2018 - SW Simulation - Prof

SOLIDWORKS
Simulation Professional
ENG
SYSPRICE - REVENDA SOLIDWORKS

+55 112165.6900
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SOLIDWORKS
SOLIDWORKS Simulation
Professional
Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation

175 Wyman Street
Waltham, MA 02451 U.S.A.
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SOLIDWORKS® 3D mechanical CAD and/or Simulation Portions of this software © 1998-2017 HCL Technologies Ltd.
software is protected by U.S. Patents 6,611,725; 6,844,877; Portions of this software incorporate PhysX™ by NVIDIA 2006-
6,898,560; 6,906,712; 7,079,990; 7,477,262; 7,558,705;
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Copyright Notices for SOLIDWORKS Simulation Products
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COMMERCIAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE - PROPRIETARY
Portions of this software © 1995-2012 Spatial Corporation.
The Software is a "commercial item" as that term is defined at 48
C.F.R. 2.101 (OCT 1995), consisting of "commercial computer The eDrawings® for Windows® software is based in part on the
software" and "commercial software documentation" as such work of the Independent JPEG Group.
terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 (SEPT 1995) and is provided
to the U.S. Government (a) for acquisition by or on behalf of Portions of eDrawings® for iPad® copyright © 1996-1999
civilian agencies, consistent with the policy set forth in 48 C.F.R. Silicon Graphics Systems, Inc.
12.212; or (b) for acquisition by or on behalf of units of the Portions of eDrawings® for iPad® copyright © 2003 - 2005
Department of Defense, consistent with the policies set forth in Apple Computer Inc.
48 C.F.R. 227.7202-1 (JUN 1995) and 227.7202-4 (JUN 1995)
In the event that you receive a request from any agency of the Copyright Notices for SOLIDWORKS PCB Products
U.S. Government to provide Software with rights beyond those Portions of this software © 2017 Altium Limited.
set forth above, you will notify DS SolidWorks of the scope of
the request and DS SolidWorks will have five (5) business days
to, in its sole discretion, accept or reject such request. Contractor/
Manufacturer: Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation, 175 Document Number: PMT1841-ENG
Wyman Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451 USA.
Contents
Introduction
About This Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Course Design Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Using this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Laboratory Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
About the Training Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Windows 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
User Interface Appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Conventions Used in this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Use of Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
More SOLIDWORKS Training Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Local User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
What is SOLIDWORKS Simulation?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Limitations of SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Lesson 1:
Frequency Analysis of Parts
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Modal Analysis Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Required Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Frequencies and Mode Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Fundamental Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Case Study: The Tuning Fork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Project Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Stages in the Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
i
Contents SOLIDWORKS
Frequency Analysis With Supports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Note. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Postprocessing Frequency Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Frequency Analysis Without Supports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Rigid Body Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Fundamental Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Effect of Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Frequency Analysis with Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Effects of Prestress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Exercise 1: Frequency Analysis of a Car Suspension Bulkhead . . . . 21
Exercise 2: Frequency Analysis of a Blower Fan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Part 1: Analysis Without Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Part 2: Analysis With Load. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Design Study (optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Exercise 3: Frequency Analysis of an Impeller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Lesson 2:
Frequency Analysis of Assemblies
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Case Study: The Engine Mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
All Bonded Contact Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Remote Mass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Mass Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Connecting the Assembly Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Bonded and Allow Penetration Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Exercise 4: Frequency Analysis of a Particle Separator . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Lesson 3:
Buckling Analysis
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Buckling Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Linear vs. Nonlinear Buckling Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Buckling Factor of Safety (BFS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Buckling Analysis Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
ii
SOLIDWORKS Contents
Case Study: Particle Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Calculating Buckling Loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Results Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Will the structure Buckle or Yield First? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Exercise 5: Buckling Analysis of a Stool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Exercise 6: Cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Lesson 4:
Load Cases
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Load Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Case Study: Scaffolding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Project Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Initial Load Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Lesson 5:
Submodeling
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Submodeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Parent Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Case Study: Scaffolding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Project Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Part 1: Parent Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Parent Load Cases in Submodeling Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Part 2: Child Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Selecting Components for Submodeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Submodel Fixtures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Lesson 6:
Topology Analysis
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Topology Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Case Study: Rear Bike Shock Link. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Goals and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Best Stiffness to Weight ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Minimize Maximum Displacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Minimize Mass with Displacement constraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
iii
Contents SOLIDWORKS
Manufacturing Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Add Preserved Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Specified Thickness Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Specify De-mold Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Specify Symmetry Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Mesh Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Load Cases in Topology Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Export Smoothed Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Exercise 7: Topology Analysis of a Stool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Lesson 7:
Thermal Analysis
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Thermal Analysis Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Conduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Convection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Material Properties for Thermal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Case Study: Microchip Assembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Project Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Stages in the Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Steady-State Thermal Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Interfacial Conductance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Initial Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Thermal Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Heat Flux. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Heat Flux Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Heat Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Transient Thermal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Importing Convective Effect from
SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Transient Data Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Results Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Transient Analysis with Time Varying Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Time Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Temperature Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Transient Thermal Analysis using a Thermostat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Symmetry Boundary Condition in Thermal Analysis . . . . . . . . 134
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Exercise 8: Thermal Analysis of a Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
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SOLIDWORKS Contents
Lesson 8:
Thermal Analysis with Radiation
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Case Study: Spot Light Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Steady State Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Review of Analysis Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Heat Flux Singularities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Lesson 9:
Advanced Thermal Stress2D Simplification
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Thermal Stress Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Case Study: Metal Expansion Joint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Thermal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
2D Simplification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Prescribed Temperature Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Meshing Considerations in Thermal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Thermal Stress Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Importing Temperatures and Pressures from
SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Reference Temperature at Zero Strains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
3D model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Exercise 9: Thermal Stress Analysis of a
Microchip Testing Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Thermal Stress Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Change in Thermal Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Exercise 10: Thermal Stress Analysis of a Gas Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Exercise 11: Thermal Stress Analysis of a
Thermoelectric Cooler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Problem Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Loading Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Goal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
v
Contents SOLIDWORKS
Lesson 10:
Fatigue Analysis
Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Fatigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Stages of Failure due to Fatigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
High vs. Low Cycle Fatigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Stress-life (S-N) Based Fatigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Fatigue Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Case Study: Pressure Vessel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Project Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Thermal Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Thermal Stress Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Static Pressure Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Fatigue Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
S-N Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Fatigue Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Derive from Material Elastic Modulus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Constant Amplitude Events Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Alternating Stress Computation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Mean Stress Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Fatigue Strength Reduction Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Damage Factor Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Damage Result Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Fatigue Study with Dead Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Dead Loads in Fatigue Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Bolts in Fatigue Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Find Cycle Peaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Exercise 12: Fatigue Analysis of a Basketball Rim . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Exercise 13: Fatigue of Trailer Hitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
vi
SOLIDWORKS Contents
Lesson 11:
Variable Amplitude Fatigue
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Case Study: Suspension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Fatigue Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Variable Amplitude Fatigue Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Rainflow Cycle Counting Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Variable Loading Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Bins for Rainflow Counting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Noise in Random Loading History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Fatigue Strength Reduction Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Rainflow Matrix Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Fatigue Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Lesson 12:
Drop Test Analysis
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Drop Test Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Case Study: Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Rigid Floor Drop Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Drop Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Dynamic Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Damping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Solution Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Graphing Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Linear vs. Nonlinear Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Elastic Floor, Elasto-Plastic Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Elasto-Plastic Material Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Elasto-Plastic Model Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Processing Elasto-Plastic Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Drop Test with Contact (optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Exercise 14: Drop Test of a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
vii
Contents SOLIDWORKS
Lesson 13:
Optimization Analysis
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Optimization Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Case Study: Press Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Design Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Static and Frequency Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Optimization Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Design Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Optimization Goal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Design Variable Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Define Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Constraint Tolerance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Constraint Definition Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Postprocessing Optimization Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Local Trend Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Exercise 15: Optimization Analysis of a Cantilever Bracket . . . . . . 277
Exercise 16: Optimization of Heat Sink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Lesson 14:
Pressure Vessel Analysis
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Case Study: Pressure Vessel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Stress Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Membrane and Bending Stresses (stress linearization) . . . . . . . 284
Basic Stress Intensity Limits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Pressure Vessel Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Load Case Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
General Primary Membrane Stress Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Manhole Nozzle Flange and Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Stress Linearization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
viii
Introduction
1
Introduction SOLIDWORKS
About This The SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional training course is a direct

