University of Alberta - Ansys Tutorials

UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
Index
Contributions
Comments
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
University of Alberta - ANSYS Tutorials

ANSYS is a general purpose finite element modeling package for numerically solving a wide variety of mechanical
problems. These problems include: static/dynamic structural analysis (both linear and non-linear), heat transfer and
fluid problems, as well as acoustic and electromagnetic problems. Most of these tutorials have been created using
ANSYS 7.0, therefore, make note of small changes in the menu structure if you are using an older or newer version.
MecE 563
Mechanical Engineering
This web site has been organized into the following six sections.
University of Alberta
ANSYS Utilities
An introduction to using ANSYS. This includes a quick explanation of the stages of analysis, how to start
ANSYS, the use of the windows in ANSYS, convergence testing, saving/restoring jobs, and working with
Pro/E.
ANSYS Inc.
Basic Tutorials
Detailed tutorials outlining basic structural analysis using ANSYS. It is recommended that you complete
these tutorials in order as each tutorial builds upon skills taught in previous examples.
Copyright 2001
Intermediate Tutorials
Complex skills such as dynamic analysis and nonlinearities are explored in this section. It is recommended
that you have completed the Basic Tutorials prior to attempting these tutorials.
Advanced Tutorials
Advanced skills such as substructuring and optimization are explored in this section. It is recommended that
you have completed the Basic Tutorials prior to attempting these tutorials.
Postprocessing Tutorials
Postprocessing tools available in ANSYS such as X-sectional views of the geometry are shown in this
section. It is recommended that you have completed the Basic Tutorials prior to attempting these tutorials.
Command Line Files

Example problems solved using command line coding only, in addition to several files to help you to
generate your own command line files.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
Introduction
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
ANSYS Utilities
Starting up ANSYS
ANSYS Environment
ANSYS Interface
An introduction to using ANSYS, including a quick explanation of the stages of analysis, how to start ANSYS, and
the use of the windows in ANSYS, and using Pro/ENGINEER with ANSYS.
Convergence Testing
Saving/Restoring Jobs
ANSYS Files
Printing Results
Introduction to Finite Element Analysis

A brief introduction of the 3 stages involved in finite element analysis.
Starting up ANSYS
How to start ANSYS using windows NT and Unix X-Windows.
ANSYS Environment
An introduction to the windows used in ANSYS
Working with Pro/E
ANSYS Interface
An explanation of the Graphic User Interface (GUI) in comparison to the command file approach.
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
Convergence Testing
This file can help you to determine how small your meshing elements need to be before you can trust the
solution.
Description of how to save your work in ANSYS and how to resume a previously saved job.
ANSYS Files
Definitions of the different files created by ANSYS.
Printing Results
Saving data and figures generated in ANSYS.
ANSYS Inc.
Working with Pro Engineer

A description of how to export geometry from Pro/E into ANSYS.
Copyright 2001
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
Two Dimensional Truss
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
Basic Tutorials
Bicycle Space Frame

Plane Stress Bracket
Modeling Tools
The following documents will lead you through several example problems using ANSYS. ANSYS 7.0 was used to
create some of these tutorials while ANSYS 5.7.1 was used to create others, therefore, if you are using a different
version of ANSYS make note of changes in the menu structure. Complete these tutorials in order as each tutorial will
build on skills taught in the previous example.
Solid Modeling

Basic functions will be shown in detail to provide you with a general knowledge of how to use ANSYS. This
tutorial should take approximately an hour and a half to complete.
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
Bicycle Space Frame

Intermediate ANSYS functions will be shown in detail to provide you with a more general understanding of
how to use ANSYS. This tutorial should take approximately an hour and a half to complete.
Boolean operations, plane stress and uniform pressure loading will be introduced in the creation and analysis of
this 2-Dimensional object.
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Solid Modeling
This tutorial will introduce techniques such as filleting, extrusion, copying and working plane orienation to
create 3-Dimensional objects.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
Effect of Self Weight
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
The majority of these examples are simple verification problems to show you how to use the intermediate techniques
in ANSYS. You may be using a different version of ANSYS than what was used to create these tutorials, therefore,
make note of small changes in the menu structure. These tutorials can be completed in any order, however, it is
expected that you have completed the Basic Tutorials before attempting these.
Buckling
NonLinear Materials

Incorporating the weight of an object into the finite element analysis is shown in this simple cantilever beam
example.
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Distributed Loading
The application of distributed loads and the use of element tables to extract data is expalined in this tutorial.
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
NonLinear Analysis
A large moment is applied to the end of a cantilever beam to explore Geometric Nonlinear behaviour (large
deformations). There is also an associated tutorial for an explanation of the Graphical Solution Tracking
(GST) plot.
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Buckling
In this tutorial both the Eigenvalue and Nonlinear methods are used to solve a simple buckling problem.
NonLinear Materials
The purpose of the tutorial is to describe how to include material nonlinearities in an ANSYS model.
Dynamic Analysis
These tutorial explore the dynamic analyis capabilities of ANSYS. Modal, Harmonic, and Transient
Analyses are shown in detail.
Comments
MecE 563
Thermal Examples
Analysis of a pure conduction, a mixed convection/conduction/insulated boundary condition example, and a
transient heat conduction analysis.
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Modelling Using Axisymmetry

Utilizing axisymmetry to model a 3-D structure in 2-D to reduce computational time.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
Springs and Joints
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
Advanced Tutorials
Design Optimization
Substructuring
Coupled Field
The majority of these examples are simple verification problems to show you how to use the more advanced
techniques in ANSYS. You may be using a different version of ANSYS than what was used to create these tutorials,
therefore, make note of small changes in the menu structure. These tutorials can be completed in any order, however,
it is expected that you have completed the Basic Tutorials.
p-Element
Element Death
Springs and Joints

The creation of models with multiple elements types will be explored in this tutorial. Additionally, elements
COMBIN7 and COMBIN14 will be explained as well as the use of parameters to store data.
Contact Elements
APDL
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Design Optimization
The use of Design Optimization in ANSYS is used to solve for unknown parameters of a beam.
Substructuring
The use of Substructuring in ANSYS is used to solve a simple problem.
Coupled Structural/Thermal Analysis
The use of ANSYS physics environments to solve a simple structural/thermal problem.
Using P-Elements
The stress distribution of a model is solved using p-elements and compared to h-elements.
Melting Using Element Death
Using element death to model a volume melting.
Contact Elements
Model of two beams coming into contact with each other.
ANSYS Parametric Design Language
Design a truss using parametric variables.
Copyright 2001
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
X-Sectional Results
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
Postprocessing Tutorials
Advanced X-Sec Res

Data Plotting
Graphical Properties
These tutorials were created to show some of the tools available in ANSYS for postprocessing. You may be using a
different version of ANSYS than what was used to create these tutorials, therefore, make note of small changes in the
menu structure. These tutorials can be completed in any order, however, it is expected that you have completed the
Basic Tutorials.
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Viewing Cross Sectional Results

The method to view cross sectional results for a volume are shown in this tutorial.
Advanced X-Sectional Results: Using Paths to Post Process Results
The purpose of this tutorial is to create and use 'paths' to provide extra detail during post processing.
Data Plotting: Using Tables to Post Process Results
The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to plot results using tables, a special type of array.
Changing Graphical Properties
This tutorial outlines some of the basic graphical changes that can be made to the main screen and model.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
Creating Files
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
Command Line Files
Features
The following files should help you to generate your own command line files.
Basic Tutorials
Creating Command Files

Directions on generating and running command files.
Advanced Tutorials
PostProc Tutorials
Radiation
ANSYS Command File Programming Features

This file shows some of the commonly used programming features in the ANSYS command file language
known as ADPL (ANSYS Parametric Design Language). Prompting the user for parameters, performing
calculations with paramaters and control structures are illustrated.
The following files include some example problems that have been created using command line coding.
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Basic Tutorials
This set of command line codes are from the Basic Tutorial section.
This set of command line codes are from the Intermediate Tutorial section.
Advanced Tutorials
This set of command line codes are from the Advanced Tutorial section.
PostProc Tutorials
This set of command line codes are from the PostProc Tutorial section.
Radiation Analysis
A simple radiation heat transfer between concentric cylinders.
Copyright 2001
UofA ANSYS Tutorial

Introduction
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Introduction
Starting up ANSYS
ANSYS Environment
ANSYS Interface
Convergence Testing
ANSYS Files
Printing Results
Working with Pro/E
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
ANSYS is a general purpose finite element modeling package for numerically solving a wide variety of mechanical problems. These
problems include: static/dynamic structural analysis (both linear and non-linear), heat transfer and fluid problems, as well as acoustic and
electro-magnetic problems.
In general, a finite element solution may be broken into the following three stages. This is a general guideline that can be used for setting
up any finite element analysis.
1. Preprocessing: defining the problem; the major steps in preprocessing are given below:
Define keypoints/lines/areas/volumes
Define element type and material/geometric properties
Mesh lines/areas/volumes as required
The amount of detail required will depend on the dimensionality of the analysis (i.e. 1D, 2D, axi-symmetric, 3D).
2. Solution: assigning loads, constraints and solving; here we specify the loads (point or pressure), contraints (translational and
rotational) and finally solve the resulting set of equations.
3. Postprocessing: further processing and viewing of the results; in this stage one may wish to see:
Lists of nodal displacements
Element forces and moments
Deflection plots
Stress contour diagrams
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
Introduction
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Starting up ANSYS
Starting up ANSYS
ANSYS Environment
ANSYS Interface
Convergence Testing
Starting up ANSYS
Large File Sizes
ANSYS Files
Printing Results
Working with Pro/E
Index
ANSYS can create rather large files when running and saving; be sure that your local drive has space for it.
Getting the Program Started

In the Mec E 3-3 lab, there are two ways that you can start up ANSYS:
1. Windows NT application
2. Unix X-Windows application
Windows NT Start Up
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
Starting up ANSYS in Windows NT is simple:
Start Menu
Programs
ANSYS 5.7
Run Interactive Now
Unix X-Windows Start Up

ANSYS Inc.
Starting the Unix version of ANSYS involves a few more steps:
Copyright 2001
in the task bar at the bottom of the screen, you should see something labeled X-Win32. If you don't see this minimized program,
you can may want to reboot the computer, as it automatically starts this application when booting.
right click on this menu and selection Sessions and then select Mece.
you will now be prompted to login to GPU... do this.
once the Xwindows emulator has started, you will see an icon at the bottom of the screen that looks like a paper and pencil; don't
select this icon, but rather, click on the up arrow above it and select Terminal
a terminal command window will now start up
in that window, type xansys57
at the UNIX prompt and a small launcher menu will appear.
select the Run Interactive Now menu item.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
Introduction
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
ANSYS 5.7.1
PRINTABLE
VERSION
ANSYS 7.0 Environment
Starting up ANSYS
ANSYS Environment
ANSYS Interface
The ANSYS Environment for ANSYS 7.0 contains 2 windows: the Main Window and an Output Window. Note that this is somewhat different from the
previous version of ANSYS which made use of 6 different windows.
1. Main Window
Convergence Testing
ANSYS Files
Printing Results
Working with Pro/E
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Within the Main Window are 5 divisions:

a. Utility Menu
The Utility Menu contains functions that are available throughout the ANSYS session, such as file controls, selections, graphic controls and
parameters.
b. Input Lindow
The Input Line shows program prompt messages and allows you to type in commands directly.
c. Toolbar
The Toolbar contains push buttons that execute commonly used ANSYS commands. More push buttons can be added if desired.
d. Main Menu
The Main Menu contains the primary ANSYS functions, organized by preprocessor, solution, general postprocessor, design optimizer. It is from
this menu that the vast majority of modelling commands are issued. This is where you will note the greatest change between previous versions
of ANSYS and version 7.0. However, while the versions appear different, the menu structure has not changed.
e. Graphics Window
The Graphic Window is where graphics are shown and graphical picking can be made. It is here where you will graphically view the model in
its various stages of construction and the ensuing results from the analysis.
2. Output Window
The Output Window shows text output from the program, such as listing of data etc. It is usually positioned behind the main window and can de put to
the front if necessary.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial

Introduction
Starting up ANSYS
ANSYS Environment
ANSYS Interface
Convergence Testing
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
ANSYS Interface
Graphical Interface vs. Command File Coding
There are two methods to use ANSYS. The first is by means of the graphical user interface or GUI. This method follows the conventions
of popular Windows and X-Windows based programs.
The second is by means of command files. The command file approach has a steeper learning curve for many, but it has the advantage that
an entire analysis can be described in a small text file, typically in less than 50 lines of commands. This approach enables easy model
modifications and minimal file space requirements.
ANSYS Files
Printing Results
The tutorials in this website are designed to teach both the GUI and the command file approach, however, many of you will find the
command file simple and more efficient to use once you have invested a small amount of time into learning the code.
Working with Pro/E
For information and details on the full ANSYS command language, consult:
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Help > Table of Contents > Commands Manual.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
Introduction
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
FEM Convergence Testing
Starting up ANSYS
ANSYS Environment
ANSYS Interface
Convergence Testing
ANSYS Files
Printing Results
Working with Pro/E
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
Introduction
A fundamental premise of using the finite element procedure is that the body is sub-divided up into small discrete regions known as finite
elements. These elements defined by nodes and interpolation functions. Governing equations are written for each element and these
elements are assembled into a global matrix. Loads and constraints are applied and the solution is then determined.
The Problem
The question that always arises is: How small do I need to make the elements before I can trust the solution?
What to do about it...

In general there are no real firm answers on this. It will be necessary to conduct convergence tests! By this we mean that you begin with a
mesh discretization and then observe and record the solution. Now repeat the problem with a finer mesh (i.e. more elements) and then
compare the results with the previous test. If the results are nearly similar, then the first mesh is probably good enough for that particular
geometry, loading and constraints. If the results differ by a large amount however, it will be necessary to try a finer mesh yet.
The Consequences
Finer meshes come with a cost however: more calculational time and large memory requirements (both disk and RAM)! It is desired to
find the minimum number of elements that give you a converged solution.
Beam Models
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
For beam models, we actually only need to define a single element per line unless we are applying a distributed load on a given frame
member. When point loads are used, specifying more that one element per line will not change the solution, it will only slow the
calculations down. For simple models it is of no concern, but for a larger model, it is desired to minimize the number of elements, and thus
calculation time and still obtain the desired accuracy.
General Models
In general however, it is necessary to conduct convergence tests on your finite element model to confirm that a fine enough element
discretization has been used. In a solid mechanics problem, this would be done by creating several models with different mesh sizes and
comparing the resulting deflections and stresses, for example. In general, the stresses will converge more slowly than the displacement, so
it is not sufficient to examine the displacement convergence.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
Introduction
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
ANSYS: Saving and Restoring Jobs
Starting up ANSYS
ANSYS Environment
ANSYS Interface
Convergence Testing
ANSYS Files
Printing Results
Saving Your Job

It is good practice to save your model at various points during its creation. Very often you will get to a point in the modeling where things
have gone well and you like to save it at the point. In that way, if you make some mistakes later on, you will at least be able to come back
to this point.
To save your model, select Utility Menu Bar -> File -> Save As Jobname.db. Your model will be saved in a file called
jobname.db, where jobname is the name that you specified in the Launcher when you first started ANSYS.
Working with Pro/E
It is a good idea to save your job at different times throughout the building and analysis of the model to backup your work incase of a
system crash or other unforseen problems.
Index
Recalling or Resuming a Previously Saved Job

Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Frequently you want to start up ANSYS and recall and continue a previous job. There are two methods to do this:
1. Using the Launcher...
In the ANSYS Launcher, select Interactive... and specify the previously defined jobname.
Then when you get ANSYS started, select Utility Menu -> File -> Resume Jobname.db .
This will restore as much of your database (geometry, loads, solution, etc) that you previously saved.
2. Or, start ANSYS and select Utitily Menu -> File -> Resume from... and select your job from the list that appears.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
Introduction
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
ANSYS Files
Starting up ANSYS
ANSYS Environment
ANSYS Interface
Convergence Testing
Introduction
A large number of files are created when you run ANSYS. If you started ANSYS without specifying a jobname, the name of all the files
created will be FILE.* where the * represents various extensions described below. If you specified a jobname, say Frame, then the
created files will all have the file prefix, Frame again with various extensions:
ANSYS Files
Printing Results
Working with Pro/E
Index
Contributions
Comments
frame.db
Database file (binary). This file stores the geometry, boundary conditions and any solutions.
frame.dbb
Backup of the database file (binary).
frame.err
Error file (text). Listing of all error and warning messages.
frame.out
Output of all ANSYS operations (text). This is what normally scrolls in the output window during an ANSYS session.
frame.log
Logfile or listing of ANSYS commands (text). Listing of all equivalent ANSYS command line commands used during the current
session.
etc...
Depending on the operations carried out, other files may have been written. These files may contain results, etc.
MecE 563
What to save?
When you want to clean up your directory, or move things from the /scratch directory, what files do you need to save?
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
If you will always be using the GUI, then you only require the .db file. This file stores the geometry, boundary conditions and any
solutions. Once the ANSYS has started, and the jobname has been specified, you need only activate the resume command to
proceed from where you last left off (see Saving and Restoring Jobs).
If you plan on using ANSYS command files, then you need only store your command file and/or the log file. This file contains a
complete listing of the ANSYS commands used to get you model to its current point. That file may be rerun as is, or edited and
rerun as desired (Command File Creation and Execution).
If you plan to use the command mode of operation, starting with an existing log file, rename it first so that it does not get overwritten or added to, from another ANSYS run.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
Introduction
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Printing and Plotting ANSYS Results to a File
Starting up ANSYS
ANSYS Environment
ANSYS Interface
Convergence Testing
ANSYS Files
Printing Results
Working with Pro/E
Printing Text Results to a File

ANSYS produces lists and tables of many types of results that are normally displayed on the screen. However, it is often desired to save
the results to a file to be later analyzed or included in a report.
1. Stresses: instead of using 'Plot Results' to plot the stresses, choose 'List Results'. Select 'Elem Table Data', and choose what you
want to list from the menu. You can pick multiple items. When the list appears on the screen in its own window, Select 'File'/'Save
As...' and give a file name to store the results.
2. Any other solutions can be done in the same way. For example select 'Nodal Solution' from the 'List Results' menu, to get
displacements.
3. Preprocessing and Solution data can be listed and saved from the 'List' menu in the 'Utility Menu bar'. Save the resulting list in the
same way described above.
Index
Plotting of Figures
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
There are two major routes to get hardcopies from ANSYS. The first is a quick a raster-based screen dump, while the second is a scalable
vector plot.
1.0 Quick Image Save

When you want to quickly save an image of the entire screen or the current 'Graphics window', select:
ANSYS Inc.
'Utility menu bar'/'PlotCtrls'/'Hard Copy ...'.

In the window that appears, you will normally want to select 'Graphics window', 'Monochrome', 'Reverse Video', 'Landscape' and
'Save to:'.
Then enter the file name of your choice.
Press 'OK'
This raster image file may now be printed on a PostScript printer or included in a document.
Copyright 2001
2.0 Better Quality Plots
The second method of saving a plot is much more flexible, but takes a lot more work to set up as you'll see...
Redirection
Normally all ANSYS plots are directed to the plot window on the screen. To save some plots to a file, to be later printed or included in a
document or what have you, you must first 'redirect' the plots to a file by issuing:
'Utility menu bar'/'PlotCtrls'/'Redirect Plots'/'To File...'.
Type in a filename (e.g.: frame.pic) in the 'Selection' Window.
Now issue whatever plot commands you want within ANSYS, remembering that the plots will not be displayed to the screen, but rather
they will be written to the selected file. You can put as many plots as you want into the plot file. When you are finished plotting what you
want to the file, redirect plots back to the screen using:
'Utility menu bar'/'PlotCtrls'/'Redirect Plots'/'To Screen'.
Display and Conversion
The plot file that has been saved is stored in a proprietary file format that must be converted into a more common graphic file format like
PostScript, or HPGL for example. This is performed by running a separate program called display. To do this, you have a couple of
options:
1. select display from the ANSYS launcher menu (if you started ANSYS that way)
2. shut down ANSYS or open up a new terminal window and then type display at the Unix prompt.
Either way, a large graphics window will appear. Decrease the size of this window, because it most likely covers the window in which you
will enter the display plotting commands. Load your plot file with the following command:
file,frame,pic
if your plot file is 'plots.pic'. Note that although the file is 'plots.pic' (with a period), Display wants 'plots,pic'(with a comma). You can
display your plots to the graphics window by issuing the command like
plot,n
where n is plot number. If you plotted 5 images to this file in ANSYS, then n could be any number from 1 to 5.
Now that the plots have been read in, they may be saved to printer files of various formats:
1. Colour PostScript: To save the images to a colour postscript file, enter the following commands in display:
pscr,color,2
/show,pscr
plot,n
where n is the plot number, as above. You can plot as many images as you want to postscript files in this manner. For subsequent
plots, you only require the plot,n command as the other options have now been set. Each image is plotted to a postscript file
such as pscrxx.grph, where xx is a number, starting at 00.
Note: when you import a postscript file into a word processor, the postscript image will appear as blank box. The printer
information is still present, but it can only be viewed when it's printed out to a postscript printer.
Printing it out: Now that you've got your color postscript file, what are you going to do with it? Take a look here for instructions
on colour postscript printing at a couple of sites on campus where you can have your beautiful stress plot plotted to paper,
overheads or even posters!
2. Black & White PostScript: The above mentioned colour postscript files can get very large in size and may not even print out on
the postscript printer in the lab because it takes so long to transfer the files to the printer and process them. A way around this is to
print them out in a black and white postscript format instead of colour; besides the colour specifications don't do any good for the
black and white lab printer anyways. To do this, you set the postscript color option to '3', i.e. and then issue the other commands as
before
pscr,color,3
/show,pscr
plot,n
Note: when you import a postscript file into a word processor, the postscript image will appear as blank box. The printer
information is still present, but it can only be viewed when it's printed out to a postscript printer.
3. HPGL: The third commonly used printer format is HPGL, which stands for Hewlett Packard Graphics Language. This is a compact
vector format that has the advantage that when you import a file of this type into a word processor, you can actually see the image
in the word processor! To use the HPGL format, issue the following commands:
/show,hpgl
plot,n
Final Steps
It is wise to rename these plot files as soon as you leave display, for display will overwrite the files the next time it is run.
You may want to rename the postscript files with an '.eps' extension to indicate that they are encapsulated postscript images. In a
similar way, the HPGL printer files could be given an '.hpgl' extension. This renaming is done at the Unix commmand line (the 'mv'
command).
A list of all available display commands and their options may be obtained by typing:
help
When complete, exit display by entering
finish
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Finite Element Method using Pro/ENGINEER and ANSYS
Starting up ANSYS
Notes by R.W. Toogood
ANSYS Environment
ANSYS Interface
Convergence Testing
The transfer of a model from Pro/ENGINEER to ANSYS will be demonstrated here for a simple solid model. Model idealizations such as
shells and beams will not be treated. Also, many modeling options for constraints, loads, mesh control, analysis types will not be covered.
These are fairly easy to figure out once you know the general procedures presented here.
Step 1. Make the part
ANSYS Files
Printing Results
Working with Pro/E
Use Pro/E to make the part. Things to note are:
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
be aware of your model units

note the orientation of the model (default coordinate system in ANSYS will be the same as in Pro/E)
IMPORTANT: remove all unnecessary and/or cosmetic features like rounds, chamfers, holes, etc., by suppressing them in Pro/E.
Too much small geometry will cause the mesh generator to create a very fine mesh with many elements which will greatly increase
your solver time. Of course, if the feature is critical to your design, you will want to leave it. You must compromise between
accuracy and available CPU resources.
The figure above shows the original model for this demonstration. This is a model of a short cantilevered bracket that bolts to the wall via
the thick plate on the left end. Model units are inches. A load is applied at the hole in the right end. Some cosmetic features are located on
the top surface and the two sides. Several edges are rounded. For this model, the interest is in the stress distribution around the vertical
slot. So, the plate and the loading hole are removed, as are the cosmetic features and rounds resulting in the "de-featured" geometry shown
below. The model will be constrained on the left face and a uniform load will be applied to the right face.
Step 2. Create the FEM model

In the pull-down menu at the top of the Pro/E window, select
Applications > Mechanica
An information window opens up to remind you about the units you are using. Press Continue
In the MECHANICA menu at the right, check the box beside FEM Mode and select the command Structure.
A new toolbar appears on the right of the screen that contains icons for creating all the common modeling entities (constraints, loads,
idealizations). All these commands are also available using the command windows that will open on the right side of the screen or in
dialog windows that will open when appropriate.
Notice that a small green coordinate system WCS has appeared. This is how you will specify the directions of constraints and forces.
Other coordinate systems (eg cylindrical) can be created as required and used for the same purpose.
The MEC STRUCT menu appears on the right. Basically, to define the model we proceed down this menu in a top-down manner. Model
is already selected for you which opens the STRC MODEL menu. This is where we specify modeling information. We proceed in a topdown manner. The Features command allows you to create additional simulation features like datum points, curves, surface regions, and
so on. Idealizations lets you create special modeling entities like shells and beams. The Current CSYS command lets you create or select
an alternate coordinate system for specifying directions of constraints and loads.
Defining Constraints
For our simple model, all we need are constraints, loads, and a specified material. Select
Constraints > New
We can specify constraints on four entity types (basically points, edges, and surfaces). Constraints are organized into constraint sets. Each
constraint set has a unique name (default of the first one is ConstraintSet1) and can contain any number of individual constraints of
different types. Each individual constraint also has a unique name (default of the first one is Constraint1). In the final computed model,
only one set can be included, but this can contain numerous individual constraints.
Select Surface. We are going to fully constrain the left face of the cantilever. A dialog window opens as shown above. Here you can give
a name to the constraint and identify which constraint set it belongs to. Since we elected to create a surface constraint, we now select the
surface we want constrained (push the Surface selection button in the window and then click on the desired surface of the model). The
constraints to be applied are selected using the buttons at the bottom of the window. In general we specify constraints on translation and
rotation for any mesh node that will appear on the selected entity. For each direction X, Y, and Z, we can select one of the four buttons
(Free, Fixed, Prescribed, and Function of Coordinates). For our solid model, the rotation constraints are irrelevant (since nodes of solid
elements do not have this degree of freedom anyway). For beams and shells, rotational constraints are active if specified.
For our model, leave all the translation constraints as FIXED, and select the OK button. You should now see some orange symbols on the
left face of the model, along with some text labels that summarize the constraint settings.
Defining Loads
In the STRC MODEL menu select
Loads > New > Surface
The FORCE/MOMENT window opens as shown above. Loads are also organized into named load sets. A load set can contain any
number of individual loads of different types. A FEM model can contain any number of different load sets. For example, in the analysis of
a pressurized tank on a support system with a number of nozzle connections to other pipes, one load set might contain only the internal
pressure, another might contain the support forces, another a temperature load, and more might contain the forces applied at each nozzle
location. These can be solved at the same time, and the principle of superposition used to combine them in numerous ways.
Create a load called "end_load" in the default load set (LoadSet1)
Click on the Surfaces button, then select the right face of the model and middle click to return to this dialog. Leave the defaults for the
load distribution. Enter the force components at the bottom. Note these are relative to the WCS. Then select OK. The load should be
displayed symbolically as shown in the figure below.
Note that constraint and load sets appear in the model tree. You can select and edit these in the usual way using the right mouse button.
Assigning Materials
Our last job to define the model is to specify the part material. In the STRC MODEL menu, select
Materials > Whole Part
In the library dialog window, select a material and move it to the right pane using the triple arrow button in the center of the window. In an
assembly, you could now assign this material to individual parts. If you select the Edit button, you will see the properties of the chosen
material.
At this point, our model has the necessary information for solution (constraints, loads, material).
Step 3. Define the analysis

Select
Analyses > New
Specify a name for the analysis, like "ansystest". Select the type (Structural or Modal). Enter a short description. Now select the Add
buttons beside the Constraints and Loads panes to add ConstraintSet1 and LoadSet1 to the analysis. Now select OK.
Step 4. Creating the mesh

We are going to use defaults for all operations here. The MEC STRUCT window, select
Mesh > Create > Solid > Start
Accept the default for the global minimum. The mesh is created and another dialog window opens (Element Quality Checks).
This indicates some aspects of mesh quality that may be specified and then, by selecting the Check button at the bottom, evaluated for the
model. The results are indicated in columns on the right. If the mesh does not pass these quality checks, you may want to go back to
specify mesh controls (discussed below). Select Close. Here is an image of the default mesh, shown in wire frame.
Improving the Mesh

In the mesh command, you can select the Controls option. This will allow you to select points, edges, and surfaces where you want to
specify mesh geometry such as hard points, maximum mesh size, and so on. Beware that excessively tight mesh controls can result in
meshes with many elements.
For example, setting a maximum mesh size along the curved ends of the slot results in the following mesh. Notice the better representation
of the curved edges than in the previous figure. This is at the expense of more than double the number of elements. Note that mesh
controls are also added to the model tree.
Step 5. Creating the Output file

All necessary aspects of the model are now created (constraints, loads, materials, mesh). In the MEC STRUCT menu, select
Run
This opens the Run FEM Analysis dialog window shown here. In the Solver pull-down list at the top, select ANSYS. In the Analysis list,
select Structural. You pick either Linear or Parabolic elements. The analysis we defined (containing constraints, loads, mesh, and
material) is listed. Select the Output to File radio button at the bottom and specify the output file name (default is the analysis name with
extension .ans). Select OK and read the message window.
We are now finished with Pro/E. Go to the top pull-down menus and select
Applications > Standard
Save the model file and leave the program.
Copy the .ans file from your Pro/E working directory to the directory you will use for running ANSYS.
Step 6. Importing into ANSYS

Launch ANSYS Interactive and select
File > Read Input From...
Select the .ans file you created previously. This will read in the entire model. You can display the model using (in the pull down menus)
Plot > Elements.
Step 7. Running the ANSYS solver

In the ANSYS Main Menu on the left, select
Solution > Solve > Current LS > OK
After a few seconds, you will be informed that the solution is complete.
Step 8. Viewing the results

There are myriad possibilities for viewing FEM results. A common one is the following:
General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu
Pick the Von Mises stress values, and select Apply. You should now have a color fringe plot of the Von Mises stress displayed on the
model.
Updated: 8 November 2002 using Pro/ENGINEER 2001

RWT
Please report errors or omissions to Roger Toogood
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Bicycle Space Frame

Modeling Tools
Solid Modeling
Index
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve a simple 2D Truss problem. This is the first of four introductory ANSYS tutorials.
Problem Description
Determine the nodal deflections, reaction forces, and stress for the truss system shown below (E = 200GPa, A = 3250mm2).
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
(Modified from Chandrupatla & Belegunda, Introduction to Finite Elements in Engineering, p.123)
Preprocessing: Defining the Problem

1. Give the Simplified Version a Title (such as 'Bridge Truss Tutorial').
In the Utility menu bar select File > Change Title:
The following window will appear:
Enter the title and click 'OK'. This title will appear in the bottom left corner of the 'Graphics' Window once you begin. Note: to get
the title to appear immediately, select Utility Menu > Plot > Replot
2. Enter Keypoints
The overall geometry is defined in ANSYS using keypoints which specify various principal coordinates to define the body. For this
example, these keypoints are the ends of each truss.
We are going to define 7 keypoints for the simplified structure as given in the following table
coordinate
keypoint
x
y
1
1800
3118
3600
5400
3118
7200
9000
3118
10800
(these keypoints are depicted by numbers in the above figure)
From the 'ANSYS Main Menu' select:

Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > In Active CS
The following window will then appear:
To define the first keypoint which has the coordinates x = 0 and y = 0:

Enter keypoint number 1 in the appropriate box, and enter the x,y coordinates: 0, 0 in their appropriate boxes (as shown
above).
Click 'Apply' to accept what you have typed.
Enter the remaining keypoints using the same method.
Note: When entering the final data point, click on 'OK' to indicate that you are finished entering keypoints. If you first press
'Apply' and then 'OK' for the final keypoint, you will have defined it twice!
If you did press 'Apply' for the final point, simply press 'Cancel' to close this dialog box.
Units
Note the units of measure (ie mm) were not specified. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure that a consistent set of units are
used for the problem; thus making any conversions where necessary.
Correcting Mistakes
When defining keypoints, lines, areas, volumes, elements, constraints and loads you are bound to make mistakes. Fortunately these
are easily corrected so that you don't need to begin from scratch every time an error is made! Every 'Create' menu for generating
these various entities also has a corresponding 'Delete' menu for fixing things up.
3. Form Lines
The keypoints must now be connected
We will use the mouse to select the keypoints to form the lines.
In the main menu select: Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Lines > Lines > In Active Coord. The following window
will then appear:
Use the mouse to pick keypoint #1 (i.e. click on it). It will now be marked by a small yellow box.
Now move the mouse toward keypoint #2. A line will now show on the screen joining these two points. Left click and a
permanent line will appear.
Connect the remaining keypoints using the same method.
When you're done, click on 'OK' in the 'Lines in Active Coord' window, minimize the 'Lines' menu and the 'Create' menu.
Your ANSYS Graphics window should look similar to the following figure.
Disappearing Lines
Please note that any lines you have created may 'disappear' throughout your analysis. However, they have most likely NOT been
deleted. If this occurs at any time from the Utility Menu select:
Plot > Lines
4. Define the Type of Element
It is now necessary to create elements. This is called 'meshing'. ANSYS first needs to know what kind of elements to use for our
problem:
From the Preprocessor Menu, select: Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete. The following window will then appear:
Click on the 'Add...' button. The following window will appear:
For this example, we will use the 2D spar element as selected in the above figure. Select the element shown and click 'OK'.
You should see 'Type 1 LINK1' in the 'Element Types' window.
Click on 'Close' in the 'Element Types' dialog box.
5. Define Geometric Properties

We now need to specify geometric properties for our elements:
In the Preprocessor menu, select Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete
Click Add... and select 'Type 1 LINK1' (actually it is already selected). Click on 'OK'. The following window will appear:
As shown in the window above, enter the cross-sectional area (3250mm):

Click on 'OK'.
'Set 1' now appears in the dialog box. Click on 'Close' in the 'Real Constants' window.
6. Element Material Properties

You then need to specify material properties:
In the 'Preprocessor' menu select Material Props > Material Models
Double click on Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic
We are going to give the properties of Steel. Enter the following field:
EX 200000
Set these properties and click on 'OK'. Note: You may obtain the note 'PRXY will be set to 0.0'. This is poisson's ratio and is
not required for this element type. Click 'OK' on the window to continue. Close the "Define Material Model Behavior" by
clicking on the 'X' box in the upper right hand corner.
7. Mesh Size
The last step before meshing is to tell ANSYS what size the elements should be. There are a variety of ways to do this but we will
just deal with one method for now.
In the Preprocessor menu select Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Lines > All Lines
In the size 'NDIV' field, enter the desired number of divisions per line. For this example we want only 1 division per line,
therefore, enter '1' and then click 'OK'. Note that we have not yet meshed the geometry, we have simply defined the element
sizes.
8. Mesh
Now the frame can be meshed.
In the 'Preprocessor' menu select Meshing > Mesh > Lines and click 'Pick All' in the 'Mesh Lines' Window
Your model should now appear as shown in the following window
Plot Numbering
To show the line numbers, keypoint numbers, node numbers...
From the Utility Menu (top of screen) select PlotCtrls > Numbering...
Fill in the Window as shown below and click 'OK'
Now you can turn numbering on or off at your discretion

Saving Your Work
Save the model at this time, so if you make some mistakes later on, you will at least be able to come back to this point. To do this, on the
Utility Menu select File > Save as.... Select the name and location where you want to save your file.
It is a good idea to save your job at different times throughout the building and analysis of the model to backup your work in case of a
system crash or what have you.
Solution Phase: Assigning Loads and Solving

You have now defined your model. It is now time to apply the load(s) and constraint(s) and solve the the resulting system of equations.
Open up the 'Solution' menu (from the same 'ANSYS Main Menu').
1. Define Analysis Type
First you must tell ANSYS how you want it to solve this problem:
From the Solution Menu, select Analysis Type > New Analysis.
Ensure that 'Static' is selected; i.e. you are going to do a static analysis on the truss as opposed to a dynamic analysis, for
example.
Click 'OK'.
2. Apply Constraints
It is necessary to apply constraints to the model otherwise the model is not tied down or grounded and a singular solution will
result. In mechanical structures, these constraints will typically be fixed, pinned and roller-type connections. As shown above, the
left end of the truss bridge is pinned while the right end has a roller connection.
In the Solution menu, select Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Keypoints
Select the left end of the bridge (Keypoint 1) by clicking on it in the Graphics Window and click on 'OK' in the 'Apply U,
ROT on KPs' window.
This location is fixed which means that all translational and rotational degrees of freedom (DOFs) are constrained.
Therefore, select 'All DOF' by clicking on it and enter '0' in the Value field and click 'OK'.
You will see some blue triangles in the graphics window indicating the displacement contraints.
Using the same method, apply the roller connection to the right end (UY constrained). Note that more than one DOF
constraint can be selected at a time in the "Apply U,ROT on KPs" window. Therefore, you may need to 'deselect' the 'All
DOF' option to select just the 'UY' option.
3. Apply Loads
As shown in the diagram, there are four downward loads of 280kN, 210kN, 280kN, and 360kN at keypoints 1, 3, 5, and 7
respectively.
Select Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > on Keypoints.
Select the first Keypoint (left end of the truss) and click 'OK' in the 'Apply F/M on KPs' window.
Select FY in the 'Direction of force/mom'. This indicate that we will be applying the load in the 'y' direction
Enter a value of -280000 in the 'Force/moment value' box and click 'OK'. Note that we are using units of N here, this is
consistent with the previous values input.
The force will appear in the graphics window as a red arrow.
Apply the remaining loads in the same manner.
The applied loads and constraints should now appear as shown below.
4. Solving the System

We now tell ANSYS to find the solution:
In the 'Solution' menu select Solve > Current LS. This indicates that we desire the solution under the current Load Step
(LS).
The above windows will appear. Ensure that your solution options are the same as shown above and click 'OK'.
Once the solution is done the following window will pop up. Click 'Close' and close the /STATUS Command Window..
Postprocessing: Viewing the Results

1. Hand Calculations
We will first calculate the forces and stress in element 1 (as labeled in the problem description).
2. Results Using ANSYS

Reaction Forces
A list of the resulting reaction forces can be obtained for this element
from the Main Menu select General Postproc > List Results > Reaction Solu.
Select 'All struc forc F' as shown above and click 'OK'
These values agree with the reaction forces claculated by hand above.
Deformation
In the General Postproc menu, select Plot Results > Deformed Shape. The following window will appear.
Select 'Def + undef edge' and click 'OK' to view both the deformed and the undeformed object.
Observe the value of the maximum deflection in the upper left hand corner (DMX=7.409). One should also observe that the
constrained degrees of freedom appear to have a deflection of 0 (as expected!)
Deflection
For a more detailed version of the deflection of the beam,
From the 'General Postproc' menu select Plot results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solution. The following window will
appear.
Select 'DOF solution' and 'USUM' as shown in the above window. Leave the other selections as the default values. Click
'OK'.
Looking at the scale, you may want to use more useful intervals. From the Utility Menu select Plot Controls > Style >
Contours > Uniform Contours...
Fill in the following window as shown and click 'OK'.
You should obtain the following.
The deflection can also be obtained as a list as shown below. General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution select
'DOF Solution' and 'ALL DOFs' from the lists in the 'List Nodal Solution' window and click 'OK'. This means that we want
to see a listing of all degrees of freedom from the solution.
Are these results what you expected? Note that all the degrees of freedom were constrained to zero at node 1, while UY was
constrained to zero at node 7.
If you wanted to save these results to a file, select 'File' within the results window (at the upper left-hand corner of this list
window) and select 'Save as'.
Axial Stress
For line elements (ie links, beams, spars, and pipes) you will often need to use the Element Table to gain access to derived data (ie
stresses, strains). For this example we should obtain axial stress to compare with the hand calculations. The Element Table is
different for each element, therefore, we need to look at the help file for LINK1 (Type help link1 into the Input Line). From
Table 1.2 in the Help file, we can see that SAXL can be obtained through the ETABLE, using the item 'LS,1'
From the General Postprocessor menu select Element Table > Define Table
Click on 'Add...'
As shown above, enter 'SAXL' in the 'Lab' box. This specifies the name of the item you are defining. Next, in the 'Item,
Comp' boxes, select 'By sequence number' and 'LS,'. Then enter 1 after LS, in the selection box
Click on 'OK' and close the 'Element Table Data' window.
Plot the Stresses by selecting Element Table > Plot Elem Table
The following window will appear. Ensure that 'SAXL' is selected and click 'OK'
Because you changed the contour intervals for the Displacement plot to "User Specified" - you need to switch this back to
"Auto calculated" to obtain new values for VMIN/VMAX.
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Contours > Uniform Contours ...
Again, you may wish to select more appropriate intervals for the contour plot
List the Stresses

From the 'Element Table' menu, select 'List Elem Table'
From the 'List Element Table Data' window which appears ensure 'SAXL' is highlighted
Click 'OK'
Note that the axial stress in Element 1 is 82.9MPa as predicted analytically.
Command File Mode of Solution
The above example was solved using a mixture of the Graphical User Interface (or GUI) and the command language interface of ANSYS.
This problem has also been solved using the ANSYS command language interface that you may want to browse. Open the .HTML
version, copy and paste the code into Notepad or a similar text editor and save it to your computer. Now go to 'File > Read input from...'
and select the file. A .PDF version is also available for printing.
Quitting ANSYS
To quit ANSYS, select 'QUIT' from the ANSYS Toolbar or select Utility Menu/File/Exit.... In the dialog box that appears, click on 'Save
Everything' (assuming that you want to) and then click on 'OK'.
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Space Frame Example
Bicycle Space Frame

| Verification Example | | Preprocessing | | Solution | | Postprocessing | | Command Line |
Modeling Tools
| Bicycle Example | | Preprocessing | | Solution | | Postprocessing | | Command Line |
Solid Modeling
Introduction
Index
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve a simple 3D space frame problem.
Problem Description
Contributions
Comments
The problem to be solved in this example is the analysis of a bicycle frame. The problem to be modeled in this example is a simple bicycle
frame shown in the following figure. The frame is to be built of hollow aluminum tubing having an outside diameter of 25mm and a wall
thickness of 2mm.
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Verification
The first step is to simplify the problem. Whenever you are trying out a new analysis type, you need something (ie analytical solution or
experimental data) to compare the results to. This way you can be sure that you've gotten the correct analysis type, units, scale factors, etc.
The simplified version that will be used for this problem is that of a cantilever beam shown in the following figure:

1. Give the Simplified Version a Title (such as 'Verification Model').
Utility Menu > File > Change Title
2. Enter Keypoints
For this simple example, these keypoints are the ends of the beam.
We are going to define 2 keypoints for the simplified structure as given in the following table
coordinate
keypoint
x
y
z
From the 'ANSYS Main Menu' select:
500

3. Form Lines
The two keypoints must now be connected to form a bar using a straight line.
Select: Preprocessor > Modeling> Create > Lines > Lines > Straight Line.
Pick keypoint #1 (i.e. click on it). It will now be marked by a small yellow box.
Now pick keypoint #2. A permanent line will appear.
When you're done, click on 'OK' in the 'Create Straight Line' window.

It is now necessary to create elements on this line.
From the Preprocessor Menu, select: Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete.
Click on the 'Add...' button. The following window will appear:
For this example, we will use the 3D elastic straight pipe element as selected in the above figure. Select the element shown and
click 'OK'. You should see 'Type 1 PIPE16' in the 'Element Types' window.
Click on the 'Options...' button in the 'Element Types' dialog box. The following window will appear:
Click and hold the K6 button (second from the bottom), and select 'Include Output' and click 'OK'. This gives us extra force and
moment output.
Click on 'Close' in the 'Element Types' dialog box and close the 'Element Type' menu.

We now need to specify geometric properties for our elements:
In the Preprocessor menu, select Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete
Click Add... and select 'Type 1 PIPE16' (actually it is already selected). Click on 'OK'.
Enter the following geometric properties:

Outside diameter
OD:
Wall thickness TKWALL:
25
2
This defines an outside pipe diameter of 25mm and a wall thickness of 2mm.
Click on 'OK'.
'Set 1' now appears in the dialog box. Click on 'Close' in the 'Real Constants' window.

You then need to specify material properties:
In the 'Preprocessor' menu select Material Props > Material Models...
Double click Structural > Linear > Elastic and select 'Isotropic' (double click on it)
Close the 'Define Material Model Behavior' Window.

We are going to give the properties of Aluminum. Enter the following field:
EX 70000
PRXY 0.33
Set these properties and click on 'OK'.
7. Mesh Size
In the Preprocessor menu select Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Lines > All Lines
In the size 'SIZE' field, enter the desired element length. For this example we want an element length of 2cm, therefore, enter
'20' (i.e 20mm) and then click 'OK'. Note that we have not yet meshed the geometry, we have simply defined the element sizes.
(Alternatively, we could enter the number of divisions we want in the line. For an element length of 2cm, we would enter 25 [ie
25 divisions]).
NOTE
It is not necessary to mesh beam elements to obtain the correct solution. However, meshing is done in this case so that we can obtain
results (ie stress, displacement) at intermediate positions on the beam.
8. Mesh
In the 'Preprocessor' menu select Meshing > Mesh > Lines and click 'Pick All' in the 'Mesh Lines' Window
9. Saving Your Work
Utility Menu > File > Save as.... Select the name and location where you want to save your file.

From the Solution Menu, select 'Analysis Type > New Analysis'.
Ensure that 'Static' is selected and click 'OK'.
In the Solution menu, select Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Keypoints
Select the left end of the rod (Keypoint 1) by clicking on it in the Graphics Window and click on 'OK' in the 'Apply U,ROT on
KPs' window.
This location is fixed which means that all translational and rotational degrees of freedom (DOFs) are constrained. Therefore,
select 'All DOF' by clicking on it and enter '0' in the Value field and click 'OK'.
3. Apply Loads
As shown in the diagram, there is a vertically downward load of 100N at the end of the bar
In the Structural menu, select Force/Moment > on Keypoints.
Select the second Keypoint (right end of bar) and click 'OK' in the 'Apply F/M' window.
Click on the 'Direction of force/mom' at the top and select FY.
Enter a value of -100 in the 'Force/moment value' box and click 'OK'.
The force will appear in the graphics window as a red arrow.

