Nonlinear

Buckling
Prediction in
ANSYS
August 2009

Buckling Overview

Prediction of buckling of engineering structures is a challenging problem

for several reasons:

A real structure contains imperfections that can greatly effect the buckling
factor.
Many engineering structures will retain load-carrying capability after initial
buckling.
Determining when an analysis has reached instability is often difficult to verify.

Buckling Overview

ANSYS provides two techniques for simulating buckling:

Eigenvalue, or linear, buckling.

This approach performs an eigenvalue solution to obtain the theoretical buckling
load factor for an ideal elastic structure.
Considered non-conservative since imperfections and nonlinearities prevent most
structures from achieving their theoretical buckling strength.
Typically used as a first pass on the buckling load and shape.

Nonlinear buckling.
Consists of running a nonlinear, large deflection solution until the analysis stops
converging, indicating an instability.
Detailed review of the nonlinear behavior must be used to determine if analysis has
reached a true structural instability.
Factors such as the presence of imperfections, element formulation, step size,
element mesh size, and nonlinear convergence settings will play a role in the
prediction of the instability.
Post-buckling, i.e. the ability of a structure to carry load after buckling has occurred,
can be predicted.

Recommended Buckling Analysis Procedure

A typical buckling analysis will include the following steps:

Perform eigenvalue buckling solution to determine estimates for buckling factors and
expected buckling modes.
If modeling a portion or sector of a full structure, the predicted modes will only be those that can
be represented with that sector.

Perform nonlinear analysis to determine more accurate buckling solution.

Most physical structures will contain imperfections that will cause buckling well below theoretical
buckling limits.
Imperfections can be added into the analysis via:
Small applied displacements.
Small applied loading.
Small changes in geometry can use an eigenvalue mode to apply a small perturbation in the geometry
using the ANSYS UPCOORD command.

Run nonlinear solution until it stops converging, indicating an instability.

Review force-displacement behavior at key locations to determine if non-convergence is due to
structure instability (buckling) or numerical instability.
Consider that many engineering structures can buckle locally but continue to carry additional
loading (post-buckling).
Use of newer element technology and updating default nonlinear settings may help in obtaining
accurate solutions.

Buckling Study

Consider the sector model of the

cylindrical shell with stiffener.

The geometry modeled is a

cylinder with stiffeners, loaded
with radial point forces as
shown in the one-sector model
below.
Model is fixed at one end in all
DOF, and symmetry conditions
are used at the cyclic
boundaries.
Various ANSYS shell element
types and solution settings were
used to predict the large
deflection nonlinear analysis
which in some cases includes
both a pre- and post-buckling
response.

Eigenvalue Solution

Eigenvalue buckling analysis was performed to provide a starting point for

this analysis.

Eigenvalue analyses were run with the SHELL63, SHELL181 and SHELL281.

For the one-sector model:

All models predicted the same results, with the first two modes shown below:

Eigenvalue Solution

The first mode occurs at a load factor of 0.204.

This mode predicts adjacent cylindrical segments moving in opposite radial

directions.
This mode is characterized as having a nodal diameter of 4, since the
deflected shape repeats 4 times around the circumference.
In this mode, the stiffener bends in the tangential direction.

The second mode occurs at a load factor of 0.275.

The mode is a nodal diameter of 8.

This mode is more likely to occur when the stiffener bends in the radial
direction but remains planar.

Eigenvalue Solution

If modeling the full 360-degree structure, the lowest eigenvalue buckling

mode is shown below with the following characteristics:

Nodal diameter of 3.
Load factor = 0.088 is lower than lowest sector load factor of 0.204.
Sector model cannot predict this mode.

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

Nonlinear buckling analyses were run for several cases:

Element types:
SHELL63
SHELL181
SHELL281

Nonlinear settings:
Default settings.
PRED,OFF and a tighter convergence tolerance of 1x10-6.

200 fixed substeps over applied loading of 750000 N.

Large deflections turned on.
Ideal geometry and loading (no imperfections modeled).

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

A review of the final displaced shapes indicates that these analyses

deformed into the second eigenvalue (nodal diameter = 8) mode shape.

An example deformed shape from the default SHELL181 case:

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

A plot of the force versus radial deflection at the location of the point load
at all substeps for all models is presented:

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

Observations from the force-deflection behavior:

All analyses predict the same general behavior. Differences occur only in
nonlinear convergence.
There are several inflection points in the force-deflection curve, but there is no
indication that the structure has become completely unstable.
The correct buckling load cannot be inferred by just looking at the final nonconverged value. Nonlinear buckling requires a review of the force-deflection
behavior.
Since the newer ANSYS elements contain the latest features to aid in
obtaining converged solutions, it is not surprising that they can predict more
post-buckling.
The default nonlinear settings in ANSYS are intended for basic nonlinear
analyses. Advanced nonlinearities such as buckling prediction usually require
modification of the default settings.
Experience and careful review of results can determine when it is appropriate
to change these settings.