Course extension of SOLIDWORKS Simulation. Throughout this course it is
assumed that students are familiar with the concepts discussed in the
SOLIDWORKS Simulation or similar course, and that they have basic
familiarity with the software. The goal of this course is to teach you
how to use the SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional software to
help you analyze the structural behavior of your SOLIDWORKS part
and assembly models in buckling, fatigue, and when subjected to
various thermal loads. The course also covers frequency analysis,
optimization, drop test (time dependent impact analysis), and analysis
of pressure vessels.
The focus of this course is on the fundamental skills and concepts
central to the successful use of SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2015. You
should view the training course manual as a supplement to, and not a
replacement for, the system documentation and on-line help. Once you
have developed a good foundation in basic skills, you can refer to the
on-line help for information on less frequently used command options.
Prerequisites Students attending this course are expected to have the following:
 Mechanical design experience.
 Experience with the Windows™ operating system.
 Completed the on-line SOLIDWORKS tutorials that are available
under Help. You can access the on-line tutorials by clicking Help,
SOLIDWORKS Tutorials.
 Completed the introductory SOLIDWORKS Simulation (or
similar) course.
Course Design This course is designed around a process- or task-based approach to
Philosophy training. Rather than focusing on individual features and functions, a
process-based training course emphasizes processes and procedures
you should follow to complete a particular task. By utilizing case
studies to illustrate these processes, you learn the necessary commands,
options and menus in the context of completing a design task.
Course Length The recommended minimum length of this course is one day.
Using this Book This training manual is intended to be used in a classroom environment
under the guidance of an experienced SOLIDWORKS Simulation
instructor. It is not intended to be a self-paced tutorial. The examples
and case studies are designed to be demonstrated “live” by the
instructor.
Please note, there may be slight differences in results in certain lessons
due to service pack upgrades, etc.
Laboratory Laboratory exercises give you the opportunity to apply and practice the
Exercises material covered during the lecture/demonstration portion of the
course.
2
SOLIDWORKS Introduction
About the A complete set of the various files used throughout this course can be
Training Files downloaded from the SOLIDWORKS website, www.solidworks.com.
Click on the link for Support, then Training, then Training Files, then
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Training Files. Select the link for the
desired file set. There may be more than one version of each file set
available.
Direct URL:
www.solidworks.com/trainingfilessimulation
The files are supplied in signed, self-extracting executable packages.
The files are organized by lesson number. The Case Study folder
within each lesson contains the files your instructor uses while
presenting the lessons. The Exercises folder contains any files that are
required for doing the laboratory exercises.
Windows The screen shots in this manual were made using the SOLIDWORKS
software running a mixture of Windows® 7 and Windows 10. You may
notice slight differences in the appearance of the menus and windows.
These differences do not affect the performance of the software.
User Interface Throughout the development of the software, there have been some
Appearance cosmetic User Interface changes, intended to improve visibility, that do
not affect the function of the software. As a policy, dialog images in the
manuals which exhibit no functional change from the previous version
are not replaced. As such, you may see a mixture of current and “old”
UI dialogs and color schemes.
Conventions Used This manual uses the following typographic conventions:
in this Book
Convention Meaning
Bold Sans Serif SOLIDWORKS Simulation commands and
options appear in this style. For example,
External Loads Advisor > Force means
click the External Loads Advisor icon on the
Simulation tab of the CommandManager.
Typewriter Feature names and file names appear in this
style. For example, Fixed Geometry-1.
Double lines precede and follow sections of
17 Do this step the procedures. This provides separation
between the steps of the procedure and large
blocks of explanatory text. The steps
themselves are numbered in sans serif bold.
3
Use of Color The SOLIDWORKS and SOLIDWORKS Simulation user interface

make extensive use of color to highlight selected geometry and to
provide you with visual feedback. This greatly increases the
intuitiveness and ease of use of the SOLIDWORKS Simulation
software. To take maximum advantage of this, the training manuals are
printed in full color.
Also, in many cases, we have Radius 50mm
used additional color in the
illustrations to communicate
concepts, identify features,
and otherwise convey
important information.
For example, we might show
the fillet areas of a part in a Radius 5mm
different color, to highlight All Around Radius 6mm, 4 Places
areas for mesh control, even
though by default, the SOLIDWORKS Simulation software would not
display the results in that way. Please note, there may be slight
differences in results in certain lessons due to service pack upgrades,
etc.
More MySolidWorks.com enables you to be more productive by connecting
SOLIDWORKS you with relevant SOLIDWORKS content and services - anytime,
Training anywhere, on any device.
Resources Plus, with MySolidWorks Training you can enhance your
SOLIDWORKS skills on your own schedule, at your own pace.
Just go to My.SolidWorks.com/training.
Local User Groups Discover the benefits of the SOLIDWORKS User Group Network
(SWUGN). Attend local meetings to hear technical presentations on
SOLIDWORKS and related engineering topics, learn about additional
SOLIDWORKS products, and network with other users. Groups are
led by SOLIDWORKS users just like you. Check out SWUGN.org for
more information, including how to find a group in your area.
4
SOLIDWORKS Introduction
What is SOLIDWORKS Simulation is a design analysis tool based on a

SOLIDWORKS numerical technique called Finite Element Analysis or FEA.
Simulation? SOLIDWORKS Simulation belongs to the family of engineering
analysis software products developed by SRAC, now part of
SOLIDWORKS Corporation. Established in 1982, SRAC pioneered
the implementation of FEA into desktop computing. In 1995, SRAC
entered the emerging mainstream FEA software market by partnering
with SOLIDWORKS Corporation and creating COSMOSWorks
software, one of the first SOLIDWORKS Gold Products.
COSMOSWorks soon became the top-selling, add-in analysis software
for SOLIDWORKS Corporation. The commercial success of
COSMOSWorks integrated with SOLIDWORKS CAD software
resulted in the acquisition of SRAC in 2001 by Dassault Systemes, the
parent company of SOLIDWORKS Corporation. In 2003, SRAC
merged with SOLIDWORKS Corporation. COSMOSWorks was
renamed for 2009 to SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
SOLIDWORKS is a parametric, solid, feature-based CAD system. As
opposed to many other CAD systems that were originally developed in
a UNIX environment and only later ported to Windows,
SOLIDWORKS has, from the very beginning, been developed
specifically for the Windows operating system. SOLIDWORKS
Simulation has also been specifically developed for the Windows
operating system. Full integration between SOLIDWORKS and
SOLIDWORKS Simulation is possible because both of the programs
are native Windows OS applications.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation comes in different “bundles”, or
applications, designed to best suit the needs of different users. With the
exception of SOLIDWORKS SimulationXpress, which is an integral
part of SOLIDWORKS, all SOLIDWORKS Simulation bundles are
add-ins. A brief description of the capabilities of different bundles is as
follows:
 SOLIDWORKS SimulationXpress
The static analysis of parts with simple types of loads and supports.
 SOLIDWORKS Simulation
The static analysis of parts and assemblies.
 SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional
The static, thermal, buckling, frequency, drop test, optimization and
fatigue analysis of parts and assemblies.
 SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium
All capabilities of SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional plus
nonlinear and dynamic analyses.
5
In this volume, we introduce SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional

through a series of hands-on lessons intermixed with FEA
fundamentals. It is assumed that the user is familiar with the basics of
the finite element method and the material discussed in the
SOLIDWORKS Simulation course. We recommend that you study the
lessons in the order presented in the text. As you go through the
lessons, note that explanations and steps described in detail in earlier
lessons are not repeated later.
Each subsequent lesson assumes familiarity with software functions
and the FEA background discussed in previous lessons. Each lesson
builds on the skills and experience gained from the previous lessons.
Limitations of With any FEA software, we need to take advantage of its strengths as
SOLIDWORKS well as work within its limitations. Analysis with SOLIDWORKS
Simulation Simulation Professional is conducted under the following assumptions:
Professional  material is linear
 deformations are small
 loads are static
These assumptions are typical of the FEA software used in the design
environment, and the vast majority of FEA projects are run
successfully within these limitations. For a detailed discussion of each,
consult the SOLIDWORKS Simulation training manual.
For analyses requiring nonlinear material, nonlinear geometry, or
dynamic analysis, tools such as SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium
can be used. Some dynamic and nonlinear analyses capabilities are also
included in some modules of SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional.
6
Lesson 1
Objectives Upon successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to:
 Perform a frequency analysis with and without supports.
 Investigate rigid body modes.
 Discuss the role of supports in a frequency analysis.
 Perform a frequency analysis with a prestress condition.
 Use design scenarios to conduct design sensitivity studies
(optional).
7
Lesson 1 SOLIDWORKS
Modal Analysis Every structure has its preferred frequencies of vibration called
Basics resonant frequencies. Each such frequency is characterized by a
specific shape of vibration.
When excited with a resonant frequency, a structure vibrates in a shape.
This is called a mode of vibration.
Recall that structural static analysis calculates nodal displacements as
the primary unknowns: [K]d = F where [K] is known as the stiffness
matrix, d is the unknown vector of nodal displacements, and F is the
known vector of nodal loads.
In dynamic analysis, we additionally consider damping [C] and
mass [M].
·· ·
M d + C d + K d = Ft
The equation above is traditionally referred to as the equation of

motion for damped forced vibration. In the absence of damping and
external forces, it reduces to M d·· + K d = 0 (equation of motion for
free vibration).
Notice that this equation relates the inertial and elastic forces at any
time instance if the motion exists. If no motion exists (i.e. no initial
impetus causing the motion), the equation still provides a very
important relation between the mass properties of the structure and its
stiffness. After some derivations (which are not a subject of this text,
but can be found in any introductory text on vibrations), we would
extract the structural characteristics in the form of:
 natural frequencies: Frequencies at which the structure prefers to
oscillate (if excited). Often these values are referred to as resonant
frequencies.
 (natural) modes of vibration: Unique shapes of vibrations
corresponding to specific natural frequencies.
Note that any real structure has an infinite number of natural
frequencies and modes. The maximum number of modes that can be
extracted is limited to the number of degrees-of-freedom.
In resonance, inertial and elastic stiffness cancel. In effect, the structure
loses its stiffness. The only factor controlling the vibration amplitude in
resonance is damping. If damping is low, and most often it is low, the
amplitude may reach dangerous levels.
After you complete the two lessons in frequency analysis included in
this volume, you are encouraged to “re-use” some of the previous
models and conduct frequency analyses on them.
8
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 1
For example, the figure below shows the natural modes (shapes) of
vibration for an unsupported plate with a hole model, used in Lesson 1
of the SOLIDWORKS Simulation training manual. Each mode
corresponds to a specific natural frequency.
UNSUPPORTED PLATE
MODE 1 MODE 2
MODE 3 MODE 4
MODE 5 MODE 6
When you analyze the results of a frequency analysis of a symmetric

model, note that the modes of vibration are either symmetric or anti-
symmetric. This is one reason why symmetric boundary conditions
cannot apply to modal analysis. Also, observe that the higher the mode
of vibration, the more complex the mode shape.
A frequency analysis can be WHEEL ASSEMBLY
conducted on both parts and MODE 2
assemblies. If an assembly is DEFORMED SHAPE
analyzed, all parts must be
bonded; no contact/gap
conditions are allowed. If
assembly parts interfere, as with
assemblies intended for shrink fit
analysis, this interference must
be eliminated prior to performing
UNDEFORMED SHAPE
a frequency analysis. This will be
investigated further in Lesson
2: Frequency Analysis of Assemblies.
9
Lesson 1 SOLIDWORKS
Required Material The following material properties are required in a frequency analysis:
Properties
 Modulus of elasticity (also called Young’s modulus)
 Poisson’s ratio
 Mass density
Important! In order to model inertial stiffness, material properties specified for a

frequency analysis model must include material density (not specific
gravity).
Frequencies and While every real life structure has an infinite number of natural
Mode Shapes frequencies and associated modes of vibration, only a few of the lowest
modes are important in the response of a structure to dynamic loading.
The frequencies of these first few modes are usually well-spaced apart;
frequencies of higher modes are spaced closer.
A frequency analysis calculates resonant frequencies and their
associated modes of vibration. It is important to understand that
resonant frequencies and the associated modes of vibrations are the
only things calculated by a frequency analysis.
Fundamental The fundamental frequency is the lowest resonant frequency. Because
Frequency the natural frequency value is proportional to the level of energy
required to excite the structure at a particular mode, a structure
oscillating at its fundamental frequency would require the least amount
of energy when compared to all of the higher natural frequencies.
Important! A frequency analysis does not calculate displacements or stresses. We
repeat this important statement later in this lesson.
In most cases, products are designed to avoid resonance. Knowing
what excitation frequencies our product will be exposed to, we design
the product in such a way that its natural frequencies do not coincide
with the excitation frequencies.
To bring the natural frequency of a structure out of the critical range,
we can change its geometry, materials, characteristics of the shock
isolators, or we can appropriately place mass elements. The effect of
these actions can be analyzed with a frequency analysis.
While mechanical resonance is avoided in many mechanical systems,
resonance is not always a “bad” thing. Indeed, some devices are
designed to work in resonance. Some obvious examples are musical
instruments, machines like soil compactors, pneumatic hammers, and
so on.
In this lesson, we analyze one of those devices whose design is based
on the principle of resonance: a tuning fork.
10
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 1
Case Study: In this case study, we will determine natural frequencies and
The Tuning Fork corresponding mode shapes of a tuning fork. This model introduces the
concept of rigid body modes and presents their corresponding
frequencies.
The model is first run with a fixed boundary condition simulating the
fork being held by a human hand. We will also solve the model using
no boundary conditions to see how the results are affected. We will then
learn how to properly interpret the results of a frequency analysis.
In addition, when an applied load exists, the stiffness of the model can
change (called stress stiffening or softening). This additional stiffness is
known as the stress stiffness and can either add or subtract from the
overall elastic stiffness of the model. To investigate this, a load will be
applied to the end of the fork, and its effects will be investigated.
Project A tuning fork, shown in the figure, is
Description designed to emit a lower A tone at the
fundamental frequency of 440 Hz.
First, perform a frequency analysis to
confirm that the tuning fork vibrates at
the correct frequency.
In addition, determine the effects on
the resonant frequency when a load of
450 N is applied to the end of the fork.
Will the frequency be higher or lower?
Stages in the Some key stages in the analysis of this part are shown in the following
Process list:
 Apply Fixtures
The end of the tuning fork will be fixed, attempting to simulate
being held in a person’s hand.
 Mesh the model
 Run the analysis
 Postprocess Results
The results of the initial analysis will be post-processed to properly
investigate their meaning.
 No Fixed Geometry
The fixture will be removed to reveal additional modes of vibration.
 Effects of Applied Load
A load will be applied to the tuning fork to see how an applied
prestress condition affects the modes of vibration.
11
Lesson 1 SOLIDWORKS
Frequency In the first part of this case study, we will examine the tuning fork with
Analysis With a Fixed Geometry boundary condition to see if the fundamental
Supports frequency is indeed 440 Hz (lower A tone).
Procedure The frequency analysis is performed as follows:

1 Open a part file.
Open tuning fork from the Lesson01\Case Study folder.
Review its geometry.
2 Create frequency study.
Create a study named with supports, selecting Frequency as the
Analysis type.
3 Set the study properties.
Right-click the study with supports, and select Properties.
Under Options enter 4 for Number of frequencies, so that the first

four natural frequencies are calculated.
The default number of requested frequencies is five.
The solver type for this problem is not important. We will use the
Automatic solver selection.
4 Review material properties.
The material property of Chrome Stainless Steel is automatically
transferred from the SOLIDWORKS model.
12
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 1
5 Define a fixture.
Apply a Fixed Geometry fixture to the face of the
ball at the end of the stem.
6 Mesh the model.
Mesh the model with High quality elements and
the default Maximum element size of 1.475 mm.
Use Curvature mesh.
Generally, a less refined mesh is acceptable for a frequency analysis as
compared to the mesh required for a stress analysis on the same model.
Nevertheless, since the model size is small, we use the mesh that is
created with the default element size.
7 Run the analysis.
Results After the solution is complete, SOLIDWORKS Simulation creates four

deformation plots corresponding to the four requested frequencies.
Stress and strain results are not available in frequency analysis
(remember, frequency analysis does not solve a real time dependent
problem).
8 List resonant frequencies.

Let us review the summary of
results in the Results folder.
Right-click the Results folder and
select List Resonant
Frequencies .
The List Modes window opens and displays the frequencies of all four
modes calculated in the study with supports. Notice that the first
mode is not 440 Hz as we expected.
13
Lesson 1 SOLIDWORKS
Note SOLIDWORKS Simulation generated four deformation plots in the

Results directory. A procedure to select the default plots that should be
generated automatically when a study completes was discussed in the
SOLIDWORKS Simulation training manual, Lesson 1.
9 Plot first mode of vibration.
Having extracted the natural frequencies, we
will now plot the shape of the corresponding
modes.
Right-click on the Results folder and select
Define Mode Shape/Amplitude Plot .
Under Plot Step, request 1st mode. The
corresponding natural frequency will be
shown as well. Click OK.
10 Show the deformed model on the plot.

Under Settings, select Superimpose model on the deformed
shape.
Animate the plot and observe that in the first natural frequency, both
arms of the fork oscillate in phase (both arms in the same direction) and
in the xz-plane. This is not how we expect the arms to oscillate when
the fork emits a lower A sound. Therefore, we will investigate higher
modes.
14
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 1
Postprocessing The maximum modal displacement amplitude in the above plot is

Frequency Results 1.234e4 mm [486 in], as compared to the length of the tuning fork
which is about 102 mm [4 in]. (Notice that the deformation scale for
this plot is 1:0.00087)
As previously stated, the magnitude of the modal displacement
amplitude result is meaningless in a frequency analysis. Modal
displacement amplitude results can be used only to compare relative
displacements between different portions of the model and only within
the same mode of vibration.
Meaningful displacement results require the execution of a dynamic
analysis, where time-dependent force excitation of the initial impetus
exists causing the model to vibrate.
A frequency analysis only calculates the natural (resonant) frequencies
and associated modes (shapes) of vibrations. It extracts these important
structural properties by analyzing the equation of motion for free
vibrations (i.e. no damping) without any initial conditions causing
actual motion.
11 Review other mode shapes.

Display the plots of the mode shapes associated with all four computed
natural frequencies. You can make use of automatically generated
deformation plots corresponding to the four computed natural
frequencies.
Superimpose the undeformed model on the deformed shape.
While a given plot is displayed, right-click the plot icon and select
Animate. Review animated results for all four modes. The animated
results can be saved in an avi format.
MODE 1 MODE 2
229 Hz 232 Hz
MODE 3 MODE 4
423 Hz 444 Hz
The lower A frequency of 440 Hz, which we expected to be the first

mode, is actually the fourth mode.
15
Lesson 1 SOLIDWORKS
Note To display the deformation plots without the displacement contours,

you must edit the plot and uncheck the Show colors checkbox.
12 Plot frequency response graph.
Right-click on the Results folder and select
Define Frequency Response Graph.
Keep Mode Number in the Frequency vs.
dialog.
Summary will list all mode numbers in a
tabular form. Near zero modes will be
identified as possible rigid modes.
Click OK to generate graph.
Note Effective mass participation factor (EMPF) and Cumulative

effective mass participation factor (CEMPF) are important in
dynamics simulation.
16
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 1
Frequency Looking at the first three modes of this analysis, it is revealed that if the
Analysis tuning fork was unsupported, these mode shapes would not occur.
Without Furthermore, the human hands are simply incapable of creating a
Supports completely rigid support as in the model. Let us try modeling the fork
without the rigid support.
1 Create new frequency study.

Copy Study with supports into a new study named without
supports.
2 Delete or suppress fixtures in the study.
Right-click the fixture and select Suppress.
3 Define study properties.
Right-click without supports, select Properties, and increase the
Number of frequencies to 10.
4 Run the analysis.

Right-click the Results folder, and select List Resonant
Frequencies.
6 Review the mode shapes.

Plot and animate the first six mode shapes to reveal that these are the
rigid body modes associated with the six degrees-of-freedom (three
translational and three rotational).
Note The FFEPlus iterative solver must be used for a frequency analysis
with rigid body modes. The Direct Sparse solver is not suitable for
solving frequency analysis problems with rigid body modes.
17
Lesson 1 SOLIDWORKS
Rigid Body Modes Examining the List Modes window for the without supports study
reveals that the first six modes have the associated frequency of 0 Hz
(or very close to 0 Hz). The first six modes of vibration correspond to
the rigid body modes. Because the tuning fork is not supported, it has
six degrees-of-freedom as a rigid body: three translations and three
rotations.
Fundamental The first elastic mode of vibration where the tuning fork experiences
Frequency elastic deformation is Mode 7. Mode 7 has a frequency of 444 Hz, very
close to what we expected as the fundamental mode of vibration for the
tuning fork.
Effect of Why didn’t the frequency analysis with supports produce the first
Restraints mode with a frequency close to the operating frequency of 440 Hz?
If we closely examine the first three modes of vibration of the
supported tuning fork, we notice that the first three modes need the
support in order to exist. Without it, the tuning fork cannot vibrate in
any of these three modes.
Because human fingers cannot generate a rigid support used in this first
study, none of the first three modes are likely to occur. If any signs of
these three modes do occur, they are quickly damped by the flexible
support of the human “grip”.
In effect, the tuning fork, with or without supports, ends up vibrating
the way it was designed to, with a frequency of 440 Hz: mode 4 as
calculated in the analysis with supports, or mode 7 as calculated in the
analysis without supports. These two modes are identical.
Frequency We now continue with a frequency analysis that accounts for stress
Analysis with stiffening. This type of analysis is called a frequency analysis with
Load preload or frequency analysis with prestress.
Compressive and tensile loads change the capacity of a structure to
resist bending. Tensile forces increase bending stiffness; this
phenomenon is called stress stiffening. Compressive loads decrease
resistance to bending; this phenomenon is called stress softening.
Stress stiffening or softening can be important both in static and
frequency analyses because it affects the resultant stiffness of a
structure and therefore changes its vibration properties and its response
to a load.
In a static analysis, an accurate solution that considers the effect of
loads on the stiffness requires nonlinear analysis.
Important! When running a frequency study with an applied load, the model must
be supported in some way in the direction of the load. Turning on the
soft-springs option is not sufficient. Without a support, a singular
stiffness matrix will be produced and the model will not run.
18
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 1

Copy Study with supports into a new study named prestressed.
2 Apply the loading.
Apply a 450 N [101.16 lbs] compressive
force to the two faces at the end of the tuning
fork. This is an arbitrary load only applied to
see the effect that the prestress will have on
the frequency study.
3 Run the analysis.