We now tell ANSYS to find the solution:
Solution > Solve > Current LS

Now, since the purpose of this exercise was to verify the results - we need to calculate what we should find.
Deflection:
The maximum deflection occurs at the end of the rod and was found to be 6.2mm as shown above.
Stress:
The maximum stress occurs at the base of the rod and was found to be 64.9MPa as shown above (pure bending stress).
Deformation
from the Main Menu select General Postproc from the 'ANSYS Main Menu'. In this menu you will find a variety of options,
the two which we will deal with now are 'Plot Results' and 'List Results'
Select Plot Results > Deformed Shape.
Select 'Def + undef edge' and click 'OK' to view both the deformed and the undeformed object.
Observe the value of the maximum deflection in the upper left hand corner (shown here surrounded by a blue border for
emphasis). This is identical to that obtained via hand calculations.
Deflection
For a more detailed version of the deflection of the beam,
From the 'General Postproc' menu select Plot results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solution.
Select 'DOF solution' and 'USUM'. Leave the other selections as the default values. Click 'OK'.
You may want to have a more useful scale, which can be accomplished by going to the Utility Menu and selecting Plot
Controls > Style > Contours > Uniform Contours
The deflection can also be obtained as a list as shown below. General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution ... select
'DOF Solution' and 'ALL DOFs' from the lists in the 'List Nodal Solution' window and click 'OK'. This means that we want to
see a listing of all translational and rotational degrees of freedom from the solution. If we had only wanted to see the
displacements for example, we would have chosen 'ALL Us' instead of 'ALL DOFs'.
Are these results what you expected? Again, the maximum deflection occurs at node 2, the right end of the rod. Also note that
all the rotational and translational degrees of freedom were constrained to zero at node 1.
If you wanted to save these results to a file, use the mouse to go to the 'File' menu (at the upper left-hand corner of this list
window) and select 'Save as'.
Stresses
For line elements (ie beams, spars, and pipes) you will need to use the Element Table to gain access to derived data (ie stresses,
strains).
From the General Postprocessor menu select Element Table > Define Table...
Click on 'Add...'
As shown above, in the 'Item,Comp' boxes in the above window, select 'Stress' and 'von Mises SEQV'
Click on 'OK' and close the 'Element Table Data' window.
Plot the Stresses by selecting Plot Elem Table in the Element Table Menu
The following window will appear. Ensure that 'SEQV' is selected and click 'OK'
If you changed the contour intervals for the Displacement plot to "User Specified" you may need to switch this back to "Auto
calculated" to obtain new values for VMIN/VMAX.
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Contours > Uniform Contours ...
Again, select more appropriate intervals for the contour plot
List the Stresses

From the 'Element Table' menu, select 'List Elem Table'
From the 'List Element Table Data' window which appears ensure 'SEQV' is highlighted
Click 'OK'
Note that a maximum stress of 64.914 MPa occurs at the fixed end of the beam as predicted analytically.
Bending Moment Diagrams

To further verify the simplified model, a bending moment diagram can be created. First, let's look at how ANSYS defines each
element. Pipe 16 has 2 nodes; I and J, as shown in the following image.
To obtain the bending moment for this element, the Element Table must be used. The Element Table contains most of the data for the
element including the bending moment data for each element at Node I and Node J. First, we need to obtain obtain the bending moment
data.
General Postproc > Element Table > Define Table... . Click 'Add...'.
In the window,
A. Enter IMoment as the 'User label for item' - this will give a name to the data
B. Select 'By sequence num' in the Item box
C. Select 'SMISC' in the first Comp box
D. Enter SMISC,6 in the second Comp box
E. Click 'OK'
This will save all of the bending moment data at the left hand side (I side) of each element. Now we need to find the bending
moment data at the right hand side (J side) of each element.
Again, click 'Add...' in the 'Element Table Data' window.

A. Enter JMoment as the 'User label for item' - again, this will give a name to the data
B. Same as above
C. Same as above
D. For step D, enter SMISC,12 in the second Comp box
E. Click 'OK'
Click 'Close' in the 'Element Table Data' window and close the 'Element Table' Menu. Select Plot Results > Contour Plot >
Line Elem Res...
From the 'Plot Line-Element Results' window, select 'IMOMENT' from the pull down menu for LabI, and 'JMOMENT' from the
pull down menu for LabJ. Click 'OK'. Note again that you can modify the intervals for the contour plot.
Now, you can double check these solutions analytically. Note that the line between the I and J point is a linear interpolation.
Before the explanation of the above steps, enter help pipe16 in the command line as shown below and then hit enter.
Briefly read the ANSYS documentation which appears, pay particular attention to the Tables near the end of the document
(shown below).
Table 1. PIPE16 Item, Sequence Numbers, and Definitions for the ETABLE Commands
node I
name
item
MFORX
SMISC
MFORY
SMISC
Definition
Member forces
MFORZ
SMISC
at the node
MMOMX
SMISC
MMOMY
SMISC
MMOMZ
SMISC
Member
moments at the
node
Note that SMISC 6 (which we used to obtain the values at node I) correspond to MMOMZ - the Member moment for node I.
The value of 'e' varies with different Element Types, therefore you must check the ANSYS Documentation files for each
element to determine the appropriate SMISC corresponding to the plot you wish to generate.

The above example was solved using the Graphical User Interface (or GUI) of ANSYS. This problem can also been solved using the ANSYS
command language interface. To see the benefits of the command line clear your current file:
From the Utility menu select: File > Clear and Start New
Ensure that 'Read File' is selected then click 'OK'
select 'yes' in the following window.
Copy the following code into the command line, then hit enter. Note that the text following the "!" are comments.
/PREP7
K,1,0,0,0,
K,2,500,0,0,
L,1,2
!*
ET,1,PIPE16
KEYOPT,1,6,1
!*
R,1,25,2,
!*
MP,EX,1,70000
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
!*
LESIZE,ALL,20
LMESH,1
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
!*
DK,1, ,0, ,0,ALL
FK,2,FY,-100
!
!
!
!
Preprocessor
Keypoint, 1, x, y, z
Keypoint, 2, x, y, z
Line from keypoint 1 to 2
! Element Type = pipe 16

! This is the changed option to give the extra force and moment output
! Real Constant, Material 1, Outside Diameter, Wall thickness
! Material Properties, Young's Modulus, Material 1, 70000 MPa
! Material Properties, Major Poisson's Ratio, Material 1, 0.33
!
!
!
!
!
Element sizes, all of the lines, 20 mm

Mesh the lines
Exit preprocessor
Solution
The type of analysis (static)
! Apply a Displacement to Keypoint 1 to all DOF

! Apply a Force to Keypoint 2 of -100 N in the y direction
/STATUS,SOLU
SOLVE
FINISH
! Solve the problem
Note that you have now finished Postprocessing and the Solution Phase with just these few lines of code. There are codes to complete the
Postprocessing but we will review these later.
Bicycle Example
Now we will return to the analysis of the bike frame. The steps which you completed in the verification example will not be explained in great
detail, therefore use the verification example as a reference as required. We will be combining the use of the Graphic User Interface (GUI)
with the use of command lines.
Recall the geometry and dimensions of the bicycle frame:

1. Clear any old ANSYS files and start a new file
Utility Menu > File > Clear and Start New
2. Give the Example a Title

Utility menu > File > Change Title
3. Defining Some Variables
We are going to define the vertices of the frame using variables. These variables represent the various lengths of the bicycle members.
Notice that by using variables like this, it is very easy to set up a parametric description of your model. This will enable us to quickly
redefine the frame should changes be necessary. The quickest way to enter these variables is via the 'ANSYS Input' window which was
used above to input the command line codes for the verification model. Type in each of the following lines followed by Enter.
x1
x2
y1
y2
z1
=
=
=
=
=
500
825
325
400
50
4. Enter Keypoints
For this space frame example, these keypoints are the frame vertices.
We are going to define 6 keypoints for this structure as given in the following table (these keypoints are depicted by the circled
numbers in the above figure):
coordinate
keypoint
y1
y2
x1
y2
x1
x2
z1
x2
-z1
Now instead of using the GUI window we are going to enter code into the 'command line'. First, open the 'Preprocessor Menu'
from the 'ANSYS Main Menu'. The preprocessor menu has to be open in order for the preprocessor commands to be recognized.
Alternatively, you can type /PREP7 into the command line. The command line format required to enter a keypoint is as
follows:
K, NPT, X, Y, Z
where, each Abbreviation is representative of the following:
Keypoint, Reference number for the keypoint, coords x/y/z
For a more detailed explanation, type help k into the command line
For example, to enter the first keypoint type:
K,1,0,y1,0
into the command line followed by Enter.
As with any programming language, you may need to add comments. The exclamation mark indicates that anything following it
is commented out. ie - for the second keypoint you might type:
K,2,0,y2,0
! keypoint, #, x=0, y=y2, z=0
Enter the 4 remaining keypoints (listed in the table above) using the command line
Now you may want to check to ensure that you entered all of the keypoints correctly:
Utility Menu > List > Keypoints > Coordinates only
(Alternatively, type 'KLIST' into the command line)
If there are any keypoints which need to be re-entered, simply re-enter the code. A previously defined keypoint of the same
number will be redefined. However, if there is one that needs to be deleted simply enter the following code:
KDELE,#
where # corresponds to the number of the keypoint.

In this example, we defined the keypoints by making use of previously defined variables like y1 = 325. This was simply used for
convenience. To define keypoint #1, for example, we could have alternatively used the coordinates x = 0, y = 325, z = 0.
5. Changing Orientation of the Plot
To get a better view of our view of our model, we'll view it in an isometric view:
Select Utility menu bar > PlotCtrls > Pan, Zoom, Rotate...'
In the window that appears (shown left), you

have many controls. Try experimenting with
them. By turning on the dynamic mode (click
on the checkbox beside 'Dynamic Mode') you
can use the mouse to drag the image,
translating and rotating it on all three axes.
To get an isometric view, click on 'Iso' (at the
top right). You can either leave the 'Pan,
Zoom, Rotate' window open and move it to
an empty area on the screen, or close it if
your screen is already cluttered.
6. Create Lines
We will be joining the following keypoints together:
keypoint
line
1st
2nd
Again, we will use the command line to create the lines. The command format to create a straight line looks
like:
L, P1, P2
Line, Keypoint at the beginning of the line, Keypoint at the end of line
For example, to obtain the first line, I would write: ' L,1,2 '
Note: unlike 'Keypoints', 'Lines' will automatically assign themselves the next available reference number.
Enter the remaining lines until you get a picture like that shown below.
Again, check to ensure that you entered all of the lines correctly: type ' LLIST ' into the command line
If there are any lines which need to be changed, delete the line by typing the following code: ' LDELE,# ' where #
corresponds to the reference number of the line. (This can be obtained from the list of lines). And then re-enter the line (note: a
new reference number will be assigned)
You should obtain the following:

Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete > Add
As in the verification model, define the type of element (pipe16). As in the verification model, don't forget to change Option K6
'Include Output' to obtain extra force and moment output.
Preprocessor > Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete
Now specify geometric properties for the elements
Outside diameter
OD:
Wall thickness TKWALL:
25
2

To set Young's Modulus and Poisson's ratio, we will again use the command line. (ensure that the preprocessor menu is still open - if
not open it by clicking Preprocessor in the Main Menu)
MP, LAB, MAT, C0
Material Property,Valid material property label, Material Reference Number, value
To enter the Elastic Modulus (LAB = EX) of 70000 MPa, type: ' MP,EX,1,70000 '
To set Poisson's ratio (PRXY), type ' MP,PRXY,1,0.33 '
10. Mesh Size

As in the verification model, set the element length to 20 mm
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Lines > All Lines
11. Mesh
In the 'Preprocessor' menu select 'Mesh' > 'Lines' and click 'Pick All' in the 'Mesh Lines' Window
Saving Your Job

Utility Menu > File > Save as...

Close the 'Preprocessor' menu and open up the 'Solution' menu (from the same 'ANSYS Main Menu').
Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis... > Static
Once again, we will use the command line. We are going to pin (translational DOFs will be fixed) the first keypoint and constrain the
keypoints corresponding to the rear wheel attachment locations in both the y and z directions. The following is the command line
format to apply constraints at keypoints.
DK, KPOI, Lab, VALUE, VALUE2, KEXPND, Lab2, Lab3, Lab4, Lab5, Lab6
Displacement on K, K #, DOF label, value, value2, Expansion key, other DOF labels
Not all of the fields are required for this example, therefore when entering the code certain fields will be empty. For example, to pin the
first keypoint enter:

DK,1,UX,0,,,UY,UZ
The DOF labels for translation motion are: UX, UY, UZ. Note that the 5th and 6th fields are empty. These correspond to 'value2' and
'the Expansion key' which are not required for this constraint. Also note that all three of the translational DOFs were constrained to 0.
The DOFs can only be contrained in 1 command line if the value is the same.
To apply the contraints to Keypoint 5, the command line code is:
DK,5,UY,0,,,UZ
Note that only UY and UZ are contrained to 0. UX is not constrained. Again, note that the 5th and 6th fields are empty because they are
not required.
Apply the constraints to the other rear wheel location (Keypoint 6 - UY and UZ).
Now list the constraints ('DKLIST') and verify them against the following:
If you need to delete any of the constraints use the following command: 'DKDELE, K, Lab' (ie 'DKDELE,1,UZ' would delete
the constraint in the 'z' direction for Keypoint 1)
3. Apply Loads
We will apply vertical downward loads of 600N at the seat post location (keypoint 3) and 200N at the pedal crank location (keypoint
4). We will use the command line to define these loading conditions.
FK, KPOI, Lab, value, value2
Force loads at keypoints, K #, Force Label directions (FX, FY, FZ), value1, value2 (if
req'd)
To apply a force of 600N downward at keypoint 3, the code should look like this: ' FK,3,FY,-600 '
Apply both the forces and list the forces to ensure they were inputted correctly (FKLIST).
If you need to delete one of the forces, the code looks like this: 'FKDELE, K, Lab' (ie 'FKDELE,3,FY' would delete the force in the 'y'
direction for Keypoint 3)


To begin Postprocessing, open the 'General Postproc' Menu
1. Deformation
Plot Results > Deformed Shape... 'Def + undef edge'
You may want to try plotting this from different angles to get a better idea what's going on by using the 'Pan-Zoom-Rotate'
menu that was earlier outlined.
Try the 'Front' view button (Note that the views of 'Front', 'Left', 'Back', etc depend on how the object was first defined).
Your screen should look like the plot below:
2. Deflections
Now let's take a look at some actual deflections in the frame. The deflections have been calculated at the nodes of the model, so the
first thing we'll do is plot out the nodes and node numbers, so we know what node(s) we're after.
Go to Utility menu > PlotCtrls > Numbering... and turn on 'Node numbers'. Turn everything else off.
Note the node numbers of interest. Of particular interest are those nodes where the constraints were applied to see if their
displacements/rotations were indeed fixed to zero. Also note the node numbers of the seat and crank locations.
List the Nodal Deflections (Main Menu > General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution...'). Are the displacements and
rotations as you expected?
Plot the deflection as well.
General Postproc > Plot Results > (-Contour Plot-) Nodal Solution select 'DOF solution' and 'USUM' in the window
Don't forget to use more useful intervals.
3. Element Forces
We could also take a look at the forces in the elements in much the same way:
Select 'Element Solution...' from the 'List Results' menu.

Select 'Nodal force data' and 'All forces' from the lists displayed.
Click on 'OK'.
For each element in the model, the force/moment values at each of the two nodes per element will be displayed.
Close this list window when you are finished browsing.
Then close the 'List Results' menu.
4. Stresses
As shown in the cantilever beam example, use the Element Table to gain access to derived stresses.
General Postproc > Element Table > Define Table ...
Select 'Add'
Select 'Stress' and 'von Mises'
Element Table > Plot Elem Table
Again, select appropriate intervals for the contour plot
5. Bending Moment Diagrams

As shown previously, the bending moment diagram can be produced.
Select Element Table > Define Table... to define the table (remember SMISC,6 and SMISC,12)
And, Plot Results > Line Elem Res... to plot the data from the Element Table
This problem has also been solved using the ANSYS command language interface that you may want to browse. Open the .HTML version,
copy and paste the code into Notepad or a similar text editor and save it to your computer. Now go to 'File > Read input from...' and select
the file. A .PDF version is also available for printing.
Quitting ANSYS
To quit ANSYS, select 'QUIT' from the ANSYS Toolbar or select 'Utility Menu'/'File'/'Exit...'. In the dialog box that appears, click on 'Save
Everything' (assuming that you want to) and then click on 'OK'.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
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BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
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TUTORIALS
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VERSION
Bicycle Space Frame

| Verification Example | | Preprocessing | | Solution | | Postprocessing | | Command Line |
Modeling Tools
| Bracket Example | | Preprocessing | | Solution | | Postprocessing | | Command Line |
Solid Modeling
Introduction
Index
Contributions
This tutorial is the second of three basic tutorials created to illustrate commom features in ANSYS. The plane stress bracket tutorial builds
upon techniques covered in the first tutorial (3D Bicycle Space Frame), it is therefore essential that you have completed that tutorial prior
to beginning this one.
The 2D Plane Stress Bracket will introduce boolean operations, plane stress, and uniform pressure loading.
Comments
Problem Description
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
The problem to be modeled in this example is a simple bracket shown in the following figure. This bracket is to be built from a 20 mm
thick steel plate. A figure of the plate is shown below.
This plate will be fixed at the two small holes on the left and have a load applied to the larger hole on the right.
Verification Example
The first step is to simplify the problem. Whenever you are trying out a new analysis type, you need something (ie analytical solution or
experimental data) to compare the results to. This way you can be sure that you've gotten the correct analysis type, units, scale factors, etc.
The simplified version that will be used for this problem is that of a flat rectangular plate with a hole shown in the following figure:

1. Give the Simplified Version a Title
2. Form Geometry
Boolean operations provide a means to create complicated solid models. These procedures make it easy to combine simple
geometric entities to create more complex bodies. Subtraction will used to create this model, however, many other Boolean
operations can be used in ANSYS.
a. Create the main rectangular shape
Instead of creating the geometry using keypoints, we will create an area (using GUI)
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Rectangle > By 2 Corners
Fill in the window as shown above. This will create a rectangle where the bottom left corner has the coordinates
0,0,0 and the top right corner has the coordinates 200,100,0.
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above command is BLC4,0,0,200,100)
b. Create the circle

Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Circle > Solid Circle
Fill in the window as shown above. This will create a circle where the center has the coordinates 100,50,0 (the center
of the rectangle) and the radius of the circle is 20 mm.
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above command is CYL4,100,50,20 )
c. Subtraction
Now we want to subtract the circle from the rectangle. Prior to this operation, your image should resemble the
following:
To perform the Boolean operation, from the Preprocessor menu select:

Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Subtract > Areas
At this point a 'Subtract Areas' window will pop up and the ANSYS Input window will display the following
message: [ASBA] Pick or enter base areas from which to subtract (as shown below)
Therefore, select the base area (the rectangle) by clicking on it. Note: The selected area will turn pink once it is
selected.
The following window may appear because there are 2 areas at the location you clicked.
Ensure that the entire rectangular area is selected (otherwise click 'Next') and then click 'OK'.
Click 'OK' on the 'Subtract Areas' window.
Now you will be prompted to select the areas to be subtracted, select the circle by clicking on it and then click 'OK'.
You should now have the following model:
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ASBA,1,2)

It is now necessary to define the type of element to use for our problem:
Preprocessor Menu > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete
Add the following type of element: Solid (under the Structural heading) and the Quad 82 element, as shown in the above
figure.
PLANE82 is a higher order version of the two-dimensional, four-node element (PLANE42). PLANE82 is an eight noded
quadrilateral element which is better suited to model curved boundaries.
For this example, we need a plane stress element with thickness, therefore
Click on the 'Options...' button. Click and hold the K3 button, and select 'Plane strs w/thk', as shown below.
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ET,1,PLANE82 followed by KEYOPT,1,3,3)
As in previous examples Preprocessor menu > Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete
Enter a thickness of 20 as shown in the figure below. This defines a plate thickness of 20mm)
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is R,1,20)
As shown in previous examples, select Preprocessor > Material Props > Material models > Structural > Linear >
Elastic > Isotropic
We are going to give the properties of Steel. Enter the following when prompted:
EX 200000
PRXY 0.3
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is MP,EX,1,200000 followed by MP,PRXY,1,0.3)
6. Mesh Size
To tell ANSYS how big the elements should be, Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > Manual Size > Areas > All Areas
Select an element edge length of 25. We will return later to determine if this was adequate for the problem.
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is AESIZE,ALL,25,)
7. Mesh
In the 'Preprocessor' menu select Meshing > Mesh > Areas > Free and select the area when prompted
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is AMESH,ALL)
You should now have the following:
Saving Your Job


Ensure that a Static Analysis will be performed (Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis).
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ANTYPE,0)
As shown previously, the left end of the plate is fixed.
In the Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Lines
Select the left end of the plate and click on 'Apply' in the 'Apply U,ROT on Lines' window.
Fill in the window as shown below.
This location is fixed which means that all DOF's are constrained. Therefore, select 'All DOF' by clicking on it and enter '0'
in the Value field as shown above.
You will see some blue triangles in the graphics window indicating the displacement contraints.
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is DL,4,,ALL,0)
3. Apply Loads
As shown in the diagram, there is a load of 20N/mm distributed on the right hand side of the plate. To apply this load:
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Pressure > On Lines
When the window appears, select the line along the right hand edge of the plate and click 'OK'
Calculate the pressure on the plate end by dividing the distributed load by the thickness of the plate (1 MPa).
Fill in the "Apply PRES on lines" window as shown below. NOTE:

The pressure is uniform along the surface of the plate, therefore the last field is left blank.
The pressure is acting away from the surface of the plate, and is therefore defined as a negative pressure.


Now, since the purpose of this exercise was to verify the results - we need to calculate what we should find.
Deflection: The maximum deflection occurs on the right hand side of the plate and was calculated to be 0.001 mm - neglecting the
effects of the hole in the plate (ie - just a flat plate). The actual deflection of the plate is therefore expected to be greater but in the
same range of magnitude.
Stress: The maximum stress occurs at the top and bottom of the hole in the plate and was found to be 3.9 MPa.
2. Convergence using ANSYS
At this point we need to find whether or not the final result has converged. We will do this by looking at the deflection and stress at
particular nodes while changing the size of the meshing element.
Since we have an analytical solution for the maximum stress point, we will check the stress at this point. First we need to
find the node corresponding to the top of the hole in the plate. First plot and number the nodes
Utility Menu > Plot > Nodes
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Numbering...
The plot should look similar to the one shown below. Make a note of the node closest to the top of the circle (ie. #49)
List the stresses (General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution > Stress, Principals SPRIN) and check the SEQV
(Equivalent Stress / von Mises Stress) for the node in question. (as shown below in red)
The equivalent stress was found to be 2.9141 MPa at this point. We will use smaller elements to try to get a more
accurate solution.
Resize Elements
a. To change the element size, we need to go back to the Preprocessor Menu
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > Manual Size > Areas > All Areas
now decrease the element edge length (ie 20)
b. Now remesh the model (Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > Free). Once you have selected the area and
clicked 'OK' the following window will appear:
c. Click 'OK'. This will remesh the model using the new element edge length.
d. Solve the system again (note that the constraints need not be reapplied). ( Solution Menu > Current LS )
Repeat steps 'a' through 'd' until the model has converged. (note - the number of the node at the top of the hole has most
likely changed. It is essential that you plot the nodes again to select the appropriate node). Plot the stress/deflection at
varying mesh sizes as shown below to confirm that convergence has occured.
Note the shapes of both the deflection and stress curves. As the number of elements in the mesh increases (ie - the element edge
length decreases), the values converge towards a final solution.
The von Mises stress at the top of the hole in the plate was found to be approximatly 3.8 MPa. This is a mere 2.5% difference
between the analytical solution and the solution found using ANSYS.
The approximate maximum displacement was found to be 0.0012 mm, this is 20% greater than the analytical solution. However,
the analytical solution does not account for the large hole in the center of the plate which was expected to significantly increase the
deflection at the end of the plate.
Therefore, the results using ANSYS were determined to be appropriate for the verification model.
3. Deformation
General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape > Def + undeformd to view both the deformed and the undeformed
object.
Observe the locations of deflection.
4. Deflection
General Postproc > Plot Results > Nodal Solution... Then select DOF solution, USUM in the window.
Alternatively, obtain these results as a list. (General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution...)
Are these results what you expected? Note that all translational degrees of freedom were constrained to zero at the left end
of the plate.
5. Stresses
General Postproc > Plot Results > Nodal Solution... Then select Stress, von Mises in the window.
You can list the von Mises stresses to verify the results at certain nodes
General Postproc > List Results. Select Stress, Principals SPRIN
Bracket Example
Now we will return to the analysis of the bracket. A combination of GUI and the Command line will be used for this example.
The problem to be modeled in this example is a simple bracket shown in the following figure. This bracket is to be built from a 20 mm
thick steel plate. A figure of the plate is shown below.

1. Give the Bracket example a Title
2. Form Geometry
Again, Boolean operations will be used to create the basic geometry of the Bracket.
a. Create the main rectangular shape
The main rectangular shape has a width of 80 mm, a height of 100mm and the bottom left corner is located at coordinates
(0,0)
Ensure that the Preprocessor menu is open. (Alternatively type /PREP7 into the command line window)
Now instead of using the GUI window we are going to enter code into the 'command line'. Now I will explain the
line required to create a rectangle:
BLC4, XCORNER, YCORNER, WIDTH, HEIGHT
BLC4, X coord (bottom left), Y coord (bottom left), width, height
Therefore, the command line for this rectangle is BLC4,0,0,80,100
b. Create the circular end on the right hand side

The center of the circle is located at (80,50) and has a radius of 50 mm
The following code is used to create a circular area:
CYL4, XCENTER, YCENTER, RAD1
CYL4, X coord for the center, Y coord for the center, radius
Therefore, the command line for this circle is CYL4,80,50,50
c. Now create a second and third circle for the left hand side using the following dimensions:
parameter
circle 2
circle 3
XCENTER 0
YCENTER 20
80
RADIUS
20
20
d. Create a rectangle on the left hand end to fill the gap between the two small circles.
XCORNER
-20
YCORNER
20
WIDTH
20
HEIGHT
60
Your screen should now look like the following...
e. Boolean Operations - Addition

We now want to add these five discrete areas together to form one area.
To perform the Boolean operation, from the Preprocessor menu select:

Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Add > Areas
In the 'Add Areas' window, click on 'Pick All'
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is AADD,ALL)
You should now have the following model:
f. Create the Bolt Holes We now want to remove the bolt holes from this plate.
Create the three circles with the parameters given below:
parameter
circle 1
circle 2
circle 3
WP X
80
WP Y
50
20
80
radius
30
10
10
Now select
Preprocessor > Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Subtract > Areas
Select the base areas from which to subract (the large plate that was created)
Next select the three circles that we just created. Click on the three circles that you just created and click 'OK'.
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ASBA,6,ALL)
Now you should have the following:

As in the verification model, PLANE82 will be used for this example
Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete
Use the 'Options...' button to get a plane stress element with thickness
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ET,1,PLANE82 followed by KEYOPT,1,3,3)
Under the Extra Element Output K5 select nodal stress.
4. Define Geometric Contants
Preprocessor > Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete
Enter a thickness of 20mm.

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is R,1,20)
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Library > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic
We are going to give the properties of Steel. Enter the following when prompted:
EX 200000
PRXY 0.3
(The command line code for the above step is MP,EX,1,200000 followed by MP,PRXY,1,0.3)
6. Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > Manual Size > Areas > All Areas
Select an element edge length of 5. Again, we will need to make sure the model has converged.
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is AESIZE,ALL,5,)
7. Mesh
Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > Free and select the area when prompted
(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is AMESH,ALL)
Saving Your Job


'Solution' > 'New Analysis' and select 'Static'.

(Alternatively, the command line code for the above step is ANTYPE,0)
As illustrated, the plate is fixed at both of the smaller holes on the left hand side.
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Nodes
Instead of selecting one node at a time, you have the option of creating a box, polygon, or circle of which all the nodes in
that area will be selected. For this case, select 'circle' as shown in the window below. (You may want to zoom in to select
the points Utilty Menu / PlotCtrls / Pan, Zoom, Rotate...) Click at the center of the bolt hole and drag the circle out so that
it touches all of the nodes on the border of the hole.
Click on 'Apply' in the 'Apply U,ROT on Lines' window and constrain all DOF's in the 'Apply U,ROT on Nodes' window.
Repeat for the second bolt hole.
3. Apply Loads
As shown in the diagram, there is a single vertical load of 1000N, at the bottom of the large bolt hole. Apply this force to the
respective keypoint ( Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Keypoints Select a force in the y
direction of -1000)

Post-Processing: Viewing the Results

We are now ready to view the results. We will take a look at the deflected shape and the stress contours once we determine convergence
has occured.
1. Convergence using ANSYS

As shown previously, it is necessary to prove that the solution has converged. Reduce the mesh size until there is no longer
a sizeable change in your convergence criteria.
2. Deformation
General Postproc > Plot Results > Def + undeformed to view both the deformed and the undeformed object.
The graphic should be similar to the following
Observe the locations of deflection. Ensure that the deflection at the bolt hole is indeed 0.
3. Deflection
To plot the nodal deflections use General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solution then select DOF
Solution - USUM in the window.
Alternatively, obtain these results as a list. (General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution...)
Are these results what you expected? Note that all translational degrees of freedom were constrained to zero at the bolt
holes.
4. Stresses
General Postproc > Plot Results > Nodal Solution... Then select von Mises Stress in the window.
You can list the von Mises stresses to verify the results at certain nodes
General Postproc > List Results. Select Stress, Principals SPRIN
Quitting ANSYS
To quit ANSYS, click 'QUIT' on the ANSYS Toolbar or select Utility Menu > File > Exit... In the window that appears, select 'Save
Everything' (assuming that you want to) and then click 'OK'.
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Solid Model Creation
Bicycle Space Frame

Modeling Tools
Solid Modeling
Index
Contributions
Introduction
This tutorial is the last of three basic tutorials devised to illustrate commom features in ANSYS. Each tutorial builds upon techniques
covered in previous tutorials, it is therefore essential that you complete the tutorials in order.
The Solid Modelling Tutorial will introduce various techniques which can be used in ANSYS to create solid models. Filleting, extrusion/
sweeping, copying, and working plane orientation will be covered in detail.
Two Solid Models will be created within this tutorial.
Comments
MecE 563
Problem Description A
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
We will be creating a solid model of the pulley shown in the following figure.
Geometry Generation
We will create this model by first tracing out the cross section of the pulley and then sweeping this area about the y axis.
Creation of Cross Sectional Area

1. Create 3 Rectangles
Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > Rectangle > By 2 Corners
BLC4, XCORNER, YCORNER, WIDTH, HEIGHT
The geometry of the rectangles:
Rectangle 1
Rectangle 2
Rectangle 3
WP X (XCORNER)
WP Y (YCORNER)
WIDTH
0.5
HEIGHT
5.5
2. Add the Areas

Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > (-Boolean-) Add > Areas
AADD, ALL
ANSYS will label the united area as AREA 4 and the previous three areas will be deleted.
3. Create the rounded edges using circles
Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Areas-) Circle > Solid circles
CYL4,XCENTER,YCENTER,RAD
The geometry of the circles:

Circle 1
Circle 2
WP X (XCENTER)
8.5
WP Y (YCENTER)
5.5
0.2
RADIUS
0.5
0.2
4. Subtract the large circle from the base

Preprocessor > Operate > Subtract > Areas
ASBA,BASE,SUBTRACT
5. Copy the smaller circle for the rounded edges at the top
Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Copy > Areas
Click on the small circle and then on OK.

The following window will appear. It asks for the x,y and z offset of the copied area. Enter the y offset as 4.6 and then click
OK.
Copy this new area now with an x offset of -0.5

You should obtain the following
6. Add the smaller circles to the large area.

Preprocessor > Operate > Add > Areas
AADD,ALL
7. Fillet the inside edges of the top half of the area
Preprocessor > Create > (-Lines-) Line Fillet
Select the two lines shown below and click on OK.
The following window will appear prompting for the fillet radius. Enter 0.1
Follow the same procedure and create a fillet with the same radius between the following lines
8. Create the fillet areas
As shown below, zoom into the fillet radius and plot and number the lines.
Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Areas-) Arbitrary > By Lines
Select the lines as shown below
Repeat for the other fillet
9. Add all the areas together

Preprocessor > Operate > Add > Areas
AADD,ALL
10. Plot the areas (Utility Menu > Plot - Areas)
Sweep the Cross Sectional Area

Now we need to sweep the area around a y axis at x=0 and z=0 to create the pulley.
1. Create two keypoints defining the y axis
Create keypoints at (0,0,0) and (0,5,0) and number them 1001 and 1002 respectively. (K,#,X,Y,Z)
2. By default the graphics will now show all keypoints. Plot Areas
3. Sweep the area about the y axis
Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > Extrude > (-Areas-) About axis
You will first be prompted to select the areas to be swept so click on the area.
Then you will be asked to enter or pick two keypoints defining the axis.
Plot the Keypoints (Utility Menu > Plot > Keypoints. Then select the following two keypoints
The following window will appear prompting for sweeping angles. Click on OK.
You should now see the following in the graphics screen.
Create Bolt Holes

1. Change the Working Plane
By default, the working plane in ANSYS is located on the global Cartesian X-Y plane. However, for us to define the bolt holes, we
need to use a different working plane. There are several ways to define a working plane, one of which is to define it by three
keypoints.
Create the following Keypoints

X
#2001
#2002
#2003
Switch the view to top view and plot only keypoints.
2. Align the Working Plane with the Keypoints

Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Align WP with > Keypoints +
Select Keypoints 2001 then 2002 then 2003 IN THAT ORDER. The first keypoint (2001) defines the origin of the working
plane coordinate system, the second keypoint (2002) defines the x-axis orientation, while the third (2003) defines the
orientation of the working plane. The following warning will appear when selecting the keypoint at the origin as there are
more than one in this location.
Just click on 'Next' until the one selected is 2001.
Once you have selected the 3 keypoints and clicked 'OK' the WP symbol (green) should appear in the Graphics window.
Another way to make sure the active WP has moves is:
Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Show WP Status
note the origin of the working plane. By default those values would be 0,0,0.
3. Create a Cylinder (solid cylinder) with x=5.5 y=0 r=0.5 depth=1 You should see the following in the graphics screen
We will now copy this volume so that we repeat it every 45 degrees. Note that you must copy the cylinder before you use boolean
operations to subtract it because you cannot copy an empty space.
4. We need to change active CS to cylindrical Y
Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Change Active CS to > Global Cylindrical Y
This will allow us to copy radially about the Y axis
5. Create 8 bolt Holes
Preprocessor > Copy > Volumes
Select the cylinder volume and click on OK. The following window will appear; fill in the blanks as shown,
Youi should obtain the following model,
Subtract the cylinders from the pulley hub (Boolean operations) to create the boltholes. This will result in the following
completed structure:
Problem Description B
We will be creating a solid model of the Spindle Base shown in the following figure.
Geometry Generation
We will create this model by creating the base and the back and then the rib.
Create the Base

1. Create the base rectangle
WP X (XCORNER)
WP Y (YCORNER)
WIDTH
HEIGHT
109
102
2. Create the curved edge (using keypoints and lines to create an area)
Create the following keypoints
Keypoint 5
-20
82
Keypoint 6
-20
20
Keypoint 7
82
Keypoint 8
20
Create arcs joining the keypoints

Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Lines-) Arcs > By End KPs & Rad
Select keypoints 4 and 5 (either click on them or type 4,5 into the command line) when prompted.
Select Keypoint 7 as the center-of-curvature when prompted.
Enter the radius of the arc (20) in the 'Arc by End KPs & Radius' window
Repeat to create an arc from keypoints 1 and 6
(Alternatively, type LARC,4,5,7,20 followed by LARC,1,6,8,20 into the command line)
Create a line from Keypoint 5 to 6

Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Lines-) Lines > Straight Line
L,5,6
Create an Arbitrary area within the bounds of the lines
Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Areas-) Arbitrary > By Lines
AL,4,5,6,7
Combine the 2 areas into 1 (to form Area 3)

Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > (-Booleans-) Add > Volumes
AADD,1,2
You should obtain the following image:
3. Create the 4 holes in the base

We will make use of the 'copy' feature in ANSYS to create all 4 holes
Create the bottom left circle (XCENTER=0, YCENTER=20, RADIUS=10)

Copy the area to create the bottom right circle (DX=69)
(AGEN,# Copies (include original),Area#,Area2# (if 2 areas to be copied),DX,DY,DZ)
Copy both circles to create the upper circles (DY=62)

Subtract the three circles from the main base
(ASBA,3,ALL)
4. Extrude the base

Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > Extrude > (-Areas-) Along Normal
The following window will appear once you select the area
Fill in the window as shown (length of extrusion = 26mm). Note, to extrude the area in the negative z direction you would
simply enter -26.
(Alternatively, type VOFFST,6,26 into the command line)
Create the Back

1. Change the working plane
As in the previous example, we need to change the working plane. You may have observed that geometry can only be created in
the X-Y plane. Therefore, in order to create the back of the Spindle Base, we need to create a new working plane where the X-Y
plane is parallel to the back. Again, we will define the working plane by aligning it to 3 Keypoints.
#100
#101
#102
X
109
109
159
Y
102
2
102
Z
0
0
sqrt(3)/0.02
Align the working plane to the 3 keypoints

Recall when defining the working plane; the first keypoint defines the origin, the second keypoint defines the x-axis
orientation, while the third defines the orientation of the working plane.
(Alternatively, type KWPLAN,1,100,101,102 into the command line)
2. Create the back area
Create the base rectangle (XCORNER=0, YCORNER=0, WIDTH=102, HEIGHT=180)
Create a circle to obtain the curved top (XCENTER=51, YCENTER=180, RADIUS=51)
Add the 2 areas together
3. Extrude the area (length of extrusion = 26mm)

Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > Extrude > (-Areas-) Along Normal
VOFFST,27,26
4. Add the base and the back together
Add the two volumes together

Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > (-Booleans-) Add > Volumes
VADD,1,2
You should now have the following geometry
Note that the planar areas between the two volumes were not added together.
Add the planar areas together (don't forget the other side!)
Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > (-Booleans-) Add > Areas
AADD, Area 1, Area 2, Area 3
5. Create the Upper Cylinder
Create the outer cylinder (XCENTER=51, YCENTER=180, RADIUS=32, DEPTH=60)

Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Volumes-) Cylinder > Solid Cylinder
CYL4,51,180,32, , , ,60
Add the volumes together
Create the inner cylinder (XCENTER=51, YCENTER=180, RADIUS=18.5, DEPTH=60)
Subtract the volumes to obtain a hole
You should now have the following geometry:
Create the Rib
1. Change the working plane
First change the active coordinate system back to the global coordinate system (this will make it easier to align to the new
coordinate system)
Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Align WP with > Global Cartesian
(Alternatively, type WPCSYS,-1,0 into the command line)
#200
#201
#202
X
-20
0
-20
Y
61
61
61
Z
26
26
30
Align the working plane to the 3 keypoints

Recall when defining the working plane; the first keypoint defines the origin, the second keypoint defines the x-axis
orientation, while the third defines the orientation of the working plane.
(Alternatively, type KWPLAN,1,200,201,202 into the command line)
2. Change active coordinate system

We now need to update the coordiante system to follow the working plane changes (ie make the new Work Plane origin the active
coordinate)
Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Change Active CS to > Working Plane
CSYS,4
3. Create the area
Create the keypoints corresponding to the vertices of the rib

X
#203
129-(0.57735*26)
#204
129-(0.57735*26) + 38
sqrt(3)/2*76
Create the rib area through keypoints 200, 203, 204
Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Areas-) Arbitrary > Through KPs
A,200,203,204
4. Extrude the area (length of extrusion = 20mm)
5. Add the volumes together
Quitting ANSYS
To quit ANSYS, select 'QUIT' from the ANSYS Toolbar or select 'Utility Menu'/'File'/'Exit...'. In the dialog box that appears, click on
'Save Everything' (assuming that you want to) and then click on 'OK'.
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Effect of Self Weight on a Cantilever Beam
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
NonLinear Materials
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to show the required steps to account for the weight of an
object in ANSYS.
Loads will not be applied to the beam shown below in order to observe the deflection caused by the weight of the beam itself. The beam is
to be made of steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa.
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563

1. Give example a Title
Utility Menu > File > Change Title ...
/title, Effects of Self Weight for a Cantilever Beam
2. Open preprocessor menu
ANSYS Main Menu > Preprocessor
/PREP7
ANSYS Inc.
3. Define Keypoints
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > In Active CS...
K,#,x,y,z
We are going to define 2 keypoints for this beam as given in the following table:
Copyright 2001
Keypoint Coordinates (x,y,z)

1
(0,0)
(1000,0)
4. Create Lines
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Lines > Lines > In Active Coord
L,1,2
Create a line joining Keypoints 1 and 2
Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete...
For this problem we will use the BEAM3 (Beam 2D elastic) element. This element has 3 degrees of freedom (translation
along the X and Y axes, and rotation about the Z axis).
6. Define Real Constants
Preprocessor > Real Constants... > Add...
In the 'Real Constants for BEAM3' window, enter the following geometric properties:
i. Cross-sectional area AREA: 500
ii. Area moment of inertia IZZ: 4166.67
iii. Total beam height: 10
This defines a beam with a height of 10 mm and a width of 50 mm.
7. Define Element Material Properties
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic
In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for steel:
i. Young's modulus EX: 200000
ii. Poisson's Ratio PRXY: 0.3

8. Define Element Density
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Density
In the window that appears, enter the following density for steel:
i. Density DENS: 7.86e-6
9. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Lines > All Lines...
For this example we will use an element edge length of 100mm.
10. Mesh the frame
Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Lines > click 'Pick All'

Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Static
ANTYPE,0
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Keypoints
Fix keypoint 1 (ie all DOF constrained)
3. Define Gravity
It is necessary to define the direction and magnitude of gravity for this problem.
Select Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Inertia > Gravity...
The following window will appear. Fill it in as shown to define an acceleration of 9.81m/s2 in the y direction.
Note: Acceleration is defined in terms of meters (not 'mm' as used throughout the problem). This is because the units of
acceleration and mass must be consistent to give the product of force units (Newtons in this case). Also note that a positive
acceleration in the y direction stimulates gravity in the negative Y direction.
There should now be a red arrow pointing in the positive y direction. This indicates that an acceleration has been defined in
the y direction.
DK,1,ALL,0,
ACEL,,9.8
The applied loads and constraints should now appear as shown in the figure below.
4. Solve the System

SOLVE

Hand calculations were performed to verify the solution found using ANSYS:
The maximum deflection was shown to be 5.777mm
2. Show the deformation of the beam
General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape ... > Def + undef edge
PLDISP,2
As observed in the upper left hand corner, the maximum displacement was found to be 5.777mm. This is in agreement with the
theortical value.
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Application of Distributed Loads
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
NonLinear Materials
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0. The purpose of this tutorial is to explain how to apply distributed loads and use element
tables to extract data. Please note that this material was also covered in the 'Bicycle Space Frame' tutorial under 'Basic Tutorials'.
A distributed load of 1000 N/m (1 N/mm) will be applied to a solid steel beam with a rectangular cross section as shown in the figure
below. The cross-section of the beam is 10mm x 10mm while the modulus of elasticity of the steel is 200GPa.
ANSYS Inc.

Copyright 2001

/PREP7
/title, Distributed Loading
3. Create Keypoints
K,#,x,y
We are going to define 2 keypoints (the beam vertices) for this structure as given in the following table:
Keypoint Coordinates (x,y)
1
(0,0)
(1000,0)
4. Define Lines
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Lines > Lines > Straight Line
L,K#,K#
Create a line between Keypoint 1 and Keypoint 2.
5. Define Element Types
For this problem we will use the BEAM3 element. This element has 3 degrees of freedom (translation along the X and Y
axis's, and rotation about the Z axis). With only 3 degrees of freedom, the BEAM3 element can only be used in 2D analysis.
ii. Area Moment of Inertia IZZ: 833.333

iii. Total beam height HEIGHT: 10
This defines an element with a solid rectangular cross section 10mm x 10mm.
8. Define Mesh Size
For this example we will use an element length of 100mm.
9. Mesh the frame
10. Plot Elements
Utility Menu > Plot > Elements
You may also wish to turn on element numbering and turn off keypoint numbering
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Numbering ...

