Lecture 14

Summary
14.5 Release

ANSYS LS-DYNA
in Mechanical APDL
© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. February 5, 2013 1 Release 14.5
 Objectives

• This lecture reviews the important contents covered in this course.

• Topics:
A. Implicit versus Explicit
B. Modeling Guidelines
C. Material Guidelines
D. Loading Guidelines
E. Contact Guidelines
F. General Guidelines
G. Table of Consistent Units

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 A. Implicit versus Explicit

• Computational efforts with implicit • Computational efforts with explicit

programs: programs:
– Model size – Model size
– Degree of nonlinearity – Critical time step
– Loading histories • Element edge length
• Sonic wave velocity:
– Young’s modulus
– Density
– Termination time

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 ... Implicit versus Explicit
Estimation of the ANSYS LS-DYNA computation time:

c
TCPU  k  N Elem  t 
l min
with
TCPU = total CPU usage in CPU-second
k = system factor e.g., 0.000033 CPU-second/element
Nelem = number of elements
t = simulation time e.g., 160 ms termination time
c = sonic velocity e.g., 5500 mm/ms in steel
lmin = smallest length of element e.g., 9 mm

Deviations depend on material laws, element types, contacts …

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 ... Implicit versus Explicit
• User efforts with implicit
programs:
– Try to find convergence
criteria for the solution.
– SOLVE
– If the calculation has not
converged, repeat the first
task until the solution is done.
© 2012 ANSYS, Inc. February 5, 2013
• User efforts with explicit programs:
– Tune up model to increase time step size:
• Avoid small elements
• Use rigid bodies
• Employ mass scaling
• Use higher velocities
– In metal forming simulations, the punch velocity
can be significantly increased without reducing
accuracy too much.
– Check the results to validate the kinetic, internal,
and hourglass energies.
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 B. Modeling Guidelines
• Avoid small elements whenever possible. They significantly reduce the time
step size. If small elements are required, use mass scaling to increase the
critical time step.

• Try to avoid using triangular or tetrahedron elements. Although these elements

are supported, they are not recommended. For better results, use cube-shape
bricks.

• If the overall hourglass energy is more than 5% of the internal (strain) energy,
use some form of additional hourglass control in the model. The energies can be
monitored eith the GLSTAT and MATSUM files.

• Alternatively, fully integrated elements can be used to combat hourglassing

problems. However, these elements can give poor results in cases involving
large deformation and/or bending.

• Use rigid bodies when possible. Rigid bodies save significant amounts of CPU
time.

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 C. Material Guidelines

• Make sure to use consistent units when defining material properties.

Incorrect units will lead to wrong results.

• Make sure that the material data is accurate. The precision of most nonlinear
dynamic problems depends on the quality of the material data entered.

• Select the correct material model for a given application. If it is not certain
whether a part’s physical response should include a particular characteristic
(e.g., strain rate effects), it is a better practice to use a material model that
includes all possible features.

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 D. Loading Guidelines
• Avoid single point loads because they excite hourglass modes. Which are
nonphysical.

• List and/or plot load curves to ensure their accuracy.

• Because LS-DYNA may ‘overshoot’ a solution by a few microseconds, extend loads

out past the final solution (termination) time.

• For ‘quasi-static’ problems, a velocity higher than the true velocity may often be
used to significantly reduce the CPU time.

• Constraints on the nodes of a rigid body are not allowed. The center of a rigid
body is constrained via the EDMP,RIGID command.

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 E. Contact Guidelines
• Initial penetrations between contact surfaces are not allowed. Make sure that
the a model is defined without any overlapping surfaces where contact is
defined.
• Always use realistic material properties and shell thickness values. The
material properties and geometry of contacting surfaces are used to
determine the contact penalty stiffness.
• Do not make multiple contact definitions between the same parts.
• Use automatic contact for shells unless contact forces are required.
• Use automatic general contact (AG) whenever possible. It is the easiest type
of contact to define, handles most contact applications, and doesn’t cost
much in CPU time.
• List the defined contact surfaces prior to solution to ensure that the contacts
have been properly defined.

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 F. General Guidelines
• Use mass scaling in most analyses to increase the critical time step and reduce
the solution time. Check the LS-DYNA output window to ensure that the
percentage of added mass increase is not significant.
• Always output all energy data. Make sure that hourglass, damping, and
interface energies are calculated. This information is useful for monitoring
solution accuracy and debugging problems.
• Use LS-DYNA control switches to monitor the solution. Periodically use sense
switch sw2 to check the progress of a run. If the model begins to diverge, use
sw1 to terminate the analysis.
• Learn LS-PREPOST (use the EDOPT command to obtain d3plot and d3thdt files).
LS-PREPOST has no limitations, but is not supported by ANSYS.

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 G. Table of Consistent Units

Mass Length Time Force Stress Energy r(steel) E(steel)

kg m sec N Pa Joule 7.83e+03 2.07E+11
kg cm sec 1e-02N 7.83e-03 2.07E+09
kg cm ms 1e+04N 7.83e-03 2.07E+03
kg cm ms 1e+10N 7.83e-03 2.07E-03
kg mm ms kN Gpa kN-mm 7.83e-06 2.07E+02
gm cm sec dyne dyne/cm^2 erg 7.83e+00 2.07E+12
gm cm ms 1e+07N Mbar 1e7Ncm 7.83e+00 2.07E+00
gm mm sec 1e-06N Pa 7.83e-03 2.07E+11
gm mm ms N Mpa N-mm 7.83e-03 2.07E+05
ton (1000 kg) mm sec N Mpa N-mm 7.83e-09 2.07E+05
lbf-sec^2/in in sec lbf psi lbf-in 7.33e-04 3.00E+07
slug ft sec lbf psf lbf-ft 1.52e+01 4.32E+09

* 1 slug = 14.594 kg; 1 ft = 0.3048 m = 12*2.54 cm; 1 N = 105dyne = 1 lbf/4.4482;

1 Mbar = 1012 dynes/cm2; 1 bar = 14.7 psi = 1.0 atm = 105 Pa;
1 kg/m3 = 10-3 gm/cm3 = 0.9112 slug/ft3

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