Right-click the Results folder, and select List Resonant
Frequencies. Notice that all of the frequencies have lowered
significantly from the with supports study.
5 Review the mode shapes.

Plot and animate the mode shapes themselves to see that, although the
natural frequencies have changed significantly, the associated mode
shapes remain the same.
Effects of The effect of the change in stiffness due to the applied load will only
Prestress change the magnitude of the natural frequencies. The mode shapes are
governed by the actual geometry of the model and will not change with
an applied prestress.
We can generalize our findings by noting that compressive stresses will
decrease the natural frequencies. For example, the analysis of the
natural frequencies of a compressed column demonstrate that natural
frequencies decrease with an increased load. Note that a load
magnitude corresponding to a zero frequency will cause buckling.
Tensile stresses have the opposite effect. For example, when tuning a
guitar string, the tension in the string is increased to produce a higher
frequency, which corresponds to a higher note.
19
Lesson 1 SOLIDWORKS
Summary Using the model of a tuning fork, we can see how SOLIDWORKS
Simulation can be used to calculate natural frequencies and mode
shapes of a structure.
The frequency analysis with and without supports allows us to
investigate rigid body modes where the structure can displace without
experiencing elastic deformation.
A very important point to remember is that while a frequency analysis
provides important information about the vibration properties of a
structure, it does not, by itself, calculate vibration amplitudes or
stresses.
We demonstrated the effect of stress softening on the natural
frequencies of the tuning fork due to a compressive force. Stress
softening and stiffening effects are automatically taken into account if
there is a load present. These effects are very common in rotating parts
such as turbines, motor rotors, and wind turbines, however any loading
condition that results in a prestress must be taken into account to
properly perform a frequency analysis.
Questions 1. Natural frequencies (are / are not) structural properties. As such,

their magnitudes and modal shapes (are / are not) primarily
dependent on the structural stiffness and the mass.
2. If excited by initial impulse, a part (would / would not) always
oscillate in the first (fundamental) frequency mode irrespective of
the type and the direction of this impulse loading. Why?
3. Externally applied load (does / does not) affects the natural
frequencies. Why?
4. Externally applied compressive loading (does / does not) lead to the
decrease in the magnitude of the natural frequencies. Why?
5. Frequency simulation (does / does not) require application of the
fixtures to calculate.
6. Because frequency simulation does not require application of the
fixtures to calculate, I (can / cannot) skip this step when building
the frequency study.
7. Numerical values in the modal displacement amplitude plots of the
frequency modes (are / are not) real displacements of the structure
because there (is / is not) external oscillatory load applied on the
structure.
20
SOLIDWORKS Exercise 1
Frequency Analysis of a Car Suspension Bulkhead
Exercise 1: In this exercise, you will perform a frequency analysis on a car

Frequency suspension bulkhead.
Analysis of a This exercise reinforces the following skills:
Car Suspension  Frequency Analysis With Supports on page 12
Bulkhead  Frequency Analysis Without Supports on page 17
 Postprocessing Frequency Results on page 15
Problem The bulkhead shown is used as part of the

Statement front suspension system of a dirt-road racing
car. It is built from Cast Alloy Steel.
Perform a frequency analysis on the bulkhead
to determine its resonant frequencies so they
can be avoided in the design of the rest of the
vehicle.
Procedure Follow the procedure below:
1 Open a part file.
Open Car_Suspension_Bulkhead from the Lesson01\Exercises
folder.
2 Create a Frequency study.
Create a study named without supports, selecting Frequency as
the Analysis type.
3 Apply material properties.
In the SOLIDWORKS Simulation study tree, right-click
Car_Suspension_Bulkhead and select Apply/Edit Material.
Select Cast Alloy Steel from the solidworks material library.
4 Mesh the part.
Create a High quality mesh with the default mesh parameters. Use
Curvature mesh.
5 Set the study properties to compute 10 frequencies.
6 Run the analysis.
21
Exercise 1 SOLIDWORKS

The first six modes of vibration correspond to the rigid body modes.
Because the car suspension bulkhead is not supported, it has six
degrees-of-freedom as a rigid body: three translations and three
rotations.
The frequencies corresponding to rigid body modes have very small
numerical values, sometimes zeros.

Copy Study without supports to a new frequency study named with
supports.
9 Define Fixed hinge fixtures on four cylindrical faces.
10 Run the analysis.
22
12 Plot frequency response graph for mode number.
The frequency value increases for higher mode numbers.
23
Frequency Analysis of a Blower Fan
Exercise 2: In this exercise, you will perform a frequency analysis on a blower fan
Frequency both with and without a centrifugal load.
Blower Fan  Frequency Analysis with Load on page 18
 Design Scenarios from SOLIDWORKS Simulation manual
Problem Perform a frequency analysis on a

Statement blower fan. The fan is designed to
spin at a range of different
rotational velocities. To simplify
the calculation, use geometry with
a single fan blade. Perform the
analysis as both a stationary blade
and as a rotating body to
investigate the effects of the
tensile stress caused by the
centrifugal force in the rotating blade.
Part 1: Analysis In the first part of this case study, we will perform a frequency analysis
Without Load on a stationary blower fan blade. Follow the procedure below:
1 Open a part file.
Open fan from the Lesson01\Exercises folder.
The full configuration presents the full model; the section
configuration presents only one blade. We are only interested in a
single blade, so we use the model in its section configuration.
2 Change to the section configuration.
3 Create a frequency study named section.

The material properties of 1060 Aluminum
Alloy, defined in the SOLIDWORKS model,
are automatically transferred to
SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
Axis of
Rotation
24
4 Apply Fixed Geometry fixture. Support
5 Request 5 modes of vibration.
6 Mesh the model.

Curvature mesh.
7 Run the analysis.
8 List the resonant frequencies.

Review the frequencies of the five calculated modes of vibration.
No Prestress
9 Animate the mode shapes.
Part 2: Analysis Now, we will perform the analysis with an applied centrifugal load to
With Load simulate the blade spinning about the axis of rotation. Follow the
procedure below:
10 Create new study.
Copy Study section into a new study named section preload.
25
11 Apply centrifugal load.

Apply a Centrifugal load. Use Angular
Velocity of 3000 rpm and Axis1 as a
reference.
Note The FFEPlus solver cannot be used while including the effects of
loading in frequency analysis.
13 List the natural frequencies.
Prestress has the biggest effect on the first frequency, also called the
fundamental or natural frequency. It has increased from 75 Hz to
95 Hz. The other four frequencies have increased as well.
With Prestress
The results show that the natural frequencies of the turbine blade differ
significantly if a centrifugal load causing tensile stresses is considered
in analysis.
26
Design Study It may be of interest to investigate the effect of different speeds of

(optional) rotation on the natural frequencies of the blade and plot the natural
frequencies as a function of the speed of rotation. To do that, we could
simply repeat the above analysis with several different centrifugal
loads, and summarize the results.
Instead of manually repeating the analysis of the model under several
loads, we can use an automatic feature of SOLIDWORKS Simulation
called a design study. To run a design study, we define the parameters
describing what exactly changes in the model. In our case, we use only
one parameter, which is the angular speed of rotation as defined in the
Centrifugal PropertyManager.
By yourself, define the design scenario for the following values of the
speed of rotation: 3000, 6000, 9000, 12000 and 15000 rpm.
Note To review how to define and run a design scenario, consult Lesson 11
of the SOLIDWORKS Simulation training manual.
After you define and run the design scenario:

14 View the summary results.
The result of the design study lists frequencies of all five modes for the
five scenarios.
27
15 Create design history graph.
You can control the appearance of the graph by selecting Options on

the tool bar of the graph window. You are encouraged to investigate the
many choices offered by the graph controls.
Note A design scenario can be run for other parameters. You are encouraged
to use the design scenario feature to investigate the effect of element
size on natural frequencies, or in other words, to perform a convergence
analysis of frequencies. The natural frequencies decrease with mesh
refinement as the model becomes softer when smaller elements are
used. Therefore, natural frequencies converge “from above”. In this
case, those effects are very small and have almost no practical
importance, but are useful to investigate as a learning tool.
Summary In this exercise we extracted natural frequencies of a cooling fan blade.
In the first part we assumed stationary fan. As the fan begins to rotate,
centrifugal load results in stress stiffening and subsequent increase in
the natural frequencies of the blade. This was subject of the second part
of this exercise. The last section utilized the design study to establish
the variation of the natural frequencies on the speed of rotation.
At the fan velocity of 3000 rpm (50 Hz), the first natural frequency of
the blade is close to 96 Hz. This represents nearly double of the fan
velocity and the resonance due to some imperfection or unbalance is
therefore unlikely. Because at higher speeds the fan rpm surpasses the
lower natural frequencies of the blades, resonance may develop. This
frequency interval therefore may warrant more attention.
28
Frequency Analysis of an Impeller
Exercise 3: In this exercise, you will perform a frequency analysis on an impeller

Frequency with a prestress condition caused by a centrifugal force.
Analysis of an This exercise reinforces the following skills:
Impeller  Frequency Analysis with Load on page 18
Problem The impeller shown sits on a shaft rotating at

Statement 20,000 revolutions per minute. Perform a
frequency analysis on the Impeller 01 part
and study the effect of stress stiffening on
the natural frequencies of the model.

1 Open a part file.
Open Impeller 01 from the Lesson01\Exercises folder.
2 Create a frequency study.
Create a frequency study named vibration. Select Frequency as
the Analysis type.
3 Assign Shell thicknesses.
Specify Thin shells with a Shell thickness of
1mm for all blades.
4 Apply Alloy Steel to all bodies.
5 Apply Restraints.
To simulate shaft support, select the cylindrical
face of the hole at the bottom and make it Fixed
Geometry.
6 Apply an angular velocity of 20,000 rpm.
Select Axis1 as the reference.
29
7 Define connection between shells and solids.

To bond shell elements to solid elements, define local contact
conditions.
8 Create Mesh.
Create a High quality mesh using the
Maximum element size of 10.5 mm. Use
Standard mesh.
9 Set study properties.
Request 5 frequencies.
Note Since there are loads present in this analysis, their effect on the
frequency results will be automatically accounted for.
30
11 Review results.
f1 = 1182.1 Hz f2 = 1182.2 Hz
f3 = 1182.3 Hz f4 = 1185 Hz
Notice that the first modes of vibration are reserved for blades only and
the corresponding frequencies are very close.
Summary In this exercise we extracted natural frequencies of an impeller rotating

at 20,000 rpm. All first four natural modes had frequency close to 1182
Hz and involved vibration of the blades at various configurations.
Because the operating speed of the impeller, 20,000 rpm (333.33 Hz) is
significantly lower, resonance is unlikely. This simulation ignored the
effect of mass of the fluid vibrating in the vicinity of the blade.
Depending on the fluid type and the application, fluid/structure
interaction may need to be considered.
31
32
Lesson 2
Frequency Analysis of
Assemblies
 Understand the concepts of natural frequencies in assemblies.
 Approximate the real contacts and connectors with the appropriate
contact entities.
33
Lesson 2 SOLIDWORKS
Case Study: In this analysis, we will investigate the natural frequencies and
The Engine corresponding mode shapes of an assembly. This model introduces the
Mount concept of a frequency analysis of an assembly. Various contact
conditions can exist within an assembly and we will develop a way to
properly model them in a frequency analysis.
Project The engine frame supports a heavy
Description engine in the configuration shown in the
figure to the right. Analyze the frame to
determine if there are any resonant
frequencies within the speed range of
the engine.
The frame is connected to a secondary
rigid structure at the four locations
depicted in the figure.
The engine itself is not the focus of this
analysis, so it can be treated as a remote
mass.
To simplify the simulation, we will also assume that the intermediate
components directly connected to the engine are very stiff and light in
comparison to the engine mass. This will allow us to suppress them
from the analysis. We will still have to model the other connections in
the assembly.
Stages in the Some key stages in the analysis of this assembly are shown in the
Process following list:
 Remote Mass
Because we are only interested in the frame, we can exclude the
engine from the analysis by treating it as a remote mass.
 Set up Connections
Connections, contacts, and boundary conditions must be applied to
the model.
 Mesh the assembly
 Run the analysis
 Postprocess Results
All Bonded In the first part of this case study, we will use bonded contact for all of
Contact the parts in the assembly. This will assume that everything is perfectly
Conditions connected and actually treats the assembly as it would treat a single
part file. As we will discuss later, this assumption causes the model to
act stiffer than it actually would because there is no play in between the
connections.
34
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 2
Procedure The frequency analysis is performed as follows:

1 Open an assembly file.
Open FullBase from the Lesson02\Case Study folder.
Note that all intermediate components are missing. As previously
stated, these components are considered very light and stiff compared
to the engine mass so they can be suppressed.
Due to the time required to set up the simulations, two predefined
studies, all bonded and bonded and allow penetration, have been
prepared beforehand.
The first part of this lesson utilizes the all bonded study.
Remote Mass Whenever a mass of a body is significant and the stresses and
deformations are not important, the object can be conveniently treated
as remote mass rigidly connected to the load bearing faces. This idea is
identical to the Remote Load/Mass feature introduced in the
SOLIDWORKS Simulation course.
2 Define remote mass.

In the all bonded study, expand the Parts folder and right-click on
SW3dPS-engine-1.
Select Treat as Remote Mass.
Under Selection, select the four load-bearing faces that carry the
engine load.
Note We assume that the suppressed sub-assembly is rigid and its mass is
small in relation to the rest of the structure.
To demonstrate the issue that arises when trying to obtain vibrational
characteristics of assemblies, we will first assume that the engine
mount assembly is rigidly connected to a secondary rigid structure.
This is seldom the case, as typically the mounting would be achieved
via resilient mounts.
35
Lesson 2 SOLIDWORKS
Mass Properties Simulation model may differ from the SOLIDWORKS CAD model in
a few aspects such as material assigned to some of its parts, connectors
etc. It is therefore important to evaluate mass properties on the
simulation model.
Introducing: Mass Properties enables you to evaluate mass properties on the
Mass Properties simulation model. The command considers most of the simulation
features such as solids, beams, sheet metals and shells along with their
thickness and material definitions, remote masses and bolt and pin
connectors. The following properties are calculated: mass, volume,
surface area, center of mass, and principal moments of inertia.
Where to Find It  Shortcut Menu: Right-click study name in the Simulation analysis
tree and click Mass Properties
 Menu: Simulation, Mass Properties
Use in Instructions Select all or any of the assembly parts for the calculation, and the
output Unit system.
36
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 2
3 Mass properties.
Determine the mass properties of the entire simulation model, and the
supporting frame.
The total mass values of the assembly and of the supporting frame are
54.01 kg and 6.76 kg, respectively.
4 Define fixtures.
Define Fixed Geometry fixtures for the four faces shown in the figure.
Connecting the Because frequency analysis requires constant stiffness and mass of the
Assembly Parts structure, we cannot define No Penetration contacts. Consequently, we
also cannot use bolted connections, for example.
When a No Penetration contact is specified, the structure may change
its configuration multiple times as the loads are applied to it.
two independent beams
two beams in contact
In the figure above, depending upon the load magnitude, the two
cantilever beams act as two independent structures, or two beams in
contact. In both cases, the vibrational characteristics will be very
different.
37
Lesson 2 SOLIDWORKS
Therefore, in our assembly, the

bolted connections as well as the
No Penetration conditions between
the respective components will
need to be approximated. In this
part of the lesson, we will assume
that all contacts are bonded.
5 Review bonded contacts.