ANTYPE,0
Pin Keypoint 1 (ie UX and UY constrained) and fix Keypoint 2 in the y direction (UY constrained).
3. Apply Loads
We will apply a distributed load, of 1000 N/m or 1 N/mm, over the entire length of the beam.
Select Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Pressure > On Beams
Click 'Pick All' in the 'Apply F/M' window.
As shown in the following figure, enter a value of 1 in the field 'VALI Pressure value at node I' then click 'OK'.
Note:
To have the constraints and loads appear each time you select 'Replot' you must change some settings. Select Utility Menu
> PlotCtrls > Symbols.... In the window that appears, select 'Pressures' in the pull down menu of the 'Surface Load
Symbols' section.
4. Solve the System
SOLVE

1. Plot Deformed Shape
General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape
PLDISP.2
2. Plot Principle stress distribution

As shown previously, we need to use element tables to obtain principle stresses for line elements.
1. Select General Postproc > Element Table > Define Table

2. Click 'Add...'
3. In the window that appears
a. enter 'SMAXI' in the 'User Label for Item' section
b. In the first window in the 'Results Data Item' section scroll down and select 'By sequence num'
c. In the second window of the same section, select 'NMISC, '
d. In the third window enter '1' anywhere after the comma
4. click 'Apply'
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 but change 'SMAXI' to 'SMAXJ' in step 3a and change '1' to '3' in step 3d.
6. Click 'OK'. The 'Element Table Data' window should now have two variables in it.
7. Click 'Close' in the 'Element Table Data' window.
8. Select: General Postproc > Plot Results > Line Elem Res...
9. Select 'SMAXI' from the 'LabI' pull down menu and 'SMAXJ' from the 'LabJ' pull down menu
Note:
ANSYS can only calculate the stress at a single location on the element. For this example, we decided to extract the stresses
from the I and J nodes of each element. These are the nodes that are at the ends of each element.
For this problem, we wanted the principal stresses for the elements. For the BEAM3 element this is categorized as NMISC,
1 for the 'I' nodes and NMISC, 3 for the 'J' nodes. A list of available codes for each element can be found in the ANSYS
help files. (ie. type help BEAM3 in the ANSYS Input window).
As shown in the plot below, the maximum stress occurs in the middle of the beam with a value of 750 MPa.
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NonLinear Analysis of a Cantilever Beam
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
NonLinear Materials
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to do a simple nonlinear analysis of
the beam shown below.
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
There are several causes for nonlinear behaviour such as Changing Status (ex. contact elements), Material Nonlinearities and
Geometric Nonlinearities (change in response due to large deformations). This tutorial will deal specifically with Geometric
Nonlinearities .
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
To solve this problem, the load will added incrementally. After each increment, the stiffness matrix will be adjusted before increasing the
load.
The solution will be compared to the equivalent solution using a linear response.
ANSYS Inc.

2. Create Keypoints
Copyright 2001
We are going to define 2 keypoints (the beam vertices) for this structure to create a beam with a length of 5 inches:
1
(0,0)
(5,0)
3. Define Lines
along the X and Y axis's, and rotation about the Z axis). With only 3 degrees of freedom, the BEAM3 element can only be
used in 2D analysis.
i. Cross-sectional area AREA: 0.03125
ii. Area Moment of Inertia IZZ: 4.069e-5
iii. Total beam height HEIGHT: 0.125
This defines an element with a solid rectangular cross section 0.25 x 0.125 inches.
i. Young's modulus EX: 30e6

If you are wondering why a 'Linear' model was chosen when this is a non-linear example, it is because this example is for
non-linear geometry, not non-linear material properties. If we were considering a block of wood, for example, we would
have to consider non-linear material properties.
7. Define Mesh Size
For this example we will specify an element edge length of 0.1 " (50 element divisions along the line).
8. Mesh the frame
LMESH,ALL
Solution: Assigning Loads and Solving

Solution > New Analysis > Static
ANTYPE,0
2. Set Solution Controls
Select Solution > Analysis Type > Sol'n Control...

The following image will appear:
Ensure the following selections are made (as shown above)

A. Ensure Large Static Displacements are permitted (this will include the effects of large deflection in the results)
B. Ensure Automatic time stepping is on. Automatic time stepping allows ANSYS to determine appropriate sizes to
break the load steps into. Decreasing the step size usually ensures better accuracy, however, this takes time. The
Automatic Time Step feature will determine an appropriate balance. This feature also activates the ANSYS bisection
feature which will allow recovery if convergence fails.
C. Enter 5 as the number of substeps. This will set the initial substep to 1/5 th of the total load.
The following example explains this: Assume that the applied load is 100 lb*in. If the Automatic Time Stepping was
off, there would be 5 load steps (each increasing by 1/5 th of the total load):
20 lb*in
40 lb*in
60 lb*in
80 lb*in
100 lb*in
Now, with the Automatic Time Stepping is on, the first step size will still be 20 lb*in. However, the remaining
substeps will be determined based on the response of the material due to the previous load increment.
D. Enter a maximum number of substeps of 1000. This stops the program if the solution does not converge after 1000
steps.
E. Enter a minimum number of substeps of 1.
F. Ensure all solution items are writen to a results file.
NOTE
There are several options which have not been changed from their default values. For more information about these
commands, type help followed by the command into the command line.
Function
Command Comments
Load Step
KBC
Loads are either linearly interpolated (ramped) from the one substep to another (ie the load will increase from 10 lbs to 20 lbs in a linear fashion) or they are step
functions (ie. the load steps directly from 10 lbs to 20 lbs). By default, the load is
ramped. You may wish to use the stepped loading for rate-dependent behaviour or
transient load steps.
Output
OUTRES
This command controls the solution data written to the database. By default, all of
the solution items are written at the end of each load step. You may select only a
specific iten (ie Nodal DOF solution) to decrease processing time.
Stress Stiffness
SSTIF
This command activates stress stiffness effects in nonlinear analyses. When large
static deformations are permitted (as they are in this case), stress stiffening is
automatically included. For some special nonlinear cases, this can cause divergence
because some elements do not provide a complete consistent tangent.
Newton Raphson
NROPT
By default, the program will automatically choose the Newton-Raphson options.

Options include the full Newton-Raphson, the modified Newton-Raphson, the
previously computed matrix, and the full Newton-Raphson with unsymmetric
matrices of elements.
Convergence
Values
CNVTOL
By default, the program checks the out-of-balance load for any active DOF.
Fix Keypoint 1 (ie all DOFs constrained).

4. Apply Loads
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Keypoints
Place a -100 lb*in moment in the MZ direction at the right end of the beam (Keypoint 2)
5. Solve the System
SOLVE
The following will appear on your screan for NonLinear Analyses
This shows the convergence of the solution.
General Postprocessing: Viewing the Results

1. View the deformed shape
General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape... > Def + undeformed
PLDISP,1
2. View the deflection contour plot

General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu... > DOF solution, UY
PLNSOL,U,Y,0,1
3. List Horizontal Displacement

If this example is performed as a linear model there will be no nodal deflection in the horizontal direction due to the small
deflections assumptions. However, this is not realistic for large deflections. Modeling the system non-linearly, these
horizontal deflections are calculated by ANSYS.
General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution...> DOF solution, UX
Other results can be obtained as shown in previous linear static analyses.
Time History Postprocessing: Viewing the Results

As shown, you can obtain the results (such as deflection, stress and bending moment diagrams) the same way you did in previous
examples using the General Postprocessor. However, you may wish to view time history results such as the deflection of the object and the
step sizes of the load.
As you recall, the load was applied in steps. The step size was automatically determined in ANSYS
1. Define Variables
Select: TimeHist Postpro > Define Variables > Add... > Nodal DOF results
Select Keypoint 2 (Node 2) when prompted
Complete the following window as shown to define the translational displacement in the y direction.
Translational displacement of node 2 is now stored as variable 2 (variable 1 being time)

2. Graph Results over time
Select TimeHist Postpro > Graph Variables...
Enter 2 (UY) as the 1st variable to graph (shown below)
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Graphical Solution Tracking
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Introduction
Buckling
NonLinear Materials
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 This will act as an explanation of what the Graphical Solution Tracking plot is acutally
describing. An example of such a plot is shown below and will be used throughout the explanation.
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
1. Title and Axis Labels

The title of the graph is really just the time value of the last calculated iteration. In this example, the time at the end of the
analysis was set to 1. This can be changed with the Time command before the Solve command is issued. For more
information regarding setting the time value, and many other solution control option, see Chapter 8.5 of the Structural
Analysis Guide in the Help file.
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
The x-axis is labelled Cumulative Iteration Number. As ANSYS steps through non-linear analysis, it uses a
solver (Newton-Raphson, etc) that iterates to find a solution. If the problem is relatively linear, very few iterations will be
required and thus the length of the graph will be small. However, if the solution is highly non-linear, or is not converging,
many iterations will be required. The length of the graph in these cases can be quite long. Again, for more information about
changing iteration settings, you can see Chapter 8.5 in the help file.
The y-axis is labelled Absolute Convergence Norm. In the case of a structural analysis, which this graph is taken
from, this absolute convergence norm refers to non-normalized values (ie there are units associated with these values).
Some analyses use normalized values. In reality it doesn't really matter because it is only a comparison that is going on. This
is what will be explained next.
2. Curves and Legend
As can be guessed from the legend labels, this graph relates to forces and moments. These values are graphed because they
are the corresponding values in the solution vector for the DOF's that are active in the elements being used. If this graph
were from a thermal analysis, the curves may be for temperature.
For each parameter, there are two curves plotted. For ease of explanation, we will look at the force curves.
The F CRIT curve refers to the convergence criteria force value. This value is equal to the product of VALUE x
TOLER. The default value of VALUE is the square root of the sum of the squares (SRSS) of the applied loads, or
MINREF (which defaults to 0.001), which ever is greater. This value can be changed using the CNVTOL command,
which is discussed in the help file. The value of TOLER defaults to 0.5% for loads.
One may inquire why the F CRIT value increases as the number of iterations increases. This is because the analysis
is made up of a number of substeps. In the case of a structural example, such as this, these substeps are basically
portions of the total load being applied over time. For instance, a 100N load broken up with 20 substeps means 20,
5N loads will be applied consequtively until the entire 100N is applied. Thus, the F CRIT value at the start will be
1/20th of the final F CRIT value.
The F L2 curve refers to the L2 Vector Norm of the forces. The L2 norm is the SRSS of the force imbalances for all
DOF's. In simpler terms, this is the SRSS of the difference between the calculated internal force at a particular DOF
and the external force in that direction.
For each substep, ANSYS iterates until the F L2 value is below the F CRIT value. Once this occurs, it is deemed the
solution is within tolerance of the correct solution and it moves on to the next substep. Generally, when the curves peak this
is the start of a new substep. As can be seen in the graph above, a peak follow everytime the L2 value drops below the CRIT
value, as expected.
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Buckling
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve a simple buckling problem.
NonLinear Materials
It is recommended that you complete the NonLinear Tutorial prior to beginning this tutorial
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Buckling loads are critical loads where certain types of structures become unstable. Each load has an associated buckled mode shape; this
is the shape that the structure assumes in a buckled condition. There are two primary means to perform a buckling analysis:
Dynamic - Transient
1. Eigenvalue
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Eigenvalue buckling analysis predicts the theoretical buckling strength of an ideal elastic structure. It computes the structural
eigenvalues for the given system loading and constraints. This is known as classical Euler buckling analysis. Buckling loads for
several configurations are readily available from tabulated solutions. However, in real-life, structural imperfections and
nonlinearities prevent most real-world structures from reaching their eigenvalue predicted buckling strength; ie. it over-predicts the
expected buckling loads. This method is not recommended for accurate, real-world buckling prediction analysis.
2. Nonlinear
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
Nonlinear buckling analysis is more accurate than eigenvalue analysis because it employs non-linear, large-deflection, static
analysis to predict buckling loads. Its mode of operation is very simple: it gradually increases the applied load until a load level is
found whereby the structure becomes unstable (ie. suddenly a very small increase in the load will cause very large deflections). The
true non-linear nature of this analysis thus permits the modeling of geometric imperfections, load perterbations, material
nonlinearities and gaps. For this type of analysis, note that small off-axis loads are necessary to initiate the desired buckling mode.
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
This tutorial will use a steel beam with a 10 mm X 10 mm cross section, rigidly constrained at the bottom. The required load to cause
buckling, applied at the top-center of the beam, will be calculated.
Eigenvalue Buckling Analysis

/PREP7
/title,Eigen-Value Buckling Analysis
3. Define Keypoints
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > In Active CS ...
K,#,X,Y
We are going to define 2 Keypoints for this beam as given in the following table:
Keypoints Coordinates (x,y)
1
(0,0)
(0,100)
4. Create Lines
L,1,2
ii. Area moment of inertia IZZ: 833.333
iii. Total Beam Height HEIGHT: 10
8. Define Mesh Size

For this example we will specify an element edge length of 10 mm (10 element divisions along the line).
9. Mesh the frame
LMESH,ALL

ANTYPE,0
2. Activate prestress effects
To perform an eigenvalue buckling analysis, prestress effects must be activated.
You must first ensure that you are looking at the unabridged solution menu so that you can select Analysis Options in the
Analysis Type submenu. The last option in the solution menu will either be 'Unabridged menu' (which means you are
currently looking at the abridged version) or 'Abriged Menu' (which means you are looking at the unabridged menu). If you
are looking at the abridged menu, select the unabridged version.
Select Solution > Analysis Type > Analysis Options
In the following window, change the [SSTIF][PSTRES] item to 'Prestress ON', which ensures the stress stiffness matrix is
calculated. This is required in eigenvalue buckling analysis.
Fix Keypoint 1 (ie all DOF constrained).
4. Apply Loads
The eignenvalue solver uses a unit force to determine the necessary buckling load. Applying a load other than 1 will scale
the answer by a factor of the load.
Apply a vertical (FY) point load of -1 N to the top of the beam (keypoint 2).
5. Solve the System

SOLVE
6. Exit the Solution processor
Close the solution menu and click FINISH at the bottom of the Main Menu.
FINISH
Normally at this point you enter the postprocessing phase. However, with a buckling analysis you must re-enter the solution phase
and specify the buckling analysis. Be sure to close the solution menu and re-enter it or the buckling analysis may not function
properly.
Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Eigen Buckling
ANTYPE,1
8. Specify Buckling Analysis Options
Complete the window which appears, as shown below. Select 'Block Lanczos' as an extraction method and extract 1 mode.
The 'Block Lanczos' method is used for large symmetric eigenvalue problems and uses the sparse matrix solver. The
'Subspace' method could also be used, however it tends to converge slower as it is a more robust solver. In more complex
analyses the Block Lanczos method may not be adequate and the Subspace method would have to be used.
9. Solve the System

SOLVE
10. Exit the Solution processor
Close the solution menu and click FINISH at the bottom of the Main Menu.
FINISH
Again it is necessary to exit and re-enter the solution phase. This time, however, is for an expansion pass. An expansion pass is
necessary if you want to review the buckled mode shape(s).
11. Expand the solution
Select Solution > Analysis Type > Expansion Pass... and ensure that it is on. You may have to select the 'Unabridged
Menu' again to make this option visible.
Select Solution > Load Step Opts > ExpansionPass > Single Expand > Expand Modes ...
Complete the following window as shown to expand the first mode
12. Solve the System

SOLVE

1. View the Buckling Load
To display the minimum load required to buckle the beam select General Postproc > List Results > Detailed Summary.
The value listed under 'TIME/FREQ' is the load (41,123), which is in Newtons for this example. If more than one mode was
selected in the steps above, the corresponding loads would be listed here as well.
/POST1
SET,LIST
2. Display the Mode Shape
Select General Postproc > Read Results > Last Set to bring up the data for the last mode calculated.
Select General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape
Non-Linear Buckling Analysis

Ensure that you have completed the NonLinear Tutorial prior to beginning this portion of the tutorial

/PREP7
/TITLE, Nonlinear Buckling Analysis
3. Create Keypoints
K,#,X,Y
We are going to define 2 keypoints (the beam vertices) for this structure to create a beam with a length of 100 millimeters:
1
(0,0)
(0,100)
4. Define Lines
L,1,2
along the X and Y axis's, and rotation about the Z axis). With only 3 degrees of freedom, the BEAM3 element can only be
used in 2D analysis.
ii. Area Moment of Inertia IZZ: 833.333
iii. Total beam height HEIGHT: 10
This defines an element with a solid rectangular cross section 10 x 10 millimeters.
8. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > Lines > All Lines...
ESIZE,1
9. Mesh the frame
LMESH,ALL

ANTYPE,0

Ensure the following selections are made under the 'Basic' tab (as shown above)
B. Ensure Automatic time stepping is on. Automatic time stepping allows ANSYS to determine appropriate sizes to
D. Enter a maximum number of substeps of 1000. This stops the program if the solution does not converge after 1000
steps.
F. Ensure all solution items are writen to a results file.
Ensure the following selection is made under the 'Nonlinear' tab (as shown below)
A. Ensure Line Search is 'On'. This option is used to help the Newton-Raphson solver converge.
B. Ensure Maximum Number of Iterations is set to 1000
NOTE
4. Apply Loads
Place a -50,000 N load in the FY direction on the top of the beam (Keypoint 2). Also apply a -250 N load in the FX
direction on Keypoint 2. This horizontal load will persuade the beam to buckle at the minimum buckling load.
The model should now look like the window shown below.
5. Solve the System

SOLVE
The following will appear on your screen for NonLinear Analyses

1. View the deformed shape
To view the element in 2D rather than a line: Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Size and Shape and turn 'Display of
element' ON (as shown below).
General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape... > Def + undeformed
PLDISP,1
View the deflection contour plot

PLNSOL,U,Y,0,1

As shown, you can obtain the results (such as deflection, stress and bending moment diagrams) the same way you did in previous
examples using the General Postprocessor. However, you may wish to view time history results such as the deflection of the object over
time.
1. Define Variables
Select: Main Menu > TimeHist Postpro. The following window should open automatically.
If it does not open automatically, select Main Menu > TimeHist Postpro > Variable Viewer
Click the add button
in the upper left corner of the window to add a variable.
Double-click Nodal Solution > DOF Solution > Y-Component of displacement (as shown below) and click OK. Pick the
uppermost node on the beam and click OK in the 'Node for Data' window.
To add another variable, click the add button again. This time select Reaction Forces > Structural Forces > YComponent of Force. Pick the lowermost node on the beam and click OK.
On the Time History Variable window, click the circle in the 'X-Axis' column for FY_3. This will make the reaction force
the x-variable. The Time History Variables window should now look like this:
2. Graph Results over Time
Click on UY_2 in the Time History Variables window.
Click the graphing button
in the Time History Variables window.
The labels on the plot are not updated by ANSYS, so you must change them manually. Select Utility Menu > Plot Ctrls >
Style > Graphs > Modify Axes and re-label the X and Y-axis appropriately.
The plot shows how the beam became unstable and buckled with a load of approximately 40,000 N, the point where a large
deflection occured due to a small increase in force. This is slightly less than the eigen-value solution of 41,123 N, which
was expected due to non-linear geometry issues discussed above.
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NonLinear Materials
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
NonLinear Materials
Dynamic - Modal
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to describe how to include material nonlinearities in an ANSYS model. For
instance, the case when a large force is applied resulting in a stresses greater than yield strength. In such a case, a multilinear stress-strain relationship can
be included which follows the stress-strain curve of the material being used. This will allow ANSYS to more accurately model the plastic deformation of
the material.
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
For this analysis, a simple tension speciment 100 mm X 5 mm X 5 mm is constrained at the bottom and has a load pulling on the top. This specimen is
made out of a experimental substance called "WhoKilledKenium". The stress-strain curve for the substance is shown above. Note the linear section up to
approximately 225 MPa where the Young's Modulus is constant (75 GPa). The material then begins to yield and the relationship becomes plastic and
nonlinear.
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001

/title, NonLinear Materials
2. Create Keypoints
/PREP7
K,#,X,Y
We are going to define 2 keypoints (the beam vertices) for this structure to create a beam with a length of 100 millimeters:
1
(0,0)
(0,100)
3. Define Lines
L,1,2
For this problem we will use the LINK1 (2D spar) element. This element has 2 degrees of freedom (translation along the X and Y axis's)
and can only be used in 2D analysis.
In the 'Real Constants for LINK1' window, enter the following geometric properties:
ii. Initial Strain: 0
This defines an element with a solid rectangular cross section 5 x 5 millimeters.

Now that the initial properties of the material have been outlined, the stress-strain data must be included.
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Nonlinear > Elastic > Multilinear Elastic
The following window will pop up.
Fill in the STRAIN and STRESS boxes with the following data. These are points from the stress-strain curve shown above,
approximating the curve with linear interpolation between the points. When the data for the first point is input, click Add Point to
add another. When all the points have been inputed, click Graph to see the curve. It should look like the one shown above. Then
click OK.
Curve Points Strain Stress
1
0.001
75
0.002
150
0.003
225
0.004
240
0.005
250
0.025
300
0.060
355
0.100
390
10
0.150
420
11
0.200
435
12
0.250
449
13
0.275
450
To get the problem geometry back, select Utility Menu > Plot > Replot.
/REPLOT
7. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Manual Size > Size Cntrls > Lines > All Lines...
8. Mesh the frame
LMESH,ALL

ANTYPE,0

B. Ensure Automatic time stepping is on. Automatic time stepping allows ANSYS to determine appropriate sizes to break the load steps
into. Decreasing the step size usually ensures better accuracy, however, this takes time. The Automatic Time Step feature will
determine an appropriate balance. This feature also activates the ANSYS bisection feature which will allow recovery if convergence
fails.
D. Enter a maximum number of substeps of 1000. This stops the program if the solution does not converge after 1000 steps.
F. Ensure all solution items are writen to a results file. This means rather than just recording the data for the last load step, data for
every load step is written to the database. Therefore, you can plot certain parameters over time.
A. Ensure Line Search is 'On'. This option is used to help the Newton-Raphson solver converge.
B. Ensure Maximum Number of Iterations is set to 1000
NOTE
There are several options which have not been changed from their default values. For more information about these commands, type help
followed by the command into the command line.
4. Apply Loads
Place a 10,000 N load in the FY direction on the top of the beam (Keypoint 2).
5. Solve the System
SOLVE
The following will appear on your screen for NonLinear Analyses

1. To view the element in 2D rather than a line: Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Size and Shape and turn 'Display of element' ON (as shown
below).
2. View the deflection contour plot

PLNSOL,U,Y,0,1

As shown, you can obtain the results (such as deflection, stress and bending moment diagrams) the same way you did in previous examples using the
General Postprocessor. However, you may wish to view time history results such as the deflection of the object over time.
1. Define Variables
Select Nodal Solution > DOF Solution > Y-Component of displacement (as shown below) and click OK. Pick the uppermost node on the
beam and click OK in the 'Node for Data' window.
To add another variable, click the add button again. This time select Reaction Forces > Structural Forces > Y-Component of Force. Pick
the lowermost node on the beam and click OK.
On the Time History Variable window, click the circle in the 'X-Axis' column for FY_3. This will make the reaction force the x-variable.
The Time History Variables window should now look like this:
Click on UY_2 in the Time History Variables window.
The labels on the plot are not updated by ANSYS, so you must change them manually. Select Utility Menu > Plot Ctrls > Style > Graphs
> Modify Axes and re-label the X and Y-axis appropriately.
This plot shows how the beam deflected linearly when the force, and subsequently the stress, was low (in the linear range). However, as the
force increased, the deflection (proportional to strain) began to increase at a greater rate. This is because the stress in the beam is in the
plastic range and thus no longer relates to strain linearly. When you verify this example analytically, you will see the solutions are very
similar. The difference can be attributed to the ANSYS solver including large deflection calculations.
The above example was solved using a mixture of the Graphical User Interface (or GUI) and the command language interface of ANSYS. This problem
has also been solved using the ANSYS command language interface that you may want to browse. Open the .HTML version, copy and paste the code into
Notepad or a similar text editor and save it to your computer. Now go to 'File > Read input from...' and select the file. A .PDF version is also available
for printing.
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Modal Analysis of a Cantilever Beam
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
NonLinear Materials
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to do a simple modal analysis of the
cantilever beam shown below.
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
The simple cantilever beam is used in all of the Dynamic Analysis Tutorials. If you haven't created the model in ANSYS, please use the
links below. Both the command line codes and the GUI commands are shown in the respective links.
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001

Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Modal
ANTYPE,2
2. Set options for analysis type:
Select: Solution > Analysis Type > Analysis Options..

The following window will appear
As shown, select the Subspace method and enter 5 in the 'No. of modes to extract'
Check the box beside 'Expand mode shapes' and enter 5 in the 'No. of modes to expand'
Click 'OK'
Note that the default mode extraction method chosen is the Reduced Method. This is the fastest method as it reduces the
system matrices to only consider the Master Degrees of Freedom (see below). The Subspace Method extracts modes for all
DOF's. It is therefore more exact but, it also takes longer to compute (especially when the complex geometries).
The following window will then appear
For a better understanding of these options see the Commands manual.
For this problem, we will use the default options so click on OK.
4. Solve the System
SOLVE

1. Verify extracted modes against theoretical predictions
Select: General Postproc > Results Summary...

The following table compares the mode frequencies in Hz predicted by theory and ANSYS.
Mode
Theory
ANSYS
Percent Error
8.311
8.300
0.1
51.94
52.01
0.2
145.68
145.64
0.0
285.69
285.51
0.0
472.22
472.54
0.1
Note: To obtain accurate higher mode frequencies, this mesh would have to be refined even more (i.e. instead of 10
elements, we would have to model the cantilever using 15 or more elements depending upon the highest mode frequency of
interest).
2. View Mode Shapes
Select: General Postproc > Read Results > First Set

This selects the results for the first mode shape
Select General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed shape . Select 'Def + undef edge'
The first mode shape will now appear in the graphics window.
To view the next mode shape, select General Postproc > Read Results > Next Set . As above choose General Postproc >
Plot Results > Deformed shape . Select 'Def + undef edge'.
The first four mode shapes should look like the following:
3. Animate Mode Shapes
Select Utility Menu (Menu at the top) > Plot Ctrls > Animate > Mode Shape
Keep the default setting and click 'OK'

The animated mode shapes are shown below.
Mode 1
Mode 2
Mode 3
Mode 4
Using the Reduced Method for Modal Analysis

This method employs the use of Master Degrees of Freedom. These are degrees of freedom that govern the dynamic characteristics of a
structure. For example, the Master Degrees of Freedom for the bending modes of cantilever beam are
For this option, a detailed understanding of the dynamic behavior of a structure is required. However, going this route means a smaller
(reduced) stiffness matrix, and thus faster calculations.

The steps for using this option are quite simple.
Instead of specifying the Subspace method, select the Reduced method and specify 5 modes for extraction.
Complete the window as shown below
Note:For this example both the number of modes and frequency range was specified. ANSYS then extracts the minimum number
of modes between the two.
Select Solution > Master DOF > User Selected > Define
When prompted, select all nodes except the left most node (fixed).
Select UY as the 1st degree of freedom (shown above).

The same constraints are used as above.
The following table compares the mode frequencies in Hz predicted by theory and ANSYS (Reduced).
Mode
Theory
ANSYS
Percent Error
8.311
8.300
0.1
51.94
52.01
0.1
145.68
145.66
0.0
285.69
285.71
0.0
472.22
473.66
0.3
As you can see, the error does not change significantly. However, for more complex structures, larger errors would be expected using the
reduced method.
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Harmonic Analysis of a Cantilever Beam
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
NonLinear Materials
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to explain the steps required to perform Harmonic analysis the
cantilever beam shown below.
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
We will now conduct a harmonic forced response test by applying a cyclic load (harmonic) at the end of the beam. The frequency of the
load will be varied from 1 - 100 Hz. The figure below depicts the beam with the application of the load.
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
ANSYS provides 3 methods for conducting a harmonic analysis. These 3 methods are the Full , Reduced and Modal Superposition
methods.
This example demonstrates the Full method because it is simple and easy to use as compared to the other two methods. However, this
method makes use of the full stiffness and mass matrices and thus is the slower and costlier option.


1. Define Analysis Type (Harmonic)
Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Harmonic
ANTYPE,3
2. Set options for analysis type:
Select: Solution > Analysis Type > Analysis Options..

As shown, select the Full Solution method, the Real + imaginary DOF printout format and do not use lumped mass approx.
Click 'OK'
The following window will appear. Use the default settings (shown below).
Select Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Nodes
The following window will appear once you select the node at x=0 (Note small changes in the window compared to the
static examples):
Constrain all DOF as shown in the above window
4. Apply Loads:
Select Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Nodes
Select the node at x=1 (far right)
The following window will appear. Fill it in as shown to apply a load with a real value of 100 and an imaginary value of 0
in the positive 'y' direction
Note: By specifying a real and imaginary value of the load we are providing information on magnitude and phase of the
load. In this case the magnitude of the load is 100 N and its phase is 0. Phase information is important when you have two
or more cyclic loads being applied to the structure as these loads could be in or out of phase. For harmonic analysis, all
loads applied to a structure must have the SAME FREQUENCY.
5. Set the frequency range
Select Solution > Load Step Opts > Time/Frequency > Freq and Substps...
As shown in the window below, specify a frequency range of 0 - 100Hz, 100 substeps and stepped b.c..
By doing this we will be subjecting the beam to loads at 1 Hz, 2 Hz, 3 Hz, ..... 100 Hz. We will specify a stepped boundary
condition (KBC) as this will ensure that the same amplitude (100 N) will be applyed for each of the frequencies. The
ramped option, on the other hand, would ramp up the amplitude where at 1 Hz the amplitude would be 1 N and at 100 Hz
the amplitude would be 100 N.
You should now have the following in the ANSYS Graphics window
6. Solve the System

SOLVE

We want to observe the response at x=1 (where the load was applyed) as a function of frequency. We cannot do this with General
PostProcessing (POST1), rather we must use TimeHist PostProcessing (POST26). POST26 is used to observe certain variables as a
function of either time or frequency.
1. Open the TimeHist Processing (POST26) Menu
Select TimeHist Postpro from the ANSYS Main Menu.
2. Define Variables
In here we have to define variables that we want to see plotted. By default, Variable 1 is assigned either Time or Frequency. In
our case it is assigned Frequency. We want to see the displacement UY at the node at x=1, which is node #2. (To get a list of
nodes and their attributes, select Utility Menu > List > nodes).
Select TimeHist Postpro > Variable Viewer... and the following window should pop up.
Select Add (the green '+' sign in the upper left corner) from this window and the following window should appear
We are interested in the Nodal Solution > DOF Solution > Y-Component of displacement. Click OK.
Graphically select node 2 when prompted and click OK. The 'Time History Variables' window should now look as follows
3. List Stored Variables
In the 'Time History Variables' window click the 'List' button, 3 buttons to the left of 'Add'
The following window will appear listing the data:
4. Plot UY vs. frequency
In the 'Time History Variables' window click the 'Plot' button, 2 buttons to the left of 'Add'
The following graph should be plotted in the main ANSYS window.
Note that we get peaks at frequencies of approximately 8.3 and 51 Hz. This corresponds with the predicted frequencies of
8.311 and 51.94Hz.
To get a better view of the response, view the log scale of UY.
Select Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Graphs > Modify Axis
As marked by an 'A' in the above window, change the Y-axis scale to 'Logarithmic'
Select Utility Menu > Plot > Replot
You should now see the following
This is the response at node 2 for the cyclic load applied at this node from 0 - 100 Hz.
For ANSYS version lower than 7.0, the 'Variable Viewer' window is not available. Use the 'Define Variables' and 'Store
Data' functions under TimeHist Postpro. See the help file for instructions.
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Transient Analysis of a Cantilever Beam
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
NonLinear Materials
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to show the steps involved to perform a simple transient
analysis.
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
Transient dynamic analysis is a technique used to determine the dynamic response of a structure under a time-varying load.
The time frame for this type of analysis is such that inertia or damping effects of the structure are considered to be important. Cases where
such effects play a major role are under step or impulse loading conditions, for example, where there is a sharp load change in a fraction
of time.
If inertia effects are negligible for the loading conditions being considered, a static analysis may be used instead.
For our case, we will impact the end of the beam with an impulse force and view the response at the location of impact.
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Since an ideal impulse force excites all modes of a structure, the response of the beam should contain all mode frequencies. However, we
cannot produce an ideal impulse force numerically. We have to apply a load over a discrete amount of time dt.
After the application of the load, we track the response of the beam at discrete time points for as long as we like (depending on what it is
that we are looking for in the response).
The size of the time step is governed by the maximum mode frequency of the structure we wish to capture. The smaller the time step, the
higher the mode frequency we will capture. The rule of thumb in ANSYS is
time_step = 1 / 20f
where f is the highest mode frequency we wish to capture. In other words, we must resolve our step size such that we will have 20
discrete points per period of the highest mode frequency.
It should be noted that a transient analysis is more involved than a static or harmonic analysis. It requires a good understanding
of the dynamic behavior of a structure. Therefore, a modal analysis of the structure should be initially performed to provide
information about the structure's dynamic behavior.
In ANSYS, transient dynamic analysis can be carried out using 3 methods.
The Full Method: This is the easiest method to use. All types of non-linearities are allowed. It is however very CPU intensive to
go this route as full system matrices are used.
The Reduced Method: This method reduces the system matrices to only consider the Master Degrees of Freedom (MDOFs).
Because of the reduced size of the matrices, the calculations are much quicker. However, this method handles only linear problems
(such as our cantilever case).
The Mode Superposition Method: This method requires a preliminary modal analysis, as factored mode shapes are summed to
calculate the structure's response. It is the quickest of the three methods, but it requires a good deal of understanding of the problem
at hand.
We will use the Reduced Method for conducting our transient analysis. Usually one need not go further than Reviewing the Reduced
Results. However, if stresses and forces are of interest than, we would have to Expand the Reduced Solution.


Select Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Transient
The following window will appear. Select 'Reduced' as shown.
2. Define Master DOFs
Select Solution > Master DOFs > User Selected > Define
Select all nodes except the left most node (at x=0).
The following window will open, choose UY as the first dof in this window
For an explanation on Master DOFs, see the section on Using the Reduced Method for modal analysis.
3. Constrain the Beam
Solution Menu > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On nodes
Fix the left most node (constrain all DOFs).
4. Apply Loads
We will define our impulse load using Load Steps. The following time history curve shows our load steps and time steps. Note that
for the reduced method, a constant time step is required throughout the time range.
We can define each load step (load and time at the end of load segment) and save them in a file for future solution purposes. This is
highly recommended especially when we have many load steps and we wish to re-run our solution.
We can also solve for each load step after we define it. We will go ahead and save each load step in a file for later use, at the same
time solve for each load step after we are done defining it.
a. Load Step 1 - Initial Conditions
i. Define Load Step
We need to establish initial conditions (the condition at Time = 0). Since the equations for a transient dynamic
analysis are of second order, two sets of initial conditions are required; initial displacement and initial velocity.
However, both default to zero. Therefore, for this example we can skip this step.
ii. Specify Time and Time Step Options
Select Solution > Load Step Opts > Time/Frequenc > Time - Time Step ..
set a time of 0 for the end of the load step (as shown below).
set [DELTIM] to 0.001. This will specify a time step size of 0.001 seconds to be used for this load
step.
iii. Write Load Step File
Select Solution > Load Step Opts > Write LS File

Enter LSNUM = 1 as shown above and click 'OK'

The load step will be saved in a file jobname.s01
b. Load Step 2
i. Define Load Step
Select Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Nodes and select the right
most node (at x=1). Enter a force in the FY direction of value -100 N.
Select Solution > Load Step Opts > Time/Frequenc > Time - Time Step .. and set a time of 0.001 for the
end of the load step

Solution > Load Step Opts > Write LS File
Enter LSNUM = 2
c. Load Step 3
i. Define Load Step
Select Solution > Define Loads > Delete > Structural > Force/Moment > On Nodes and delete the load at
x=1.
Select Solution > Load Step Opts > Time/Frequenc > Time - Time Step .. and set a time of 1 for the end of
the load step

Solution > Load Step Opts > Write LS File
Enter LSNUM = 3
5. Solve the System
Select Solution > Solve > From LS Files

The following window will appear.
Complete the window as shown above to solve using LS files 1 to 3.

To view the response of node 2 (UY) with time we must use the TimeHist PostProcessor (POST26).
1. Define Variables
In here we have to define variables that we want to see plotted. By default, Variable 1 is assigned either Time or Frequency. In
our case it is assigned Frequency. We want to see the displacement UY at the node at x=1, which is node #2. (To get a list of
nodes and their attributes, select Utility Menu > List > nodes).
Select TimeHist Postpro > Variable Viewer... and the following window should pop up.
Select Add (the green '+' sign in the upper left corner) from this window and the following window should appear
We are interested in the Nodal Solution > DOF Solution > Y-Component of displacement. Click OK.
Graphically select node 2 when prompted and click OK. The 'Time History Variables' window should now look as follows
2. List Stored Variables
In the 'Time History Variables' window click the 'List' button, 3 buttons to the left of 'Add'
The following window will appear listing the data:
3. Plot UY vs. frequency
In the 'Time History Variables' window click the 'Plot' button, 2 buttons to the left of 'Add'
The following graph should be plotted in the main ANSYS window.
A few things to note in the response curve
There are approximately 8 cycles in one second. This is the first mode of the cantilever beam and we have been able
to capture it.
We also see another response at a higher frequency. We may have captured some response at the second mode at 52
Hz of the beam.
Note that the response does not decay as it should not. We did not specify damping for our system.
Expand the Solution

For most problems, one need not go further than Reviewing the Reduced Results as the response of the structure is of utmost
interest in transient dynamic analysis.
However, if stresses and forces are of interest, we would have to expand the reduced solution.
Let's say we are interested in the beam's behaviour at peak responses. We should then expand a few or all solutions around one
peak (or dip). We will expand 10 solutions within the range of 0.08 and 0.11 seconds.
1. Expand the solution
Select Finish in the ANSYS Main Menu
Select Solution > Analysis Type > ExpansionPass... and switch it to ON in the window that pops open.
Select Solution > Load Step Opts > ExpansionPass > Single Expand > Range of Solu's
Complete the window as shown below. This will expand 10 solutions withing the range of 0.08 and 0.11 seconds
2. Solve the System

SOLVE
3. Review the results in POST1
Review the results using either General Postprocessing (POST1) or TimeHist Postprocessing (POST26). For
this case, we can view the deformed shape at each of the 10 solutions we expanded.
Damped Response of the Cantilever Beam
We did not specify damping in our transient analysis of the beam. We specify damping at the same time we specify our time & time steps
for each load step.
We will now re-run our transient analysis, but now we will consider damping. Here is where the use of load step files comes in handy. We
can easily change a few values in these files and re-run our whole solution from these load case files.
Open up the first load step file (Dynamic.s01) for editing Utility Menu > File > List > Other > Dynamic.s01. The file should look
like the following..
/COM,ANSYS RELEASE 5.7.1 UP20010418
14:44:02
08/20/2001
/NOPR
/TITLE, Dynamic Analysis
_LSNUM=
1
ANTYPE, 4
TRNOPT,REDU,,DAMP
BFUNIF,TEMP,_TINY
DELTIM, 1.000000000E-03
TIME, 0.00000000
TREF, 0.00000000
ALPHAD, 0.00000000
BETAD, 0.00000000
DMPRAT, 0.00000000
TINTP,R5.0, 5.000000000E-03,,,
TINTP,R5.0, -1.00000000
, 0.500000000
, -1.00000000
NCNV,
1, 0.00000000
,
0, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
ERESX,DEFA
ACEL, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
OMEGA, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
,
0
DOMEGA, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
CGLOC, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
CGOMEGA, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
DCGOMG, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
, 0.00000000
D,
D,
D,
/GOPR
1,UX ,
1,UY ,
1,ROTZ,
0.00000000
0.00000000
0.00000000
,
,
,
0.00000000
0.00000000
0.00000000
Change the damping value BETAD from 0 to 0.01 in all three load step files.
We will have to re-run the job for the new load step files. Select Utility Menu > file > Clear and Start New.
Repeat the steps shown above up to the point where we select MDOFs. After selecting MDOFs, simply go to Solution > (-Solve-)
From LS files ... and in the window that opens up select files from 1 to 3 in steps of 1.
After the results have been calculated, plot up the response at node 2 in POST26. The damped response should look like the
following
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Simple Conduction Example
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve a simple conduction problem.
NonLinear Materials
Dynamic - Modal
The Simple Conduction Example is constrained as shown in the following figure. Thermal conductivity (k) of the material is 10 W/m*C
and the block is assumed to be infinitely long.
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001

/PREP7
3. Create geometry
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Rectangle > By 2 Corners > X=0, Y=0, Width=1, Height=1
BLC4,0,0,1,1
Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete... > click 'Add' > Select Thermal Mass Solid, Quad 4Node 55
ET,1,PLANE55
For this example, we will use PLANE55 (Thermal Solid, Quad 4node 55). This element has 4 nodes and a single DOF
(temperature) at each node. PLANE55 can only be used for 2 dimensional steady-state or transient thermal analysis.
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Thermal > Conductivity > Isotropic > KXX = 10 (Thermal conductivity)
MP,KXX,1,10
6. Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Areas > All Areas > 0.05
AESIZE,ALL,0.05
7. Mesh
Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > Free > Pick All
AMESH,ALL

Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Steady-State
ANTYPE,0
For thermal problems, constraints can be in the form of Temperature, Heat Flow, Convection, Heat Flux, Heat Generation, or
Radiation. In this example, all 4 sides of the block have fixed temperatures.
Solution > Define Loads > Apply

Note that all of the -Structural- options cannot be selected. This is due to the type of element (PLANE55) selected.
Thermal > Temperature > On Nodes
Click the Box option (shown below) and draw a box around the nodes on the top line.
Fill the window in as shown to constrain the side to a constant temperature of 500
Using the same method, constrain the remaining 3 sides to a constant value of 100
Orange triangles in the graphics window indicate the temperature contraints.
3. Solve the System

SOLVE

Plot Temperature
General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu ... > DOF solution, Temperature TEMP
Note that due to the manner in which the boundary contitions were applied, the top corners are held at a temperature of 100. Recall
that the nodes on the top of the plate were constrained first, followed by the side and bottom constraints. The top corner nodes were
therefore first constrained at 500C, then 'overwritten' when the side constraints were applied. Decreasing the mesh size can
minimize this effect, however, one must be aware of the limitations in the results at the corners.
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Thermal - Mixed Boundary Example (Conduction/Convection/

Insulated)
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
NonLinear Materials
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve simple thermal examples. Analysis of a simple conduction as well a mixed conduction/
convection/insulation problem will be demonstrated.
The Mixed Convection/Conduction/Insulated Boundary Conditions Example is constrained as shown in the following figure (Note that the
section is assumed to be infinitely long):
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.

/PREP7
Copyright 2001
3. Create geometry
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Rectangle > By 2 Corners > X=0, Y=0, Width=1, Height=1
BLC4,0,0,1,1
ET,1,PLANE55
As in the conduction example, we will use PLANE55 (Thermal Solid, Quad 4node 55). This element has 4 nodes and a single DOF
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Thermal > Conductivity > Isotropic > KXX = 10
MP,KXX,1,10
This will specify a thermal conductivity of 10 W/m*C.
6. Mesh Size
AESIZE,ALL,0.05
7. Mesh
AMESH,ALL

Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Steady-State
ANTYPE,0
2. Apply Conduction Constraints
In this example, all 2 sides of the block have fixed temperatures, while convection occurs on the other 2 sides.
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Thermal > Temperature > On Lines
Select the top line of the block and constrain it to a constant value of 500 C
Using the same method, constrain the left side of the block to a constant value of 100 C
3. Apply Convection Boundary Conditions
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Thermal > Convection > On Lines
Select the right side of the block.

Fill in the window as shown. This will specify a convection of 10 W/m2*C and an ambient temperature of 100 degrees
Celcius. Note that VALJ and VAL2J have been left blank. This is because we have uniform convection across the line.
4. Apply Insulated Boundary Conditions
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Thermal > Convection > On Lines
Select the bottom of the block.
Enter a constant Film coefficient (VALI) of 0. This will eliminate convection through the side, thereby modeling an
insulated wall. Note: you do not need to enter a Bulk (or ambient) temperature
5. Solve the System

SOLVE

Plot Temperature
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Transient Thermal Conduction Example
Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
NonLinear Materials
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve a simple transient conduction problem. Special thanks to Jesse Arnold for the
analytical solution shown at the end of the tutorial.
The example is constrained as shown in the following figure. Thermal conductivity (k) of the material is 5 W/m*K and the block is
assumed to be infinitely long. Also, the density of the material is 920 kg/m^3 and the specific heat capacity (c) is 2.040 kJ/kg*K.
It is beneficial if the Thermal-Conduction tutorial is completed first to compare with this solution.
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001

Utility Menu > File > Change Title...
/Title,Transient Thermal Conduction
/PREP7
3. Create geometry
X=0, Y=0, Width=1, Height=1
BLC4,0,0,1,1
ET,1,PLANE55
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Thermal > Conductivity > Isotropic > KXX = 5 (Thermal conductivity)
MP,KXX,1,10
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Thermal > Specific Heat > C = 2.04
MP,C,1,2.04
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Thermal > Density > DENS = 920
MP,DENS,1,920
6. Mesh Size
AESIZE,ALL,0.05
7. Mesh
AMESH,ALL
At this point, the model should look like the following:

Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Transient
ANTYPE,4
The window shown below will pop up. We will use the defaults, so click OK.

Solution > Analysis Type > Sol'n Controls
A) Set Time at end of loadstep to 300 and Automatic time stepping to ON.
B) Set Number of substeps to 20, Max no. of substeps to 100, Min no. of substeps to 20.
C) Set the Frequency to Write every substep.
Click on the NonLinear tab at the top and fill it in as shown
D) Set Line search to ON .

E) Set the Maximum number of iterations to 100.
For a complete description of what these options do, refer to the help file. Basically, the time at the end of the load step is
how long the transient analysis will run and the number of substeps defines how the load is broken up. By writing the data at
every step, you can create animations over time and the other options help the problem converge quickly.
Radiation. In this example, 2 sides of the block have fixed temperatures and the other two are insulated.
Solution > Define Loads > Apply

Note that all of the -Structural- options cannot be selected. This is due to the type of element (PLANE55) selected.
Thermal > Temperature > On Nodes
Click the Box option (shown below) and draw a box around the nodes on the top line and then click OK.
Fill the window in as shown to constrain the top to a constant temperature of 500 K
Using the same method, constrain the bottom line to a constant value of 100 K
Orange triangles in the graphics window indicate the temperature contraints.
4. Apply Initial Conditions

Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Initial Condit'n > Define > Pick All
Fill in the IC window as follows to set the initial temperature of the material to 100 K:
5. Solve the System

SOLVE

Plot Temperature
Animate Results Over Time
First, specify the contour range.

Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Contours > Uniform Contours...
Fill in the window as shown, with 8 contours, user specified, from 100 to 500.
Then animate the data.

Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Animate > Over Time...
Fill in the following window as shown (20 frames, 0 - 300 Time Range, Auto contour scaling OFF, DOF solution >
TEMP)
You can see how the temperature rises over the area over time. The heat flows from the higher temperature to the lower
temperature constraints as expected. Also, you can see how it reaches equilibrium when the time reaches approximately 200
seconds. Shown below are analytical and ANSYS generated temperature vs time curves for the center of the block. As can be seen,
the curves are practically identical, thus the validity of the ANSYS simulation has been proven.
Analytical Solution
ANSYS Generated Solution

1. Creating the Temperature vs. Time Graph
Select Nodal Solution > DOF Solution > Temperature (as shown below) and click OK. Pick the center node on the mesh,
node 261, and click OK in the 'Node for Data' window.
The Time History Variables window should now look like this:
Ensure TEMP_2 in the Time History Variables window is highlighted.
The labels on the plot are not updated by ANSYS, so you must change them manually. Select Utility Menu > Plot Ctrls >
Style > Graphs > Modify Axes and re-label the X and Y-axis appropriately.
Note how this plot does not exactly match the plot shown above. This is because the solution has not completely converged.
To cause the solution to converge, one of two things can be done: decrease the mesh size or increase the number of substeps
used in the transient analysis. From experience, reducing the mesh size will do little in this case, as the mesh is adequate to
capture the response. Instead, increasing the number of substeps from say 20 to 300, will cause the solution to converge.
This will greatly increase the computational time required though, which is why only 20 substeps are used in this tutorial.
Twenty substeps gives an adequate and quick approximation of the solution.
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Distributed Loading
NonLinear Analysis
Solution Tracking
Buckling
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 This tutorial is intended to outline the steps required to create an axisymmetric model.
NonLinear Materials
Dynamic - Modal
Dynamic - Harmonic
Dynamic - Transient
Thermal-Conduction
Thermal-Mixed Bndry
Transient Heat
Axisymmetric
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
The model will be that of a closed tube made from steel. Point loads will be applied at the center of the top and bottom plate to make an
analytical verification simple to calculate. A 3/4 cross section view of the tube is shown below.
As a warning, point loads will create discontinuities in the your model near the point of application. If you chose to use these types of
loads in your own modelling, be very careful and be sure to understand the theory of how the FEA package is appling the load and the
assumption it is making. In this case, we will only be concerned about the stress distribution far from the point of application, so the
discontinuities will have a negligable effect.
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001

/title, Axisymmetric Tube
/PREP7
3. Create Areas
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Rectangle > By Dimensions
RECTNG,X1,X2,Y1,Y2
For an axisymmetric problem, ANSYS will rotate the area around the y-axis at x=0. Therefore, to create the geometry
mentioned above, we must define a U-shape.
We are going to define 3 overlapping rectangles as defined in the following table:
Rectangle X1 X2 Y1 Y2
1
20
15 20
0 100
20 95 100
4. Add Areas Together

Preprocessor > Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Add > Areas
AADD,ALL
Click the Pick All button to create a single area.
For this problem we will use the PLANE2 (Structural, Solid, Triangle 6node) element. This element has 2 degrees of
freedom (translation along the X and Y axes).
Many elements support axisymmetry, however if the Ansys Elements Reference (which can be found in the help file) does
not discuss axisymmetric applications for a particular element type, axisymmetry is not supported.
6. Turn on Axisymmetry
While the Element Types window is still open, click the Options... button.
Under Element behavior K3 select Axisymmetric.

8. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Areas > All Areas
9. Mesh the frame
Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > Free > click 'Pick All'
Your model should know look like this:

ANTYPE,0
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > Symmetry B.C. > On Lines
Pick the two edges on the left, at x=0, as shown below. By using the symmetry B.C. command, ANSYS automatically
calculates which DOF's should be constrained for the line of symmetry. Since the element we are using only has 2 DOF's
per node, we could have constrained the lines in the x-direction to create the symmetric boundary conditions.
Utility Menu > Select > Entities

Select Nodes and By Location from the scroll down menus. Click Y coordinates and type 50 into the input box as shown
below, then click OK.
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Nodes > Pick All
Constrain the nodes in the y-direction (UY). This is required to constrain the model in space, otherwise it would be free to
float up or down. The location to constrain the model in the y-direction (y=50) was chosen because it is along a symmetry
plane. Therefore, these nodes won't move in the y-direction according to theory.
3. Utility Menu > Select > Entities
In the select entities window, click Sele All to reselect all nodes. It is important to always reselect all entities once you've finished
to ensure future commands are applied to the whole model and not just a few entities. Once you've clicked Sele All, click on
Cancel to close the window.
4. Apply Loads
Pick the top left corner of the area and click OK. Apply a load of 100 in the FY direction.
Pick the bottom left corner of the area and click OK. Apply a load of -100 in the FY direction.
5. Solve the System

SOLVE

The stress across the thickness at y = 50mm is 0.182 MPa.
2. Determine the Stress Through the Thickness of the Tube

Utility Menu > Select > Entities...
Select Nodes > By Location > Y coordinates and type 45,55 in the Min,Max box, as shown below and click OK.
General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution > Stress > Components SCOMP
The following list should pop up.
If you take the average of the stress in the y-direction over the thickness of the tube, (0.18552 + 0.17866)/2, the stress in the
tube is 0.182 MPa, matching the analytical solution. The average is used because in the analytical case, it is assumed the
stress is evenly distributed across the thickness. This is only true when the location is far from any stress concentrators, such
as corners. Thus, to approximate the analytical solution, we must average the stress over the thickness.
3. Plotting the Elements as Axisymmetric

Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Symmetry Expansion > 2-D Axi-symmetric...
The following window will appear. By clicking on 3/4 expansion you can produce the figure shown at the beginning of this
tutorial.
4. Extra Exercise
It is educational to repeat this tutorial, but leave out the key option which enables axisymmetric modelling. The rest of the
commands remain the same. If this is done, the model is a flat, rectangular plate, with a rectangular hole in the middle. Both the
stress distribution and deformed shape change drastically, as expected due to the change in geometry. Thus, when using
axisymmetry be sure to verify the solutions you get are reasonable to ensure the model is infact axisymmetric.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
Springs and Joints
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Application of Joints and Springs in ANSYS
Design Optimization
Substructuring
Coupled Field
p-Element
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 5.7.1. This tutorial will introduce:
Element Death
Contact Elements
APDL
the use of multiple elements in ANSYS

elements COMBIN7 (Joints) and COMBIN14 (Springs)
obtaining/storing scalar information and store them as parameters.
A 1000N vertical load will be applied to a catapult as shown in the figure below. The catapult is built from steel tubing with an outer
diameter of 40 mm, a wall thickness of 10, and a modulus of elasticity of 200GPa. The springs have a stiffness of 5 N/mm.
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001

/PREP7
/title,Catapult
For this problem, 3 types of elements are used: PIPE16, COMBIN7 (Revolute Joint), COMBIN14 (Spring-Damper) . It is therefore
required that the types of elements are defined prior to creating the elements. This element has 6 degrees of freedom (translation
along the X, Y and Z axis, and rotation about the X,Y and Z axis).
a. Define PIPE16
With 6 degrees of freedom, the PIPE16 element can be used to create the 3D structure.
Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete... > click 'Add'
Select 'Pipe', 'Elast straight 16'
Click on 'Apply' You should see 'Type 1 PIPE16' in the 'Element Types' window.
b. Define COMBIN7
COMBIN7 (Revolute Joint) will allow the catapult to rotate about nodes 1 and 2.
Select 'Combination', 'Revolute Joint 7'
Click 'Apply'.
c. Define COMBIN14
Now we will define the spring elements.
Select 'Combination', 'Spring damper 14'
Click on 'OK'
In the 'Element Types' window, there should now be three types of elements defined.
Real Constants must be defined for each of the 3 element types.
a. PIPE16
Preprocessor > Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete... > click 'Add'
Select Type 1 PIPE16 and click 'OK'
Enter the following properties, then click 'OK'
OD = 40
TKWALL = 10
'Set 1' will now appear in the dialog box
b. COMBIN7 (Joint)
Five of the degrees of freedom (UX, UY, UZ, ROTX, and ROTY) can be constrained with different levels of flexibility.
These can be defined by the 3 real constants: K1 (UX, UY), K2 (UZ) and K3 (ROTX, ROTY). For this example, we will
use high values for K1 through K3 since we only expect the model to rotate about the Z axis.
Click 'Add'
Select 'Type 2 COMBIN7'. Click 'OK'.
In the 'Real Constants for COMBIN7' window, enter the following geometric properties (then click 'OK'):
X-Y transnational stiffness K1: 1e9
Z directional stiffness K2: 1e9

Rotational stiffness K3: 1e9
'Set 2' will now appear in the dialog box.
Note: The constants that we define in this problem refer to the relationship between the coincident nodes. By having
high values for the stiffness in the X-Y plane and along the Z axis, we are essentially constraining the two coincident
nodes to each other.
c. COMBIN14 (Spring)
Click 'Add'
Select 'Type 3 COMBIN14'. Click 'OK'.
Enter the following geometric properties:
Spring constant K: 5
In the 'Element Types' window, there should now be three types of elements defined.
1. Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models
2. In the 'Define Material Model Behavior' Window, ensure that Material Model Number 1 is selected
3. Select Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic
4. In the window that appears, enter the give the properties of Steel then click 'OK'.
Young's modulus EX: 200000
Poisson's Ratio PRXY: 0.33
6. Define Nodes
Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > Nodes > In Active CS...
N,#,x,y,z
We are going to define 13 Nodes for this structure as given in the following table (as depicted by the circled numbers in the figure
above):
Node
Coordinates (x,y,z)
(0,0,0)
(0,0,1000)
(1000,0,1000)
(1000,0,0)
(0,1000,1000)
(0,1000,0)
(700,700,500)
(400,400,500)
(0,0,0)
10
(0,0,1000)
11
(0,0,500)
12
(0,0,1500)
13
(0,0,-500)
7. Create PIPE16 elements

a. Define element type
Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > Elements > Elem Attributes ...
The following window will appear. Ensure that the 'Element type number' is set to 1 PIPE16, 'Material number' is set to 1,
and 'Real constant set number' is set to 1. Then click 'OK'.
b. Create elements
Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > Elements > (-Auto Numbered-) Thru Nodes
E, node a, node b
Create the following elements joining Nodes 'a' and Nodes 'b'.
Note: because it is difficult to graphically select the nodes you may wish to use the command line (for example, the first
entry would be: E,1,6).
Node a Node b
1
10
12
13
12
13
You should obtain the following geometry (Oblique view)
8. Create COMBIN7 (Joint) elements

Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > Elements > Elem Attributes
Ensure that the 'Element type number' is set to 2 COMBIN7 and that 'Real constant set number' is set to 2. Then click
'OK'
b. Create elements
When defining a joint, three nodes are required. Two nodes are coincident at the point of rotation. The elements that connect
to the joint must reference each of the coincident points. The other node for the joint defines the axis of rotation. The axis
would be the line from the coincident nodes to the other node.
E,node a, node b, node c

Create the following lines joining Node 'a' and Node 'b'
Node a Node b Node c
1
11
10
11
9. Create COMBIN14 (Spring) elements

Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > Elements > Elem Attributes
Ensure that the 'Element type number' is set to 3 COMBIN7 and that 'Real constant set number' is set to 3. Then click
'OK'
b. Create elements
E,node a, node b
Create the following lines joining Node 'a' and Node 'b'
Node a Node b
5
NOTE: To ensure that the correct nodes were used to make the correct element in the above table, you can list all the elements
defined in the model. To do this, select Utilities Menu > List > Elements > Nodes + Attributes.
10. Meshing
Because we have defined our model using nodes and elements, we do not need to mesh our model. If we initially defined our
model using keypoints and lines, we would have had to create elements in our model by meshing the lines. It is the elements that
ANSYS uses to solve the model.
11. Plot Elements
Utility Menu > Plot > Elements
You may also wish to turn on element numbering and turn off keypoint numbering
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Numbering ...

ANTYPE,0
2. Allow Large Deflection
Solution > Sol'n Controls > basic
NLGEOM, ON
Because the model is expected to deform considerably, we need to include the effects of large deformation.
Solution > (-Loads-) Apply > (-Structural-) > Displacement > On Nodes
Fix Nodes 3, 4, 12, and 13. (ie - all degrees of freedom are constrained).
4. Apply Loads
Solution > (-Loads-) Apply > (-Structural-) > Force/Moment > On Nodes
Apply a vertical point load of 1000N at node #7.
Note: To have the constraints and loads appear each time you select 'Replot' in ANSYS, you must change some settings under
Utility Menu > Plot Ctrls > Symbols.... In the window that appears check the box beside 'All Applied BC's' in the 'Boundary
Condition Symbol' section.
5. Solve the System

Solution > (-Solve-) Current LS
SOLVE
Note: During the solution, you will see a yellow warning window which states that the "Coefficient ratio exceeds 1.0e8". This
warning indicates that the solution has relatively large displacements. This is due to the rotation about the joints.

1. Plot Deformed Shape
General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape
PLDISP.2
2. Extracting Information as Parameters

In this problem, we would like to find the vertical displacement of node #7. We will do this using the GET command.
a. Select Utility Menu > Parameters > Get Scalar Data...
b. The following window will appear. Select 'Results data' and 'Nodal results' as shown then click 'OK'
c. Fill in the 'Get Nodal Results Data' window as shown below:
d. To view the defined parameter select Utility Menu > Parameters > Scalar Parameters...
Therefore the vertical displacement of Node 7 is 323.78 mm. This can be repeated for any of the other nodes you are
interested in.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
Springs and Joints
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Design Optimization
Design Optimization
Substructuring
Coupled Field
p-Element
Element Death
Contact Elements
APDL
Index
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce a method of solving design optimization
problems using ANSYS. This will involve creating the geometry utilizing parameters for all the variables, deciding which variables to use
as design, state and objective variables and setting the correct tolerances for the problem to obtain an accurately converged solution in a
minimal amount of time. The use of hardpoints to apply forces/constraints in the middle of lines will also be covered in this tutorial.
A beam has a force of 1000N applied as shown below. The purpose of this optimization problem is to minimize the weight of the beam
without exceeding the allowable stress. It is necessary to find the cross sectional dimensions of the beam in order to minimize the weight
of the beam. However, the width and height of the beam cannot be smaller than 10mm. The maximum stress anywhere in the beam cannot
exceed 200 MPa. The beam is to be made of steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa.
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001


/title, Design Optimization
2. Enter initial estimates for variables
To solve an optimization problem in ANSYS, parameters need to be defined for all design variables.
Select: Utility Menu > Parameters > Scalar Parameters...

In the window that appears (shown below), type W=20 in the Selection section
Click Accept. The 'Scalar Parameters' window will stay open.

Now type H=20 in the Selection section
Click Accept'
Click Close in the Scalar Parameters window.
NOTE: None of the variables defined in ANSYS are allowed to have negative values.
3. Define Keypoints
K,#,x,y
We are going to define 2 Keypoints for this beam as given in the following table:
Keypoints Coordinates (x,y)

1
(0,0)
(1000,0)
4. Create Lines
L,1,2
5. Create Hard Keypoints
Hardpoints are often used when you need to apply a constraint or load at a location where a keypoint does not exist. For this case,
we want to apply a force 3/4 of the way down the beam. Since there are not any keypoints here and we can't be certain that one of
the nodes will be here we will need to specify a hardpoint
Select Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > Hard PT on line > Hard PT by ratio. This will allow us to
create a hardpoint on the line by defining the ratio of the location of the point to the size of the line
Select the line when prompted
Enter a ratio of 0.75 in the 'Create HardPT by Ratio window which appears.
You have now created a keypoint labelled 'Keypoint 3' 3/4 of the way down the beam.
In the 'Real Constants for BEAM3' window, enter the following geometric properties: (Note that '**' is used instead '^' for
exponents)
i. Cross-sectional area AREA: W*H
ii. Area moment of inertia IZZ: (W*H**3)/12
iii. Thickness along Y axis: H

NOTE: It is important to use independent variables to define dependent variables such as the moment of inertia. During the
optimization, the width and height will change for each iteration. As a result, the other variables must be defined in relation
to the width and height.
9. Define Mesh Size
10. Mesh the frame
LMESH,ALL

ANTYPE,0
Pin Keypoint 1 (ie UX, UY constrained) and constrain Keypoint 2 in the Y direction.
3. Apply Loads
Apply a vertical (FY) point load of -2000N at Keypoint 3
4. Solve the System

SOLVE

Extracting Information as Parameters:
To perform an optimization, we must extract the required information.
In this problem, we would like to find the maximum stress in the beam and the volume as a result of the width and height variables.
1. Define the volume
Select General Postproc > Element Table > Define Table... > Add...
The following window will appear. Fill it in as shown to obtain the volume of the beam.
Note that this is the volume of each element. If you were to list the element table you would get a volume for each element.
Therefore, you have to sum the element values together to obtain the total volume of the beam. Follow the instructions
below to do this.
Select General Postproc > Element Table > Sum of Each Item...
A little window will appear notifying you that the tabular sum of each element table will be calculated. Click 'OK'
You will obtain a window notifying you that the EVolume is now 400000 mm2
2. Store the data (Volume) as a parameter
Select Utility Menu > Parameters > Get Scalar Data...
In the window which appears select 'Results Data' and 'Elem table sums'
the following window will appear. Select the items shown to store the Volume as a parameter.
Now if you view the parameters (Utility Menu > Parameters > Scalar Parameters...) you will see that Volume has been
added.
3. Define the maximum stress at the i node of each element in the beam
The following window will appear. Fill it in as shown to obtain the maximum stress at the i node of each element and store
it as 'SMAX_I'.
Note that nmisc,1 is the maximum stress. For further information type Help beam3 into the command line
Now we will need to sort the stresses in descending order to find the maximum stress
Select General Postproc > List Results > Sorted Listing > Sort Elems
Complete the window as shown below to sort the data from 'SMAX_I' in descending order
4. Store the data (Max Stress) as a parameter
In the window which appears select 'Results Data' and 'Other operations'
In the that appears, fill it in as shown to obtain the maximum value.
5. Define maximum stress at the j node of each element for the beam
Fill this table as done previously, however make the following changes:
save the data as 'SMAX_J' (instead of 'SMAX_I')
The element table data enter NMISC,3 (instead of NMISC,1). This will give you the max stress at the j node.
Select General Postproc > List Results > Sorted Listing > Sort Elems to sort the stresses in descending order.
However, select 'SMAX_J' in the Item, Comp selection box
6. Store the data (Max Stress) as a parameter
In the window which appears select 'Results Data' and 'Other operations'
In the that appears, fill it in as shown previously , however, name the parameter 'SMaxJ'.
7. Select the largest of SMAXJ and SMAXI

Type SMAX=SMAXI>SMAXJ into the command line
This will set the largest of the 2 values equal to SMAX. In this case the maximum values for each are the same. However,
this is not always the case.
8. View the parametric data
Utility Menu > Parameters > Scalar Parameters
Note that the maximum stress is 281.25 which is much larger than the allowable stress of 200MPa
Design Optimization
Now that we have parametrically set up our problem in ANSYS based on our initial width and height dimensions, we can now solve the
optimization problem.
1. Write the command file
It is necessary to write the outline of our problem to an ANSYS command file. This is so that ANSYS can iteratively run solutions
to our problem based on different values for the variables that we will define.
Select Utility Menu > File > Write DB Log File...
In the window that appears type a name for the command file such as optimize.txt
Click OK.
If you open the command file in a text editor such as Notepad, it should similar to this:
/BATCH
! /COM,ANSYS RELEASE 7.0
UP20021010
16:10:03
05/26/2003
/input,start70,ans,'C:\Program Files\Ansys Inc\v70\ANSYS\apdl\',,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,1
*SET,W , 20
*SET,H , 20
/PREP7
K,1,0,0,,
K,2,1000,0,,
L,
1,
2
!*
HPTCREATE,LINE,1,0,RATI,0.75,
!*
ET,1,BEAM3
!*
!*
R,1,W*H,(W*H**3)/12,H, , , ,
!*
!*
MPTEMP,,,,,,,,
MPTEMP,1,0
MPDATA,EX,1,,200000
MPDATA,PRXY,1,,.3
!*
LESIZE,ALL,100, , , ,1, , ,1,
LMESH,
1
FINISH
/SOL
!*
ANTYPE,0
FLST,2,1,3,ORDE,1
FITEM,2,1
!*
/GO
DK,P51X, , , ,0,UX,UY, , , , ,
FLST,2,1,3,ORDE,1
FITEM,2,2
!*
/GO
DK,P51X, , , ,0,UY, , , , , ,
FLST,2,1,3,ORDE,1
FITEM,2,3
!*
/GO
FK,P51X,FY,-2000
! /STATUS,SOLU
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
AVPRIN,0,0,
ETABLE,EVolume,VOLU,
!*
SSUM
!*
*GET,Volume,SSUM, ,ITEM,EVOLUME
AVPRIN,0,0,
ETABLE,SMax_I,NMISC, 1
!*
ESORT,ETAB,SMAX_I,0,1, ,
!*
*GET,SMaxI,SORT,,MAX
AVPRIN,0,0,
ETABLE,SMax_J,NMISC, 3
!*
ESORT,ETAB,SMAX_J,0,1, ,
!*
*GET,SMaxJ,SORT,,MAX
*SET,SMAX,SMAXI>SMAXJ
! LGWRITE,optimization,,C:\Temp\,COMMENT
Several small changes need to be made to this file prior to commencing the optimization. If you created the geometry etc. using
command line code, most of these changes will already be made. However, if you used GUI to create this file there are several
occasions where you used the graphical picking device. Therefore, the actual items that were chosen need to be entered. The code
'P51X' symbolizes the graphical selection. To modify the file simply open it using notepad and make the required changes. Save
and close the file once you have made all of the required changes. The following is a list of the changes which need to be made to
this file (which was created using the GUI method)
Line 32 - DK,P51X, ,0, ,0,UX,UY, , , , ,

Change this to: DK,1, ,0, ,0,UX,UY,
This specifies the constraints at keypoint 1
Line 37 - DK,P51X, ,0, ,0,UY, , , , , ,

Change to: DK,2, ,0, ,0,UY,
This specifies the constraints at keypoint 2
Line 42 - FK,P51X,FY,-2000
Change to: FK,3,FY,-2000
This specifies the force applied on the beam
There are also several lines which can be removed from this file. If you are comfortable with command line coding, you should
remove the lines which you are certain are not required.
2. Assign the Command File to the Optimization
Select Main Menu > Design Opt > Analysis File > Assign
In the file list that appears, select the filename that you created when you wrote the command file.
Click OK.
3. Define Variables and Tolerances
ANSYS needs to know which variables are critical to the optimization. To define variables, we need to know which variables have
an effect on the variable to be minimized. In this example our objective is to minimize the volume of a beam which is directly
related to the weight of the beam.
ANSYS categorizes three types of variables for design optimization:
Design Variables (DVs)
Independent variables that directly effect the design objective. In this example, the width and height of the beam are the
DVs. Changing either variable has a direct effect on the solution of the problem.
State Variables (SVs)
Dependent variables that change as a result of changing the DVs. These variables are necessary to constrain the design. In
this example, the SV is the maximum stress in the beam. Without this SV, our optimization will continue until both the width and
height are zero. This would minimize the weight to zero which is not a useful result.
Objective Variable (OV)
The objective variable is the one variable in the optimization that needs to be minimized. In our problem, we will be
minimizing the volume of the beam.
NOTE: As previously stated, none of the variables defined in ANSYS are allowed to have negative values.
Now that we have decided our design variables, we need to define ranges and tolerances for each variable. For the width and
height, we will select a range of 10 to 50 mm for each. Because a small change in either the width or height has a profound effect
on the volume of the beam, we will select a tolerance of 0.01mm. Tolerances are necessary in that they tell ANSYS the largest
amount of change that a variable can experience before convergence of the problem.
For the stress variable, we will select a range of 195 to 200 MPa with a tolerance of 0.01MPa.
Because the volume variable is the objective variable, we do not need to define an allowable range. We will set the tolerance to
200mm3. This tolerance was chosen because it is significantly smaller than the initial magnitude of the volume of 400000mm3
(20mm x 20mm x 1000mm).
a. Define the Design Variables (width and height of beam)
Select Main Menu > Design Opt > Design Variables... > Add...
Complete the window as shown below to specify the variable limits and tolerances for the height of the beam.
Repeat the above steps to specify the variable limits for the width of the beam (identical to specifications for height)
b. Define the State Variables
Select Main Menu > Design Opt > State Variables... > Add...
In the window fill in the following sections

Select 'SMAX' in the Parameter Name section.
Enter: Lower Limit (MIN = 195)
Upper Limit (MAX = 200)
Feasibility Tolerance (TOLER = 0.001)
c. Define the Objective Variable
Select Main Menu > Design Opt > Objective...

Select VOLUME in the Parameter Name section.
Under Convergence Tolerance, enter 200.
6. Define the Optimization Method

There are several different methods that ANSYS can use to solve an optimization problem. To ensure that you are not finding a
solution at a local minimum, it is advisable to use different solution methods. If you have trouble with getting a particular problem
to converge it would be a good idea to try a different method of solution to see what might be wrong.
For this problem we will use a First-Order Solution method.
Select Main Menu > Design Opt > Method / Tool...

In the Specify Optimization Method window select First-Order
Click OK
Enter: Maximum iterations (NITR = 30), Percent step size SIZE = 100, Percent forward diff. DELTA = 0.2
Click OK.
Note: the significance of the above variables is explained below:

NITR
Max number of iterations. Defaults to 10.
SIZE
% that is applied to the size of each line search step. Defaults to 100%
DELTA
forward difference (%) applied to the design variable range that is used to compute the gradient. Defaults to 0.2%
7. Run the Optimization
Select Main Menu > Design Opt > Run...

In the Begin Execution of Run window, confirm that the analysis file, method/type and maximum iterations are correct.
Click OK.
The solution of an optimization problem can take awhile before convergence. This problem will take about 15 minutes and run
through 19 iterations.
View the Results

1. View Final Parameters
Utility Menu > Parameters > Scalar Parameters...
You will probably see that the width=13.24 mm, height=29.16 mm, and the stress is equal to 199.83 MPa with a volume of
386100mm2.
2. View graphical results of each variable during the solution
Select Main Menu > Design Opt > Design Sets > Graphs / Tables...
Complete the window as shown to obtain a graph of the height and width of the beam changing with each iteration
A. For the X-variable parameter select Set number.
B. For the Y-variable parameter select H and W.
C. Ensure that 'Graph' is selected (as opposed to 'List')
Now you may wish to specify titles for the X and Y axes
Select Utility Menu > Plot Ctrls > Style > Graphs > Modify Axes...
In the window, enter Number of Iterations for the X-axis label section.
Enter Width and Height (mm) for the Y-axis label.
Click 'OK'
Select Utility Menu > PlotCtrls
In the graphics window, you will see a graph of width and height throughout the optimization. You can print the plot by selecting
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Hard Copy...
You can plot graphs of the other variables in the design by following the above steps. Instead of using width and height for the y-axis label
and variables, use whichever variable is necessary to plot. Alternatively, you could list the data by selecting Main Menu > Design Opt >
Design Sets > List... . In addition, all of the results data (ie stress, displacement, bending moments) are available from the General
Postproc menu.
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
Springs and Joints
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Substructuring
Design Optimization
Substructuring
Coupled Field
p-Element
Element Death
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to show the how to use substructuring in ANSYS.
Substructuring is a procedure that condenses a group of finite elements into one super-element. This reduces the required computation
time and also allows the solution of very large problems.
Contact Elements
APDL
A simple example will be demonstrated to explain the steps required, however, please note that this model is not one which requires the
use of substructuring. The example involves a block of wood (E =10 GPa v =0.29) connected to a block of silicone (E = 2.5 MPa, v =
0.41) which is rigidly attached to the ground. A force will be applied to the structure as shown in the following figure. For this example,
substructuring will be used for the wood block.
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
The use of substructuring in ANSYS is a three stage process:

Copyright 2001
1. Generation Pass
Generate the super-element by condensing several elements together. Select the degrees of freedom to save (master DOFs) and to
discard (slave DOFs). Apply loads to the super-element
2. Use Pass
Create the full model including the super-element created in the generation pass. Apply remaining loads to the model. The solution
will consist of the reduced solution tor the super-element and the complete solution for the non-superelements.
3. Expansion Pass
Expand the reduced solution to obtain the solution at all DOFs for the super-element.
Note that a this method is a bottom-up substructuring (each super-element is created separately and then assembled in the Use Pass). Topdown substructuring is also possible in ANSYS (the entire model is built, then super-element are created by selecting the appropriate
elements). This method is suitable for smaller models and has the advantage that the results for multiple super-elements can be assembled
in postprocessing.
Expansion Pass: Creating the Super-element

1. Give Generation Pass a Jobname
Utility Menu > File > Change Jobname ...
Enter 'GEN' for the jobname
/PREP7
3. Create geometry of the super-element
BLC4,XCORNER,YCORNER,WIDTH,HEIGHT
Create a rectangle with the dimensions (all units in mm):
XCORNER (WP X) = 0
YCORNER (WP Y) = 40
Width = 100
Height = 100
For this problem we will use PLANE42 (2D structural solid). This element has 4 nodes, each with 2 degrees of freedom
(translation along the X and Y axes).
In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for wood:
i. Young's modulus EX: 10000 (MPa)
6. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > Manual Size > Areas > All Areas ...
7. Mesh the block
AMESH,1

Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Substructuring
ANTYPE,SUBST
2. Select Substructuring Analysis Options
It is necessary to define the substructuring analysis options
The following window will appear. Ensure that the options are filled in as shown.
Sename (the name of the super-element matrix file) will default to the jobname.
In this case, the stiffness matrix is to be generated.
With the option SEPR, the stiffness matrix or load matrix can be printed to the output window if desired.
3. Select Master Degrees of Freedom

Master DOFs must be defined at the interface between the super-element and other elements in addition to points where loads/
constraints are applied.
Select Solution > Master DOFs > User Selected > Define
Select the Master DOF as shown in the following figure.
In the window that appears, set the 1st degree of freedom to All DOF
4. Apply Loads
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Nodes
Place a load of 5N in the x direction on the top left hand node
The model should now appear as shown in the figure below.
5. Save the database

Utility Menu > File > Save as Jobname.db
SAVE
Save the database to be used again in the expansion pass
6. Solve the System
SOLVE
Use Pass: Using the Super-element

The Use Pass is where we model the entire model, including the super-elements from the Generation Pass.

1. Clear the existing database
Utility Menu > File > Clear & Start New
2. Give Use Pass a Jobname
FILNAME, USE
Enter 'USE' for the jobname
/PREP7
Now we need to bring the Super-element into the model
4. Define the Super-element Type
Select 'Super-element' (MATRIX50)
5. Create geometry of the non-superelement (Silicone)
BLC4,XCORNER,YCORNER,WIDTH,HEIGHT
Create a rectangle with the dimensions (all units in mm):
XCORNER (WP X) = 0
YCORNER (WP Y) = 0
Width = 100
Height = 40
6. Define the Non-Superelement Type

We will again use PLANE42 (2D structural solid).
In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for silicone:
i. Young's modulus EX: 2.5 (MPa)
8. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > Manual Size > Areas > All Areas ...
For this block we will again use an element edge length of 10mm. Note that is is imperative that the nodes of the nonsuperelement match up with the super-element MDOFs.
9. Mesh the block
AMESH,1
10. Offset Node Numbering
Since both the super-element and the non-superelement were created independently, they contain similarly numbered nodes (ie
both objects will have node #1 etc.). If we bring in the super-element with similar node numbers, the nodes will overwrite existing
nodes from the non-superelements. Therefore, we need to offset the super-element nodes
Determine the number of nodes in the existing model
Select Utility Menu > Parameters > Get Scalar Data ...
The following window will appear. Select Model Data, For Selected set as shown.
Fill in the following window as shown to set MaxNode = the highest node number
Offset the node numbering

Select Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Elements > Super-elements > BY CS Transfer
Fill in the following window as shown to offset the node numbers and save the file as GEN2
Read in the super-element matrix

Select Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Elements > Super-elements > From .SUB File...
Enter 'GEN2' as the Jobname of the matrix file in the window (shown below)
Utility Menu > Plot > Replot
11. Couple Node Pairs at Interface of Super-element and Non-Superelements

Select the nodes at the interface
Select Utility Menu > Select > Entities ...

The following window will appear. Select Nodes, By Location, Y coordinates, 40 as shown.
Couple the pair nodes at the interface

Select Preprocessor > Coupling / Ceqn > Coincident Nodes
Re-select all of the nodes
Select Utility Menu > Select > Entities ...
In the window that appears, click 'Nodes > By Num/Pick > From Full > Sele All'

ANTYPE,0
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Lines
Fix the bottom line (ie all DOF constrained)
3. Apply super-element load vectors
Determine the element number of the super-element (Select Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Numbering...)
You should find that the super-element is element 41
Select Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Load Vector > For Super-element
The following window will appear. Fill it in as shown to apply the super-element load vector.
4. Save the database

Utility Menu > File > Save as Jobname.db
SAVE
Save the database to be used again in the expansion pass
5. Solve the System
SOLVE

1. Show the Displacement Contour Plot
General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solution ... > DOF solution, Translation USUM
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
Note that only the deformation for the non-superelements is plotted. This results agree with what was found without using
substructuring (see figure below).
Expansion Pass: Expanding the Results within the Super-element

To obtain the solution for all elements within the super-element you will need to perform an expansion pass.

1. Clear the existing database
Utility Menu > File > Clear & Start New
2. Change the Jobname back to Generation pass Jobname
FILNAME, GEN
Enter 'GEN' for the jobname
3. Resume Generation Pass Database

Utility Menu > File > Resume Jobname.db ...
RESUME

1. Activate Expansion Pass
Enter the Solution mode by selecting Main Menu > Solution or by typing /SOLU into the command line.
Type 'EXPASS,ON' into the command line to initiate the expansion pass.
2. Enter the Super-element name to be Expanded
Select Solution > Load STEP OPTS > ExpansionPass > Single Expand >Expand Superelem ...
The following window will appear. Fill it in as shown to select the super-element.
3. Enter the Super-element name to be Expanded
Select Solution > Load Step Opts > ExpansionPass > Single Expand > By Load Step...
The following window will appear. Fill it in as shown to expand the solution.
4. Solve the System

SOLVE

1. Show the Displacement Contour Plot
General Postproc > Plot Results > (-Contour Plot-) Nodal Solution ... > DOF solution, Translation USUM
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
Note that only the deformation for the super-elements is plotted (and that the contour intervals have been modified to begin at 0).
This results agree with what was found without using substructuring (see figure below).
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Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline a simple coupled thermal/structural analysis. A
steel link, with no internal stresses, is pinned between two solid structures at a reference temperature of 0 C (273 K). One of the solid
structures is heated to a temperature of 75 C (348 K). As heat is transferred from the solid structure into the link, the link will attemp to
expand. However, since it is pinned this cannot occur and as such, stress is created in the link. A steady-state solution of the resulting
stress will be found to simplify the analysis.
APDL
Loads will not be applied to the link, only a temperature change of 75 degrees Celsius. The link is steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200
GPa, a thermal conductivity of 60.5 W/m*K and a thermal expansion coefficient of 12e-6 /K.
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001

According to Chapter 2 of the ANSYS Coupled-Field Guide, "A sequentially coupled physics analysis is the combination of analyses
from different engineering disciplines which interact to solve a global engineering problem. For convenience, ...the solutions and
procedures associated with a particular engineering discipline [will be referred to as] a physics analysis. When the input of one physics
analysis depends on the results from another analysis, the analyses are coupled."
Thus, each different physics environment must be constructed seperately so they can be used to determine the coupled physics solution.
However, it is important to note that a single set of nodes will exist for the entire model. By creating the geometry in the first physical
environment, and using it with any following coupled environments, the geometry is kept constant. For our case, we will create the
geometry in the Thermal Environment, where the thermal effects will be applied.
Although the geometry must remain constant, the element types can change. For instance, thermal elements are required for a thermal
analysis while structural elements are required to deterime the stress in the link. It is important to note, however that only certain
combinations of elements can be used for a coupled physics analysis. For a listing, see Chapter 2 of the ANSYS Coupled-Field Guide
located in the help file.
The process requires the user to create all the necessary environments, which are basically the preprocessing portions for each
environment, and write them to memory. Then in the solution phase they can be combined to solve the coupled analysis.
Thermal Environment - Create Geometry and Define Thermal Properties
/title, Thermal Stress Example
/PREP7
3. Define Keypoints
K,#,x,y,z
We are going to define 2 keypoints for this link as given in the following table:
1
(0,0)
(1,0)
4. Create Lines
L,1,2
Create a line joining Keypoints 1 and 2, representing a link 1 meter long.

For this problem we will use the LINK33 (Thermal Mass Link 3D conduction) element. This element is a uniaxial element
with the ability to conduct heat between its nodes.
In the 'Real Constants for LINK33' window, enter the following geometric properties:
i. Cross-sectional area AREA: 4e-4
This defines a beam with a cross-sectional area of 2 cm X 2 cm.
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Thermal > Conductivity > Isotropic
i. KXX: 60.5
8. Define Mesh Size
For this example we will use an element edge length of 0.1 meters.
9. Mesh the frame
10. Write Environment
The thermal environment (the geometry and thermal properties) is now fully described and can be written to memory to be
used at a later time.
Preprocessor > Physics > Environment > Write
In the window that appears, enter the TITLE Thermal and click OK.
11. Clear Environment

Preprocessor > Physics > Environment > Clear > OK
Doing this clears all the information prescribed for the geometry, such as the element type, material properties, etc. It does
not clear the geometry however, so it can be used in the next stage, which is defining the structural environment.
Structural Environment - Define Physical Properties
Since the geometry of the problem has already been defined in the previous steps, all that is required is to detail the structural variables.
1. Switch Element Type
Preprocessor > Element Type > Switch Elem Type
Choose Thermal to Struc from the scoll down list.
This will switch to the complimentary structural element automatically. In this case it is LINK 8. For more information on
this element, see the help file. A warning saying you should modify the new element as necessary will pop up. In this case,
only the material properties need to be modified as the geometry is staying the same.
i. Young's Modulus EX: 200e9
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Thermal Expansion Coef > Isotropic
i. ALPX: 12e-6
3. Write Environment
The structural environment is now fully described.
Preprocessor > Physics > Environment > Write
In the window that appears, enter the TITLE Struct

ANTYPE,0
2. Read in the Thermal Environment
Solution > Physics > Environment > Read
Choose thermal and click OK.
If the Physics option is not available under Solution, click Unabridged Menu at the bottom of the Solution menu. This should
make it visible.
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Thermal > Temperature > On Keypoints
Set the temperature of Keypoint 1, the left-most point, to 348 Kelvin.
4. Solve the System
SOLVE
5. Close the Solution Menu
Main Menu > Finish
It is very important to click Finish as it closes that environment and allows a new one to be opened without contamination.
If this is not done, you will get error messages.
The thermal solution has now been obtained. If you plot the steady-state temperature on the link, you will see it is a uniform 348 K,
as expected. This information is saved in a file labelled Jobname.rth, were .rth is the thermal results file. Since the jobname
wasn't changed at the beginning of the analysis, this data can be found as file.rth. We will use these results in determing the
structural effects.
6. Read in the Structural Environment
Solution > Physics > Environment > Read
Choose struct and click OK.
Fix Keypoint 1 for all DOF's and Keypoint 2 in the UX direction.
8. Include Thermal Effects
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Temperature > From Therm Analy
As shown below, enter the file name File.rth. This couples the results from the solution of the thermal environment to
the information prescribed in the structural environment and uses it during the analysis.
9. Define Reference Temperature

Preprocessor > Loads > Define Loads > Settings > Reference Temp
For this example set the reference temperature to 273 degrees Kelvin.
10. Solve the System

SOLVE

As shown, the stress in the link should be a uniform 180 MPa in compression.
2. Get Stress Data
Since the element is only a line, the stress can't be listed in the normal way. Instead, an element table must be created first.
General Postproc > Element Table > Define Table > Add
Fill in the window as shown below. [CompStr > By Sequence Num > LS > LS,1
ETABLE,CompStress,LS,1
3. List the Stress Data
General Postproc > Element Table > List Elem Table > COMPSTR > OK
PRETAB,CompStr
The following list should appear. Note the stress in each element: -0.180e9 Pa, or 180 MPa in compression as expected.
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Index
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MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0. This tutorial outlines the steps necessary for solving a model meshed with p-elements. The
p-method manipulates the polynomial level (p-level) of the finite element shape functions which are used to approximate the real solution.
Thus, rather than increasing mesh density, the p-level can be increased to give a similar result. By keeping mesh density rather coarse,
computational time can be kept to a minimum. This is the greatest advantage of using p-elements over h-elements.
A uniform load will be applied to the right hand side of the geometry shown below. The specimen was modeled as steel with a modulus of
elasticity of 200 GPa.

/title, P-Method Meshing
2. Activate the p-Method Solution Options
ANSYS Main Menu > Preferences
/PMETH,ON
Select p-Method Struct. as shown below

/PREP7
4. Define Keypoints
K,#,x,y,z
We are going to define 12 keypoints for this geometry as given in the following table:
1
(0,0)
(0,100)
(20,100)
(45,52)
(55,52)
(80,100)
(100,100)
(100,0)
(80,0)
10
(55,48)
11
(45,48)
12
(20,0)
5. Create Area
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Arbitrary > Through KPs
A,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
Click each of the keypoints in numerical order to create the area shown below.

For this problem we will use the PLANE145 (p-Elements 2D Quad) element. This element has eight nodes with 2 degrees
of freedom each (translation along the X and Y axes). It can support a polynomial with maximum order of eight.
After clicking OK to select the element, click Options... to open the keyoptions window, shown below. Choose Plane
stress + TK for Analysis Type.
Keyopts 1 and 2 can be used to set the starting and maximum p-level for this element type. For now we will leave them as
default.
Other types of p-elements exist in the ANSYS library. These include Solid127 and Solid128 which have electrostatic
DOF's, and Plane145, Plane146, Solid147, Solid148 and Shell150 which have structural DOF's. For more information on
these elements, go to the Element Library in the help file.
In the 'Real Constants for PLANE145' window, enter the following geometric properties:
i. Thickness THK: 10
This defines an element with a thickness of 10 mm.

9. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Areas > All Areas...
10. Mesh the frame

ANTYPE,0
A) Set Time at end of loadstep to 1 and Automatic time stepping to ON

B) Set Number of substeps to 20, Max no. of substeps to 100, Min no. of substeps to 20.
C) Set the Frequency to Write every substep
Fix the left side of the area (ie all DOF constrained)
4. Apply Loads
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Pressure > On Lines
Apply a pressure of -100 N/mm^2
5. Solve the System

SOLVE

1. Read in the Last Data Set
General Postproc > Read Results > Last Set
2. Plot Equivalent Stress
General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Element Solu
In the window that pops up, select Stress > von Mises SEQV
The following stress distribution should appear.
3. Plot p-Levels
General Postproc > Plot Results > p-Method > p-Levels
The following distribution should appear.
Note how the order of the polynomial increased in the area with the greatest range in stress. This allowed the elements to
more accurately model the stress distribution through that area. For more complex geometries, these orders may go as high
as 8. As a comparison, a plot of the stress distribution for a normal h-element (PLANE2) model using the same mesh, and
one with a mesh 5 times finer are shown below.
As one can see from the two plots, the mesh density had to be increased by 5 times to get the accuracy that the p-elements
delivered. This is the benefit of using p-elements. You can use a mesh that is relatively coarse, thus computational time will
be low, and still get reasonable results. However, care should be taken using p-elements as they can sometimes give poor
results or take a long time to converge.
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Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to outline the steps required to use element death to model
melting of a material. Element death is the "turning off" of elements according to some desired criterion. The elements are still technically
there, they just have zero stiffness and thus have no affect on the model.
Contact Elements
APDL
This tutorial doesn't take into account heat of fusion or changes in thermal properties over temperature ranges, rather it is concerned with
the element death procedure. More accurate models using element death can then be created as required. Element birth is also possible, but
will not be discussed here. For further information, see Chapter 10 of the Advanced Guide in the ANSYS help file regarding element birth
and death.
Index
The model will be an infinitely long rectangular block of material 3cm X 3cm as shown below. It will be subject to convection heating
which will cause the block to "melt".
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001

/title, Element Death
/PREP7
3. Create Rectangle
Fill in the window with the following dimensions:
WP X = 0
WP Y = 0
Width = 0.03
Height = 0.03
BLC4,0,0,0.03,0.03
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Thermal > Conductivity > Isotropic
In the window that appears, enter the following properties:
i. Thermal Conductivity KXX: 1.8
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Thermal > Specific Heat
i. Specific Heat C: 2040
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Thermal > Density
i. Density DENS: 920

6. Define Mesh Size
For this example we will use an element edge length of 0.0005m.
7. Mesh the frame

Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Transient
The window shown below will pop up. We will use the defaults, so click OK.
ANTYPE,4
2. Turn on Newton-Raphson solver
Due to a glitch in the ANSYS software, there is no apparent way to do this with the graphical user interface. Therefore, you
must type NROPT,FULL into the commmand line. This step is necessary as element killing can only be done when the NR solver has been used.
A) Set Time at end of loadstep to 60 and Automatic time stepping to OFF.

B) Set Number of substeps to 20.
C) Set the Frequency to Write every substep.
Click on the NonLinear tab at the top and fill it in as shown
D) Set Line search to ON .

