FE simulation: Consistent Units

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

March 3, 2010

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Consistent System of Units

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Consistent System of Units

ABAQUS and most other simulation codes do not have a

built-in unit system (except for rotation DOF & angles)

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Consistent System of Units

ABAQUS and most other simulation codes do not have a

built-in unit system (except for rotation DOF & angles)

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Consistent System of Units

ABAQUS and most other simulation codes do not have a

built-in unit system (except for rotation DOF & angles)

It is the users responsibility to ensure that the units chosen

are self-consistent.

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Consistent System of Units

ABAQUS and most other simulation codes do not have a

built-in unit system (except for rotation DOF & angles)

It is the users responsibility to ensure that the units chosen

are self-consistent.

Consistent = derived units can be expressed in terms of the

fundamental units without conversion factors.

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Consistent System of Units

ABAQUS and most other simulation codes do not have a

built-in unit system (except for rotation DOF & angles)

It is the users responsibility to ensure that the units chosen

are self-consistent.

Consistent = derived units can be expressed in terms of the

fundamental units without conversion factors.

Specifying model data in inconsistent units will yield results

that are not physically meaningful

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Consistent System of Units

ABAQUS and most other simulation codes do not have a

built-in unit system (except for rotation DOF & angles)

It is the users responsibility to ensure that the units chosen

are self-consistent.

Consistent = derived units can be expressed in terms of the

fundamental units without conversion factors.

Specifying model data in inconsistent units will yield results

that are not physically meaningful

Inappropriate units may cause numerical problems during

solution (round-off errors)

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

System of units: the basics

Fundamental Units: the SI system

The fundamental units used in the SI system are the following:
Mass [M], specified in kilograms
Length [L], specified in meters
Time [T], specified in seconds
Temperature [] , specified in degrees Kelvin (or Celsius)
Electric current [A], specified in amperes

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

System of units: the basics

Derived Units
These quantities are derived from the fundamental units.
Typical derived units in the SI system are:
Force (in Newtons) = MassAcceleration = ML/T 2
Density = Mass/Volume = M/L3
Stress or Pressure (in Pascals) = Force/Area =
(ML/T 2 )/L2 = M/LT 2
Work, Energy, or Unit of Heat (in Joules) = ForceLength =
ML2 /T 2
Power (in Watts) = Energy/Time = ML2 /T 3
Electrical Charge (in Coulombs) = CurrentTime = AT

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Typical consistent set of units

System:
Length
Time
Mass
Force
Temperature
Area
Volume
Velocity
Acceleration
Angle, rotation
Angular Velocity
Mass density
Moment, torque
Line load
Surface load
Stress, pressure
Youngs modulus
Thermal exp. coef.
Beam cross-section inertia I
Energy, Work, Heat

Power, heat transfer rate Q

Temperature gradient
Heat flux
Therm. conductivity
Specific heat Cp

MKS
m
sec
Kg
N

C
m2
m3
m/sec
m/sec2
rad
rad/sec2
Kg/m3
N-m
N/m
N/m2
Pa
Pa
/ C
(/K)
m4
J
W

C/m
W/m2
W/m- C
J/Kg- C

mmNS
mm
sec
tonne
N

C
mm2
mm3
mm/sec
mm/sec2
rad
rad/sec2
Tonne/mm3
N-mm
N/mm
N/mm2
MPa
MPa
/ C
(/K)
mm4
mJ
mW

C/mm
mW/mm2
mW/mm- C
mJ/tonne- C

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FPS
ft
sec
slug
lbf

F
ft2
ft3 (cu-ft)
ft/sec
ft/sec2
rad
rad/sec2
slug/ft3
ft-lbf
lbf/ft
lbf/ft2
/ F
(/K)
ft4
ft-lbf
ft-lbf/sec

F/ft
lbf/ft-sec
lbf/sec- F
ft-lbf/slug- F

IPS
in
sec
lbf-sec2
lbf

F
in2
in3 (cu-in)
in/sec
in/sec2
rad
rad/sec2
lbf-sec2 /in4
in-lbf
lbf/in
lbf/in2
Psi
Psi
/ F
(/K)
in4
in-lbf
in-lbf/sec

F/in
lbf/in-sec
lbf/sec- F
in2 /sec2 - F

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Unit conversion table 1

SI to other metric units

Time
Length meter
Velocity
Acceleration
Mass
Density
Force
Moment
Stress/Pressure
Energy
Power

SI (m, k, s)
second (s)
1 meter (m)
1 m/s
1 m/s2
1 kilogram (kg)
1 kg/m3
1 Newton (N)
1Nm
1 Pascal (Pa)
1 Joule (J)
1 Watt (W)

Metric (mm, k, s)
second (s)
1000 millimeter (mm)
1000 mm/s
1000 mm/s2
1.0e-3 tonnes
1.0e-12 tonnes/mm3
1 Newton (N)
1000 N mm
1.0e-6 N/mm2
1000 millijoule (mJ)
1000 milliwatt

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

Metric (cm, g, s)
second (s)
100 centimeter (cm)
100 cm/s
100 cm/s2
1000 gram (g)
1.0e-3 g/cm3
1.0e5 dyne (dyn)
1.0e7 dyn cm
10 dyn/cm2
1.0e7 erg
1.0e7 erg/s

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Unit conversion table 2

SI to English units
Time
Length
Velocity
Acceleration
Mass
Density
Force
Moment
Stress/Pressure
Energy

SI (m, k, s)
second (s)
1 meter (m)
1 m/s
1 m/s2
1 kilogram (kg)
1 kg/m3
1 Newton (N)
1 Nm
1 Pascal (Pa)
1 Joule (J)

English (inch, lbf, s)

second (s)
39.370 inches (in)
39.370 in/s
39.370 in/s2
5.7100e-3 lbf s2 /in
9.3572e-8 lbf s2 /in4
0.22481 lbf
8.8508 lbfin
1.4504e-4 lbf/in2
8.8507 lbfin

English (foot, lbf, s)

second (s)
3.2808 feet (f)
3.2808 f/s
3.2808 f/s2
6.8522e-2 slugs
1.9403e-3 slug/ft3
0.22481 lbf
0.73756 lbfft
2.0885e-2 lbf/ft2
0.73756 lbfft

Note: lbf = pound force

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Imported geometry: CAD units ...

CAUTION: CAD File Units & exported geometry !!!

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Imported geometry: CAD units ...

CAUTION: CAD File Units & exported geometry !!!

1

Most CAD systems use mm units internally (by default)

and the user can usually choose different display units.

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Imported geometry: CAD units ...

CAUTION: CAD File Units & exported geometry !!!

1

Most CAD systems use mm units internally (by default)

and the user can usually choose different display units.

However, units may be modified when exporting the CAD

model into STEP/IGES/SAT files

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Imported geometry: CAD units ...

CAUTION: CAD File Units & exported geometry !!!

1

Most CAD systems use mm units internally (by default)

and the user can usually choose different display units.

However, units may be modified when exporting the CAD

model into STEP/IGES/SAT files

So ALWAYS CHECK THE PART DIMENSIONS when

importing a CAD file for FE analysis

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units

Imported geometry: CAD units ...

CAUTION: CAD File Units & exported geometry !!!

1

Most CAD systems use mm units internally (by default)

and the user can usually choose different display units.

However, units may be modified when exporting the CAD

model into STEP/IGES/SAT files

So ALWAYS CHECK THE PART DIMENSIONS when

importing a CAD file for FE analysis

In Abaqus: use Tool Query Distance to verify the units

Joel Cugnoni, LMAF / EPFL

FE simulation: Consistent Units