Two bonded contact sets have already been set up. Expand the
Connections folder and review these contact sets.
6 Mesh the assembly.
Mesh the assembly with the Draft quality elements and the default
mesh parameters. Use the Curvature based mesh.
7 Run the analysis.
If the engine operated in the range of these frequencies, the design

could be modified to avoid the resonant frequencies.
38
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 2
9 Plot modal shapes for first four modes.
mode 1 (136 Hz)

mode 2 (142 Hz)
mode 3 (364 Hz) mode 4 (673 Hz)
Animate each of the modes to see what the direction the structure
oscillates as it freely vibrates at the corresponding natural frequency.
Bonded and In the previous part of this lesson, we explained why the concept of
Allow natural frequencies is more involved due to the changing configuration
Penetration of the No Penetration contacts between the respective assembly
Contacts components. Because No Penetration contacts are not allowed in
frequency studies, we chose to approximate all contacts as bonded. As
will be concluded later in this lesson, such an approach makes the
assembly stiffer.
In this part of the lesson, we elect to use an alternative approach: some

of the contact will be bonded, some will be set to allow penetration.
1 Select the Frequency - bonded and allow penetration study
tab.
Some of the settings in this study have already been defined.
39
Lesson 2 SOLIDWORKS
2 Expand and analyze connections.

Notice that all contacts between the struts and the plates are set to
Allow Penetration.
The global contact establishes bonding

between the locknuts and the struts, as
shown in the figure to the right. Note that
it would not be intuitive to assume these
contacts are allowed to penetrate.
3 Review pin connectors.

As the contacts between struts are
set to allow penetration, the
connection between some of them
and the locknuts must be
established. The bolted
connections are approximated
using rigid pins.
Use exploded view and review pin
connections. At each corner,
components are connected using
three pins.
4 Restrain assembly.
Similar to step 3 in the first part of this lesson, apply Fixed Geometry
fixtures to the four faces on the struts.
These restraints can be copied from the previous study.
Note The remote mass for the engine has already been defined.
40
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 2

Create a Draft quality mesh with the default mesh parameters. Use the
Curvature based mesh.
6 Run the analysis.
The frequency results have changed, and the design could be modified
to avoid these frequency ranges.
8 Plot modal shapes for first four modes.
mode 1 (89 Hz) mode 2 (100 Hz)
mode 3 (257 Hz)

mode 4 (505 Hz)
When comparing these results to the results contained in the all

bonded study, we must look at the mode shapes. Modes showing the
oscillations in the same directions can be compared.
41
Lesson 2 SOLIDWORKS
Discussion The frequency results show that the model in the second part of the
lesson, with a combination of bonded and allow penetration contact
conditions, is softer than the model with all contacts bonded - this is as
expected. It can be seen that the order of the corresponding modes
remains the same - this, however, does not always need to be the case.
The above two studies do not provide perfectly accurate answers, but
may serve as insight into what could be the boundaries for the
corresponding modes. Care must be taken when processing these
results since the mode numbers are not always in correspondence (i.e.
mode shape 1 of one study may not be mode shape 1 of the other). For
example, the shape seen in mode 1 of the all bonded study is actually
the shape seen in mode 2 of the bonded and free study. Therefore, we
must compare the modes whose shapes are the same, not necessarily
the mode number.
Summary In this lesson, we investigated the concept of frequency in assemblies.
It was shown that due to the requirement of a constant stiffness matrix,
No Penetration contacts are not allowed in the frequency analysis and
an alternate approximated approach is required. For example, various
contacts and connectors in the assemblies have to be approximated
with the help of bonded and allow penetration contacts, pins, spot
welds, etc. Based on combinations of these features, we typically create
a model that exhibits a stiffer/softer response, providing us with good
information on the bounds of the vibrational characteristics of the
original assembly.
Note The true vibration characteristics of such an assembly can be obtained
by subjecting the assembly to a shock load and by studying the
structural response (displacements, velocities, etc). This is the subject
of the SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium: Dynamics training manual.
The range of the lowest four natural frequencies from both studies is 89
Hz - 673 Hz (5400 rpm - 40,380 rpm). Some frequencies would
therefore fall within the range of operating rpm for higher performance
engines. If resilient mounts were used the results would be
considerably different.
42
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 2
Questions 1. When No penetration contacts exist in the assembly, the frequency

characteristics (are / do not need to be) unique. In such case
extraction of unique natural frequencies (is / is not) possible. A
similar situation also occurs if the assembly features (Allow
penetration contact / Virtual wall).
2. When all parts within an assembly are bonded, unique frequency
characteristics (do / do not) exists and (can / can not) be extracted.
3. Shrink fit contact condition (is / is not) allowed in the frequency
simulation of assemblies.
4. Defining bonded contact conditions at a majority of the connections
leads to (stiffer / softer) model and therefore (higher / lower) values
of the natural frequencies.
43
Frequency Analysis of a Particle Separator
Exercise 4: In this exercise, you will perform a frequency analysis on a frame that
Frequency holds up a particle separator. This exercise reinforces the following
Analysis of a skills:
Particle  Frequencies and Mode Shapes on page 10
Separator  All Bonded Contact Conditions on page 34
Problem Perform a frequency analysis on the

Statement frame of a particle separator. A static
analysis was performed on the
separator in the Mixed Meshing -
Solids, Shells, and Beams lesson of
the SOLIDWORKS Simulation
training manual. The analysis requires
beam, shell, and solid elements. The
frame experiences a 400 N load from
the weight of the separator itself. In
addition, a wind blowing in the -X
direction results in a force couple of
4,500 N upward and downward on
opposite sides of the frame. The
loading will not be considered in the
frequency calculation.
Model courtesy of Tamoz, spol. s r. o.

Open particle separator from the Lesson02\Exercises folder.
Examine the static stress study that was run in the Mixed Meshing -
Solids, Shells, and Beams lesson of the SOLIDWORKS Simulation
training manual.
2 Create a study.
Create a new frequency study called frequency analysis.
3 Copy folders.
Copy the Parts, Joint Group and Fixtures folders from the static
stress study to the frequency analysis.
Note Because loading is not considered for this frequency calculation, the
External Loads folder should not be copied.
4 Copy contacts.
Copy all contacts from the static stress study to the frequency
analysis study.
5 Create mesh.
Create a High quality mesh with a global element size of 25mm. Use
Standard mesh.
44
6 Run the analysis.
The obtained natural frequencies would have to be compared against

any potential source of oscillations to avoid resonance.
8 Animate the mode shapes.
Plot and animate some of the mode shapes.
Discussion Even though the model was made up of numerous different parts and
element types, all of the contact conditions were bonded. This means
that although being an assembly, all of the parts are perfectly connected
and it behaves as if it were modeled as a single part.
45
46
Lesson 3
Buckling Analysis
 Perform buckling analysis.
 Understand buckling factors of safety and decide whether the
product fails in strength or stability.
47
Lesson 3 SOLIDWORKS
Buckling Analysis
Buckling Buckling refers to sudden large displacements due to compressive