E) Set the Maximum number of iterations to 100.
For a complete description of what these options do, refer to the help file. Basically, the time at the end of the load step is
how long the transient analysis will run and the number of substeps defines how the load is broken up. By writing the data at
every step, you can create animations over time and the other options help the problem converge quickly.
4. Apply Initial Conditions
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Initial Condit'n > Define > Pick All
Fill in the IC window as follows to set the initial temperature of the material to 268 K:
5. Apply Boundary Conditions

Radiation. In this example, all external surfaces of the material will be subject to convection with a coefficient of 10 W/m^2*K and
a surrounding temperature of 368 K.
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Thermal > Convection > On Lines > Pick All
Fill in the pop-up window as follows, with a film coefficient of 10 and a bulk temperature of 368.
The model should now look as follows:
Solve the System

SOLVE
Postprocessing: Prepare for Element Death

1. Read Results
General Postproc > Read Results > Last Set
SET,LAST
2. Create Element Table
Element death can be used in various ways. For instance, the user can manually kill, or turn off, elements to create the desired
effect. Here, we will use data from the analysis to kill the necessary elements to model melting. Assume the material melts at 273
K. We must create an element table containing the temperature of all the elements.
From the General Postprocessor menu select Element Table > Define Table...
Click on 'Add...'
Fill the window in as shown below, with a title Melty and select DOF solution > Temperature TEMP and click OK.
We can now select elements from this table in the temperature range we desire.
3. Select Elements to Kill
Assume that the melting temperature is 273 K, thus any element with a temperature of 273 or greater must be killed to simulate
melting.
Use the scroll down menus to select Elements > By Results > From Full and click OK.
Ensure the element table Melty is selected and enter a VMIN value of 273 as shown.
Solution Phase: Killing Elements

1. Restart the Analysis
Solution > Analysis Type > Restart > OK
You will likely have two messages pop up at this point. Click OK to restart the analysis, and close the warning message. The
reason for the warning is ANSYS defaults to a multi-frame restart, which this analysis doesn't call for, thus it is just warning the
user.
2. Kill Elements
The easiest way to do this is to type ekill,all into the command line. Since all elements above melting temperature had been
selected, this will kill only those elements.
The other option is to use Solution > Load Step Opts > Other > Birth & Death > Kill Elements and graphically pick all the
melted elements. This is much too time consuming in this case.
Postprocessing: Viewing Results

1. Select Live Elements
Fill in the window as shown with Elements > Live Elem's > Unselect and click Sele All.
With the window still open, select Elements > Live Elem's > From Full and click OK.
2. View Results
General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu > DOF solution > Temperature TEMP
The final melted shape should look as follows:
This procedure can be programmed in a loop, using command line code, to more accurately model element death over time. Rather
than running the analysis for a time of 60 and killing any elements above melting temperature at the end, a check can be done after
each substep to see if any elements are above the specified temperature and be killed at that point. That way, the prescribed
convection can then act on the elements below those killed, more accurately modelling the heating process.
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Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to describe how to utilize contact elements to simulate how
two beams react when they come into contact with each other.
The beams, as shown below, are 100mm long, 10mm x 10mm in cross-section, have a Young's modulus of 200 GPa, and are rigidly
constrained at the outer ends. A 10KN load is applied to the center of the upper, causing it to bend and contact the lower.
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.

Copyright 2001

/title, Contact Elements
/PREP7
3. Define Areas
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Area > Rectangle > By 2 Corners
BLC4,WP X, WP Y, Width, Height
We are going to define 2 rectangles as described in the following table:
Rectangle Variables (WP X,WP Y,Width,Height)
1
(0, 15, 100, 10)
(50, 0, 100, 10)

For this problem we will use the PLANE42 (Solid, Quad 4node 42) element. This element has 2 degrees of freedom at each
node (translation along the X and Y).
While the Element Types window is still open, click Options.... Change Element behavior K3 to Plane strs w/
thk as shown below. This allows a thickness to be input for the elements.

In the 'Real Constants for PLANE42' window, enter the following geometric properties:
i. Thickness THK: 10
This defines a beam with a thickness of 10 mm.
7. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Areas > All Lines...
8. Mesh the frame
9. Define the Type of Contact Element
For this problem we will use the CONTAC48 (Contact, pt-to-surf 48) element. CONTAC48 may be used to represent
contact and sliding between two surfaces (or between a node and a surface) in 2-D. The element has two degrees of freedom
at each node: translations in the nodal x and y directions. Contact occurs when the contact node penetrates the target line.
While the Element Types window is still open, click Options.... Change Contact time/load prediction K7 to
Reasonabl T/L inc. This is an important step. It initiates a process during the solution calculations where the time
step or load step, depending on what the user has specified in the solution controls, incremements slowly when contact is
immenent. This way, one surface won't penetrate too far into the other and cause the solution to fail.
It is important to note, CONTAC48 elements are created in the space between two surfaces prescribed by the user. This will be
covered below. As the surfaces approach each other, the contact element is slowly "crushed" until it's upper node(s) lie along the
same line as the lower node(s). Thus, ANSYS can calculate when the two prescribed surfaces have made contact. Other contact
elements, such as CONTA175, require a target element, such as TARGE169, to function. When using contact elements in your
own analyses, be sure to understand how the elements work. The ANSYS help file has plenty of useful information regarding
contact elements and is worth reading.
10. Define Real Constants for the Contact Elements
In the 'Real Constants for CONTAC48' window, enter the following properties:
i. Normal contact stiffness KN: 200000
CONTAC48 elements basically use a penalty approach to model contact. When one surface comes into "contact"
with the other, ANSYS numerically puts a spring of stiffness KN between the two. ANSYS recommends a value
between 0.01 and 100 times Young's modulus for the material. Since this "spring" is so stiff, the behaviour of the
model is like the two surfaces have made contact. This KN value can greatly affect your solution, so be sure to read
the help file on contact so you can recognize when your solution is not converging and why. A good rule of thumb is
to start with a low value of KN and see how the solution converges (start watching the ANSYS Output Window). If
there is too much penetration, you should increase KN. If it takes a lot of iterations to converge for a single substep,
you should decrease KN.
ii. Target length tolerance TOLS: 10
Real constant TOLS is used to add a small tolerance that will internally increase the length of the target. This is
useful for problems when node to node contact is likely to occur, rather than node to element edge. In this situation,
the contact node may repeatedly "slip" off one of the target nodes, resulting in convergence difficulties. A small
value of TOLS, given in %, is usually enough to prevent such difficulties.
The other real constants can be used to model sliding friction, tolerances, etc. Information about these other constants can be
found in the help file.
11. Define Nodes for Creating Contact Elements
Unlike the normal meshing sequence used for most elements, contact elements must be defined in a slightly different
manner. Sets of nodes that are likely to come into contact must be defined and used to generate the necessary elements.
ANSYS has many recommendations about which nodes to select and whether they should act as target nodes or source
nodes. In this simple case, source nodes are those that will move into contact with the other surface, where as target nodes
are those that are contacted. These terms are important when using the automatic contact element mesher to ensure the
elements will correctly model contact between the surfaces. A strong understanding of how the elements work is important
when using contact elements for your own analysis.
First, the source nodes will be selected.

Select Areas and By Num/Pick from the pull down menus, select From Full from the radio buttons and click OK.
Select the top beam and click OK. This will ensure any nodes that are selected in the next few steps will be from the
upper beam. In this case, it is not too hard to ensure you select the correct nodes. However, when the geometry is
complex, you may inadvertantly select a node from the wrong surface and it could cause problems during element
generation.
Select Nodes and By Location from the pull down menus, Y coordinates and Reselect from the radio buttons and
enter a value of 15 and click OK. This will select all nodes along the bottom of the upper beam.

Select Nodes and By Location from the pull down menus, X coordinates and Reselect from the radio buttons and
enter values of 50,100. This will select the nodes above the lower beam.
Now if you list the selected nodes, Utility Menu > List > Nodes... you should only have the following nodes
remaining.
It is important to try and limit the number of nodes you use to create contact elements. If you have a lot of contact
elements, it takes a great deal of computational time to reach a solution. In this case, the only nodes that could make
contact with the lower beam are those directly above it, thus those are the only nodes we will use to create the
contact elements.
Utility Menu > Select > Comp/Assembly > Create Component

Enter the component name Source as shown below, and click OK. Now we can use this component, Source, as a
list of nodes to be used in other functions. This can be very useful in other applications as well.
Now select the target nodes.

Using the same procedure as above, select the nodes on the lower beam directly under the upper beam. Be sure to reselect
all nodes before starting to select others. This is done by opening the entity select menu, Utility Menu > Select > Entities...,
clicking the Also Select radio button, and click the Sele All button.
These values will be the ones you'll use.
Click the lower area for the area select.

The Y coordinate is 10
The X coordinates vary from 50 to 100.
When creating the component this time, enter the name Target.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to reselect all the nodes before continuing. This is done by opening the entity select menu, Utility
Menu > Select > Entities..., clicking the Also Select radio button, and click the Sele All button.
12. Generate Contact Elements
Main Menu > Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Elements > Elem Attributes
Fill the window in as shown below. This ensures ANSYS knows that you are dealing with the contact elements and the
associated real constants.
Main Menu > Preprocessor > Modeling> Create > Elements > Surf / Contact > Node to Surf
The following window will pop up. Select the node set SOURCE from the first drop down menu (Ccomp) and TARGET
from the second drop down menu (Tcomp). The rest of the selections remain unchanged.
At this point, your model should look like the following.
Unfortunately, the contact elements don't get plotted on the screen so it is sometimes difficult to tell they are there. If you wish, you
can plot the elements (Utility Menu > Plot > Elements) and turn on element numbering (Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Numbering >
Elem/Attrib numbering > Element Type Numbers). If you zoom in on the contact areas, you can see little purple stars (Contact
Nodes) and thin purple lines (Target Elements) numbered "2" which correspond to the contact elements, shown below.
The preprocessor stage is now complete.

ANTYPE,0

A. Ensure Automatic time stepping is on. Automatic time stepping allows ANSYS to determine appropriate sizes to
B. Enter 100 as the number of substeps. This will set the initial substep to 1/100 th of the total load.
C. Enter a maximum number of substeps of 1000. This stops the program if the solution does not converge after 1000
steps.
D. Enter a minimum number of substeps of 20.
E. Ensure all solution items are writen to a results file.
A. Ensure Maximum Number of Iterations is set to 100
NOTE
These solution control values are extremely important in determining if your analysis will succeed or fail. If you have too few
substeps, the contact nodes may be driven through the target elements before ANSYS "realizes" it has happened. In this case the
solution will resemble that of an analysis that didn't have contact elements defined at all. Therefore it is important to choose a
relatively large number of substeps initially to ensure the model is defined properly. Once everything is working, you can reduce
the number of substeps to optimize the computational time. Also, if the maximum number of substeps or iterations is left too low,
ANSYS may stop the analysis before it has a chance to converge to a solution. Again, leave these relatively high at first.
Fix the left end of the upper beam and the right end of the lower beam (ie all DOF constrained)
4. Apply Loads
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Nodes
Apply a load of -10000 in the FY direction to the center of the top surface of the upper beam. Note, this is a point load on a
2D surface. This type of loading should be avoided since it will cause a singularity. However, the displacement or stress
near the load is not of interest in this analyis, thus we will use a point load for simplicity.
5. Solve the System

SOLVE

1. Open postprocessor menu
ANSYS Main Menu > General Postproc
/POST1
2. Adjust Graphical Scaling

Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Displacement Scaling
Click the 1.0 (true scale) radio button, then click ok. This is of huge importance! I lost many hours trying to figure out why
the contact elements weren't working, when in fact it was just due to the displacement scaling to which ANSYS defaulted. If
you leave the scaling as default, many times it will look like your contact nodes have gone through the target elements.
3. Show the Stress Distribution in the Beams
General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu > Stress > von Mises
4. Adjust Contour Scale
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Contours > Non-Uniform Contours
Fill in the window as follows:
This should produce the following stress distribution plot:
As seen in the figure, the load on the upper beam caused it to deflect and come in contact with the lower beam, producing a
stress distribution in both.
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ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL)
Design Optimization
Substructuring
Coupled Field
p-Element
Element Death
Contact Elements
APDL
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to familiarize the user with the ANSYS Parametric Design
Language (APDL). This will be a very basic introduction to APDL, covering things like variable definition and simple looping. Users
familiar with basic programming languages will probably find the APDL very easy to use. To learn more about APDL and see more
complex examples, please see the APDL Programmer's Guide located in the help file.
This tutorial will cover the preprocessing stage of constructing a truss geometry. Variables including length, height and number of
divisions of the truss will be requested and the APDL code will construct the geometry.
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
Preprocessing: Use of APDL
ANSYS Inc.
Shown below is the APDL code used to construct the truss shown above, using a length of 200 m, a height of 10 m and 20 divisions. The
following discussion will attempt to explain the commands used in the code. It is assumed the user has been exposed to basic coding and
can follow the logic.
finish
/clear
Copyright 2001
/prep7
*ask,LENGTH,How long is the truss,100
*ask,HEIGHT,How tall is the truss,20
*ask,DIVISION,How many cross supports even number,2
DELTA_L
NUM_K =
COUNT =
X_COORD
= (LENGTH/(DIVISION/2))/2
DIVISION + 1
-1
= 0
*do,i,1,NUM_K,1
COUNT = COUNT + 1
OSCILATE = (-1)**COUNT
X_COORD = X_COORD + DELTA_L
*if,OSCILATE,GT,0,THEN
k,i,X_COORD,0
*else
k,i,X_COORD,HEIGHT
*endif
*enddo
KEYP = 0
*do,j,1,DIVISION,1
KEYP = KEYP + 1
L,KEYP,(KEYP+1)
*if,KEYP,LE,(DIVISION-1),THEN
L,KEYP,(KEYP+2)
*endif
*enddo
et,1,link1
r,1,100
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
esize,,1
lmesh,all
finish
1. *ASK Command
The *ASK command prompts the user to input data for a variable. In this case, *ask,LENGTH,How long is the
truss,100 prompts the user for a value describing the length of the truss. This value is stored under the variable
LENGTH. Thus in later parts of the code, LENGTH can be used in other commands rather than typing in 200 m. The 100
value at the end of the string is the default value if the user were to enter no value and just hit the enter key.
2. Variable Definition Using the "=" Command
ANSYS allows the user to define a variable in a few ways. As seen above, the *ASK command can be used define a
variable, but this is usually only used for data that will change from run to run. The *SET command can also be used to
define variables. For more information on this command, see the help file. However, the most intutitive method is to use
"=". It is used in the following manner: 'the variable you wish to define' = 'some arguement'. This argument can be a single
value, or a mathematical expression, as seen in the line defining DELTA_L
3. *DO Loops
Do-loops are useful when you want to repeat a command a known number of times. The syntax for the expression is *DO,
Par, IVAL, FVAL, INC, where Par is the parameter that will be incremented by the loop, IVAL is the initial value the
parameter starts as, FVAL is the final value the parameter will reach, and INC is the increment value that the parameter will
be increased by during each iteration of the loop. For example, *do,i,1,10_K,1 is a do-loop which increases the
parameter "i" from 1 to 10 in steps of 1, (ie 1,2,3...8,9,10). It is necessary to use a *ENDDO command at the end of the loop
to locate where ANSYS should look for the next command once the loop has finished. In between the *DO and *ENDDO,
the user can place code that will utilize the repetative characteristics of the loop.
4. *IF Statement
If-statements can be used as decision makers, determining if a certain case has occured. For example, in the code above
there is a statement: *if,OSCILATE,GT,0,THEN. This translates to "if the variable, OSCILATE, is greater than zero,
then...". Any code directly following the *if command will be carried out if the statement is true. If it is not true it will skip
to the *else command. This command is only used in conjunction with the *if command. Any code directly following the
*else command will be carried out when the original statement is false. An *endif command is necessary after all code in
the *if and *else sections to define an ending.
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Viewing X-Sectional Results
Advanced X-Sec Res

Data Plotting
Index
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to view cross sectional results
(Deformation, Stress, etc.) of the following example.
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001

/title, Cross-Sectional Results of a Simple Cantilever Beam
/PREP7
3. Create Block
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Volumes > Block > By 2 Corners & Z
BLC4,0,0,Width,Height,Length
Where:
Width:
40mm
Height:
60mm
Length:
400mm

For this problem we will use the SOLID45 (3D Structural Solid) element. This element has 8 nodes each with 3 degrees of
freedom (translation along the X, Y and Z directions).
6. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Global > Size
esize,20
For this example we will use an element size of 20mm.
7. Mesh the volume
Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Volumes > Free > click 'Pick All'
vmesh,all

ANTYPE,0
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Areas
Fix the left hand side (should be labeled Area 1).
3. Apply Loads
Apply a load of 2500N downward on the back right hand keypoint (Keypoint #7).
4. Solve the System
Solution > (-Solve-) Current LS
SOLVE

Now since the purpose of this tutorial is to observe results within different cross-sections of the colume, we will first outline the steps
required to view a slice.
Offset the working plane for a cross section view (WPOFFS)

Select the TYPE of display for the section(/TYPE). For this example we are trying to display a section, therefore, options 1, 5, or
8 are relevant and are summarized in the table below.
Type
Description
SECT
or (1)
Section display. Only the selected section is shown without any remaining
faces or edges shown
Visual Representation
CAP
or (5)
Capped hidden diplay. This is as though you have cut off a portion of the
model and the remaining model can be seen
ZQSL
or (8)
QSLICE Z-buffered display. This is the same as SECT but the outline of
the entire model is shown.
Align the cutting plane with the working plane(/CPLANE)
1. Deflection
Before we begin selecting cross sections, let's view deflection of the entire model.
Select: General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu
From this one may wish to view several cross sections through the YZ plane.
To illustrate how to take a cross section, let's take one halfway through the beam in the YZ plane
First, offset the working plane to the desired position, halfway through the beam
Select: Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Offset WP by Increments
In the window that appears, increase Global X to 30 (Width/2) and rotate Y by +90 degrees
Select the type of plot and align the cutting plane with the working plane (Note that in GUI, these two steps are combined)
Select: Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Hidden-Line Options
Fill in the window that appears as shown below to select /TYPE=ZQSL and /CPLANE=Working Plane
As desired, you should now have the following:
This can be repeated for any slice, however, note that the command lines required to do the same are as follows:
WPOFFS,Width/2,0,0
WPROTA,0,0,90
/CPLANE,1
/TYPE,1,8
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
! Offset the working plane for cross-section view

! Rotate the working plane
! Cutting plane defined to use the WP
Also note that to realign the working plane with the active coordinate system, simply use: WPCSYS,-1,0
2. Equivalent Stress
Again, let's view stresses within the entire model.
First we need to realign the working plane with the active coordinate system. Select: Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Align
WP with > Active Coord Sys (NOTE: To check the position of the WP, select Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Show WP
Status)
Next we need to change /TYPE to the default setting(no hidden or section operations). Select: Utility Menu > PlotCtrls >
Style > Hidden Line Options... And change the 'Type of Plot' to 'Non-hidden'
Select: General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu > Stress > von Mises
Let's say that we want to take a closer look at the base of the beam through the XY plane. Because it is much easier, we are
going to use command line:
WPOFFS,0,0,1/16*Length
/CPLANE,1
/TYPE,1,5
PLNSOL,S,EQV,0,1
! Offset the working plane

! Cutting plane defined to use the WP
! Use the capped hidden display
Note that we did not need to rotate the WP because we want to look at the XY plane which is the default). Also note that we
are using the capped hidden display this time.
You should now see the following:
3. Animation
Now, for something a little more impressive, let's show an animation of the Von Mises stress through the beam. Unfortunately, the
ANSYS commands are not as user friendly as they could be... but please bear with me.
Select: Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Animate > Q-Slice Contours
In the window that appears, just change the Item to be contoured to 'Stress' 'von Mises'
You will then be asked to select 3 nodes; the origin, the sweep direction, and the Y axis. In the graphics window, select the
node at the origin of the coordinate system as the origin of the sweep (the sweep will start there). Next, the sweep direction
is in the Z direction, so select any node in the z direction (parallel to the first node). Finally, select the node in the back,
bottom left hand side corner as the Y axis.
You should now see an animated version of the contour slices through the beam. For more information on how to modify
the animation, type help ancut into the command line.
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Advanced X-Sectional Results: Using Paths to Post Process

Results
Data Plotting
Introduction
Index
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to create and use 'paths' to provide extra detail during post
processing. For example, one may want to determine the effects of stress concentrators along a certain path. Rather than plotting the entire
contour plot, a plot of the stress along that path can be made.
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
In this tutorial, a steel plate measuring 100 mm X 200 mm X 10 mm will be used. Three holes are drilled through the vertical centerline of
the plate. The plate is constrained in the y-direction at the bottom and a uniform, distributed load is pulling on the top of the plate.

1. Give the example a Title
/title, Use of Paths for Post Processing
/PREP7
3. Define Rectangular Ares
BLC4,0,0,200,100
Create a rectangle where the bottom left corner has the coordinates 0,0 and the width and height are 200 and 100
respectively.
4. Create Circles
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Circle > Solid Circle
cyl4,WP X,WP Y,Radius
Create three circles with parameters shown below.
Circle
Parameters
WP X WP Y Radius
50
50
10
100
50
10
150
50
10
5. Subtract the Circles

Preprocessor > Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Subtract > Areas
First, select the area to remain (ie. the rectangle) and click OK. Then, select the areas to be subtracted (ie. the circles) and
click OK.
The remaining area should look as shown below.

For this problem we will use the PLANE2 (Solid Triangle 6node) element. This element has 2 degrees of freedom
(translation along the X and Y axes).
In the 'Element Types' window, click 'Options...' and set 'Element behavior' to Plane strs w/thk

In the 'Real Constants for PLANE2' window, enter a thickness of 10.

9. Define Mesh Size

10. Mesh the Area


ANTYPE,0
Constrain the bottom of the area in the UY direction.
3. Apply Loads
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Pressure > On Lines
Apply a constant, uniform pressure of -200 on the top of the area.
The model should now look like the figure below.
4. Solve the System

SOLVE

To see the stress distribution on the plate, you could create a normal contour plot, which would have the distribution over the entire plate.
However, if the stress near the holes are of interest, you could create a path through the center of the plate and plot the stress on that path.
Both cases will be plotted below on a split screen.
1. Contour Plot
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Window Controls > Window Layout
Fill in the 'Window Layout' as seen below
General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu > Stress > von Mises
The display should now look like this.
To ensure the top plot is not erased when the second plot is created, you must make a couple of changes.
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Window Controls > Window On or Off. Turn window 1 'off'.
To keep window 1 visible during replots, select Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Erase Option > Erase Between Plots and
ensure there is no check-mark, meaning this function off.
To have the next graph plot in the bottom half of the screen, select Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Window Controls >
Window Layout and select 'Window 2 > Bottom Half > Do not replot'.
2. Create Path
General PostProc > Path Operations > Define Path > By Location
In the window, shown below, name the path Cutline and set the 'Number of divisions' to 1000
Fill the next two window in with the following parameters

Parameters
Path Point Number X Loc Y Loc Z Loc
1
50
200
50
When the third window pops up, click 'Cancle' because we only enabled two points on the path in the previous step.
3. Map the Stress onto the Path
Now the path is defined, you must choose what to map to the path, or in other words, what results should be available to the
path. For this example, equivalent stress is desired.
General Postproc > Path Operations > Map onto Path
Fill the next window in as shown below [Stress > von Mises] and click OK.
The warning shown below will probably pop up. This is just saying that some of the 1000 points you defined earlier are not
on interpolation points (special points on the elements) therefore there is no data to map. This is of little concern though,
since there are plenty of points that do lie on interpolation points to produce the necessary plot, so disregard the warning.
4. Plot the Path Data
General Postproc > Path Operations > Plot Path Item > On Geometry
Fill the window in as shown below
The display should look like the following. Note, there will be dots on the plot showing node locations. Due to resolution
restrictions, these dots are not shown here.
This plot makes it easy to see how the stress is concentrated around the holes.
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Advanced X-Sec Res

Data Plotting
Index
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to plot Vertical Deflection vs.
Length of the following beam using tables, a special type of array. By plotting this data on a curve, rather than using a contour plot, finer
resolution can be achieved.
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
This tutorial will use a steel beam 400 mm long, with a 40 mm X 60 mm cross section as shown above. It will be rigidly constrained at
one end and a -2500 N load will be applied to the other.

1. Give the example a Title
/title, Use of Tables for Data Plots

/PREP7
3. Define Keypoints
K,#,x,y,z
We are going to define 2 keypoints for this beam as given in the following table:
1
(0,0)
(400,0)
4. Create Lines
L,1,2
ii. Area moment of inertia IZZ: 320e3
iii. Total beam height: 40
8. Define Mesh Size
9. Mesh the frame

ANTYPE,0
Fix keypoint 1 (ie all DOF constrained)
3. Apply Loads
Apply a load of -2500N on keypoint 2.
The model should now look like the figure below.
4. Solve the System

SOLVE

It is at this point the tables come into play. Tables, a special type of array, are basically matrices that can be used to store and process data
from the analysis that was just run. This example is a simplified use of tables, but they can be used for much more. For more information
type help in the command line and search for 'Array Parameters'.
1. Number of Nodes
Since we wish to plot the verticle deflection vs length of the beam, the location and verticle deflection of each node must be
recorded in the table. Therefore, it is necessary to determine how many nodes exist in the model. Utility Menu > List > Nodes... >
OK. For this example there are 21 nodes. Thus the table must have at least 21 rows.
2. Create the Table
Utility Menu > Parameters > Array Parameters > Define/Edit > Add
The window seen above will pop up. Fill it out as shown [Graph > Table > 22,2,1]. Note there are 22 rows, one more than
the number of nodes. The reason for this will be explained below. Click OK and then close the 'Define/Edit' window.
3. Enter Data into Table

First, the horizontal location of the nodes will be recorded
Utility Menu > Parameters > Get Array Data ...
In the window shown below, select Model Data > Nodes
Fill the next window in as shown below and click OK [Graph(1,1) > All > Location > X]. Naming the array parameter
'Graph(1,1)' fills in the table starting in row 1, column 1, and continues down the column.
Next, the vertical displacement will be recorded.
Utility Menu > Parameters > Get Array Data ... > Results data > Nodal results
Fill the next window in as shown below and click OK [Graph(1,2) > All > DOF solution > UY]. Naming the array
parameter 'Graph(1,2)' fills in the table starting in row 1, column 2, and continues down the column.
4. Arrange the Data for Ploting

Users familiar with the way ANSYS numbers nodes will realize that node 1 will be on the far left, as it is keypoint 1, node 2 will be
on the far right (keypoint 2), and the rest of the nodes are numbered sequentially from left to right. Thus, the second row in the
table contains the data for the last node. This causes problems during plotting, thus the information for the last node must be moved
to the final row of the table. This is why a table with 22 rows was created, to provide room to move this data.
Utility Menu > Parameters > Array Parameters > Define/Edit > Edit
The data for the end of the beam (X-location = 400, UY = -0.833) is in row two. Cut one of the cells to be moved (right
click > Copy or Ctrl+X), press the down arrow to get to the bottom of the table, and paste it into the appropriate column
(right click > Paste or Ctrl+V). When both values have been moved check to ensure the two entries in row 2 are zero. Select
File > Apply/Quit
5. Plot the Data
Utility Menu > Plot > Array Parameters

The following window will pop up. Fill it in as shown, with the X-location data on the X-axis and the vertical deflection on
the Y-axis.
To change the axis labels select Utility Menu > Plot Ctrls > Style > Graphs > Modify Axes ...
To see the changes to the labels, select Utility Menu > Replot
The plot should look like the one seen below.
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Changing Graphical Properties
Advanced X-Sec Res

Data Plotting
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 This tutorial covers some of the methods that can be employed to change how the output to the
screen looks. For instance, changing the background colour, numbering the nodes, etc.
Since the purpose of this tutorial is not to build or analysis a model, please copy the following code and paste it into the input line below
the utility menu.
finish
/clear
/title, Changing Graphical Properties
/prep7
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
K,1,0,0
K,2,100,0
L,1,2
et,1,beam3
r,1,100,833.333,10
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
esize,5
lmesh,all
finish
/solu
antype,0
dk,1,all,all
fk,2,fy,-100
solve
finish
You should obtain the following screen:
Graphical Options
1. Number the Nodes
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Numbering...
From this window you can select which items you wish to number. When you click OK, the window will disappear and
your model should be numbered appropriately. However, sometimes the numbers won't show up. This could be because you
had previously selected a plot of a different item. To remedy this problem, select the same item you just numbered from the
Utility > Plot menu and the numbering will show up.
For instance, select the node numbering and plot the nodes. You should get the following:
As shown, the nodes have been numbered. You can also see some other information that ANSYS is providing. The arrows
on the left and the right are the force that was applied and the resulting external reactive forces and moments. The triangles
on the left are the constraints and the coordinate triad is also visible. These extra symbols may not be necessary, so the next
section will show how to turn these symbols off.
2. Symbol Toggles
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Symbols
This window allows the user to toggle many symbols on or off. In our case, there are no Surface or Body Loads, or Initial
Conditions, so those sections won't be used. Under the Boundary conditions section, click on None to turn off all the force
and reaction symbols.
The result should be as follows:
3. Triad Toggle
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Window Controls > Window Options
This window also allows the user to toggle many things on and off. In this case, it is things associated with the window
background. As shown in the window, the legend or title can be turned off, etc. To turn off the triad, select Not Shown from
the Location of triad drop down menu. The following output should be the result. Notice how it is much easier to
see the node numbers near the origin now.
4. Element Shape
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Size and Shape...
When using line elements, such as BEAM3, it is sometime difficult to visualize what the elements really look like. To aid in
this process, ANSYS can display the elements shapes based on the real constant description. Click on the toggle box beside
[/ESHAPE] to turn on element shapes and click OK to close the window.
If there is no change in output, don't be alarmed. Recall we selected a plot of just the nodes, thus elements are not going to
show up. Select Utility Menu > Plot > Elements. The following should appear.
As shown, the elements are no longer just a line, but they have volume according to the real constants. To get a better 3-D
view of the model, you can change the view orientation.
5. View Orientation
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Pan Zoom Rotate...
This window allows the user to rotate the view, translate the view and zoom. You can also select predefined views, such as
isometric or oblique. Basic rotating, translating and zooming can also be done using the mouse. This is very handy when
you just want to quickly change the orientation of the model. By holding the Control button on the keyboard and holding
the Left mouse button the model will translate. By holding the Control button on the keyboard and holding the Middle
mouse button the model will zoom or rotate on the plane of the screen. By holding the Control button on the keyboard and
holding the Right mouse button the model will rotate about all axis. Using these options, it's easy to see the elements in 3D.
6. Changing Contours
First, plot the deformation contour for the beam.
General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solution > DOF Solution > USUM
If the contour divisions are not appropriate, they can be changed.
Utility Meny > PlotCtrls > Style > Contours
Either Uniform or Non-uniform Contours can be selected. Under uniform contours, be sure to click on User specified if
you are inputing your own contour divisions. Under non-uniform contours, you can create a logarithmic contour division or
some similiar contour where uniform divisions don't capture the information you desire.
If you don't like the colours of the contour, those can also be changed.
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Colours > Contour Colours...
The colours for each division can be selected from the drop down menus.
7. Changing Background Colour

Perhaps you desire to use a plot for a presentation, but don't want a black background.
Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Colours > Window Colours...
Select the background colour you desire for the window you desire. Here we are only using Window 1, and we'll set the
background colour to white.
The resulting display is shown below. Notice how all the text disappeared. This is because the text colour is also white. If
there is information that needs to be added, such as contour values, this can be done in other graphic editors. To save the
display, select Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Capture Image. Under the File heading, select Save As...
There are lots of other option that can be used to change the presentation of data in ANSYS, these are just a few. If you are looking for a
specific option, the PlotCtrls menu is a good place to start, as is the help file.
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TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
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TUTORIALS
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LINE FILES
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ANSYS Command File Creation and Execution
Features
Basic Tutorials
Generating the Command File

There are two choices to generate the command file:
Advanced Tutorials
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1. Directly type in the commands into a text file from scratch. This assumes a good knowledge of the ANSYS command language and
the associated options.
If you know what some of the commands and are unsure of others, execute the desired operation from the GUI and then go to
File -> List -> Log File. This will then open up a new window showing the command line equivialent of all commands
entered to this point. You may directly cut and paste from here to a text editor, or if you'd like to save the whole file, see the next
item in this list.
2. Setup and solve the problem as you normally would using the ANSYS graphic user interface (GUI). Then before you are finished,
enter the command File -> Save DB Log File This saves the equivalent ANSYS commands that you entered in the GUI
mode, to a text file. You can now edit this file with a text editor to clean it up, delete errors from your GUI use and make changes
as desired.
Running the Command File
To run the ANSYS command file,
save the ASCII text commands in a text file; e.g. frame.cmd

start up either the GUI or text mode of ANSYS
ANSYS Inc.
GUI Command File Loading

To run this command file from the GUI, you would do the following:
Copyright 2001
From the File menu, select Read Input from.... Change to the appropriate directory where the file (frame.cmd) is
stored and select it.
Now ANSYS will execute the commands from that file. The output window shows the progress of this procedure. Any errors and
warnings will be listed in this window.
When it is complete, you may not have a full view of your structure in the graphic window. You may need to select Plot ->
Elements or Plot -> Lines or what have you.

Assuming that the analysis worked properly, you can now use the post-processor to view element deflections, stress, etc.
If you want to fix some errors or make some changes to the command file, make those changes in a separate window in a text
editor. Save those changes to disk.
To rerun the command file, you should first of all clear the current model from ANSYS. Select File -> Clear & Start
New.
Then read in the file as before File -> Read Input from...
Command Line File Loading

Alternatively, you can also read in the command file right from the ANSYS command line. Assuming that you started ANSYS using the
commands...
/ansys52/bin/ansysu52
and then entered
/show,x11c
This has now started ANSYS in the text mode and has told it what graphic device to use (in this case an X Windows, X11c, mode). At this
point you could type in /menu,on, but you might not want to turn on the full graphic mode if working on a slow machine or if you are
executing the program remotely. Let's assume that we don't turn the menu mode on...
If the command file is in the current directory for ANSYS, then from the ANSYS input window, type
/input,frame,cmd
and yes that is a comma (,) between frame and cmd. If ANSYS can not find the file in the current directory, you may need to point it to
the proper directory. If the file was in the directory, /myfiles/ansys/frame for example, you would use the following syntax
/input,frame,cmd,/myfiles/ansys/frame
If you want to rerun a new or modified file, it is necessary to clear the current model in memory with the command
/clear,start
This full procedure of loading in command files and clearing jobs and starting over again can be completed as many times as desired.
ANSYS Command Groupings

ANSYS contains hundreds of commands for generating geometry, applying loads and constraints, setting up different analysis types and
post-processing. The following is only a brief summary of some of the more common commands used for structural analysis.
Category
Basic
Geometry
Solid Modeling
(Primitives)
Command
Description
Syntax
keypoint definition
k,kp#,xcoord,ycoord,zcoord
straight line creation
l,kp1,kp2
larc
circular arc line

(from keypoints)
larc,kp1,kp2,kp3,rad
(kp3 defines plane)
circle
circular line creation

(creates keypoints)
see online help
spline
spline line through keypoints
spline,kp1,kp2, ... kp6
area definition from keypoints
a,kp1,kp2, ... kp18
al
area definition from lines
a,l1,l2, ... l10
volume definition from keypoints
v,kp1,kp2, ... kp8
va
volume definition from areas
va,a1,a2, ... a10
vext
create volume from area extrusion
see online help
vdrag
create volume by dragging area along path
see online help
rectng
rectangle creation
rectng,x1,x2,y1,y2
block
block volume creation
block,x1,x2,y1,y2,z1,z2
cylind
cylindrical volume creation
cylind,rad1,rad2,z1,z2,theta1,theta2
sphere
spherical volume creation
sphere,rad1,rad2,theta1,theta2
prism
cone
torus
various volume creation commands
see online help
Boolean Operations aadd
Elements &
Meshing
adds separate areas to create single area
aadd,a1,a2, ... a9
aglue
creates new areas by glueing

(properties remain separate)
aglue,a1,a2, ... a9
asba
creat new area by area substraction
asba,a1,a2
aina
create new area by area intersection
aina,a1,a2, ... a9
vadd
vlgue
vsbv
vinv
volume boolean operations
see online help
et
defines element type
et,number,type
may define as many as required; current type is set by
type
type
set current element type pointer
type,number
define real constants for elements
r,number,r1,r2, ... r6
real
real
sets current real constant pointer
real,number
mp
sets material properties for elements
mp,label,number,c0,c1, ... c4
mat
mat
sets current material property pointer
mat,number
esize
sets size or number of divisions on lines
esize,size,ndivs
use either size or ndivs
eshape
controls element shape
see online help
lmesh
mesh line(s)
lmesh,line1,line2,inc
or lmesh,all
amesh
mesh area(s)
amesh,area1,area2,inc
or amesh,all
Sets &
Selection
Constraints
Loads
vmesh
mesh volume(s)
vmesh,vol1,vol2,inc
or vmesh,all
ksel
select a subset of keypoints
see online help
nsel
select a subset of nodes
see online help
lsel
select a subjset of lines
see online help
asel
select a subset of areas
see online help
nsla
select nodes within selected area(s)
see online help
allsel
select everything
i.e. reset selection
allsel
dk
defines a DOF constraint on a keypoint
dk,kp#,label,value
labels: UX,UY,UZ,ROTX,ROTY,ROTZ,ALL
defines a DOF constraint on a node
d,node#,label,value
labels: UX,UY,UZ,ROTX,ROTY,ROTZ,ALL
dl
defines (anti)symmetry DOF constraints on

a line
dl,line#,area#,label
labels: SYMM (symmetry); ASYM (antisymmetry)
fk
defines a
fk,kp#,label,value
labels: FX,FY,FZ,MX,MY,MZ
defines a force at a node
f,node#,label,value
labels: FX,FY,FZ,MX,MY,MZ
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TUTORIALS
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LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
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ANSYS Command File Programming Features
Features
Basic Tutorials
The following ANSYS command listing, shows some of the commonly used programming features in the ANSYS command file language
known as ADPL (ANSYS Parametric Design Language). It illustrates:
Advanced Tutorials
PostProc Tutorials
Radiation
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
entering parameters (variables)

prompting the user for parameters
performing calculations with paramaters; note that the syntax and functions are similar to FORTRAN
control structures
if - then - else - endif
looping
This example file does not do anything really useful in itself besides generate keypoints along a line, but it does illustrate some of the
"programming features" of the ANSYS command language.
!
/PREP7
! preprocessor phase
!
x1 = 5
! define some parameters
x2 = 10
*ask,ndivs,Enter number of divisions (default 5),5
!
! the above command prompts the user for input to be entered into the
! variable "ndivs"; if only is entered, a default of "5" is used
!
*IF,ndivs,GT,1,THEN
! if "ndivs" is greater than "1"
dx = (x2-x1)/ndivs
*DO,i,1,ndivs+1,1
! do i = 1, ndivs + 1 (in steps of one)
x = x1 + dx*(i-1)
k,i,x,0,0
*ENDDO
*ELSE
k,1,x1,0,0
k,2,x2,0,0
*ENDIF
!
/pnum,kp,1
kplot
klist,all,,,coord
! turn keypoint numbering on

! plot keypoints
! list all keypoints with coordinates
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VERSION
Command Line Tutorials (Basic Tutorials)
Features
The following documents contain the command line code for the Basic Tutorials. ANSYS 7.0 was used to create all of these tutorials
Basic Tutorials
Advanced Tutorials
Basic functions will be shown to provide you with a general knowledge of

command line codes.
Bicycle Space Frame
Intermediate ANSYS functions will be shown in detail to provide you with a

more general understanding of how to use ANSYS.
Boolean operations, plane stress and uniform pressure loading will be

introduced in the creation and analysis of this 2-Dimensional object.
Solid Modeling
This tutorial will introduce techniques such as filleting, extrusion, copying

and working plane orienation to create 3-Dimensional objects.
PostProc Tutorials
Radiation
Index
Contributions
Comments
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Copyright 2001
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
Creating Files
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Command Line Tutorials (Intermediate Tutorials)
Features
Basic Tutorials
The following documents contain the command line code for the Intermediate Tutorials. ANSYS 7.0 was used to create all of these
tutorials
Advanced Tutorials
PostProc Tutorials
Incorporating the weight of an object into the

finite element analysis is shown in this simple
cantilever beam example.
Distributed Loading
The application of distributed loads and the use

of element tables to extract data is expalined in
this tutorial.
NonLinear Analysis
A large moment is applied to the end of a

cantilever beam to explore Geometric
Nonlinear behaviour (large deformations).
Buckling
In this tutorial both the Eigenvalue and

Nonlinear methods are used to solve a simple
buckling problem.
NonLinear Materials
The purpose of the tutorial is to describe how

to include material nonlinearities in an ANSYS
model.
Dynamic Analysis - Modal
This tutorial will explore the modal analyis

capabilities of ANSYS.
Dynamic Analysis - Harmonic
This tutorial will explore the harmonic analyis

Dynamic Analysis - Transient
This tutorial will explore the transient analyis

Thermal Examples - Pure Conduction
Analysis of a pure conduction boundary

condition example.
Radiation
Index
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Comments
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ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Thermal Examples - Mixed Convection/Conduction/

Insulated
Analysis of a Mixed Convection/Conduction/

Insulated boundary condition example.
Thermal Examples - Transient Heat Conduction
Analysis of heat conduction over time.
Utilizing axisymmetry to model a 3-D structure

in 2-D to reduce computational time.
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TUTORIALS
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TUTORIALS
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COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Command Line Tutorials (Advanced Tutorials)
Features
The following documents contain the command line code for the Advanced Tutorials. ANSYS 7.0 was used to create all of these tutorials
Basic Tutorials
Advanced Tutorials
Springs and Joints
The creation of models with multiple elements types will be explored in

this tutorial. Additionally, elements COMBIN7 and COMBIN14 will be
explained as well as the use of parameters to store data.
Design Opimization
The use of Design Optimization in ANSYS is used to solve for unknown

parameters of a beam.
Substructuring
The use of Substructuring in ANSYS is used to solve a simple problem.
Coupled Structural/Thermal
Analysis
The use of ANSYS physics environments to solve a simple structural/

thermal problem.
Using P-Elements
The stress distribution of a model is solved using p-elements and

compared to h-elements.
Using element death to model a volume melting.
Contact Elements
Model of two beams coming into contact with each other.
ANSYS Parametric Design

Language
Design a truss using parametric variables.
PostProc Tutorials
Radiation
Index
Contributions
Comments
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ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
UofA ANSYS Tutorial

Creating Files
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Command Line Tutorials (Postproc Tutorials)
Features
The following documents contain the command line code for the Postproc Tutorials. ANSYS 7.0 was used to create all of these tutorials
Basic Tutorials
Advanced Tutorials
Viewing Cross Sectional Results
The method to view cross sectional

results for a volume are shown in this
tutorial.

