3. If you have been saving to the default file (file.db) you can open this by
simply choosing: File>Resume Jobname.db.
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Figure 5-1 Axisymmetric bar. The y-axis is that of axial symmetry. Note the bar is also
symmetric with respect to the x-axis.
You can take advantage of this symmetry in ANSYS. It was already outlined how to
model traditional symmetry (which for this example is the bars symmetry with respect to
the x axis) in the plate tutorial. To take advantage of the axial (about the y-axis)
symmetry you must first model the section that is to be rotated about the y axis. Look at
the wire-frame representation below:
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Figure 5-2 Wireframe representation of axisymmetric bar. Note that the section to be
modeled (highlighted in gray) is entirely in quadrant I of the modeling plane (all values
are non-negative).
For ANSYS to properly define your geometry, you must define the section (highlighted
in gray) entirely in quadrant I; you cannot allow any of this two-dimensional geometry to
have negative coordinates.
Also, ANSYS is programmed to rotate your element about the y axis in the workplane.
Thus, if you want a solid bar (not hollow) you must align one side of your geometry on
the y axis.
Once your geometry is sufficiently defined, then you must tell ANSYS that the problem
is axisymmetric. This is done in Preprocessing>Real Constants. See section I.C of the
Plate tutorial (pg. 4-4). Follow this section as written except for steps 4 and 5. From the
options window (Figure 4-7) set the Element Behavior to Axisymmetric (instead of
Plate with Thickness). Then you can skip step 5 since there will be no need to define
Real Constants.
Be sure to constrain properly your sketch in the Solution phase. For this example,
displacement will be constrained to zero in the y direction on the z axis. By specifying
the elements to be axisymmetric, you have implicitly constrained all points on the y
axis from moving in the x direction, so no explicit constraint needs to be applied.
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When this tutorial was first used during the spring semester, 2003, the students who
grasped ANSYS best seemed to understand how each step in the program fit into the
overall FEA process. These students recognized that only certain operations can be
performed at certain times and those operations had to be performed with a certain degree
of coherence and order.
Specifically, these students understood that:
(1) modeling, material definition, meshing, etc. occurred only in the Preprocessing stage,
and;
(2) in order to edit various parts of the model, you would have to return to that analysis
section to make adjustments, if possible.
Because of the tedious nature of iterative design using Finite Element Analysis, it was
understandably tempting to try to circumvent the rigid processes outlined in this tutorial.
The students that tried this by jumping between steps or skipping sections in the tutorial
often found themselves lost (with several hours wasted) trying to repair their model using
processes not outlined in this tutorial.
Understanding (and consequently rapid analyses!) comes with familiarizing oneself with
the entire process and the order in which the processing commands must be executed.
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