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

A close inspection of the deflected shapes and animations indicates the

following buckling stages:

At approximately 0.30: buckling of cylindrical panels inward.

At approximately 0.55: buckling of center of stiffener inward.
At approximately 0.80: buckling of free end of cylinder inward.

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

Based on the nonlinear large deflection analyses, the following summary

can be made:

Assuming a geometry without imperfections, the structure will initially buckle in

mode 2, at a load factor of approximately 0.31.
Analyses that continue to converge past this load are predicting a postbuckling behavior. For the real problem this behavior may not be physical due
to imperfections, plasticity, etc, where this post-buckling strength may be
numerically over-estimated.
The newer shell elements have better convergence capabilities and thus are
able to predict more of the post-buckling behavior.

A real structure would most likely not buckle in this manner.

Slight imperfections would most likely cause the model to become unstable
sooner.
If the true ultimate capacity of the structure is of interest, it is recommended to
perform a series of simulations including geometric imperfections, material
plasticity, variations in loading to be included in the analysis model to provide a
relative comparison of limit loads.

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

Since the lowest buckling mode for this structure is not excited by the
previous models, it is recommended that a nonlinear buckling analysis be
performed using an imperfect geometry.

A standard procedure in this case is to provide a slight imperfection by using

the ANSYS UPCOORD feature.
The mode 1 mode shape from the eigenvalue solution, with a very small scale
factor applied, was used to update the nodal locations used in a subsequent
nonlinear analysis.
The imperfection applied to the model is on the order of manufacturing
tolerances and is not visibly noticeable.

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

The subsequent analysis using SHELL181s stopped converging at load

factor = 0.375 with the following buckled shape:

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

The characteristics of
this buckled shape:

Due to the slight

imperfection, bending
of the stiffener in the
tangential direction
occurs, enabling this
buckling mode.
This mode is more
severe and less likely
to continue to postbuckle, as indicated by
the flat force-deflection
behavior.

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

It is important to note that the sector model is limited to predictions of

buckled shapes that can be represented by the sector geometry and
boundary conditions.

As an illustration of this concept, if a full model is run with no imperfections

(using the SHELL181 model), the full model will buckle sooner than the
sector model.
The force-deflection curves from the two analyses are exact up until the full
model buckles. The final buckled shape shows the stiffeners deflecting
tangentially.

Nonlinear Buckling Solution

By adding an imperfection to the full model, an even lower buckling

mode can be obtained.

The eigenvalue buckling analysis of the full model indicated that the first
buckling mode (nodal diameter = 3) occurs at a much lower load.
By running a nonlinear analysis of the full model, including a geometric
imperfection by using UPCOORD based on the first mode, a buckling factor
of 0.085 is found with the buckled shape shown below.

Buckling Study Summary

This buckling study illustrates the following points:

Analyzing the nonlinear behavior of the sector model, the final load predicted
at non-convergence can be different based on element formulation and
nonlinear settings.
Review of the results indicates that all the analyses predicted similar results,
but the newer element formulations were able to model more of the postbuckling behavior.
In this case, lower buckling factors and more physically realistic and consistent
results can be found by including initial imperfections into the geometry.
In addition, even lower buckling factors can be determined when modeling the
full structure, which can buckle into lower modes than the sector model.

Therefore, for this structure and based on all of the analyses performed
and assumptions made, a load factor of 8.5% of the full loading would be
considered an accurate assessment of the buckling load of this structure.

Buckling Analysis Summary

Accurate calculation of physically realistic buckling loads using ANSYS

requires the following considerations:

Many buckling problems require adding small imperfections to allow the

structure to deflect into more physically realistic buckling modes.
Results between full and sector models will typically not provide the same
buckling factors, due to the full model not having the constraints of sectorsymmetry and thus having the ability to buckle into lower energy modes.
Default nonlinear settings are valid for many cases, but they often require
adjustment for advanced nonlinear behavior such as post-buckling.
Nonlinear analyses require detailed review of the overall force-deflection
behavior throughout the entire analysis, not just a review of the final point.
It is recommended that eigenvalue buckling always be performed prior to
nonlinear buckling to provide understanding in how the nonlinear model will
behave.