Results
The purpose of this tutorial is to create

and use 'paths' to provide extra detail
during post processing.
The purpose of this tutorial is to outline

the steps required to plot results using
tables, a special type of array.
PostProc Tutorials
Radiation
Index
Contributions
Comments
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ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
UofA ANSYS Tutorial
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
Creating Files
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Radiation Example
Features
Basic Tutorials
Advanced Tutorials
PostProc Tutorials
Radiation
Index
Contributions
Comments
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ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
Problem Description
Radiation heat transfer between concentric cylinders will be modeled in this example. This is a general version of one of the verification
examples converted to metric units.
ANSYS Command Listing

/PREP7
/TITLE, RADIATION HEAT TRANSFER BETWEEN CONCENTRIC CYLINDERS
ANTYPE,STATIC
! this is a general version of VM125 converted to metric
rin=2*0.0254
rout=8*0.0254
ndiv=20
arc=360
emis1=0.7
emis2=0.5
T1=700
T2=400
offset=273
stefbolt=5.699*10**(-8)
! inches to metres
k,1,0,0
k,5,0,0
! center of tube 1
! center of retort
k,6,0,0,-1
k,7,1
k,8,0,0,1
! degrees C
! to convert to degrees K
! metric version
circle,1,rin,6,7,arc,ndiv
CIRCLE,5,rout,8,7,arc,ndiv
! inner cylinder, generated clockwise

! outer cylinder; generated counter-clockwise
ET,1,LINK32,,,,,,,1
R,1,1
! HEAT CONDUCTING BAR; SUPPRESS SOLUTION OUTPUT

! UNIT CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA (ARBITRARY)
MP,KXX,1,1
MAT,1
ESIZE,,1
csys,1
lsel,s,loc,x,rin
LMESH,ALL
lsel,all
! CONDUCTIVITY of inner cylinder (arbitrary)
MP,KXX,2,1
MAT,2
lsel,s,loc,x,rout
LMESH,all
lsel,all
csys,0
FINISH
! CONDUCTIVITY of outer cylinder (arbitrary)
/AUX12
EMIS,1,emis1
EMIS,2,emis2
VTYPE,0
GEOM,1
STEF,stefbolt
WRITE,VM125
FINISH
/PREP7
DOF,TEMP
ET,2,MATRIX50,1,,,,,1
TYPE,2
SE,VM125
TOFFST,offset
! cylindrical coord system
! reset to rect coord system
!
!
!
!
HIDDEN PROCEDURE FOR VIEW FACTORS

GEOMETRY SPECIFICATION 2-D
Stefan-Boltzmann constant
WRITE RADIATION MATRIX TO FILE VM125.SUB
! SUPERELEMENT (RADIATION MATRIX)

! defines superelement and where its written to
! TEMPERATURE OFFSET FOR ABSOLUTE SCALE
csys,1
nsel,s,loc,x,rout
D,ALL,TEMP,T1
nsel,all
nsel,s,loc,x,rin
D,ALL,TEMP,T2
nsel,all
csys,0
FINISH
! SELECT OUTER CYLINDER NODES

! T1 = 273 + 700 DEG. K
! SELECT INNER CYLINDER NODES

! T2 = 273 + 400 DEG. K
/SOLU
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
csys,1
nsel,s,loc,x,rin
! SELECT INNER CYLINDER NODES
/com
/COM,:) :) heat flow from inner to outer :) :)
/com
PRRSOL
! PRINT HEAT FLOW FROM INNER TO OUTER CYLINDER
nsel,all
nsel,s,loc,x,rout
! select outer cylinder nodes
/com
/COM,:) :) heat flow from outer to inner :) :)
/com
PRRSOL
! PRINT HEAT FLOW FROM OUTER TO INNER CYLINDER
FSUM,HEAT
! only from selected nodes !!!
nsel,all
*GET,Q,FSUM,0,ITEM,HEAT
*DIM,LABEL,CHAR,1,2
*DIM,VALUE,,1,3
LABEL(1,1) = 'Q(W/m) ' ! the 1 below is for unit length
numer=stefbolt*2*pi*rin*1*((offset+T1)**4-(offset+T2)**4)
exact=numer/(1/emis1+(rin/rout)*(1/emis2-1))
*VFILL,VALUE(1,1),DATA,exact
*VFILL,VALUE(1,2),DATA,Q
*VFILL,VALUE(1,3),DATA,ABS(Q/exact)
/COM
/COM,--------------- VM125 RESULTS COMPARISON -------------/COM,
/COM,
|
TARGET
|
ANSYS
|
RATIO
/COM,
*VWRITE,LABEL(1,1),VALUE(1,1),VALUE(1,2),VALUE(1,3)
(1X,A8,'
',F10.1,' ',F10.1,'
',1F5.3)
/COM,------------------------------------------------------/COM,
FINISH
UNIX Applications
Editors
The are several editors available on the system. The first three mentioned below are text based, while
the remaining have a graphical user interface.
vi & emacs
The vi and emacs editors are very powerful, but have a steep learning curve. You will probably
require a tutorial/reference book to help you get started with either of these editors. The bookstore
and CNS carry such manuals. These editors have the advantage that most every UNIX system that
you'll come across will have them, so they are always available.
pico
A very simple editor that is sufficient for most work is pico. It is the same editor that is used in the
Pine mail package that you may have tried out with your Unix GPU account. To use pico to edit the
file test.dat, for example, one simply types pico test.dat at the UNIX prompt. In pico, the
commonly used editing commands are listed at the bottom of its screen. The ^ character represents
the control (Crtl) key. Some commonly used commands are:
Ctrl x
save and exit
Ctrl o
save, don't exit
Ctrl r
read an external file into the present file
Ctrl 6
mark text; press this key, then use the cursor keys to mark text
Ctrl k
cut text to a buffer or just delete it
Ctrl u
uncut text; puts the contents of the buffer at the cursor location
Note that the mouse and the delete and insert keys do not have any effect in pico, but the
backspace key does work normally.
nedit
nedit is a very simple to use, yet powerful X Windows editor. It features pull-down menus, multiple
file editing, undo, and block delimiting with the mouse. Very nice... check it out!
Windows Editors
Two other editors are available by starting up the Microsoft Windows emulator. From a UNIX
command window, type wabi or win.
NotePad: The first of these editors is called notepad and it is available in the Windows Accessories
folder. It uses a very small font and is only useful for editing small text files.
PFE: Another option is a powerful text editor called Programmer's File Editor. It is located in /usr/
local/winapps/pfe directory and it is called pfe.exe (look under the r: drive). Create an
icon for this program by using the New menu item in the Program Manager. This editor features undo
and allows you to edit multiple text files of any size and save them in a DOS or UNIX format.
Note that UNIX and DOS have different conventions for storing carriage returns in text files. Files
must be saved in a UNIX format if they are to be used by compilers and Matlab. Therefore, when
saving files in PFE, ensure that the UNIX option is selected: select Save As from the File menu,
and look at the option in the dialog box.
The appendix describes several customizations that you may want to consider for the PFE editor.
This editor is available as freeware for Windows on the winsite (also know as CICA) archive (see
FTP) so that you can obtain a copy for your computer at home.
Problems with File Names: Note that Windows editors cannot access files which do not comply to
the 8.3 file format used by DOS. For this reason, it is not possible to use the Windows editors to
directly edit some UNIX files. An easy work-around is to rename the file to a DOS-legal name. It
could then be edited, saved, and then renamed back to its original name.
Applications
ANSYS
ANSYS is a general purpose finite element modeling package for numerically solving a wide variety
of mechanical problems. These problems include: static/dynamic structural analysis (both linear and
non-linear), heat transfer and fluid problems, as well as acoustic and electro-magnetic problems.
ANSYS can be run as a text mode program (the default startup mode) or as a true X-Windows
application. The text mode is useful for people who wish to simply submit batch command files to
perform an analysis or if they wish to work on projects at home, over a modem.
To start ANSYS, two methods are avialable:
1. Type xansys52 at the UNIX prompt and a small launcher menu will appear. Select the
Run Interactive Now menu item. Some scrolling of text will go by and then stop. Press
Enter to continue. A multi-windowed environment now appears from which to enter your
commands.
If the text used in ANSYS is a little too small for your taste, it can be changed in the little startup launcher menu that first appeared. From this menu, it is necessary to select the
Interactive ... item. Then choose GUI configuration. From the next dialog box
that appears, select your desired font size.
2. An alternate method to start ANSYS is to type ansys at the UNIX prompt. Some scrolling
text will go by and then stop. Press Enter to continue. Once this is done, you may enter
ANSYS commands. To start the X-Windows portion of the program, issue the following two
commands at the ANSYS prompt:
/show,x11c
/menu,on
A multi-windowed environment now appears from which to enter your commands.
ANSYS can create rather large files when running and saving, therefore it is advisable to start up
ANSYS in the /scratch directory, and then save/delete the appropriate files when you are done.
You many want to check out some detailed online ANSYS tutorials. If you've got some time, check
out the ANSYS Web page.

For further information on using ANSYS, see Dr. Fyfe.
Pro/Engineer
Pro/Engineer is a parametric 3D solid modeling and drafting software tool. Tutorials for Release 20
are available in the bookstore. A companion program, Pro/Mechanica, performs finite element
analysis, including static analysis, sensitivity studies, and design optimization. Pro/Mechanica can be
run integrated with Pro/E or in stand-alone mode.
If you've got some time, check out the Parametric Technology Corporation Web page. For more
information about this program, see Dr. Toogood.
Rampant
Rampant is a general purpose inviscid, laminar and turbulent flow modeling package.
To see a detailed enlargement of the ribbon flow on the car, click on the car figure.
If you've got some time and want to see some more beautiful pictures, like that shown above, check
out the Fluent Web page. For further information on this program, see Dr. Yokota.
FORTRAN
The FORTRAN compiler is invoked by typing:

xlf [-options] filename.f
Normally no options are required. For learning about the compiler's many options, type the
command, xlf by itself. If your program code consists of many files and libraries, consider using a
make file to simplify the program's maintenance.
Note that the name of the FORTRAN program must have an extension of lower case 'f'; i.e. your file
must be named something like test.f and not test.for or TEST.F. If you compile a program
using the syntax xlf test.f, the name of the resulting executable will default to a.out (logical,
isn't it?). This program would be run by entering ./a.out. To change the executable's output name
to test, for example, we would compile the program in the following way:
xlf -o test test.f
To run this program, you now type, ./test. Note that the ./ preceding the name of the executable
can be omitted if the current directory '.' is in your path (this is changed in your .cshrc file; see
Configuration Files).
It is possible (and usually desirable) to have source code in multiple files. For example you might
have a main program and several subroutine files. These can be compiled and linked in one-step by:
xlf -o main main.f sub1.f sub2.f sub3.f
Sending compiler error messages to a file: If you want to send the compiler output, such as error
messages, to a file, you can do it by appending >& errorfile to the xlf command line. For
example:
xlf main.f sub1.f >& errorfile
will compile main.f and sub1.f and send any compiler output to the file errorfile.
Capturing program output: To send output from a program to a file instead of the screen (i.
e. redirecting it), execute the program as follows:
test > output
where test is the name of the executable, and output is the name of the file to which the output
will be sent. If the program normally prompts the user for input, the prompt will not appear on the
screen, because it too is being sent to the output file. The keyboard will still accept the input,
however. So, if you know when to enter data, and what data to enter, you can still run your program
this way.
MATLAB
Matlab is a general purpose programming and analysis package with a wealth of built-in numerical,
symbolic and plotting functions.
You will normally want to start Matlab from the X Windows screen to take advantage of the
graphical environment. Matlab is started from a terminal window by entering:
matlab
When started, Matlab displays its start-up logo and the usual Matlab prompt (>>) appears. Matlab
commands may then be issued from this prompt.
Normally you will want to be editing and running Matlab .m files. The most convenient method to do
this is to open up a second window (see X Windows) and run a text editor from this window. In this
way you will have one window to edit your .m files and the second window to run them from
Matlab. Be sure to save any edited files to disk before trying to run them from Matlab, as Matlab only
has the copy on disk available to it. Note that it is only necessary to save the file, and not actually exit
the editor. In that way it is quick to toggle back and forth between the Matlab and editor windows.
Note that the text .m files created on under DOS/Windows and UNIX environments have different
formats and will cause errors in Matlab if you try to run them in the other environment unless you
make the necessary conversions when copying them to/from your floppy disk (see Floppy Disks).
It is often necessary to save text output from a Matlab session for documentation purposes. This is
accomplished by means of the diary command. From the Matlab prompt, type:
diary filename
where filename is the name of the file where Matlab will echo all keyboard commands and all
ensuing text output from the program. Note that only the output from those commands that you issue
after the diary command will be written to this file. After you are finished writing all that you want to
this file, turn off the diary function with the diary off command. The resulting text file may then be
edited, printed and even imported into a word processor.
To obtain a PostScript printer file of a currently displayed graph in Matlab, you simply type:
print -dps filename

where the switch dps specifies device PostScript and filename is the name of the file that the
PostScript printing commands will be written to. See the section on Printing regarding how one prints
PostScript files.
A great source of Matlab information and useful programs (*.m files) can be found by checking out
the Mathworks Web page.
Remote Access
You may gain access to this lab from other computers on campus or even at home by starting up a
telnet session (or via a remote login) to connect to one of the lab's workstations. The workstations are
named mec01.labs through to mec30.labs. Depending from where you are trying to access
these computers, you may need to enter the full address of these workstations which has the form
mecxx.labs.ualberta.ca (where xx is any workstation number from 01 to 30).
For example, if you were in another lab on campus with telnet capabilities, such as the labs in
Cameron and CAB, you could access workstation mec08 by entering the command:
telnet mec08.labs
You may also need to access another mecxx workstation from within the MecE 3-3 lab for such
purposes as printing and resetting a hung workstation. The rlogin command is useful for this purpose.
For example, you may login onto workstation 18 from any other workstation in the lab, by issuing the
command,
rlogin mec18
Avoid rlogins and telnets into mec12 unless you are having a PostScript file printed. Once the job is
completed, logout immediately as there are only 2 remote logins open to that workstation. Also avoid
rlogins to mec24 as it is a major file server for the network.
Note that if you are going to be remotely running an X Windows application, you must have an X
server running on your local machine. If you have logged in remotely from another X Windows
machine, you simply need enter the xhost hostname command to set this up. However if you have
logged in from a PC or MAC from another place on campus or at home, you will need to acquire and
run an X server program. One such program is available from CNS and is called Micro X-Win (it is
available in GSB room 240 for $20). It is a Windows based program and its emulation speed is good
when running locally on the fast network backbone on campus, but is very slow when running it over
a modem.
The other thing that you must do when running an X Windows application remotely is to tell the
remote workstation where the X output is to be sent. This is specified with the following command:
setenv DISPLAY location:0
where location is your current workstation name (hostname) or your local IP address. In this
command, note the upper case DISPLAY and the trailing :0 (zero).
E-Mail and the Internet

Having a GPU account means that you can send and receive E-Mail. If your CNS login id is jblow,
for example, then your E-mail address is jblow@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca. The mecxx.labs
machines do not have an e-mail program on them, but GPU does. To use E-mail then, it is necessary
to rlogin or telnet to GPU. You can enter the mail program called pine, either through lynx, or by
typing pine at the prompt. Pine is based on the pico editor, and is easy to use and fairly selfexplanatory. For more information on using some of the services offered by the internet, see FTP,
newsgroups and WWW.
Printing
Printing is not performed by directly sending printing commands from a particular application. You
must first create ASCII text files or PostScript files and then use one of the procedures listed below.
Black & White Printing

Text Files: It is possible to print pure text files (ASCII), free of charge, to the printers located in the
small room just outside the main part of the computing lab. To do this, type,
lpr filename
where filename is the name of the text file to print. This file is printed in the small room, just
outside the main part of the lab, with an accompanying banner page with your username on it.
Do not send PostScript printer files to this printer!
Up-to-date printing instructions are found in the file: /usr/local/doc/printer.txt.
PostScript files: PostScript files are files in a special language that only certain printers can
understand. Many applications, such as ANSYS and Matlab have the capability to save pictures as
PostScript files. The laser printer in the little room outside Mec 3-3 is a PostScript printer. To use it,
telnet or rlogin to mec12 and type,
lprps filename
where filename is the name of a PostScript file. Within one minute you must insert your copycard
(a library PhotoCard) in the machine beside the printer. If you fail to do so, your job (but not your
file) will be deleted. Prints are $0.20 per page.
To print from Windows applications in Wabi, you must print to a PostScript file and print it using this
procedure (see Wabi Printing).
Large PostScript Files: note that very large PostScript files will probably not print on this printer
due to the large transfer times required to copy the file to the printer. If you have problems with this
you will have to print the file elsewhere. One option is to consider the possibilities listed in the
section below on color printing.
Color PostScript Printing

Many applications can output color PostScript files to display results. There are two facilities on
campus for printing these files; both require encapsulated PostScript files (or eps files):
CNS Versatec Color Plotter: this facility permits output plot sizes from 8 1/2" X 11" to 33" X 44"
for a very reasonable price. From a GPU account login, issue the command:
plotpostscript filename.eps scale c
where filename.eps is the name of the PostScript eps file and scale is a scaling factor from 1
to 4 (a factor of 1 is for an 8 1/2" X 11" page and 4 is for a 33" X 44" poster). The c indicates the plot
is to be made in color. The plots are picked up and paid for in the General Services Building, room
240.
Education PostScript Color Printer: To use this service, you must use FTP to copy your eps file to
the IP address: 129.128.85.145 (see FTP). It is then necessary to call extension 5433 (on
campus) and tell them what file to print, the number of copies and whether or not you want the
printout on paper or overhead transparencies. The output is picked up and paid for in the basement of
the Education Building (Instructional Resource Center, room B-111).
For further information, see table of contents, getting started, or appendices.
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve a simple 2D Truss problem. This is the first of four
introductory ANSYS tutorials.
Problem Description
Determine the nodal deflections, reaction forces, and stress for the truss system shown below. Note that
Young's Modulus, E, is 200GPa while the crass sectional area, A, is 3250mm2 for all of the elements.

! ANSYS command file to perform 2D Truss Tutorial (Chandrupatla p.123)
!
/title, Bridge Truss Tutorial
/PREP7
!
! define parameters (mm)
height = 3118
width = 3600
!
! define keypoints
!
K,1,
0,
0
! keypoint, #, x, y
K,2,
width/2,height
K,3,
width, 0
K,4, 3*width/2, height
K,5,
2*width,
K,6, 5*width/2,
K,7,
3*width,
!
! define lines
!
L,1,2
L,1,3
L,2,3
L,2,4
L,3,4
L,3,5
L,4,5
L,4,6
L,5,6
L,5,7
L,6,7
0
height
0
!
! element definition
!
ET,1,LINK1
R,1,3250
MP,EX,1,200e3
! line connecting kpoint 1 and 2
! element type
#1; spring element
! real constant
#1; Xsect area: 3200 mm^2
! material property #1; Young's modulus: 200 GPa
LESIZE,ALL, , ,1,1,1
! specify divisions on unmeshed lines
LMESH,all
! mesh all lines
!
FINISH
! finish pre-processor
!
/SOLU
! enter solution phase
!
! apply some constraints
DK,1,ALL,0
! define a DOF constraint at a keypoint
DK,7,UY,0
!
! apply loads
!
FK,1,FY,-280e3
! define a force load to a keypoint
FK,3,FY,-210e3
FK,5,FY,-280e3
FK,7,FY,-360e3
!
SOLVE
! solve the resulting system of equations
FINISH
! finish solution
/POST1
PRRSOL,F
PLDISP,2
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
! List Reaction Forces

! Plot Deformed shape
! Contour Plot of deflection
ETABLE,SAXL,LS, 1
PRETAB,SAXL
PLETAB,SAXL,NOAV
! Axial Stress
! List Element Table
! Plot Axial Stress
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CBT/Truss/Truss.html

Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve a simple 2D Truss problem. This is the first of four
introductory ANSYS tutorials.
Problem Description
Determine the nodal deflections, reaction forces, and stress for the truss system shown below. Note that Young's
Modulus, E, is 200GPa while the crass sectional area, A, is 3250mm2 for all of the elements.

! ANSYS command file to perform 2D Truss Tutorial (Chandrupatla p.123)
!
/title, Bridge Truss Tutorial
/PREP7
!
! define parameters (mm)
height = 3118
width = 3600
!
! define keypoints
!
K,1,
0,
0
! keypoint, #, x, y
K,2,
width/2,height
K,3,
width, 0
K,5,
2*width,
0
K,7,
3*width, 0
!
! define lines
!
L,1,2
! line connecting kpoint 1 and 2
L,1,3
L,2,3
L,2,4
Copyright 2001 University of Alberta
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CBT/Truss/Truss.html

L,3,4
L,3,5
L,4,5
L,4,6
L,5,6
L,5,7
L,6,7
!
! element definition
!
ET,1,LINK1
R,1,3250
MP,EX,1,200e3
! element type
#1; spring element
! real constant
#1; Xsect area: 3200 mm^2
! material property #1; Young's modulus: 200 GPa
LESIZE,ALL, , ,1,1,1
! specify divisions on unmeshed lines
LMESH,all
! mesh all lines
!
FINISH
! finish pre-processor
!
/SOLU
! enter solution phase
!
! apply some constraints
DK,1,ALL,0
! define a DOF constraint at a keypoint
DK,7,UY,0
!
! apply loads
!
FK,1,FY,-280e3
! define a force load to a keypoint
FK,3,FY,-210e3
FK,5,FY,-280e3
FK,7,FY,-360e3
!
SOLVE
! solve the resulting system of equations
FINISH
! finish solution
/POST1
PRRSOL,F
PLDISP,2
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
ETABLE,SAXL,LS, 1
PRETAB,SAXL
PLETAB,SAXL,NOAV
! List Reaction Forces

! Plot Deformed shape
! Contour Plot of deflection
! Axial Stress
! List Element Table
! Plot Axial Stress
3D Space Frame Example
Problem Description
The problem to be modeled in this example is a simple bicycle frame shown in the following figure. The frame is to be
built of hollow aluminum tubing having an outside diameter of 25mm and a wall thickness of 2mm for the main part of
the frame. For the rear forks, the tubing will be 12mm outside diameter and 1mm wall thickness.

! Command File mode of 3D Bicycle Space Frame
/title,3D Bicycle Space Frame
/prep7
! Enter the pre-processor
! Define Some Parameters

x1
x2
y1
y2
z1
=
=
=
=
=
500
825
325
400
50
!
!
!
!
!
These parameters are not required; i.e. one could

directly enter in the coordinates into the keypoint
definition below.
However, using parameters makes it very easy to
quickly make changes to your model!
! Define Keypoints
K,1, 0,y1, 0
K,2, 0,y2, 0
K,3,x1,y2, 0
K,4,x1, 0, 0
K,5,x2, 0, z1
K,6,x2, 0,-z1
! k,key-point number,x-coord,y-coord,z-coord
! Define Lines Linking Keypoints

L,1,2
L,2,3
L,3,4
L,4,1
L,4,6
L,4,5
L,3,5
L,3,6
! l,keypoint1,keypoint2
! these last two line are for the rear forks
! Define Element Type

ET,1,pipe16
KEYOPT,1,6,1
! Define Real Constants
! (Note: the inside diameter must be positive)
R,1,25,2
! r,real set number,outside diameter,wall thickness
R,2,12,1
! second set of real constants - for rear forks
! Define Material Properties
MP,EX,1,70000
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
! mp,Young's modulus,material number,value

! mp,Poisson's ratio,material number,value
! Define the number of elements each line is to be divided into

LESIZE,ALL,20
! lesize,line number(all lines),size of element
! Line Meshing
REAL,1
LMESH,1,6,1
REAL,2
LMESH,7,8
!
!
!
!
!
turn on real property set #1

mesh those lines which have that property set
mesh lines 1 through 6 in steps of 1
activate real property set #2
mesh the rear forks
FINISH
! Finish pre-processing
/SOLU
! Enter the solution processor
ANTYPE,0
! Analysis type,static
! Define Displacement Constraints on Keypoints

DK,1,UX,0,,,UY,UZ
DK,5,UY,0,,,UZ
DK,6,UY,0,,,UZ
! dk,keypoint,direction,displacement,,,direction,direction
! Define Forces on Keypoints

FK,3,FY,-600
FK,4,FY,-200
SOLVE
(dk command)
(fk command)
!fk,keypoint,direction,force
! Solve the problem
FINISH
! Finish the solution processor
SAVE
! Save your work to the database
/post1
! Enter the general post processor
/WIND,ALL,OFF
/WIND,1,LTOP
/WIND,2,RTOP
/WIND,3,LBOT
/WIND,4,RBOT
GPLOT
/GCMD,1, PLDISP,2
!Plot the deformed and undeformed edge
/GCMD,2, PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
!
!
!
!
!
Set up Element Table information

Element tables are tables of information regarding the solution data
You must tell Ansys what pieces of information you want by using the
etable command:
etable,arbitrary name,item name,data code number
! The arbitrary name is a name that you give the data in the table
! It serves as a reference name to retrieve the data later
! Use a name that describes the data and is easily remembered.
! The item name and data code number come off of the tables provided.
! Examples:
! For the VonMises (or equivalent) stresses at angle 0 at both ends of the
! element (node i and node j);
etable,vonmi0,nmisc,5
etable,vonmj0,nmisc,45
! For the Axial stresses at angle 0
etable,axii0,ls,1
etable,axij0,ls,33
! For the Direct axial stress component due to axial load (no bending)
! Note it is independent of angular location.
etable,diri,smisc,13
etable,dirj,smisc,15
! ADD OTHERS THAT YOU NEED IN HERE...
! To plot the data, simply type
!
plls, name for node i, name for node j
! for example,
/GCMD,3, PLLS,vonmi0,vonmj0
/GCMD,4, PLLS,axii0,axij0
/CONT,2,9,0,,0.27
/CONT,3,9,0,,18
/CONT,4,9,-18,,18
/FOC,ALL,-0.340000,,,1
/replot
PRNSOL,DOF,
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CBT/Bike/Print.html
3D Space Frame Example

Problem Description
The problem to be modeled in this example is a simple bicycle frame shown in the following figure. The frame
is to be built of hollow aluminum tubing having an outside diameter of 25mm and a wall thickness of 2mm for
the main part of the frame. For the rear forks, the tubing will be 12mm outside diameter and 1mm wall
thickness.

! Command File mode of 3D Bicycle Space Frame
/title,3D Bicycle Space Frame
/prep7
! Define Some Parameters

x1
x2
y1
y2
z1
=
=
=
=
=
500
825
325
400
50
!
!
!
!
!
These parameters are not required; i.e. one could

directly enter in the coordinates into the keypoint
definition below.
However, using parameters makes it very easy to
quickly make changes to your model!
! Define Keypoints
K,1, 0,y1, 0
K,2, 0,y2, 0
K,3,x1,y2, 0
K,4,x1, 0, 0
K,5,x2, 0, z1
K,6,x2, 0,-z1
! k,key-point number,x-coord,y-coord,z-coord
! Define Lines Linking Keypoints

L,1,2
L,2,3
L,3,4
L,4,1
L,4,6
L,4,5
L,3,5
L,3,6
! l,keypoint1,keypoint2
! these last two line are for the rear forks

ET,1,pipe16
KEYOPT,1,6,1
R,1,25,2
! r,real set number,outside diameter,wall thickness
R,2,12,1
! second set of real constants - for rear forks
MP,EX,1,70000
MP,PRXY,1,0.33


LESIZE,ALL,20
! lesize,line number(all lines),size of element
! Line Meshing
REAL,1
LMESH,1,6,1
REAL,2
LMESH,7,8
!
!
!
!
!
turn on real property set #1

mesh those lines which have that property set
mesh lines 1 through 6 in steps of 1
activate real property set #2
mesh the rear forks
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! Define Displacement Constraints on Keypoints

DK,1,UX,0,,,UY,UZ
DK,5,UY,0,,,UZ
DK,6,UY,0,,,UZ
! dk,keypoint,direction,displacement,,,direction,direction

FK,3,FY,-600
FK,4,FY,-200
(dk command)
(fk command)
SOLVE
! Solve the problem
FINISH
SAVE
/post1
/WIND,ALL,OFF
/WIND,1,LTOP
/WIND,2,RTOP
/WIND,3,LBOT
/WIND,4,RBOT
GPLOT
/GCMD,1, PLDISP,2
!Plot the deformed and undeformed edge
!
!
!
!
!
Set up Element Table information

Element tables are tables of information regarding the solution data
You must tell Ansys what pieces of information you want by using the
etable command:
etable,arbitrary name,item name,data code number
! The arbitrary name is a name that you give the data in the table
! It serves as a reference name to retrieve the data later
! Use a name that describes the data and is easily remembered.
! The item name and data code number come off of the tables provided.
! Examples:
! For the VonMises (or equivalent) stresses at angle 0 at both ends of the
! element (node i and node j);
etable,vonmi0,nmisc,5
etable,vonmj0,nmisc,45
! For the Axial stresses at angle 0
etable,axii0,ls,1
etable,axij0,ls,33
! For the Direct axial stress component due to axial load (no bending)
! Note it is independent of angular location.
etable,diri,smisc,13
etable,dirj,smisc,15
! ADD OTHERS THAT YOU NEED IN HERE...
! To plot the data, simply type
!
plls, name for node i, name for node j
! for example,
/GCMD,3, PLLS,vonmi0,vonmj0
/GCMD,4, PLLS,axii0,axij0
/CONT,2,9,0,,0.27
/CONT,3,9,0,,18
/CONT,4,9,-18,,18
/FOC,ALL,-0.340000,,,1
/replot
PRNSOL,DOF,
The first step is to simplify the problem. Whenever you are trying out a new analysis type, you need something (ie analytical
solution or experimental data) to compare the results to. This way you can be sure that you've gotten the correct analysis type,
units, scale factors, etc.
The simplified version that will be used for this problem is that of a flat rectangular plate with a hole shown in the following
figure:

! Command File mode of 2D Plane Stress Verification
/title, 2D Plane Stress Verification
/PREP7
BLC4,0,0,200,100
CYL4,100,50,20
ASBA,1,2
!
!
!
!
Preprocessor
rectangle, bottom left corner coords, width, height
circle,center coords, radius
substract area 2 from area 1
ET,1,PLANE42
KEYOPT,1,3,3
thickness
!element Type = plane 42

! This is the changed option to give the plate a
R,1,20
! Real Constant, Material 1, Plate Thickness
MP,EX,1,200000
200000 MPa
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
1, 0.3
! Material Properties, Young's Modulus, Material 1,
AESIZE,ALL,5
AMESH,ALL
! Element sizes, all of the lines, 5 mm

! Mesh the lines
FINISH
! Exit preprocessor
! Material Properties, Major Poisson's Ratio, Material
/SOLU
! Solution
ANTYPE,0
! The type of analysis (static)
DL,4, ,ALL,0
SFL,2,PRES,-1
! Apply a Displacement to Line 4 to all DOF

! Apply a Distributed load to Line 2
SOLVE
FINISH
! Solve the problem
/POST1
PLNSOL,S,EQV
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CBP/Verif_Print.html

The first step is to simplify the problem. Whenever you are trying out a new analysis type, you need something
(ie analytical solution or experimental data) to compare the results to. This way you can be sure that you've
gotten the correct analysis type, units, scale factors, etc.
The simplified version that will be used for this problem is that of a flat rectangular plate with a hole shown in
the following figure:

! Command File mode of 2D Plane Stress Verification
/title, 2D Plane Stress Verification
/PREP7
BLC4,0,0,200,100
CYL4,100,50,20
ASBA,1,2
!
!
!
!
ET,1,PLANE42
KEYOPT,1,3,3
!element Type = plane 42

! This is the changed option to give the plate a thickness
R,1,20
! Real Constant, Material 1, Plate Thickness
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
! Material Properties, Young's Modulus, Material 1, 200000

! Material Properties, Major Poisson's Ratio, Material 1,
AESIZE,ALL,5
AMESH,ALL
! Element sizes, all of the lines, 5 mm

! Mesh the lines
Preprocessor
rectangle, bottom left corner coords, width, height
circle,center coords, radius
substract area 2 from area 1
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CBP/Verif_Print.html
FINISH
/SOLU
! Exit preprocessor
! Solution
ANTYPE,0
! The type of analysis (static)
DL,4, ,ALL,0
SFL,2,PRES,-1
! Apply a Displacement to Line 4 to all DOF

! Apply a Distributed load to Line 2
SOLVE
FINISH
! Solve the problem
/POST1
PLNSOL,S,EQV
Introduction
This tutorial is the second of three basic tutorials created to illustrate commom features in ANSYS. The plane stress bracket
tutorial builds upon techniques covered in the first tutorial (3D Bicycle Space Frame), it is therefore essential that you have
completed that tutorial prior to beginning this one.
Problem Description
The problem to be modeled in this example is a simple bracket shown in the following figure. This bracket is to be built from a
20 mm thick steel plate. A figure of the plate is shown below.

! Command File mode of 2D Plane Stress Bracket
/title, 2D Plane Stress Bracket
/prep7
! Create Geometry
BLC4,0,0,80,100
CYL4,80,50,50
CYL4,0,20,20
CYL4,0,80,20
BLC4,-20,20,20,60
AADD,ALL
! Boolean Addition - add all of the areas together
CYL4,80,50,30
CYL4,0,20,10
CYL4,0,80,10
! Create Bolt Holes
ASBA,6,ALL
from base area 6
! Boolean Subtraction - subtracts all areas (other than 6)

ET,1,PLANE82
KEYOPT,1,3,3
! Plane stress element with thickness

R,1,20
! r,real set number, plate thickness
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3


AESIZE,ALL,5
! lesize,all areas,size of element
! Area Meshing
AMESH,ALL
! amesh, all areas
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! Define Displacement Constraints on Lines

DL, 7,
DL, 8,
DL, 9,
DL,10,
DL,11,
DL,12,
DL,13,
DL,14,
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
! There is probably a way to do these all at once...

FK,9,FY,-1000
SOLVE
(dl command)
(fk command)
! Solve the problem
FINISH
SAVE
/post1
/WIND,ALL,OFF
/WIND,1,LTOP
/WIND,2,RTOP
/WIND,3,LBOT
/WIND,4,RBOT
GPLOT
/GCMD,1, PLDISP,2
! Plot the deformed and undeformed edge

! Plot the deflection USUM
/GCMD,3, PLNSOL,S,EQV,0,1
/GCMD,4, PLNSOL,EPTO,EQV,0,1
! Plot the equivalent stress

! Plot the equivalent strain
/CONT,2,10,0,,0.0036
/CONT,3,10,0,,8
/CONT,4,10,0,,0.05e-3
! Set contour ranges
/FOC,ALL,-0.340000,,,1
! Focus point
/replot
PRNSOL,DOF,
! Prints the nodal solutions
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CBT/Bracket/Print.html

Introduction
This tutorial is the second of three basic tutorials created to illustrate commom features in ANSYS. The plane
stress bracket tutorial builds upon techniques covered in the first tutorial (3D Bicycle Space Frame), it is
therefore essential that you have completed that tutorial prior to beginning this one.
Problem Description
The problem to be modeled in this example is a simple bracket shown in the following figure. This bracket is to
be built from a 20 mm thick steel plate. A figure of the plate is shown below.

! Command File mode of 2D Plane Stress Bracket
/title, 2D Plane Stress Bracket
/prep7
! Create Geometry
BLC4,0,0,80,100
CYL4,80,50,50
CYL4,0,20,20
CYL4,0,80,20
BLC4,-20,20,20,60
AADD,ALL
! Boolean Addition - add all of the areas together
CYL4,80,50,30
CYL4,0,20,10
CYL4,0,80,10
! Create Bolt Holes
ASBA,6,ALL
! Boolean Subtraction - subtracts all areas (other than 6) from ba

ET,1,PLANE82
KEYOPT,1,3,3
! Plane stress element with thickness

R,1,20
! r,real set number, plate thickness
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3


AESIZE,ALL,5
! lesize,all areas,size of element
! Area Meshing
AMESH,ALL
! amesh, all areas
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! Define Displacement Constraints on Lines

DL, 7,
DL, 8,
DL, 9,
DL,10,
DL,11,
DL,12,
DL,13,
DL,14,
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
,ALL,0
! There is probably a way to do these all at once...

FK,9,FY,-1000
(dl command)
(fk command)
SOLVE
! Solve the problem
FINISH
SAVE
/post1
/WIND,ALL,OFF
/WIND,1,LTOP
/WIND,2,RTOP
/WIND,3,LBOT
/WIND,4,RBOT
GPLOT
/GCMD,1, PLDISP,2
! Plot the deformed and undeformed edge

! Plot the deflection USUM
/GCMD,3, PLNSOL,S,EQV,0,1
/GCMD,4, PLNSOL,EPTO,EQV,0,1

! Plot the equivalent strain
/CONT,2,10,0,,0.0036
/CONT,3,10,0,,8
/CONT,4,10,0,,0.05e-3
! Set contour ranges
/FOC,ALL,-0.340000,,,1
! Focus point
/replot
PRNSOL,DOF,
! Prints the nodal solutions
Introduction
This tutorial is the last of three basic tutorials devised to illustrate commom features in ANSYS. Each tutorial builds upon
techniques covered in previous tutorials, it is therefore essential that you complete the tutorials in order.
The Solid Modelling Tutorial will introduce various techniques which can be used in ANSYS to create solid models. Filleting,
extrusion/sweeping, copying, and working plane orientation will be covered in detail.
We will create a solid model of the pulley shown in the following figure.
We will also create a solid model of the Spindle Base shown in the following figure.

Pulley Model
/PREP7
BLC4,2,0,1,5.5
BLC4,3,2,5,1
BLC4,8,0,0.5,5
! Create rectangles
AADD,ALL
! Add the areas together
CYL4,3,5.5,0.5
CYL4,8.5,0.2,0.2
! Create circles
ASBA,4,1
! Subtract an area
AGEN,2,2,,,,4.6
AGEN,2,1,,,-0.5
! Mirrors an area
AADD,ALL
! Adds all areas
LFILLT,22,7,0.1,,
lines 30 and 7
LFILLT,26,7,0.1,,
!Create a fillet radius of 0.1mm between
AL,3,6,9
lines 9,10,11)
AL,10,11,14
! Creates fillet area (arbitrary area using
AADD,ALL
! Sweep
K,1001,0,0,0
K,1002,0,5,0
! Keypoints
VROTAT,3, , , , , ,1001,1002,360, ,
1001 and 1002
! Sweep area 4 about axis formed by keypoints
K,2001,0,3,0
K,2002,1,3,0
K,2003,0,3,1
KWPLAN,1,2001,2002,2003
CSYS,5
!Align WorkPlane with keypoints

! Change Active CS to Global Cartesian Y
CYL4,5.5,0,0.5, , , ,1
! Create circle
VGEN,8,5, , , ,45, , ,0
! Pattern the circle every 45 degrees
!Subtract areas
vsbv,all,5
vsbv,13,6
vsbv,all,7
vsbv,4,8
vsbv,all,9
vsbv,2,10
vsbv,all,11
vsbv,2,12
Spindle Base Model
/PREP7
BLC4,0,0,109,102
! Create rectangle
K,5,-20,82
K,6,-20,20
K,7,0,82
K,8,0,20
! Keypoints
LARC,4,5,7,20
LARC,1,6,8,20
L,5,6
! Line arcs
AL,4,5,6,7
! Creates area from 4 lines
AADD,1,2
CYL4,0,20,10
AGEN,2,1, , ,69
AGEN,2,1,2, , ,62
ASBA,3,ALL
!
!
!
!
!
VOFFST,6,26
! Creates volume from area
K,100,109,102,0
K,101,109,2,0
K,102,159,102,sqrt(3)/0.02
! Keypoints
KWPLAN,-1,100,101,102
! Defines working plane
BLC4,0,0,102,180
CYL4,51,180,51
AADD,25,26
! Create rectangle
! Create circle
! Add them together
VOFFST,27,26
! Volume from area
VADD,1,2
! Add volumes
Now called area 3

Area 1
Mirrors area 1
Mirrors again
Subtracts areas
AADD,33,34,38
AADD,32,36,37
! Add areas
CYL4,51,180,32, , , ,60
VADD,1,3
CYL4,51,180,18.5, , , ,60
VSBV,2,1
!
!
!
!
WPCSYS,-1,0
system
! This re-aligns the WP with the global coordinate
K,200,-20,61,26
K,201,0,61,26
K,202,-20,61,30
! Keypoints
KWPLAN,-1,200,201,202
CSYS,4
! Shift working plane

! Change active coordinate system
Create cylinder
Add volumes
Another cylinder
Subtract it
K,203,129-(0.57735*26),0,0
K,204, 129-(0.57735*26) + 38, sqrt(3)/2*76,0
! Keypoints
A,200,203,204
! Create area from keypoints
VOFFST,7,20,
VADD, ALL
! Volume from area

! Add it together
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CBT/Solid/Print.html

Introduction
This tutorial is the last of three basic tutorials devised to illustrate commom features in ANSYS. Each tutorial
builds upon techniques covered in previous tutorials, it is therefore essential that you complete the tutorials in
order.
The Solid Modelling Tutorial will introduce various techniques which can be used in ANSYS to create solid
models. Filleting, extrusion/sweeping, copying, and working plane orientation will be covered in detail.
We will create a solid model of the pulley shown in the following figure.
We will also create a solid model of the Spindle Base shown in the following figure.

Pulley Model
/PREP7
BLC4,2,0,1,5.5
BLC4,3,2,5,1
BLC4,8,0,0.5,5
! Create rectangles
AADD,ALL
CYL4,3,5.5,0.5
CYL4,8.5,0.2,0.2
! Create circles
ASBA,4,1
! Subtract an area
AGEN,2,2,,,,4.6
AGEN,2,1,,,-0.5
! Mirrors an area
AADD,ALL
! Adds all areas
LFILLT,22,7,0.1,,
LFILLT,26,7,0.1,,
!Create a fillet radius of 0.1mm between lines 30
AL,3,6,9
AL,10,11,14
! Creates fillet area (arbitrary area using lines
AADD,ALL
! Sweep
K,1001,0,0,0
K,1002,0,5,0
! Keypoints
VROTAT,3, , , , , ,1001,1002,360, ,
! Sweep area 4 about axis formed by keypoints 1001
K,2001,0,3,0
K,2002,1,3,0
K,2003,0,3,1
KWPLAN,1,2001,2002,2003
CSYS,5
!Align WorkPlane with keypoints

! Change Active CS to Global Cartesian Y
CYL4,5.5,0,0.5, , , ,1
! Create circle
VGEN,8,5, , , ,45, , ,0
! Pattern the circle every 45 degrees
!Subtract areas
vsbv,all,5
vsbv,13,6
vsbv,all,7
vsbv,4,8
vsbv,all,9
vsbv,2,10
vsbv,all,11
vsbv,2,12
Spindle Base Model

/PREP7
BLC4,0,0,109,102
! Create rectangle
K,5,-20,82
K,6,-20,20
K,7,0,82
K,8,0,20
! Keypoints
LARC,4,5,7,20
LARC,1,6,8,20
L,5,6
! Line arcs
AL,4,5,6,7
! Creates area from 4 lines
AADD,1,2
CYL4,0,20,10
AGEN,2,1, , ,69
AGEN,2,1,2, , ,62
ASBA,3,ALL
!
!
!
!
!
VOFFST,6,26
! Creates volume from area
K,100,109,102,0
K,101,109,2,0
K,102,159,102,sqrt(3)/0.02
! Keypoints
KWPLAN,-1,100,101,102
! Defines working plane
BLC4,0,0,102,180
CYL4,51,180,51
AADD,25,26
! Create rectangle
! Create circle
! Add them together
VOFFST,27,26
! Volume from area
VADD,1,2
! Add volumes
AADD,33,34,38
AADD,32,36,37
! Add areas
Now called area 3

Area 1
Mirrors area 1
Mirrors again
Subtracts areas
CYL4,51,180,32, , , ,60
VADD,1,3
CYL4,51,180,18.5, , , ,60
VSBV,2,1
!
!
!
!
Create cylinder
Add volumes
Another cylinder
Subtract it
WPCSYS,-1,0
! This re-aligns the WP with the global coordinate system
K,200,-20,61,26
K,201,0,61,26
K,202,-20,61,30
! Keypoints
KWPLAN,-1,200,201,202
CSYS,4
! Shift working plane

! Change active coordinate system
K,203,129-(0.57735*26),0,0
K,204, 129-(0.57735*26) + 38, sqrt(3)/2*76,0
! Keypoints
A,200,203,204
VOFFST,7,20,
VADD, ALL
! Volume from area

! Add it together
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to show the required
steps to account for the weight of an object in ANSYS.
Loads will not be applied to the beam shown below in order to observe the deflection caused by the
weight of the beam itself. The beam is to be made of steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa.

/Title, Effects of Self Weight
/PREP7
Length = 1000
Width = 50
Height = 10
K,1,0,0
K,2,Length,0
! Create Keypoints
L,1,2
ET,1,BEAM3
! Set element type
R,1,Width*Height,Width*(Height**3)/12,Height
MP,EX,1,200000
! Young's Modulus
!** = exponent
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
MP,DENS,1,7.86e-6
! Poisson's ratio
! Density
LESIZE,ALL,Length/10,
LMESH,1
! Size of line elements

! Mesh line 1
FINISH
/SOLU
! Enter solution mode
ANTYPE,0
DK,1,ALL,0,
ACEL,,9.8
! Static analysis
! Constrain keypoint 1
! Set gravity constant
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLDISP,2
! Display deformed shape
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Density/Print.html

Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to show the required steps to
account for the weight of an object in ANSYS.
Loads will not be applied to the beam shown below in order to observe the deflection caused by the weight of
the beam itself. The beam is to be made of steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa.

/Title, Effects of Self Weight
/PREP7
Length = 1000
Width = 50
Height = 10
K,1,0,0
K,2,Length,0
! Create Keypoints
L,1,2
ET,1,BEAM3
! Set element type
R,1,Width*Height,Width*(Height**3)/12,Height
MP,EX,1,200000
! Young's Modulus
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
! Poisson's ratio
MP,DENS,1,7.86e-6
! Density
LESIZE,ALL,Length/10,
LMESH,1
! Size of line elements

! Mesh line 1
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! Static analysis
!** = exponent
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Density/Print.html
DK,1,ALL,0,
ACEL,,9.8
! Set gravity constant
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLDISP,2
! Display deformed shape
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0. The purpose of this tutorial is to explain how to apply distributed
loads and use element tables to extract data. Please note that this material was also covered in the 'Bicycle Space
Frame' tutorial under 'Basic Tutorials'.
A distributed load of 1000 N/m (1 N/mm) will be applied to a solid steel beam with a rectangular cross section as
shown in the figure below. The cross-section of the beam is 10mm x 10mm while the modulus of elasticity of the
steel is 200GPa.

/title, Distributed Loading of a Beam
/PREP7
K,1,0,0
K,2,1000,0
! Define the keypoints
L,1,2
! Create the line
ET,1,BEAM3
! Beam3 element type
R,1,100,833.333,10
! Real constants - area,I,height
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
! Young's Modulus
! Poisson's ratio
ESIZE,100
LMESH,ALL
! Mesh size
! Mesh line
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! Static analysis
DK,1,UX,0,,,UY
DK,2,UY,0
! Pin keypoint 1
! Roller on keypoint 2
SFBEAM,ALL,1,PRES,1
! Apply distributed load
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLDISP,2
! Plot deformed shape
ETABLE,SMAXI,NMISC, 1
ETABLE,SMAXJ,NMISC, 3
PLLS,SMAXI,SMAXJ,1,0
! Create data for element table

! Plot ETABLE data
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Distributed/Print.ht...

Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0. The purpose of this tutorial is to explain how to apply
distributed loads and use element tables to extract data. Please note that this material was also covered in the
'Bicycle Space Frame' tutorial under 'Basic Tutorials'.
A distributed load of 1000 N/m (1 N/mm) will be applied to a solid steel beam with a rectangular cross section
as shown in the figure below. The cross-section of the beam is 10mm x 10mm while the modulus of elasticity of
the steel is 200GPa.

/title, Distributed Loading of a Beam
/PREP7
K,1,0,0
K,2,1000,0
! Define the keypoints
L,1,2
! Create the line
ET,1,BEAM3
! Beam3 element type
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Distributed/Print.ht...
R,1,100,833.333,10
! Real constants - area,I,height
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
! Young's Modulus
! Poisson's ratio
ESIZE,100
LMESH,ALL
! Mesh size
! Mesh line
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! Static analysis
DK,1,UX,0,,,UY
DK,2,UY,0
! Pin keypoint 1
! Roller on keypoint 2
SFBEAM,ALL,1,PRES,1
! Apply distributed load
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLDISP,2
! Plot deformed shape
ETABLE,SMAXI,NMISC, 1
ETABLE,SMAXJ,NMISC, 3
PLLS,SMAXI,SMAXJ,1,0
! Create data for element table

! Plot ETABLE data
UofA ANSYS Tutorial

Creating Files
ANSYS
UTILITIES
BASIC
TUTORIALS
INTERMEDIATE
TUTORIALS
ADVANCED
TUTORIALS
POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS
COMMAND
LINE FILES
PRINTABLE
VERSION
Contact Element Example
Features
Basic Tutorials
Advanced Tutorials
PostProc Tutorials
The ANSYS contact element CONTACT48 allows friction to be modelled as a normal force only or as a normal force and a shear force.
In this model there are two blocks, one above top of the other, with a small separation. The top block is cantilevered while the bottom
block is tied to ground. The top block experiences a load and comes into contact with the lower block.
This command file is also useful to demonstate the use of sets or selections to group nodes/keypoints or to select a single node/keypoint to
which boundary conditions will be applied.
Radiation
Index
Contributions
Comments
MecE 563
ANSYS Inc.
Copyright 2001
/title,Sample of CONTACT48 element type

/prep7
RECTNG,0,10,0,2
! define rectangular areas
RECTNG,2.5,7.5,2,4
aplot
! define element type
ET,1,plane42,,,3,,2 ! element type 1, plane stress w/thick, nodal, strs out
type,1
! activate element type 1
R, 1, 0.01
! thickness 0.01
! define material properties

MP,EX, 1, 200e3
MP,NUXY,1, 0.3
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
MP,EX, 2, 20e3
MP,NUXY,2, 0.3
! Young's modulus (10 times less rigid!)

! Poisson's ratio
! meshing
esize,0.5
mat,1
real,1
amesh,1
!
!
!
!
set meshing size

turn on material set #1
real set #1
mesh area 1
esize,0.35
mat,2
amesh,2
/pnum,mat,1
eplot
! turn on material color shading
ET,2,contac48,,1
! defines second element type - 2D contact elements
keyo,2,7,1
r,2,20e3,,0.005,,10
TYPE,2
! activates or sets this element type
real,2
! define contact nodes and elements
! first the contact nodes
asel,s,area,,2
!
nsla,s,1
!
nsel,r,loc,y,1.99,2.01
!
cm,source,node
!
! then the target nodes
allsel
select top area

select the nodes within this area
select bottom layer of nodes in this area
call this group of nodes 'source'
! relect everything
asel,s,area,,1
nsla,s,1
nsel,r,loc,y,1.99,2.01
cm,target,node
!
!
!
!
select bottom area

select nodes in this area
the top layer of nodes from this area
call this selection 'target'
gcgen,source,target,3
! generate contact elements between defined nodes
finish
/solution
antype,stat,new
!Ground upper left hand corner of top block
ksel,s,loc,x,2.5
ksel,r,loc,y,4
dk,all,all,0
! Ground bottom nodes on bottom block
allsel
nsel,s,loc,y,0
! when vmin = vmax (0 here), a small tolerance is used
d,all,all,0
! Give top right corner a vertical load
allsel
ksel,s,loc,x,7.5
ksel,r,loc,y,4
fk,all,fy,-100
allsel
time,1
nsubst,20,100
autots,on
pred,on
nropt,full,,on
solve
finish
! auto time stepping

! predictor on
! Newton-Raphson on
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to do a simple
nonlinear analysis of the beam shown below.
There are several causes for nonlinear behaviour such as Changing Status, Material Nonlinearities and Geometric
Nonlinearities (change in response due to large deformations). This tutorial will deal specifically with Geometric
Nonlinearities .
To solve this problem, the load will added incrementally. After each increment, the stiffness matrix will be adjusted
before increasing the load.

/prep7
! start preprocessor
/title,NonLinear Analysis of Cantilever Beam
k,1,0,0,0
k,2,5,0,0
! define keypoints
! 5" beam (length)
l,1,2
! define line
et,1,beam3
r,1,0.03125,4.069e-5,0.125
mp,ex,1,30.0e6
mp,prxy,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
Beam
area, izz, height of beam
Young's Modulus
Poisson's ratio
esize,0.1
lmesh,all
! element size of 0.1"

! mesh the line
finish
! stop preprocessor
/solu
! start solution phase
antype,static
nlgeom,on
! static analysis
! turn on non-linear geometry analysis
autots,on
nsubst,5,1000,1
! Size of first substep=1/5 of the total load, max #
substeps=1000, min # substeps=1
outres,all,all
! save results of all iterations
dk,1,all
! constrain all DOF on ground
fk,2,mz,-100
! applied moment
solve
/post1
pldisp,1
PRNSOL,U,X
! display deformed mesh

! lists horizontal deflections
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/NonLinear/Print.html

Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to do a
simple nonlinear analysis of the beam shown below.
There are several causes for nonlinear behaviour such as Changing Status, Material Nonlinearities and
Geometric Nonlinearities (change in response due to large deformations). This tutorial will deal specifically
with Geometric Nonlinearities .
To solve this problem, the load will added incrementally. After each increment, the stiffness matrix will be
adjusted before increasing the load.

/prep7
! start preprocessor
/title,NonLinear Analysis of Cantilever Beam
k,1,0,0,0
k,2,5,0,0
! define keypoints
! 5" beam (length)
l,1,2
! define line
et,1,beam3
r,1,0.03125,4.069e-5,0.125
mp,ex,1,30.0e6
mp,prxy,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
Beam
area, izz, height of beam
Young's Modulus
Poisson's ratio
esize,0.1
lmesh,all
! element size of 0.1"

! mesh the line
finish
! stop preprocessor
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/NonLinear/Print.html
/solu
! start solution phase
antype,static
nlgeom,on
! static analysis
! turn on non-linear geometry analysis
autots,on
nsubst,5,1000,1
outres,all,all

! Size of first substep=1/5 of the total load, max # substeps=10
! save results of all iterations
dk,1,all
! constrain all DOF on ground
fk,2,mz,-100
! applied moment
solve
/post1
pldisp,1
PRNSOL,U,X
! display deformed mesh

! lists horizontal deflections
Buckling
Introduction
Buckling loads are critical loads where certain types of structures become unstable. Each load has an associated buckled
mode shape; this is the shape that the structure assumes in a buckled condition. There are two primary means to perform a
buckling analysis:
1. Eigenvalue
Eigenvalue buckling analysis predicts the theoretical buckling strength of an ideal elastic structure. It computes the
structural eigenvalues for the given system loading and constraints. This is known as classical Euler buckling
analysis. Buckling loads for several configurations are readily available from tabulated solutions. However, in reallife, structural imperfections and nonlinearities prevent most real-world structures from reaching their eigenvalue
predicted buckling strength; ie. it over-predicts the expected buckling loads. This method is not recommended for
accurate, real-world buckling prediction analysis.
2. Nonlinear
Nonlinear buckling analysis is more accurate than eigenvalue analysis because it employs non-linear, largedeflection, static analysis to predict buckling loads. Its mode of operation is very simple: it gradually increases the
applied load until a load level is found whereby the structure becomes unstable (ie. suddenly a very small increase in
the load will cause very large deflections). The true non-linear nature of this analysis thus permits the modeling of
geometric imperfections, load perterbations, material nonlinearities and gaps. For this type of analysis, note that
small off-axis loads are necessary to initiate the desired buckling mode.
This tutorial will use a steel beam with a 10 mm X 10 mm cross section, rigidly constrained at the bottom. The required
load to cause buckling, applied at the top-center of the beam, will be calculated.

Eigenvalue Buckling
FINISH
/CLEAR
! These two commands clear current data
/TITLE,Eigenvalue Buckling Analysis

/PREP7
! Enter the preprocessor
ET,1,BEAM3
R,1,100,833.333,10
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
K,1,0,0
K,2,0,100
! Define the geometry of beam (100 mm high)
L,1,2
! Draw the line
ESIZE,10
LMESH,ALL,ALL
! Set element size to 1 mm

! Mesh the line
FINISH
/SOLU
! Enter the solution mode
ANTYPE,STATIC
! Before you can do a buckling analysis, ANSYS
Define the element of the beam to be buckled

Real Consts: type 1, area (mm^2), I (mm^4), height (mm)
Young's modulus (in MPa)
Poisson's ratio
PSTRES,ON
DK,1,ALL
FK,2,FY,-1
!
!
!
!
needs the info from a static analysis

Prestress can be accounted for - required
during buckling analysis
Constrain the bottom of beam
!
!
!
!
Load the top vertically with a unit load.

This is done so the eigenvalue calculated
will be the actual buckling load, since
all loads are scaled during the analysis.
SOLVE
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,BUCKLE
BUCOPT,LANB,1
SOLVE
FINISH
! Enter the solution mode again to solve buckling

! Buckling analysis
! Buckling options - subspace, one mode
/SOLU
EXPASS,ON
MXPAND,1
SOLVE
FINISH
! Re-enter solution mode to expand info - necessary

! An expantion pass will be performed
! Specifies the number of modes to expand
/POST1
SET,LIST
!
!
!
!
!
SET,LAST
PLDISP
Enter post-processor
List eigenvalue solution - Time/Freq listing is the
force required for buckling (in N for this case).
Read in data for the desired mode
Plots the deflected shape
NonLinear Buckling
FINISH
/CLEAR

/PREP7
ET,1,BEAM3
! Define element as beam3
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
! Young's modulus (in Pa)

! Poisson's ratio
R,1,100,833.333,10
! area, I, height
K,1,0,0,0
K,2,0,100,0
! Lower node
! Upper node (100 mm high)
L,1,2
! Draws line
ESIZE,1
LMESH,ALL
! Sets element size to 1 mm

! Mesh line
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,STATIC
! Static analysis (not buckling)
NLGEOM,ON
OUTRES,ALL,ALL
NSUBST,20
NEQIT,1000
AUTOTS,ON
LNSRCH,ON
!
!
!
!
!
/ESHAPE,1
! Plots the beam as a volume rather than line
DK,1,ALL,0
! Constrain bottom
FK,2,FY,-50000
!
!
!
!
Apply load slightly greater than predicted

required buckling load to upper node
Add a horizontal load (0.5% FY) to initiate
buckling
/POST26
RFORCE,2,1,F,Y
NSOL,3,2,U,Y
XVAR,2
PLVAR,3
!
!
!
!
!
Time history post processor

Reads force data in variable 2
Reads y-deflection data into var 3
Make variable 2 the x-axis
Plots variable 3 on y-axis
/AXLAB,Y,DEFLECTION
/AXLAB,X,LOAD
/REPLOT
! Changes y label
! Changes X label
FK,2,FX,-250
Non-linear geometry solution supported

Stores bunches of output
Load broken into 5 load steps
Use 20 load steps to find solution
Auto time stepping
SOLVE
FINISH
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Buckling/Print.html
Buckling
Introduction
Buckling loads are critical loads where certain types of structures become unstable. Each load has an associated
buckled mode shape; this is the shape that the structure assumes in a buckled condition. There are two primary
means to perform a buckling analysis:
1. Eigenvalue
Eigenvalue buckling analysis predicts the theoretical buckling strength of an ideal elastic structure. It
computes the structural eigenvalues for the given system loading and constraints. This is known as
classical Euler buckling analysis. Buckling loads for several configurations are readily available from
tabulated solutions. However, in real-life, structural imperfections and nonlinearities prevent most realworld structures from reaching their eigenvalue predicted buckling strength; ie. it over-predicts the
expected buckling loads. This method is not recommended for accurate, real-world buckling prediction
analysis.
2. Nonlinear
Nonlinear buckling analysis is more accurate than eigenvalue analysis because it employs non-linear,
large-deflection, static analysis to predict buckling loads. Its mode of operation is very simple: it
gradually increases the applied load until a load level is found whereby the structure becomes unstable
(ie. suddenly a very small increase in the load will cause very large deflections). The true non-linear
nature of this analysis thus permits the modeling of geometric imperfections, load perterbations, material
nonlinearities and gaps. For this type of analysis, note that small off-axis loads are necessary to initiate
the desired buckling mode.
This tutorial will use a steel beam with a 10 mm X 10 mm cross section, rigidly constrained at the bottom. The
required load to cause buckling, applied at the top-center of the beam, will be calculated.

Eigenvalue Buckling
FINISH
/CLEAR
/TITLE,Eigenvalue Buckling Analysis

/PREP7
ET,1,BEAM3
R,1,100,833.333,10
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
K,1,0,0
K,2,0,100
! Define the geometry of beam (100 mm high)
L,1,2
! Draw the line
ESIZE,10
LMESH,ALL,ALL
! Set element size to 1 mm

! Mesh the line
FINISH
/SOLU
! Enter the solution mode
Define the element of the beam to be buckled

Real Consts: type 1, area (mm^2), I (mm^4), height (mm)
Young's modulus (in MPa)
Poisson's ratio
ANTYPE,STATIC
PSTRES,ON
DK,1,ALL
FK,2,FY,-1
!
!
!
!
!
Before you can do a buckling analysis, ANSYS

needs the info from a static analysis
Prestress can be accounted for - required
during buckling analysis
Constrain the bottom of beam
!
!
!
!
Load the top vertically with a unit load.

This is done so the eigenvalue calculated
will be the actual buckling load, since
all loads are scaled during the analysis.
SOLVE
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,BUCKLE
BUCOPT,LANB,1
SOLVE
FINISH
! Enter the solution mode again to solve buckling

! Buckling analysis
! Buckling options - subspace, one mode
/SOLU
EXPASS,ON
MXPAND,1
SOLVE
FINISH
! Re-enter solution mode to expand info - necessary

! An expantion pass will be performed
! Specifies the number of modes to expand
/POST1
SET,LIST
!
!
!
!
!
SET,LAST
PLDISP
Enter post-processor
List eigenvalue solution - Time/Freq listing is the
force required for buckling (in N for this case).
Read in data for the desired mode
Plots the deflected shape
NonLinear Buckling
FINISH
/CLEAR

/PREP7
ET,1,BEAM3
! Define element as beam3
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
! Young's modulus (in Pa)

! Poisson's ratio
R,1,100,833.333,10
! area, I, height
K,1,0,0,0
K,2,0,100,0
! Lower node
! Upper node (100 mm high)
L,1,2
! Draws line
ESIZE,1
LMESH,ALL
! Sets element size to 1 mm

! Mesh line
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,STATIC
NLGEOM,ON
OUTRES,ALL,ALL
! Static analysis (not buckling)

! Non-linear geometry solution supported
! Stores bunches of output
NSUBST,20
NEQIT,1000
AUTOTS,ON
LNSRCH,ON
! Load broken into 5 load steps

! Use 20 load steps to find solution
! Auto time stepping
/ESHAPE,1
! Plots the beam as a volume rather than line
DK,1,ALL,0
! Constrain bottom
FK,2,FY,-50000
!
!
!
!
Apply load slightly greater than predicted

required buckling load to upper node
Add a horizontal load (0.5% FY) to initiate
buckling
/POST26
RFORCE,2,1,F,Y
NSOL,3,2,U,Y
XVAR,2
PLVAR,3
!
!
!
!
!
Time history post processor

Plots variable 3 on y-axis
/AXLAB,Y,DEFLECTION
/AXLAB,X,LOAD
/REPLOT
! Changes y label
! Changes X label
FK,2,FX,-250
SOLVE
FINISH
NonLinear Materials
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to describe how to include material nonlinearities in an
ANSYS model. For instance, the case when a large force is applied resulting in a stresses greater than yield strength. In such a case, a
multilinear stress-strain relationship can be included which follows the stress-strain curve of the material being used. This will allow
ANSYS to more accurately model the plastic deformation of the material.
For this analysis, a simple tension speciment 100 mm X 5 mm X 5 mm is constrained at the bottom and has a load pulling on the top.
This specimen is made out of a experimental substance called "WhoKilledKenium". The stress-strain curve for the substance is
shown above. Note the linear section up to approximately 225 MPa where the Young's Modulus is constant (75 GPa). The material
then begins to yield and the relationship becomes plastic and nonlinear.

finish
/clear
/prep7
k,1,0,0
k,2,0,100
l,1,2
! Enter Preprocessor
! Keypoints
ET,1,LINK1
R,1,25
! Element type
! Area of 25
MP,EX,1,75000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
TB,MELA,1,1,12,
! Create a table of 12 data points

! to map the stress-strain curve
TBPT,,.001,75
! Data points
! Line connecting keypoints
TBPT,,.002,150
TBPT,,.003,225
TBPT,,.004,240
TBPT,,.005,250
TBPT,,.025,300
TBPT,,.06,355
TBPT,,.1,390
TBPT,,.15,420
TBPT,,.2,435
TBPT,,.25,449
TBPT,,.275,450
ESIZE,5
LMESH,all
! Element size 5
! Line mesh all lines
FINISH
/SOLU
! Enter solution phase
NLGEOM,ON
NSUBST,20,1000,1
OUTRES,ALL,ALL
AUTOTS,ON
LNSRCH,ON
NEQIT,1000
!
!
!
!
!
!
ANTYPE,0
DK,1,all
FK,2,FY,10000
! Static analysis
! Load on keypoint 2
Nonlinear geometry on
20 load steps
Output data for all load steps
Auto time-search on
Line search on
1000 iteration maximum
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
/ESHAPE,1
PLNSOL,U,Y,0,1
! Enter post processor

! Show element shape
! Plot deflection contour
FINISH
/POST26
RFORCE,2,1,F,Y
NSOL,3,2,U,Y
XVAR,2
PLVAR,3
/AXLAB,Y,DEFLECTION
/AXLAB,X,LOAD
/REPLOT
!
!
!
!
Enter time history

! Changes y label
! Changes X label
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/NonLinearMat/Prin...
NonLinear Materials
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to describe how to include material
nonlinearities in an ANSYS model. For instance, the case when a large force is applied resulting in a stresses
greater than yield strength. In such a case, a multilinear stress-strain relationship can be included which follows
the stress-strain curve of the material being used. This will allow ANSYS to more accurately model the plastic
deformation of the material.
For this analysis, a simple tension speciment 100 mm X 5 mm X 5 mm is constrained at the bottom and has a
load pulling on the top. This specimen is made out of a experimental substance called "WhoKilledKenium".
The stress-strain curve for the substance is shown above. Note the linear section up to approximately 225 MPa
where the Young's Modulus is constant (75 GPa). The material then begins to yield and the relationship
becomes plastic and nonlinear.

finish
/clear
/prep7
k,1,0,0
k,2,0,100
l,1,2
! Enter Preprocessor
! Keypoints
ET,1,LINK1
R,1,25
! Element type
! Area of 25
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/NonLinearMat/Prin...
MP,EX,1,75000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
TB,MELA,1,1,12,
! Create a table of 12 data points

! to map the stress-strain curve
TBPT,,.001,75
TBPT,,.002,150
TBPT,,.003,225
TBPT,,.004,240
TBPT,,.005,250
TBPT,,.025,300
TBPT,,.06,355
TBPT,,.1,390
TBPT,,.15,420
TBPT,,.2,435
TBPT,,.25,449
TBPT,,.275,450
! Data points
ESIZE,5
LMESH,all
! Element size 5
! Line mesh all lines
FINISH
/SOLU
NLGEOM,ON
NSUBST,20,1000,1
OUTRES,ALL,ALL
AUTOTS,ON
LNSRCH,ON
NEQIT,1000
!
!
!
!
!
!
ANTYPE,0
DK,1,all
FK,2,FY,10000
! Static analysis
! Load on keypoint 2
Nonlinear geometry on
20 load steps
Output data for all load steps
Auto time-search on
Line search on
1000 iteration maximum
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
/ESHAPE,1
PLNSOL,U,Y,0,1

! Show element shape
FINISH
/POST26
RFORCE,2,1,F,Y
NSOL,3,2,U,Y
XVAR,2
PLVAR,3
/AXLAB,Y,DEFLECTION
/AXLAB,X,LOAD
/REPLOT
!
!
!
!
Enter time history

! Changes y label
! Changes X label
Creation of the Cantilver Beam used in the Dynamic Analysis

Tutorials
This file shows the command line codes necessary to create the following cantilever beam in ANSYS.

/FILNAME,Dynamic,0
/PREP7
K,1,0,0
K,2,1,0
L,1,2
ET,1,BEAM3
R,1,0.0001,8.33e-10,0.01
MP,EX,1,2.068e11
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
MP,DENS,1,7830
LESIZE,ALL,,,10
LMESH,1
FINISH
! This sets the jobname to 'Dynamic'
Close this window to return to the Dynamic Analysis Tutorials.
Creation of the Cantilver Beam used in the Dynamic Analysis

Tutorials
This file describes the GUI (Graphic User Interface) steps to create the following cantilever beam in ANSYS.

3. Give example a Jobname
Enter 'Dynamic' for the jobname
4. Create Keypoints
We are going to define 2 keypoints (the beam vertices) for this structure as given in the following
table:
1
(0,0)
(1,0)
5. Define Lines
For this problem we will use the BEAM3 (Beam 2D elastic) element. This element has 3 degrees
of freedom (translation along the X and Y axis's, and rotation about the Z axis). With only 3
degrees of freedom, the BEAM3 element can only be used in 2D analysis.
i. Cross-sectional area AREA: 0.0001
ii. Area Moment of Inertia IZZ: 8.33e-10
iii. Total beam height HEIGHT: 0.01
This defines an element with a solid rectangular cross section 0.01 m x 0.01 m.
i. Young's modulus EX: 2.068e11
To enter the density of the material, double click on 'Linear' followed by 'Density' in the 'Define
Material Model Behavior' Window
Enter a density of 7830
Note: For dynamic analysis, both the stiffness and the material density have to be specified.
9. Define Mesh Size
For this example we will specify 10 element divisions along the line.
10. Mesh the frame
Close this window to return to the Dynamic Analysis Tutorials.
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to do a simple
modal analysis of the cantilever beam shown below.

FINISH
/CLEAR
/PREP7
K,1,0,0
K,2,1,0
! Enter keypoints
L,1,2
! Create line
ET,1,BEAM3
! Element type
R,1,0.0001,8.33e-10,0.01
! Real Const: area,I,height
MP,EX,1,2.068e11
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
MP,DENS,1,7830
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
! Density
LESIZE,ALL,,,10
LMESH,1
! Element size
! Mesh line
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,2
MODOPT,SUBSP,5
EQSLV,FRONT
MXPAND,5
!
!
!
!
Modal analysis
Subspace, 5 modes
Frontal solver
Expand 5 modes
DK,1,ALL
! Constrain keypoint one
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
SET,LIST
! List solutions
SET,FIRST
PLDISP
! Display first mode shape
ANMODE,10,0.5, ,0
! Animate mode shape
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Modal/Print.html

Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to do a
simple modal analysis of the cantilever beam shown below.

FINISH
/CLEAR
/PREP7
K,1,0,0
K,2,1,0
! Enter keypoints
L,1,2
! Create line
ET,1,BEAM3
! Element type
R,1,0.0001,8.33e-10,0.01
MP,EX,1,2.068e11
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
MP,DENS,1,7830
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
! Density
LESIZE,ALL,,,10
LMESH,1
! Element size
! Mesh line
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Modal/Print.html
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,2
MODOPT,SUBSP,5
EQSLV,FRONT
MXPAND,5
!
!
!
!
Modal analysis
Subspace, 5 modes
Frontal solver
Expand 5 modes
DK,1,ALL
! Constrain keypoint one
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
SET,LIST
! List solutions
SET,FIRST
PLDISP
! Display first mode shape
ANMODE,10,0.5, ,0
! Animate mode shape
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to explain the steps required to perform
Harmonic analysis the cantilever beam shown below.
We will now conduct a harmonic forced response test by applying a cyclic load (harmonic) at the end of the beam.
The frequency of the load will be varied from 1 - 100 Hz. The figure below depicts the beam with the application of
the load.
ANSYS provides 3 methods for conducting a harmonic analysis. These 3 methods are the Full , Reduced and
Modal Superposition methods.
This example demonstrates the Full method because it is simple and easy to use as compared to the other two
methods. However, this method makes use of the full stiffness and mass matrices and thus is the slower and costlier
option.

FINISH
/CLEAR
/PREP7
K,1,0,0
K,2,1,0
! Enter keypoints
L,1,2
! Create line
ET,1,BEAM3
! Element type
R,1,0.0001,8.33e-10,0.01
MP,EX,1,2.068e11
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
MP,DENS,1,7830
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
! Density
LESIZE,ALL,,,10
LMESH,1
! Element size
! Mesh line
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,3
! Harmonic analysis
DK,1,ALL
FK,2,FY,100
! Apply force
HARFRQ,0,100,
NSUBST,100,
KBC,1
! Frequency range
! Number of frequency steps
! Stepped loads
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST26
NSOL,2,2,U,Y, UY_2
STORE,MERGE
! Get y-deflection data
PRVAR,2
PLVAR,2
! Print data
! Plot data
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Harmonic/Print.html

Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to explain the steps required to
perform Harmonic analysis the cantilever beam shown below.
We will now conduct a harmonic forced response test by applying a cyclic load (harmonic) at the end of the
beam. The frequency of the load will be varied from 1 - 100 Hz. The figure below depicts the beam with the
application of the load.
ANSYS provides 3 methods for conducting a harmonic analysis. These 3 methods are the Full , Reduced and
Modal Superposition methods.
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Harmonic/Print.html
This example demonstrates the Full method because it is simple and easy to use as compared to the other two
methods. However, this method makes use of the full stiffness and mass matrices and thus is the slower and
costlier option.

FINISH
/CLEAR
/PREP7
K,1,0,0
K,2,1,0
! Enter keypoints
L,1,2
! Create line
ET,1,BEAM3
! Element type
R,1,0.0001,8.33e-10,0.01
MP,EX,1,2.068e11
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
MP,DENS,1,7830
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
! Density
LESIZE,ALL,,,10
LMESH,1
! Element size
! Mesh line
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,3
! Harmonic analysis
DK,1,ALL
FK,2,FY,100
! Apply force
HARFRQ,0,100,
NSUBST,100,
KBC,1
! Frequency range
! Number of frequency steps
! Stepped loads
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST26
NSOL,2,2,U,Y, UY_2
STORE,MERGE
! Get y-deflection data
PRVAR,2
PLVAR,2
! Print data
! Plot data
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to show the steps involved to perform a
simple transient analysis.
Transient dynamic analysis is a technique used to determine the dynamic response of a structure under a timevarying load.
The time frame for this type of analysis is such that inertia or damping effects of the structure are considered to be
important. Cases where such effects play a major role are under step or impulse loading conditions, for example,
where there is a sharp load change in a fraction of time.
If inertia effects are negligible for the loading conditions being considered, a static analysis may be used instead.
For our case, we will impact the end of the beam with an impulse force and view the response at the location of
impact.
Since an ideal impulse force excites all modes of a structure, the response of the beam should contain all mode
frequencies. However, we cannot produce an ideal impulse force numerically. We have to apply a load over a
discrete amount of time dt.
After the application of the load, we track the response of the beam at discrete time points for as long as we like
(depending on what it is that we are looking for in the response).
The size of the time step is governed by the maximum mode frequency of the structure we wish to capture. The
smaller the time step, the higher the mode frequency we will capture. The rule of thumb in ANSYS is
time_step = 1 / 20f
where f is the highest mode frequency we wish to capture. In other words, we must resolve our step size such that
we will have 20 discrete points per period of the highest mode frequency.
It should be noted that a transient analysis is more involved than a static or harmonic analysis. It requires a
good understanding of the dynamic behavior of a structure. Therefore, a modal analysis of the structure
should be initially performed to provide information about the structure's dynamic behavior.
The Full Method: This is the easiest method to use. All types of non-linearities are allowed. It is however
very CPU intensive to go this route as full system matrices are used.
The Reduced Method: This method reduces the system matrices to only consider the Master Degrees of
Freedom (MDOFs). Because of the reduced size of the matrices, the calculations are much quicker. However,
this method handles only linear problems (such as our cantilever case).
The Mode Superposition Method: This method requires a preliminary modal analysis, as factored mode
shapes are summed to calculate the structure's response. It is the quickest of the three methods, but it requires
a good deal of understanding of the problem at hand.
We will use the Reduced Method for conducting our transient analysis. Usually one need not go further than
Reviewing the Reduced Results. However, if stresses and forces are of interest than, we would have to Expand the
Reduced Solution.

finish
/clear
/FILNAME,Dynamic,0
/PREP7
K,1,0,0
K,2,1,0
L,1,2

! Enter preprocessor
! Keypoints
! Connect keypoints with line
ET,1,BEAM3
R,1,0.0001,8.33e-10,0.01
! Element type
! Real constants
MP,EX,1,2.068e11
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
MP,DENS,1,7830
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
! Density
LESIZE,ALL,,,10
LMESH,1
! Element size
! Mesh the line
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE, TRANS
! Transient analysis
TRNOPT,REDUC,
DELTIM,0.001
! reduced solution method

! Specifies the time step sizes
!At time equals 0s

NSEL,S,,,2,11,
M,All,UY, , ,
NSEL,ALL
! select nodes 2 - 11
! Define Master DOFs
! Reselect all nodes
D,1,ALL
! Constrain left end
F,2,FY,-100
!*
! Load right end
!At time equals 0.001s

TIME,0.001
KBC,0
FDELE,2,ALL
!*
! Sets time to 0.001 seconds

! Ramped load step
! Delete the load at the end
!At time equals 1s

TIME,1
KBC,0
!*
! Sets time to 1 second

! Ramped load step
LSSOLVE,1,3,1
! solve multiple load steps
FINISH
/POST26
! Enter time history
FILE,'Dynamic','rdsp','.'
! Calls the dynamic file
NSOL,2,2,U,Y, UY_2
STORE,MERGE
PLVAR,2,
! Calls data for UY deflection at node 2

! Stores the data
! Plots vs. time
!Please note, if you are using a later version of ANSYS,

!you will probably have to issue the LSWRITE command at the
!end of each load step for the LSSOLVE command to function
!properly. In this case, replace the !* found in the code
!with LSWRITE and the problem should be solved.
http://www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Transient/Print.html

Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to show the steps involved to
perform a simple transient analysis.
Transient dynamic analysis is a technique used to determine the dynamic response of a structure under a
time-varying load.
The time frame for this type of analysis is such that inertia or damping effects of the structure are
considered to be important. Cases where such effects play a major role are under step or impulse
loading conditions, for example, where there is a sharp load change in a fraction of time.
If inertia effects are negligible for the loading conditions being considered, a static analysis may be used
instead.
For our case, we will impact the end of the beam with an impulse force and view the response at the
location of impact.
Copyright 2003 - University of Alberta
Since an ideal impulse force excites all modes of a structure, the response of the beam should contain all
mode frequencies. However, we cannot produce an ideal impulse force numerically. We have to apply a
load over a discrete amount of time dt.
After the application of the load, we track the response of the beam at discrete time points for as long as
we like (depending on what it is that we are looking for in the response).
The size of the time step is governed by the maximum mode frequency of the structure we wish to
capture. The smaller the time step, the higher the mode frequency we will capture. The rule of thumb in
ANSYS is
time_step = 1 / 20f
where f is the highest mode frequency we wish to capture. In other words, we must resolve our step size
such that we will have 20 discrete points per period of the highest mode frequency.
It should be noted that a transient analysis is more involved than a static or harmonic analysis. It
requires a good understanding of the dynamic behavior of a structure. Therefore, a modal
analysis of the structure should be initially performed to provide information about the
structure's dynamic behavior.
The Full Method: This is the easiest method to use. All types of non-linearities are allowed. It is
however very CPU intensive to go this route as full system matrices are used.
The Reduced Method: This method reduces the system matrices to only consider the Master
Degrees of Freedom (MDOFs). Because of the reduced size of the matrices, the calculations are
much quicker. However, this method handles only linear problems (such as our cantilever case).
The Mode Superposition Method: This method requires a preliminary modal analysis, as
factored mode shapes are summed to calculate the structure's response. It is the quickest of the
three methods, but it requires a good deal of understanding of the problem at hand.
We will use the Reduced Method for conducting our transient analysis. Usually one need not go further
than Reviewing the Reduced Results. However, if stresses and forces are of interest than, we would have
to Expand the Reduced Solution.

finish
/clear
/FILNAME,Dynamic,0
/PREP7
K,1,0,0
K,2,1,0
L,1,2

! Keypoints
! Connect keypoints with line
ET,1,BEAM3
R,1,0.0001,8.33e-10,0.01
! Element type
! Real constants
MP,EX,1,2.068e11
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
MP,DENS,1,7830
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
! Density
LESIZE,ALL,,,10
LMESH,1
! Element size
! Mesh the line
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE, TRANS
TRNOPT,REDUC,
DELTIM,0.001
! reduced solution method

! Specifies the time step sizes
!At time equals 0s

NSEL,S,,,2,11,
M,All,UY, , ,
NSEL,ALL
! select nodes 2 - 11
! Define Master DOFs
D,1,ALL
! Constrain left end
F,2,FY,-100
!*
! Load right end
!At time equals 0.001s

TIME,0.001
KBC,0
FDELE,2,ALL
!*
! Sets time to 0.001 seconds

! Ramped load step
! Delete the load at the end
!At time equals 1s

TIME,1
KBC,0
!*
! Sets time to 1 second

! Ramped load step
LSSOLVE,1,3,1
! solve multiple load steps
FINISH
/POST26
! Enter time history
FILE,'Dynamic','rdsp','.'
! Calls the dynamic file
NSOL,2,2,U,Y, UY_2
STORE,MERGE
PLVAR,2,
! Calls data for UY deflection at node 2

! Stores the data
! Plots vs. time
!Please note, if you are using a later version of ANSYS,

!you will probably have to issue the LSWRITE command at the
!end of each load step for the LSSOLVE command to function
!properly. In this case, replace the !* found in the code
!with LSWRITE and the problem should be solved.
Introduction
The Simple Conduction Example is constrained as shown in the following figure. Thermal conductivity (k) of the
material is 10 W/m*C and the block is assumed to be infinitely long.

/title, Simple Conduction Example
/PREP7
! define geometry
length=1.0
height=1.0
blc4,0,0,length, height
! area - one corner, then width and height
! mesh 2D areas
ET,1, PLANE55
! Thermal element only
MP,KXX,1,10
ESIZE,length/20
AMESH,ALL
! 10 W/mC
! number of element sub-divisions/side
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! fixed temp BC's
NSEL,S,LOC,Y,height
D,ALL,TEMP,500
NSEL,ALL
NSEL,S,LOC,X,0
NSEL,A,LOC,X,length
NSEL,A,LOC,Y,0
D,ALL,TEMP,100
NSEL,ALL
! STEADY-STATE THERMAL ANALYSIS
! select nodes on top with y=height

! apply fixed temp of 500C
! select nodes on three sides
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLNSOL,TEMP,,0,
! contour plot of temperatures
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Conduction/Print.h...

Introduction
The Simple Conduction Example is constrained as shown in the following figure. Thermal conductivity (k) of
the material is 10 W/m*C and the block is assumed to be infinitely long.

/PREP7
! define geometry
length=1.0
height=1.0
! mesh 2D areas
ET,1, PLANE55
MP,KXX,1,10
ESIZE,length/20
AMESH,ALL

! 10 W/mC
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Conduction/Print.h...
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! fixed temp BC's
NSEL,S,LOC,Y,height
D,ALL,TEMP,500
NSEL,ALL
NSEL,S,LOC,X,0
NSEL,A,LOC,X,length
NSEL,A,LOC,Y,0
D,ALL,TEMP,100
NSEL,ALL

SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLNSOL,TEMP,,0,
Thermal - Mixed Boundary Example (Conduction/

Convection/Insulated)
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve simple thermal examples. Analysis of a simple conduction as
well a mixed conduction/convection/insulation problem will be demonstrated.
The Mixed Convection/Conduction/Insulated Boundary Conditions Example is constrained as shown in the
following figure (Note that the section is assumed to be infinitely long):

/title, Simple Convection Example
/PREP7
! define geometry
length=1.0
height=1.0
! mesh 2D areas
ET,1, PLANE55
MP,KXX,1,10

! 10 W/mC
MAT,1
TYPE,1
ESIZE,length/20
AMESH,ALL
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! fixed temp BC's

NSEL,S,LOC,Y,height
D,ALL,TEMP,500
NSEL,ALL
NSEL,S,LOC,X,0
D,ALL,TEMP,100
NSEL,ALL

! convection BC's
NSEL,S,LOC,X,length
SF,ALL,CONV,10,100
NSEL,ALL
! right edge
! Insulated BC's
NSEL,S,LOC,Y,0
SF,ALL,CONV,0
NSEL,ALL
! bottom edge
! insulate edge
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLNSOL,TEMP,,0,
http://www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/cit/convection/print.html
Thermal - Mixed Boundary Example

(Conduction/Convection/Insulated)
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve simple thermal examples. Analysis of a simple
conduction as well a mixed conduction/convection/insulation problem will be demonstrated.
The Mixed Convection/Conduction/Insulated Boundary Conditions Example is constrained as shown in
the following figure (Note that the section is assumed to be infinitely long):

/title, Simple Convection Example
/PREP7
! define geometry
length=1.0
height=1.0
! mesh 2D areas
ET,1, PLANE55
MP,KXX,1,10
MAT,1
TYPE,1
ESIZE,length/20

! 10 W/mC
http://www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/cit/convection/print.html
AMESH,ALL
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! fixed temp BC's

NSEL,S,LOC,Y,height
D,ALL,TEMP,500
NSEL,ALL
NSEL,S,LOC,X,0
D,ALL,TEMP,100
NSEL,ALL

! convection BC's
NSEL,S,LOC,X,length
SF,ALL,CONV,10,100
NSEL,ALL
! right edge
! Insulated BC's
NSEL,S,LOC,Y,0
SF,ALL,CONV,0
NSEL,ALL
! bottom edge
! insulate edge
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLNSOL,TEMP,,0,
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve a simple transient conduction problem. Special thanks to
Jesse Arnold for the analytical solution shown at the end of the tutorial.
The example is constrained as shown in the following figure. Thermal conductivity (k) of the material is 5 W/
m*K and the block is assumed to be infinitely long. Also, the density of the material is 920 kg/m^3 and the
specific heat capacity (c) is 2.040 kJ/kg*K.

finish
/clear
/PREP7
! define geometry
length=1.0
height=1.0
! mesh 2D areas
ET,1, PLANE55
MP,Dens,1,920
mp,c,1,2.040
mp,kxx,1,5
ESIZE,0.05
AMESH,ALL
!
!
!
!
!
!
Thermal element only

Density
Specific heat capacity
Thermal conductivity
Element size
Mesh area
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,4
time,300
! Time at end = 300
nropt,full
lumpm,0
nsubst,20
neqit,100
autots,off
lnsrch,on
outres,all,all
kbc,1
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
! fixed temp BC's

NSEL,S,LOC,Y,height
D,ALL,TEMP,500
NSEL,ALL
NSEL,s,LOC,Y,0
D,ALL,TEMP,100
NSEL,ALL
IC,all,Temp,100
Newton Raphson = full

Lumped mass approx off
20 substeps
Max no. of iterations = 100
Auto time search on
Line search on
Output data for all substeps

! apply fixed temp of 500K

! Initial Conditions: 100K
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
/CONT,1,8,100,,500
PLNSOL,TEMP
ANTIME,20,0.5,,0,2,0,500
!
!
!
!
Enter postprocessor
Define a contour range
Plot temperature contour
Animate temp over time
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/TransCond/Print.html

Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve a simple transient conduction problem. Special thanks to
Jesse Arnold for the analytical solution shown at the end of the tutorial.
The example is constrained as shown in the following figure. Thermal conductivity (k) of the material is 5
W/m*K and the block is assumed to be infinitely long. Also, the density of the material is 920 kg/m^3 and the
specific heat capacity (c) is 2.040 kJ/kg*K.

finish
/clear
/PREP7
! define geometry
length=1.0
height=1.0
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/TransCond/Print.html
! mesh 2D areas
ET,1, PLANE55
MP,Dens,1,920
mp,c,1,2.040
mp,kxx,1,5
ESIZE,0.05
AMESH,ALL
!
!
!
!
!
!
Thermal element only

Density
Specific heat capacity
Thermal conductivity
Element size
Mesh area
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,4
time,300
! Time at end = 300
nropt,full
lumpm,0
nsubst,20
neqit,100
autots,off
lnsrch,on
outres,all,all
kbc,1
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
! fixed temp BC's

NSEL,S,LOC,Y,height
D,ALL,TEMP,500
NSEL,ALL
NSEL,s,LOC,Y,0
D,ALL,TEMP,100
NSEL,ALL
IC,all,Temp,100
Newton Raphson = full

Lumped mass approx off
20 substeps
Max no. of iterations = 100
Auto time search on
Line search on

! Initial Conditions: 100K
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
/CONT,1,8,100,,500
PLNSOL,TEMP
ANTIME,20,0.5,,0,2,0,500
!
!
!
!
Enter postprocessor
Define a contour range
Plot temperature contour
Animate temp over time
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 This tutorial is intended to outline the steps required to
create an axisymmetric model.
The model will be that of a closed tube made from steel. Point loads will be applied at the center of
the top and bottom plate to make an analytical verification simple to calculate. A 3/4 cross section
view of the tube is shown below.
As a warning, point loads will create discontinuities in the your model near the point of application. If
you chose to use these types of loads in your own modelling, be very careful and be sure to
understand the theory of how the FEA package is appling the load and the assumption it is making. In
this case, we will only be concerned about the stress distribution far from the point of application, so
the discontinuities will have a negligable effect.

finish
/clear
/prep7
/triad,off
! Turns off origin triad marker
rectng,0,20,0,5
rectng,15,20,0,100
rectng,0,20,95,100
! Create 3 overlapping rectangles
aadd,all
et,1,plane2
keyopt,1,3,1
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
esize,2
amesh,all
! Mesh size
! Mesh the area
Define element type

Turns on axisymmetry
Young's Modulus
Poisson's ratio
finish
/solu
antype,0
! Static analysis
lsel,s,loc,x,0
dl,all,,symm
lsel,all
! Select the lines at x=0

! Symmetry constraints
! Re-select all lines
nsel,s,loc,y,50
d,all,uy,0
nsel,all
! Node select at y=50

! Constrain motion in y
! Re-select all nodes
fk,1,fy,-100
fk,12,fy,100
! Apply point loads in center
solve
finish
/post1
nsel,s,loc,y,45,55
prnsol,s,comp
! Select nodes from y=45 to y=55

! List stresses on those nodes
nsel,all
/expand,27,axis,,,10
/view,1,1,2,3
/replot
! Expand the axisymmetric elements

! Change the viewing angle
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Axisymmetric/Print....

Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 This tutorial is intended to outline the steps required to create an
axisymmetric model.
The model will be that of a closed tube made from steel. Point loads will be applied at the center of the top and
bottom plate to make an analytical verification simple to calculate. A 3/4 cross section view of the tube is
shown below.
As a warning, point loads will create discontinuities in the your model near the point of application. If you
chose to use these types of loads in your own modelling, be very careful and be sure to understand the theory of
how the FEA package is appling the load and the assumption it is making. In this case, we will only be
concerned about the stress distribution far from the point of application, so the discontinuities will have a
negligable effect.

finish
/clear
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CIT/Axisymmetric/Print....
/prep7
/triad,off
! Turns off origin triad marker
rectng,0,20,0,5
rectng,15,20,0,100
rectng,0,20,95,100
! Create 3 overlapping rectangles
aadd,all
et,1,plane2
keyopt,1,3,1
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
esize,2
amesh,all
! Mesh size
! Mesh the area
Define element type

Turns on axisymmetry
Young's Modulus
Poisson's ratio
finish
/solu
antype,0
! Static analysis
lsel,s,loc,x,0
dl,all,,symm
lsel,all
! Select the lines at x=0

! Symmetry constraints
nsel,s,loc,y,50
d,all,uy,0
nsel,all
! Node select at y=50

! Constrain motion in y
fk,1,fy,-100
fk,12,fy,100
! Apply point loads in center
solve
finish
/post1
nsel,s,loc,y,45,55
prnsol,s,comp
nsel,all
/expand,27,axis,,,10
/view,1,1,2,3
/replot
! Select nodes from y=45 to y=55

! List stresses on those nodes
! Expand the axisymmetric elements
! Change the viewing angle
Introduction

A 1000N vertical load will be applied to a catapult as shown in the figure below. The catapult is built
from steel tubing with an outer diameter of 40 mm, a wall thickness of 10, and a modulus of elasticity
of 200GPa. The springs have a stiffness of 5 N/mm.
/title, Catapult
/PREP7
ET,1,PIPE16
ET,2,COMBIN7
ET,3,COMBIN14
! Element type 1
! Element type 2
! Element type 3
R,1,40,10
R,2,1e9,1e9,1e9
R,3,5, , ,
! Real constants 1
! Real constants 2
! Real constants 3
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
! Young's modulus (Material 1)

! Poisson's ratio (Material 1)
N, 1,
0,
0,
0
N, 2,
0,
0,1000
N, 3,1000,
0,1000
N, 4,1000,
0,
0
N, 5,
0,1000,1000
N, 6,
0,1000,
0
N, 7, 700, 700, 500
N, 8, 400, 400, 500
N, 9,
0,
0,
0
N,10,
0,
0,1000
N,11,
0,
0, 500
N,12,
0,
0,1500
N,13,
0,
0,-500
! Node locations
TYPE,1
REAL,1
MAT,1
! Turn on Element 1
! Turn on Real constants 1
! Turn on Material 1
E, 1, 6
E, 2, 5
E, 1, 4
E, 2, 3
E, 3, 4
E,10, 8
E, 9, 8
E, 7, 8
E,12, 5
E,13, 6
E,12,13
E, 5, 3
E, 6, 4
! Element connectivity
TYPE,2
REAL,2
! Turn on Element 2
E, 1, 9, 11
E, 2, 10, 11
TYPE,3
REAL,3
! Turn on Element 3
E,5,8
E,8,6
/PNUM,KP,0
/PNUM,ELEM,1
/REPLOT
! Number nodes
! Number elements
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
NLGEOM,ON
NSUBST,5
! Static analysis
! Non-linear geometry on
! 5 Load steps of equal size
D,3,ALL,0,,,4,12,13
F,7,FY,-1000
! Constrain nodes 3,4,12,13

! Load node 7
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLDISP,2
*GET,VERT7,NODE,7,U,Y
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CAT/Joints/Print.html

Introduction
z
z
z

A 1000N vertical load will be applied to a catapult as shown in the figure below. The catapult is built from steel
tubing with an outer diameter of 40 mm, a wall thickness of 10, and a modulus of elasticity of 200GPa. The
springs have a stiffness of 5 N/mm.

/title, Catapult
/PREP7
ET,1,PIPE16
ET,2,COMBIN7
ET,3,COMBIN14
! Element type 1
! Element type 2
! Element type 3
R,1,40,10
! Real constants 1
R,2,1e9,1e9,1e9
R,3,5, , ,
! Real constants 2
! Real constants 3
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
! Young's modulus (Material 1)

! Poisson's ratio (Material 1)
N, 1,
0,
0,
0
N, 2,
0,
0,1000
N, 3,1000,
0,1000
N, 4,1000,
0,
0
N, 5,
0,1000,1000
N, 6,
0,1000,
0
N, 7, 700, 700, 500
N, 8, 400, 400, 500
N, 9,
0,
0,
0
N,10,
0,
0,1000
N,11,
0,
0, 500
N,12,
0,
0,1500
N,13,
0,
0,-500
! Node locations
TYPE,1
REAL,1
MAT,1
! Turn on Element 1
! Turn on Material 1
E, 1, 6
E, 2, 5
E, 1, 4
E, 2, 3
E, 3, 4
E,10, 8
E, 9, 8
E, 7, 8
E,12, 5
E,13, 6
E,12,13
E, 5, 3
E, 6, 4
TYPE,2
REAL,2
! Turn on Element 2
E, 1, 9, 11
E, 2, 10, 11
TYPE,3
REAL,3
! Turn on Element 3
E,5,8
E,8,6
/PNUM,KP,0
/PNUM,ELEM,1
/REPLOT
! Number nodes
! Number elements
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
NLGEOM,ON
! Static analysis
! Non-linear geometry on
NSUBST,5
! 5 Load steps of equal size
D,3,ALL,0,,,4,12,13
F,7,FY,-1000
! Constrain nodes 3,4,12,13

! Load node 7
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLDISP,2
*GET,VERT7,NODE,7,U,Y
Design Optimization
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce a method of solving design optimization
problems using ANSYS. This will involve creating the geometry utilizing parameters for all the variables, deciding which
variables to use as design, state and objective variables and setting the correct tolerances for the problem to obtain an accurately
converged solution in a minimal amount of time. The use of hardpoints to apply forces/constraints in the middle of lines will also
be covered in this tutorial.
A beam has a force of 1000N applied as shown below. The purpose of this optimization problem is to minimize the weight of the
beam without exceeding the allowable stress. It is necessary to find the cross sectional dimensions of the beam in order to
minimize the weight of the beam. However, the width and height of the beam cannot be smaller than 10mm. The maximum stress
anywhere in the beam cannot exceed 200 MPa. The beam is to be made of steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa.

/prep7
*set,H,20
*set,W,20
! Set an initial height of 20 mm

! Set an initial width of 20 mm
K,1,0,0
K,2,1000,0
L,1,2
HPTCREATE,LINE,1,0,RATI,.75,
! Keypoint locations
ET,1,BEAM3
R,1,W*H,(W*H**3)/12,H,,,,
height
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
! Element type
! Real consts: area,I (note '**', not '^'),
ESIZE,100
LMESH,ALL
! Mesh size
! Mesh line
FINISH
/SOLU
! Create line
! Create hardpoint 75% from left side
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
ANTYPE,0
! Static analysis
DK,1,UX,0
DK,1,UY,0
DK,2,UY,0
! Pin keypoint 1
FK,3,FY,-2000
! Force at hardpoint
! Support keypoint 2
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
SSUM
*GET,Volume,SSUM,,ITEM,EVOLUME
! Volume of single element

! Sum all volumes
! Create parameter 'Volume' for volume of beam
ETABLE,SMAX_I,NMISC,1
node
ESORT,ETAB,SMAX_I,0,1,,
*GET,SMAXI,SORT,,MAX
! Create parameter 'SMaxI' for max stress at I
ETABLE,SMAX_J,NMISC,3
node
ESORT,ETAB,SMAX_J,0,1,,
*GET,SMAXJ,SORT,,MAX
! Create parameter 'SMaxJ' for max stress at J
! Create parameter 'SMax' as max stress
LGWRITE,optimize,txt,C:\TEMP
! Save logfile to C:\Temp\optimize.txt
/OPT
OPANL,'optimize','txt','C:\Temp\'
! Assign optimize.txt as analysis file
OPVAR,H,DV,10,50,0.001
mm, tolerance 0.001mm
OPVAR,W,DV,10,50,0.001
tolerance 0.001mm
OPVAR,SMAX,SV,195,200,0.001
MPa, tolerance 0.001 MPa
OPVAR,VOLUME,OBJ,,,200
! Height design variable, min 10 mm, max 50
OPTYPE,FIRS
OPFRST,30,100,0.2,
forward difference
OPEXE
! First-order analysis
! Max iteration, Percent step size, Percent
PLVAROPT,H,W
/AXLAB,X,Number of Iterations
/AXLAB,Y,Width and Height (mm)
/REPLOT
! Graph optimation data
! Width design variable, min 10 mm, max 50 mm,

! Height state variable, min 195 MPa, max 200
! Volume as object variable, tolerance 200 mm^2
! Run optimization
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CAT/Optimization/Print....
Design Optimization
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce a method of solving
design optimization problems using ANSYS. This will involve creating the geometry utilizing parameters for
all the variables, deciding which variables to use as design, state and objective variables and setting the correct
tolerances for the problem to obtain an accurately converged solution in a minimal amount of time. The use of
hardpoints to apply forces/constraints in the middle of lines will also be covered in this tutorial.
A beam has a force of 1000N applied as shown below. The purpose of this optimization problem is to minimize
the weight of the beam without exceeding the allowable stress. It is necessary to find the cross sectional
dimensions of the beam in order to minimize the weight of the beam. However, the width and height of the
beam cannot be smaller than 10mm. The maximum stress anywhere in the beam cannot exceed 200 MPa. The
beam is to be made of steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa.

/prep7
*set,H,20
*set,W,20
! Set an initial height of 20 mm

! Set an initial width of 20 mm
K,1,0,0
K,2,1000,0
L,1,2
HPTCREATE,LINE,1,0,RATI,.75,
! Create line
! Create hardpoint 75% from left side
ET,1,BEAM3
R,1,W*H,(W*H**3)/12,H,,,,
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
! Keypoint locations
Element type
Real consts: area,I (note '**', not '^'),height
Young's modulus
Poisson's ratio
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CAT/Optimization/Print....
ESIZE,100
LMESH,ALL
! Mesh size
! Mesh line
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
! Static analysis
DK,1,UX,0
DK,1,UY,0
DK,2,UY,0
! Pin keypoint 1
FK,3,FY,-2000
! Force at hardpoint
! Support keypoint 2
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
SSUM
*GET,Volume,SSUM,,ITEM,EVOLUME
! Volume of single element

! Sum all volumes
! Create parameter 'Volume' for volume of beam
ETABLE,SMAX_I,NMISC,1
ESORT,ETAB,SMAX_I,0,1,,
*GET,SMAXI,SORT,,MAX
! Create parameter 'SMaxI' for max stress at I nod
ETABLE,SMAX_J,NMISC,3
ESORT,ETAB,SMAX_J,0,1,,
*GET,SMAXJ,SORT,,MAX
! Create parameter 'SMaxJ' for max stress at J nod
! Create parameter 'SMax' as max stress
LGWRITE,optimize,txt,C:\TEMP
! Save logfile to C:\Temp\optimize.txt
/OPT
OPANL,'optimize','txt','C:\Temp\'
! Assign optimize.txt as analysis file
OPVAR,H,DV,10,50,0.001
OPVAR,W,DV,10,50,0.001
OPVAR,SMAX,SV,195,200,0.001
OPVAR,VOLUME,OBJ,,,200
!
!
!
!
OPTYPE,FIRS
OPFRST,30,100,0.2,
OPEXE
! First-order analysis
! Max iteration, Percent step size, Percent forwar
! Run optimization
PLVAROPT,H,W
/AXLAB,X,Number of Iterations
/AXLAB,Y,Width and Height (mm)
/REPLOT
! Graph optimation data
Height design variable, min 10 mm, max 50 mm, to

Width design variable, min 10 mm, max 50 mm, tol
Height state variable, min 195 MPa, max 200 MPa,
Volume as object variable, tolerance 200 mm^2
Substructuring
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to show the how to use substructuring in
ANSYS. Substructuring is a procedure that condenses a group of finite elements into one super-element. This reduces the
required computation time and also allows the solution of very large problems.
A simple example will be demonstrated to explain the steps required, however, please note that this model is not one
which requires the use of substructuring. The example involves a block of wood (E =10 GPa v =0.29) connected to a
block of silicone (E = 2.5 MPa, v = 0.41) which is rigidly attached to the ground. A force will be applied to the structure
as shown in the following figure. For this example, substructuring will be used for the wood block.

1. Generation Pass
Generate the super-element by condensing several elements together. Select the degrees of freedom to save (master
DOFs) and to discard (slave DOFs). Apply loads to the super-element
2. Use Pass
Create the full model including the super-element created in the generation pass. Apply remaining loads to the
model. The solution will consist of the reduced solution tor the super-element and the complete solution for the
non-superelements.
3. Expansion Pass
Note that a this method is a bottom-up substructuring (each super-element is created separately and then assembled in the
Use Pass). Top-down substructuring is also possible in ANSYS (the entire model is built, then super-element are created
by selecting the appropriate elements). This method is suitable for smaller models and has the advantage that the results
for multiple super-elements can be assembled in postprocessing.
! Bottom-Up Substructuring
! GENERATION PASS - Build the superelement portion of the model
FINISH
/CLEAR, START
/FILNAME,GEN
! Change jobname
/PREP7
! Create Geometry
blc4,0,40,100,100
! Creates rectangle
! Define material properties of wood section

ET,1,PLANE42
! Element type
MP,EX,1, 10000
! Young's Modulus
MP,PRXY,1,0.29
! Poisson's ratio
! meshing
AESIZE,1,10,
amesh,1
! Element size
! Mesh area
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,SUBST
SEOPT,GEN,,2
! SUBSTRUCTURE GENERATION PASS

! Name = GEN and no printed output
NSEL,S,EXT
M,ALL,ALL
NSEL,ALL
! Select all external nodes

! Make all selected nodes master DOF's
NSEL,S,LOC,Y,140
NSEL,R,LOC,X,0
F,ALL,FX,5
! Select the corner node
NSEL,ALL
SAVE
SOLVE
FINISH
! Saves file to jobname.db

! GEN.SUB created
! USE PASS
FINISH
/CLEAR
/FILNAME,USE
/PREP7
! Load it
! Change jobname to use
! Create Geometry of non superelements

blc4,0,0,100,40
! Creates rectangle
! Define material properties
ET,2,PLANE42
TYPE,2
MP,EX,2, 2.5
MP,PRXY,2,0.41
! Element type
! Turns on element type 2
! Second material property set for silicon
! Meshing
AESIZE,1,10,
mat,2
real,2
amesh,1
! Superelement
ET,1,MATRIX50
TYPE,1
*GET,MaxNode,NODE,,NUM,MAX
SETRAN,GEN,,MaxNode,GEN2
SE,GEN2
NSEL,S,LOC,Y,40
CPINTF,ALL
NSEL,ALL
!
!
!
!
Element size
Turns on Material 2
Turns on real constants 2
Mesh the area
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
MATRIX50 is the superelement type

Turns on element type 1
determine the max number of nodes
node number offset
Read in superelement matrix
Select nodes at interface
Couple node pairs at interface
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,STATIC
! Static analysis
NSEL,S,LOC,Y,0
D,ALL,ALL,0
NSEL,ALL
! Select all nodes at y = 0

! Constrain those nodes
ESEL,S,TYPE,,1
SFE,ALL,1,SELV,,1
ESEL,ALL
! Element select
! Apply super-element load vector
! Reselect all elements
SAVE
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
FINISH
! EXPANSION PASS
/CLEAR
/FILNAME,GEN
RESUME
! Enter post processing

! Clear database
! Change jobname back to generation pass jobname
! Restore generation pass database
/SOLU
! Enter SOLUTION
EXPASS,ON,YES
! Activate expansion pass
SEEXP,GEN2,USE
! Superelement name to be expanded
EXPSOL,1,1,
! Expansion pass info
SOLVE
! Initiate expansion pass solution.
superelement solution written to GEN.RST
FINISH
/POST1
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
Full
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CAT/Substructuring/Prin...
Substructuring
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to show the how to use
substructuring in ANSYS. Substructuring is a procedure that condenses a group of finite elements into one
super-element. This reduces the required computation time and also allows the solution of very large problems.
A simple example will be demonstrated to explain the steps required, however, please note that this model is
not one which requires the use of substructuring. The example involves a block of wood (E =10 GPa v =0.29)
connected to a block of silicone (E = 2.5 MPa, v = 0.41) which is rigidly attached to the ground. A force will be
applied to the structure as shown in the following figure. For this example, substructuring will be used for the
wood block.

1. Generation Pass
Generate the super-element by condensing several elements together. Select the degrees of freedom to
save (master DOFs) and to discard (slave DOFs). Apply loads to the super-element
2. Use Pass
Create the full model including the super-element created in the generation pass. Apply remaining loads
to the model. The solution will consist of the reduced solution tor the super-element and the complete
solution for the non-superelements.
3. Expansion Pass
Note that a this method is a bottom-up substructuring (each super-element is created separately and then
assembled in the Use Pass). Top-down substructuring is also possible in ANSYS (the entire model is built, then
super-element are created by selecting the appropriate elements). This method is suitable for smaller models and
has the advantage that the results for multiple super-elements can be assembled in postprocessing.

! Bottom-Up Substructuring
! GENERATION PASS - Build the superelement portion of the model
FINISH
/CLEAR, START
/FILNAME,GEN
! Change jobname
/PREP7
! Create Geometry
blc4,0,40,100,100
! Creates rectangle
! Define material properties of wood section

ET,1,PLANE42
! Element type
MP,EX,1, 10000
! Young's Modulus
MP,PRXY,1,0.29
! Poisson's ratio
! meshing
AESIZE,1,10,
amesh,1
! Element size
! Mesh area
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,SUBST
SEOPT,GEN,,2
! SUBSTRUCTURE GENERATION PASS

! Name = GEN and no printed output
NSEL,S,EXT
M,ALL,ALL
NSEL,ALL
! Select all external nodes

! Make all selected nodes master DOF's
NSEL,S,LOC,Y,140
NSEL,R,LOC,X,0
F,ALL,FX,5
! Select the corner node
NSEL,ALL
SAVE
SOLVE
FINISH
! Saves file to jobname.db

! GEN.SUB created
! USE PASS
FINISH
/CLEAR
/FILNAME,USE
/PREP7
! Load it
! Change jobname to use
! Create Geometry of non superelements

blc4,0,0,100,40
! Creates rectangle
! Define material properties
ET,2,PLANE42
TYPE,2
! Element type
! Turns on element type 2
MP,EX,2, 2.5
MP,PRXY,2,0.41
! Meshing
AESIZE,1,10,
mat,2
real,2
amesh,1
! Superelement
ET,1,MATRIX50
TYPE,1
*GET,MaxNode,NODE,,NUM,MAX
SETRAN,GEN,,MaxNode,GEN2
SE,GEN2
NSEL,S,LOC,Y,40
CPINTF,ALL
NSEL,ALL
! Second material property set for silicon
!
!
!
!
Element size
Turns on Material 2
Turns on real constants 2
Mesh the area
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
MATRIX50 is the superelement type

Turns on element type 1
determine the max number of nodes
node number offset
Read in superelement matrix
Select nodes at interface
Couple node pairs at interface
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,STATIC
! Static analysis
NSEL,S,LOC,Y,0
D,ALL,ALL,0
NSEL,ALL
! Select all nodes at y = 0

! Constrain those nodes
ESEL,S,TYPE,,1
SFE,ALL,1,SELV,,1
ESEL,ALL
! Element select
! Apply super-element load vector
! Reselect all elements
SAVE
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
FINISH
! EXPANSION PASS
/CLEAR
/FILNAME,GEN
RESUME
/SOLU
EXPASS,ON,YES
SEEXP,GEN2,USE
EXPSOL,1,1,
SOLVE
FINISH
/POST1
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
! Enter post processing

! Clear database
! Change jobname back to generation pass jobname
! Restore generation pass database
!
!
!
!
!
Enter SOLUTION
Activate expansion pass
Superelement name to be expanded
Expansion pass info
Initiate expansion pass solution.
Full superelement sol
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline a simple coupled thermal/structural
analysis. A steel link, with no internal stresses, is pinned between two solid structures at a reference temperature of 0 C (273
K). One of the solid structures is heated to a temperature of 75 C (348 K). As heat is transferred from the solid structure into
the link, the link will attemp to expand. However, since it is pinned this cannot occur and as such, stress is created in the
link. A steady-state solution of the resulting stress will be found to simplify the analysis.
Loads will not be applied to the link, only a temperature change of 75 degrees Celsius. The link is steel with a modulus of
elasticity of 200 GPa, a thermal conductivity of 60.5 W/m*K and a thermal expansion coefficient of 12e-6 /K.

According to Chapter 2 of the ANSYS Coupled-Field Guide, "A sequentially coupled physics analysis is the combination
of analyses from different engineering disciplines which interact to solve a global engineering problem. For convenience, ...
the solutions and procedures associated with a particular engineering discipline [will be referred to as] a physics analysis.
When the input of one physics analysis depends on the results from another analysis, the analyses are coupled."
Thus, each different physics environment must be constructed seperately so they can be used to determine the coupled
physics solution. However, it is important to note that a single set of nodes will exist for the entire model. By creating the
geometry in the first physical environment, and using it with any following coupled environments, the geometry is kept
constant. For our case, we will create the geometry in the Thermal Environment, where the thermal effects will be applied.
Although the geometry must remain constant, the element types can change. For instance, thermal elements are required for
a thermal analysis while structural elements are required to deterime the stress in the link. It is important to note, however
that only certain combinations of elements can be used for a coupled physics analysis. For a listing, see Chapter 2 of the
ANSYS Coupled-Field Guide located in the help file.
The process requires the user to create all the necessary environments, which are basically the preprocessing portions for
each environment, and write them to memory. Then in the solution phase they can be combined to solve the coupled
analysis.

finish
/clear
/prep7
k,1,0,0
k,2,1,0
! Keypoints
l,1,2
et,1,link33
r,1,4e-4,
mp,kxx,1,60.5
! Element type
! Area
! Thermal conductivity
esize,0.1
lmesh,all
physics,write,thermal
physics,clear
!
!
!
!
Element size
Mesh line
Write physics environment as thermal
Clear the environment
etchg,tts
mp,ex,1,200e9
mp,prxy,1,0.3
mp,alpx,1,12e-6
physics,write,struct
physics,clear
finish
!
!
!
!
!
Element type
Young's modulus
Poisson's ratio
Expansion coefficient
Write physics environment as struct
/solu
antype,0
physics,read,thermal
dk,1,temp,348
!
!
!
!
Enter the solution phase

Static analysis
Read in the thermal environment
Apply a temp of 75 to keypoint 1
solve
finish
/solu
physics,read,struct
! Re-enter the solution phase

! Read in the struct environment
ldread,temp,,,,,,rth
environment
tref,273
! Apply loads derived from thermal
dk,1,all,0
dk,2,UX,0
! Apply structural constraints
solve
finish
/post1
etable,CompStress,LS,1
! Enter postprocessor
! Create an element table for link stress
PRETAB,CompStress
! Print the element table
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CAT/Coupled/Print.html

Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline a simple coupled
thermal/structural analysis. A steel link, with no internal stresses, is pinned between two solid structures at a
reference temperature of 0 C (273 K). One of the solid structures is heated to a temperature of 75 C (348 K). As
heat is transferred from the solid structure into the link, the link will attemp to expand. However, since it is
pinned this cannot occur and as such, stress is created in the link. A steady-state solution of the resulting stress
will be found to simplify the analysis.
Loads will not be applied to the link, only a temperature change of 75 degrees Celsius. The link is steel with a
modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa, a thermal conductivity of 60.5 W/m*K and a thermal expansion coefficient of
12e-6 /K.

According to Chapter 2 of the ANSYS Coupled-Field Guide, "A sequentially coupled physics analysis is the
combination of analyses from different engineering disciplines which interact to solve a global engineering
problem. For convenience, ...the solutions and procedures associated with a particular engineering discipline
[will be referred to as] a physics analysis. When the input of one physics analysis depends on the results from
another analysis, the analyses are coupled."
Thus, each different physics environment must be constructed seperately so they can be used to determine the
coupled physics solution. However, it is important to note that a single set of nodes will exist for the entire
model. By creating the geometry in the first physical environment, and using it with any following coupled
environments, the geometry is kept constant. For our case, we will create the geometry in the Thermal
Environment, where the thermal effects will be applied.
Although the geometry must remain constant, the element types can change. For instance, thermal elements are
required for a thermal analysis while structural elements are required to deterime the stress in the link. It is
important to note, however that only certain combinations of elements can be used for a coupled physics
analysis. For a listing, see Chapter 2 of the ANSYS Coupled-Field Guide located in the help file.
The process requires the user to create all the necessary environments, which are basically the preprocessing
portions for each environment, and write them to memory. Then in the solution phase they can be combined to
solve the coupled analysis.

finish
/clear
/prep7
k,1,0,0
k,2,1,0
! Keypoints
l,1,2
et,1,link33
r,1,4e-4,
mp,kxx,1,60.5
! Element type
! Area
! Thermal conductivity
esize,0.1
lmesh,all
physics,write,thermal
physics,clear
!
!
!
!
Element size
Mesh line
Write physics environment as thermal
Clear the environment
etchg,tts
mp,ex,1,200e9
mp,prxy,1,0.3
mp,alpx,1,12e-6
physics,write,struct
physics,clear
finish
!
!
!
!
!
Element type
Young's modulus
Poisson's ratio
Expansion coefficient
Write physics environment as struct
/solu
antype,0
physics,read,thermal
dk,1,temp,348
!
!
!
!
Enter the solution phase

Static analysis
Read in the thermal environment
Apply a temp of 75 to keypoint 1
solve
finish
/solu
physics,read,struct
! Re-enter the solution phase

! Read in the struct environment
ldread,temp,,,,,,rth
tref,273
! Apply loads derived from thermal environment
dk,1,all,0
dk,2,UX,0
! Apply structural constraints
solve
finish
/post1
etable,CompStress,LS,1
PRETAB,CompStress
! Create an element table for link stress
! Print the element table
Using P-Elements
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0. This tutorial outlines the steps necessary for solving a
model meshed with p-elements. The p-method manipulates the polynomial level (p-level) of the finite
element shape functions which are used to approximate the real solution. Thus, rather than increasing
mesh density, the p-level can be increased to give a similar result. By keeping mesh density rather
coarse, computational time can be kept to a minimum. This is the greatest advantage of using p-elements
over h-elements.
A uniform load will be applied to the right hand side of the geometry shown below. The specimen was
modeled as steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa.

finish
/clear
/pmeth,on
! Initialize p-method in ANSYS
/prep7
k,1,0,0
k,2,0,100
k,3,20,100
k,4,45,52
k,5,55,52
k,6,80,100
k,7,100,100
k,8,100,0
k,9,80,0
k,10,55,48
k,11,45,48
k,12,20,0
! Keypoints defining geometry
a,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
et,1,plane145
keyopt,1,3,3
r,1,10
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
!
esize,5
amesh,all
! Element size
! Mesh area
finish
/solu
antype,0
nsubst,20,100,20
outres,all,all
time,1
!
!
!
!
lsel,s,loc,x,0
dl,all,,all
lsel,all
! Line select at x=0

! Constrain the line, all DOF's
lsel,s,loc,x,100
Element type
Plane stress with thickness option
Real constant - thickness
Young's modulus
Poisson's ratio
Static analysis
Number of substeps
Time at end = 1
sfl,all,pres,-100
lsel,all
! Apply a pressure
solve
finish
/post1
set,last
plesol,s,eqv
! Select last set of data
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CAT/PElement/Print.html
Using P-Elements
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0. This tutorial outlines the steps necessary for solving a model
meshed with p-elements. The p-method manipulates the polynomial level (p-level) of the finite element shape
functions which are used to approximate the real solution. Thus, rather than increasing mesh density, the p-level
can be increased to give a similar result. By keeping mesh density rather coarse, computational time can be kept
to a minimum. This is the greatest advantage of using p-elements over h-elements.
A uniform load will be applied to the right hand side of the geometry shown below. The specimen was modeled
as steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa.

finish
/clear
/pmeth,on
! Initialize p-method in ANSYS
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CAT/PElement/Print.html
/prep7
k,1,0,0
k,2,0,100
k,3,20,100
k,4,45,52
k,5,55,52
k,6,80,100
k,7,100,100
k,8,100,0
k,9,80,0
k,10,55,48
k,11,45,48
k,12,20,0
! Keypoints defining geometry
a,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
et,1,plane145
keyopt,1,3,3
r,1,10
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
!
esize,5
amesh,all
! Element size
! Mesh area
finish
/solu
antype,0
nsubst,20,100,20
outres,all,all
time,1
!
!
!
!
lsel,s,loc,x,0
dl,all,,all
lsel,all

! Constrain the line, all DOF's
lsel,s,loc,x,100
sfl,all,pres,-100
lsel,all

! Apply a pressure
Element type
Plane stress with thickness option
Real constant - thickness
Young's modulus
Poisson's ratio
Static analysis
Number of substeps
Time at end = 1
solve
finish
/post1
set,last
plesol,s,eqv
! Select last set of data
Using P-Elements
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0. This tutorial outlines the steps necessary for solving a model meshed
with p-elements. The p-method manipulates the polynomial level (p-level) of the finite element shape functions
which are used to approximate the real solution. Thus, rather than increasing mesh density, the p-level can be
increased to give a similar result. By keeping mesh density rather coarse, computational time can be kept to a
minimum. This is the greatest advantage of using p-elements over h-elements.
A uniform load will be applied to the right hand side of the geometry shown below. The specimen was modeled as
steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa.

finish
/clear
/title, Convection Example
/prep7
! define geometry
k,1,0,0
k,2,0.03,0
k,3,0.03,0.03
! Define keypoints
k,4,0,0.03
a,1,2,3,4
! Connect the keypoints to form area
! mesh 2D areas
ET,1,Plane55
! Element type
MP,Dens,1,920
mp,c,1,2040
mp,kxx,1,1.8
! Define density
! Define specific heat
! Define heat transfer coefficient
esize,0.0005
amesh,all
! Mesh size
! Mesh area
finish
/solu
antype,4
time,60
! Time at end of analysis
nropt,full
lumpm,0
nsubst,20
neqit,100
autots,off
lnsrch,on
outres,all,all
kbc,1
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
IC,all,temp,268
! Initial conditions, temp = 268
nsel,s,ext
sf,all,conv,10,368
nsel,all
/gst,off
!
!
!
!
Node select all exterior nodes

Apply a convection BC
Reselect all nodes
Turn off graphical convergence monitor
/post1
set,last
etable,melty,temp,
esel,s,etab,melty,273
finish
!
!
!
!
Enter postprocessor
Read in last subset of data
Create an element table
Select all elements from table above 273
/solu
antype,,rest
ekill,all
esel,all
!
!
!
!
Re-enter solution phase

Restart analysis
Kill all selected elements
Re-select all elements
Newton Raphson - full

Lumped mass off
Number of substeps, 20
Max no. of iterations
Auto time search off
Line search on
Load applied in steps, not ramped
solve
finish
finish
/post1
set,last
esel,s,live
plnsol,temp
!
!
!
!
Re-enter postprocessor
Select all live elements
Plot the temp contour of the live elements
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/AT/BirthDeath/print.html
Using P-Elements
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0. This tutorial outlines the steps necessary for solving a model
meshed with p-elements. The p-method manipulates the polynomial level (p-level) of the finite element shape
functions which are used to approximate the real solution. Thus, rather than increasing mesh density, the p-level
can be increased to give a similar result. By keeping mesh density rather coarse, computational time can be kept
to a minimum. This is the greatest advantage of using p-elements over h-elements.
A uniform load will be applied to the right hand side of the geometry shown below. The specimen was modeled
as steel with a modulus of elasticity of 200 GPa.

finish
/clear
/title, Convection Example
/prep7
! define geometry
k,1,0,0
k,2,0.03,0
k,3,0.03,0.03
k,4,0,0.03
a,1,2,3,4
! Define keypoints
! Connect the keypoints to form area
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/AT/BirthDeath/print.html
! mesh 2D areas
ET,1,Plane55
! Element type
MP,Dens,1,920
mp,c,1,2040
mp,kxx,1,1.8
! Define density
! Define specific heat
! Define heat transfer coefficient
esize,0.0005
amesh,all
! Mesh size
! Mesh area
finish
/solu
antype,4
time,60
! Time at end of analysis
nropt,full
lumpm,0
nsubst,20
neqit,100
autots,off
lnsrch,on
outres,all,all
kbc,1
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
IC,all,temp,268
! Initial conditions, temp = 268
nsel,s,ext
sf,all,conv,10,368
nsel,all
/gst,off
!
!
!
!
Node select all exterior nodes

Apply a convection BC
Reselect all nodes
Turn off graphical convergence monitor
/post1
set,last
etable,melty,temp,
esel,s,etab,melty,273
finish
!
!
!
!
Enter postprocessor
Create an element table
Select all elements from table above 273
/solu
antype,,rest
ekill,all
esel,all
!
!
!
!
Re-enter solution phase

Restart analysis
Kill all selected elements
Re-select all elements
!
!
!
!
Re-enter postprocessor
Select all live elements
Plot the temp contour of the live elements
Newton Raphson - full

Lumped mass off
Number of substeps, 20
Max no. of iterations
Auto time search off
Line search on
Load applied in steps, not ramped
solve
finish
finish
/post1
set,last
esel,s,live
plnsol,temp
Contact Elements
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to describe how to utilize contact
elements to simulate how two beams react when they come into contact with each other.
The beams, as shown below, are 100mm long, 10mm x 10mm in cross-section, have a Young's modulus of 200
GPa, and are rigidly constrained at the outer ends. A 10KN load is applied to the center of the upper, causing it to
bend and contact the lower.

finish
/clear
/title,Contact Elements
/prep7
! Top Beam
X1=0
Y1=15
L1=100
H1=10
! Bottom Beam
X2=50
Y2=0
L2=100
H2=10
! Create Geometry
blc4,X1,Y1,L1,H1
blc4,X2,Y2,L2,H2
ET,1,plane42
keyopt,1,3,3
type,1
R, 1, 10
!
!
!
!
element type 1
plane stress w/thick
activate element type 1
thickness 0.01

MP,EX, 1, 200e3
MP,NUXY,1, 0.3
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
! meshing
esize,2
amesh,all
! set meshing size

! mesh area 1
ET,2,contac48
keyo,2,7,1
r,2,200000,,,,10
TYPE,2
real,2

! contact time/load prediction
! activates or sets the real constants

asel,s,area,,1
!
nsla,s,1
!
nsel,r,loc,y,Y1
!
nsel,r,loc,x,X2,(X2+L2/2)!
cm,source,node
!
select top area

select the nodes above the other beam

allsel
!
asel,s,area,,2
!
nsla,s,1
!
nsel,r,loc,y,H2
!
cm,target,node
!
relect everything
select bottom area
finish
/solut
antype,0
time,1
autots,on
nsubst,100,1000,20
outres,all,all
neqit,100
!
!
!
!
!
Sets time at end of run to 1 sec

Auto time-stepping on
Number of sub-steps
Write all output
Max number of iterations
nsel,s,loc,x,X1
! Constrain top beam
nsel,r,loc,y,Y1,(Y1+H1)
d,all,all
nsel,all
nsel,s,loc,x,(X2+L2)
! Constrain bottom beam
d,all,all
nsel,all
nsel,s,loc,x,(L1/2+X1)
nsel,r,loc,y,(Y1+H1)
f,all,fy,-10000
nsel,all
! Apply load
solve
finish
/post1
/dscale,1,1
/CVAL,1,20,40,80,160,320,640,1280,2560
PLNSOL,S,EQV,0,1
http://www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CAT/contact/print.html
Contact Elements
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of the tutorial is to describe how to utilize
contact elements to simulate how two beams react when they come into contact with each other.
The beams, as shown below, are 100mm long, 10mm x 10mm in cross-section, have a Young's modulus
of 200 GPa, and are rigidly constrained at the outer ends. A 10KN load is applied to the center of the
upper, causing it to bend and contact the lower.

finish
/clear
/title,Contact Elements
/prep7
! Top Beam
X1=0
Y1=15
L1=100
H1=10
! Bottom Beam
X2=50
Y2=0
L2=100
H2=10
! Create Geometry
blc4,X1,Y1,L1,H1
blc4,X2,Y2,L2,H2

ET,1,plane42
keyopt,1,3,3
type,1
R, 1, 10
!
!
!
!
element type 1
plane stress w/thick
activate element type 1
thickness 0.01

MP,EX, 1, 200e3
MP,NUXY,1, 0.3
! Young's modulus
! Poisson's ratio
! meshing
esize,2
amesh,all
! set meshing size

! mesh area 1
ET,2,contac48
keyo,2,7,1
r,2,200000,,,,10
TYPE,2
real,2

! contact time/load prediction
! activates or sets the real constants

asel,s,area,,1
!
nsla,s,1
!
nsel,r,loc,y,Y1
!
cm,source,node
!
select top area


allsel
!
asel,s,area,,2
!
nsla,s,1
!
nsel,r,loc,y,H2
!
cm,target,node
!
relect everything
select bottom area
finish
/solut
antype,0
time,1
autots,on
nsubst,100,1000,20
outres,all,all
neqit,100
!
!
!
!
!
Sets time at end of run to 1 sec

Auto time-stepping on
Number of sub-steps
Write all output
Max number of iterations
nsel,s,loc,x,X1
! Constrain top beam
d,all,all
nsel,all
nsel,s,loc,x,(X2+L2)
! Constrain bottom beam
d,all,all
nsel,all
nsel,s,loc,x,(L1/2+X1)
nsel,r,loc,y,(Y1+H1)
f,all,fy,-10000
nsel,all
! Apply load
solve
finish
/post1
/dscale,1,1
/CVAL,1,20,40,80,160,320,640,1280,2560
PLNSOL,S,EQV,0,1
Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to familiarize the user
with the ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL). This will be a very basic introduction to
APDL, covering things like variable definition and simple looping. Users familiar with basic
programming languages will probably find the APDL very easy to use. To learn more about APDL
and see more complex examples, please see the APDL Programmer's Guide located in the help file.
This tutorial will cover the preprocessing stage of constructing a truss geometry. Variables including
length, height and number of divisions of the truss will be requested and the APDL code will
construct the geometry.

finish
/clear
/prep7

DELTA_L
NUM_K =
COUNT =
X_COORD
DIVISION + 1
-1
= 0
*do,i,1,NUM_K,1
COUNT = COUNT + 1
k,i,X_COORD,0
*else
k,i,X_COORD,HEIGHT
*endif
*enddo
KEYP = 0
*do,j,1,DIVISION,1
KEYP = KEYP + 1
L,KEYP,(KEYP+1)
L,KEYP,(KEYP+2)
*endif
*enddo
et,1,link1
r,1,100
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
esize,,1
lmesh,all
finish
http://www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/cl/cat/apdl/apdl.html

Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to familiarize the user with
the ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL). This will be a very basic introduction to APDL,
covering things like variable definition and simple looping. Users familiar with basic programming
languages will probably find the APDL very easy to use. To learn more about APDL and see more
complex examples, please see the APDL Programmer's Guide located in the help file.
This tutorial will cover the preprocessing stage of constructing a truss geometry. Variables including
length, height and number of divisions of the truss will be requested and the APDL code will construct
the geometry.

finish
/clear
/prep7
DELTA_L
NUM_K =
COUNT =
X_COORD
DIVISION + 1
-1
= 0
*do,i,1,NUM_K,1
COUNT = COUNT + 1
http://www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/cl/cat/apdl/apdl.html
k,i,X_COORD,0
*else
k,i,X_COORD,HEIGHT
*endif
*enddo
KEYP = 0
*do,j,1,DIVISION,1
KEYP = KEYP + 1
L,KEYP,(KEYP+1)
L,KEYP,(KEYP+2)
*endif
*enddo
et,1,link1
r,1,100
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
esize,,1
lmesh,all
finish
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to view cross
sectional results (Deformation, Stress, etc.) of the following example.

FINISH
/CLEAR
/Title, Cross-Sectional Results of a Simple Cantilever Beam
/PREP7
! All dims in mm
Width = 60
Height = 40
Length = 400
! Creates a rectangle
/ANGLE, 1 ,60.000000,YS,1
/REPLOT,FAST
! Rotates the display

! Fast redisplay
ET,1,SOLID45
! Element type
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
! Young's Modulus
! Poisson's ratio
esize,20
vmesh,all
! Element size
! Mesh the volume
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
ASEL,S,LOC,Z,0
DA,All,ALL,0
ASEL,ALL
!
!
!
!
KSEL,S,LOC,Z,Length
KSEL,R,LOC,Y,Height
KSEL,R,LOC,X,Width
FK,All,FY,-2500
KSEL,ALL
! Select certain keypoint
SOLVE
FINISH
! Solve
/POST1
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
WPOFFS,Width/2,0,0
WPROTA,0,0,90
/CPLANE,1
/TYPE,1,8
!
!
!
!
!
WPCSYS,-1,0
! Deflines working plane location
/CPLANE,1
/TYPE,1,5
PLNSOL,S,EQV,0,1
!
!
!
!
Static analysis
Area select at z=0
Constrain the area
Reselect all areas
! Force on keypoint
! Reselect all keypoints
Plot deflection
Offset the working plane for cross-section view
Rotate working plane
Cutting plane defined to use the WP
QSLICE display
Offset the working plane

Use the capped hidden display
Plot equivalent stress
!Animation
ANCUT,43,0.1,5,0.05,0,0.1,7,14,2 ! Animate the slices
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CPP/Slice/Print.html

Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to view
cross sectional results (Deformation, Stress, etc.) of the following example.

FINISH
/CLEAR
/Title, Cross-Sectional Results of a Simple Cantilever Beam
/PREP7
! All dims in mm
Width = 60
Height = 40
Length = 400
! Creates a rectangle
/ANGLE, 1 ,60.000000,YS,1
/REPLOT,FAST
! Rotates the display

! Fast redisplay
ET,1,SOLID45
! Element type
MP,EX,1,200000
MP,PRXY,1,0.3
! Young's Modulus
! Poisson's ratio
esize,20
vmesh,all
! Element size
! Mesh the volume
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CPP/Slice/Print.html
FINISH
/SOLU
ANTYPE,0
ASEL,S,LOC,Z,0
DA,All,ALL,0
ASEL,ALL
!
!
!
!
KSEL,S,LOC,Z,Length
KSEL,R,LOC,Y,Height
KSEL,R,LOC,X,Width
FK,All,FY,-2500
KSEL,ALL
! Select certain keypoint
SOLVE
FINISH
! Solve
/POST1
PLNSOL,U,SUM,0,1
WPOFFS,Width/2,0,0
WPROTA,0,0,90
/CPLANE,1
/TYPE,1,8
!
!
!
!
!
WPCSYS,-1,0
! Deflines working plane location
/CPLANE,1
/TYPE,1,5
PLNSOL,S,EQV,0,1
!
!
!
!
Static analysis
Area select at z=0
Constrain the area
Reselect all areas
! Force on keypoint
! Reselect all keypoints
Plot deflection
Offset the working plane for cross-section view
Rotate working plane
QSLICE display
Offset the working plane

Use the capped hidden display
Plot equivalent stress
!Animation
ANCUT,43,0.1,5,0.05,0,0.1,7,14,2 ! Animate the slices

Results
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to create and use 'paths' to provide extra detail during
post processing. For example, one may want to determine the effects of stress concentrators along a certain path. Rather than
plotting the entire contour plot, a plot of the stress along that path can be made.
In this tutorial, a steel plate measuring 100 mm X 200 mm X 10 mm will be used. Three holes are drilled through the vertical
centerline of the plate. The plate is constrained in the y-direction at the bottom and a uniform, distributed load is pulling on the
top of the plate.

finish
/clear
/title, Defining Paths
/PREP7
! create geometry
BLC4,0,0,200,100
cyl4,50,50,10
cyl4,100,50,10
cyl4,150,50,10
asba,1,all
et,1,plane2,,,3
R,1,10
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
Plane element
thickness of plane
Young's Modulus
Poisson's ratio
esize,5
amesh,all
! mesh size
! area mesh
finish
/solu
! apply constraints
lsel,s,loc,y,0
dl,all,,UY
allsel
! apply loads
allsel
lsel,s,loc,y,100
SFL,all,PRES,-2000/10
allsel
solve
finish
! plot results
/window,1,top
/POST1
PLNSOL,S,eqv,2,1
/window,1,off
/noerase
/window,2,bot
nsel,all
nsel,s,loc,y,50
path,cutline,2,,1000
ppath,1,,0,50
ppath,2,,200,50
PDEF,,S,eqv,AVG
nsel,all
PLPAGM,SEQV,200,NODE
! select line for contraint application

! constrain all DOF's on this face
! restore entire selection

! apply a pressure load on a line
! solve resulting system of equations
! define a window (top half of screen)

! plot stress in xx direction (deformed and undeformed edge)
!
!
!
!
!
define
define
choose
define
define
a window (bottom half of screen)

nodes to define path
nodes half way through structure
a path labeled cutline
endpoint nodes on path
! calculate equivalent stress on path

! show graph on plot with nodes
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CPP/AdvancedX-SecRes...
Advanced X-Sectional Results: Using Paths to Post

Process Results
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to create and use 'paths' to provide
extra detail during post processing. For example, one may want to determine the effects of stress concentrators
along a certain path. Rather than plotting the entire contour plot, a plot of the stress along that path can be made.
In this tutorial, a steel plate measuring 100 mm X 200 mm X 10 mm will be used. Three holes are drilled
through the vertical centerline of the plate. The plate is constrained in the y-direction at the bottom and a
uniform, distributed load is pulling on the top of the plate.

finish
/clear
/title, Defining Paths
/PREP7
! create geometry
BLC4,0,0,200,100
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CPP/AdvancedX-SecRes...
cyl4,50,50,10
cyl4,100,50,10
cyl4,150,50,10
asba,1,all
et,1,plane2,,,3
R,1,10
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
Plane element
thickness of plane
Young's Modulus
Poisson's ratio
esize,5
amesh,all
! mesh size
! area mesh
finish
/solu
! apply constraints
lsel,s,loc,y,0
dl,all,,UY
allsel
! apply loads
allsel
lsel,s,loc,y,100
SFL,all,PRES,-2000/10
allsel
solve
finish
! plot results
/window,1,top
/POST1
PLNSOL,S,eqv,2,1
/window,1,off
/noerase
/window,2,bot
nsel,all
nsel,s,loc,y,50
path,cutline,2,,1000
ppath,1,,0,50
ppath,2,,200,50
PDEF,,S,eqv,AVG
nsel,all
PLPAGM,SEQV,200,NODE
! select line for contraint application

! constrain all DOF's on this face
! restore entire selection

! apply a pressure load on a line
! solve resulting system of equations
! define a window (top half of screen)

! plot stress in xx direction (deformed and undeformed edge)
!
!
!
!
!
define
define
choose
define
define
a window (bottom half of screen)

nodes to define path
nodes half way through structure
a path labeled cutline
endpoint nodes on path
! calculate equivalent stress on path

! show graph on plot with nodes
Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to plot Vertical Deflection
vs. Length of the following beam using tables, a special type of array. By plotting this data on a curve, rather than using a contour
plot, finer resolution can be achieved.
This tutorial will use a steel beam 400 mm long, with a 40 mm X 60 mm cross section as shown above. It will be rigidly
constrained at one end and a -2500 N load will be applied to the other.

finish
/clear
/prep7
elementsize = 20
length = 400
et,1,beam3
r,1,2400,320e3,40
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
Beam3 element
Area,I,Height
Youngs Modulus
Poisson's Ratio
k,1,0,0
k,2,length,0
! Geometry
l,1,2
esize,elementsize
lmesh,all
finish
/solu
! Mesh size
! Mesh
antype,static
! Static analysis
dk,1,all
! Constrain one end fully
fk,2,fy,-2500
! Apply load to other end
solve
finish
/post1
! Note, there are 21 nodes in the mesh.
! the table must have (#nodes + 1) rows
For the procedure below
rows = ((length/elementsize + 1) + 1)
*DIM,graph,TABLE,rows,2,1
! Creat a table called "graph"

! 22 rows x 2 columns x 1 plane
*vget,graph(1,1),node,all,loc,x
! Put node locations in the x direction

! in the first column for all nodes
*vget,graph(1,2),node,all,u,y
! Put node deflections in the y direction

! in the second column
*set,graph(2,1),0
! Delete data in (2,1) which is for x = 400

! otherwise graph is not plotted properly
*set,graph(2,2),0
400
! Delete data in (2,2) which is for UY @ x =

*vget,graph(rows,1),node,2,loc,x
*vget,graph(rows,2),node,2,u,y
! Re-enter the data for x = 400, but at the end

! of the table
*vplot,graph(1,1),graph(1,2)
! Plot the data in the table
/axlab,x,Length
/axlab,y,Vertical Deflection
/replot
! Change the axis labels
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CPP/DataPlotting/Print.h...

Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to plot
Vertical Deflection vs. Length of the following beam using tables, a special type of array. By plotting this data
on a curve, rather than using a contour plot, finer resolution can be achieved.
This tutorial will use a steel beam 400 mm long, with a 40 mm X 60 mm cross section as shown above. It will
be rigidly constrained at one end and a -2500 N load will be applied to the other.

finish
/clear
/prep7
elementsize = 20
length = 400
et,1,beam3
r,1,2400,320e3,40
mp,ex,1,200000
mp,prxy,1,0.3
!
!
!
!
Beam3 element
Area,I,Height
Youngs Modulus
Poisson's Ratio
k,1,0,0
k,2,length,0
! Geometry
l,1,2
esize,elementsize
! Mesh size
University of Alberta ANSYS Tutorials - www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/CL/CPP/DataPlotting/Print.h...
lmesh,all
! Mesh
finish
/solu
antype,static
! Static analysis
dk,1,all
! Constrain one end fully
fk,2,fy,-2500
! Apply load to other end
solve
finish
/post1
! Note, there are 21 nodes in the mesh.
! the table must have (#nodes + 1) rows
For the procedure below
rows = ((length/elementsize + 1) + 1)
*DIM,graph,TABLE,rows,2,1
! Creat a table called "graph"

! 22 rows x 2 columns x 1 plane
*vget,graph(1,1),node,all,loc,x
! Put node locations in the x direction

! in the first column for all nodes
*vget,graph(1,2),node,all,u,y
! Put node deflections in the y direction

! in the second column
*set,graph(2,1),0
! Delete data in (2,1) which is for x = 400

*set,graph(2,2),0
! Delete data in (2,2) which is for UY @ x = 400

*vget,graph(rows,1),node,2,loc,x
*vget,graph(rows,2),node,2,u,y
! Re-enter the data for x = 400, but at the end

! of the table
*vplot,graph(1,1),graph(1,2)
! Plot the data in the table
/axlab,x,Length
/axlab,y,Vertical Deflection
/replot
! Change the axis labels

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University of Alberta - Ansys Tutorials

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UofA ANSYS Tutorial