Analysis loads. Slender structures, subject to axial loads, can fail due to buckling
at load levels lower than those required to cause material failure.
Buckling can occur in different modes under the effect of different load
levels. In most cases, only the lowest buckling load is of interest.
To grasp the concept of buckling, note that any structural load affects
structural stiffness by adding a component commonly referred to as
stress stiffness. Tensile loads induce a positive stress stiffness, which
adds to the elastic stiffness of the structure. Compressive loads induce a
negative stress stiffness, which is subtracted from the elastic structural
stiffness causing the structure to soften.
Buckling takes place when the resultant structure stiffness (a result of
subtracting the stress stiffness induced by compressive load from
elastic stiffness) drops to zero.
The following equation describes the cancellation of resultant stiffness:
KE + i KS i = 0
where KE is the elastic stiffness matrix; K S is the stress stiffness matrix;

 i are eigenvalues that when multiplied by the applied load provide the
critical loading; and i are the eigenvectors that represent the buckled
mode shapes.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation offers calculations of any number of
buckling modes and associated buckling loads.
The first mode and its associated magnitude of buckling force is most
important because buckling most often causes catastrophic failure or
renders the structure unusable, even if the structure can withstand the
load in its buckled shape.
Linear vs. Buckling can be thought of as a situation where a very small increase in
Nonlinear the load causes the structure to lose its stability and collapse.
Buckling Analysis A linear buckling analysis determines the eigenvalues of the structure
for given loads and restraints, disregarding any imperfections and
nonlinear effects that always exist in real structures. Those
imperfections and nonlinear effects significantly lower the real
buckling loads as compared to the buckling loads predicted by a linear
buckling analysis. For this reason, the results of a linear buckling
analysis must be interpreted with caution.
Nonlinear buckling analysis must be used to find accurate values of the
buckling load in many cases and to study post-buckling effects.
48
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 3
Buckling Analysis
Some buckling problems that always require nonlinear buckling

analysis and cannot even be approximated by linear buckling analysis
include:
 Inelastic or nonlinear material behavior prior to instability.
 Re-alignment of applied pressure during deformation.
 Large displacements prior to buckling.
Buckling should always be considered as a potential mode of failure in
structures that consist of slender members in compression. In fact,
many structural disasters are initiated by buckling, and only the final
destruction is caused by excessive stresses in the post-buckling stage.
In SOLIDWORKS Simulation, a buckling analysis can be conducted
on parts and assemblies. If an assembly is analyzed, all parts must be
bonded; no contact/gaps conditions are allowed.
Buckled Arch
Buckled Strut
Buckling Factor of The buckling factor of safety (BFS) is a number by which the applied
Safety (BFS) load Papp must be multiplied in order to obtain the buckling load
magnitude Pcr .
P cr
BLF = -----------
P app
Note that the buckling mode presents the shape of the structure at the
onset of buckling and provides insight into the post-buckled shape.
However it says nothing about the actual magnitude of deformation.
This is analogous to a modal analysis, which provides qualitative
information on modes of vibration, but not on the actual magnitude of
displacements.
Buckling Analysis As previously mentioned, linear buckling analysis typically
Considerations overestimates the buckling load. Loads and supports are applied with
perfect accuracy and no misalignment. In reality, the load is always
applied with some misalignment; walls are never perfectly flat,
supports are never perfectly rigid, and so on.
To conclude this issue, we repeat that considering the combined effects
of discretization error (minor effect) and modeling error (major effect),
the results of a buckling analysis must be interpreted with caution.
49
Lesson 3 SOLIDWORKS
Buckling Analysis
Case Study: In this case study, we will perform a buckling analysis on a particle
Particle separator. The particle separator and its loading conditions are the same
Separator as the model featured in Lesson 10 of the SOLIDWORKS Simulation
training manual. We will calculate the bucking factor of safety of the
model and learn to properly interpret the buckling results.
Project The loads on the support frame consist of the
Description weight of the particle separator structure itself
that will be applied using gravity. An additional
load of 150 N will be applied to the front of the
structure in the downward direction to simulate
the presence of an additional component that
will be attached to the separator. Finally, on the
intake of the particle separator, a 75 N normal
and 45 N along direction 1 loads will be applied
to simulate additional loading that the separator
might experience during installation.
Stages in the  Perform stress analysis

Process We will perform the previously defined stress analysis to determine
the factor of safety. This is the same study as performed in the
Mixed Meshing - Beams, Shells, and Solids Lesson of the
SOLIDWORKS Simulation training manual.
 Buckling study
We will create and run the buckling study by copying most of the
information from the static study.
 Postprocess the results
Once the study is run, we will determine what loading is necessary
for buckling to occur. In addition, we will determine which failure
mode will come first, yielding or buckling.
50
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 3
Buckling Analysis

Open particle separator from the Lesson03\Case Study folder.
Run the static stress study that was run in the Mixed Meshing -
Solids, Shells, and Beams lesson of the SOLIDWORKS Simulation
training manual.
We can see that the loading does not cause the material to reach its
yield strength. We can conclude that the factor of safety for yielding is
approximately 19.
2 Create buckling study.
Create a Buckling study named buckling analysis.
3 Copy folders.
Copy the Parts, Joint Group, Fixtures and External Loads
folders from the static stress study to the buckling analysis.
4 Copy contacts.
Copy all contacts from the static stress study to the buckling
analysis study.
5 Create mesh.
Create a High quality mesh with a global element size of 25mm. Use
Standard mesh.
Note Similarly to frequency analysis, No penetration contacts and some
connectors (bolts for example) are not permitted in buckling analysis.
6 Set buckling analysis study properties.
Request 2 buckling modes.
7 Run the study.
8 List buckling factors of safety.

Right-click on the Results folder and select List Buckling Factors of
Safety.
The lowest positive value of
the buckling factor of safety
can be used to determine the
buckling load.
51
Lesson 3 SOLIDWORKS
Buckling Analysis
9 Plot 1st buckling mode.

Create a modal displacement amplitude
plot for the first buckling mode.
You’ll notice the highly deformed
crossbeam. This occurs due to the
loading condition. This shape is an
approximation of the deformation at the
onset of the buckling failure.
The buckling factor of safety is about
21 which means that the structure is
safe from buckling. If the loading was
multiplied by the buckling factor of
safety, however the structure could
buckle.
Note Similar to the frequency analysis, the modal displacement amplitudes

do not represent real displacements. Modal displacement amplitude
plots should be understood as deformed shapes which a structure would
assume during the buckling failure.
Conclusion The factor of safety in buckling (21) is comparable to the factor of

safety in strength (19). Buckling is therefore important in this case. In
general, it must always be considered during the design.
Calculating To calculate the buckling factors of safety (BFS) for a particular mode,
Buckling Loads multiply all the applied loads by the BFS for that mode.
The second buckling mode is mostly of academic importance. If the
separator is going to buckle, it will do so in the first buckling mode.
The second mode deformation may occur in some cases if the
deformation in the first mode is restrained.
52
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 3
Buckling Analysis
Let us summarize the meaning of the buckling factor of safety as

reported in the buckling analysis.
Buckling
BFS Value Interpretation of Results
Status
BFS > 1 No buckling Applied loads are less than the estimated critical loads.
0 < BFS < 1 Buckling Applied loads exceed the estimated critical loads.
BFS = 1 Buckling Applied loads are exactly equal to the estimated critical loads.
Buckling occurs if you reverse all load directions. For example,
BFS = - 1 No buckling
if you apply a tensile force on a bar, the BFS is negative.
- 1 < BFS < 0 No buckling Buckling occurs if you reverse all load directions.
BFS < - 1 No buckling Buckling does not occur, even if you reverse all load directions.
Results The results indicate that the separator is likely to withstand a load that
Discussion is up to 21 times as large as what is already applied.
Of course, this is valid only if the load is applied as in the FEA model.
Any imperfections in load application or any deviation from the
symmetry of the frame lowers the buckling factors of safety as well as
the yield strength factor.
Imagine a slender beam under a compressive load. A small load offset
causes a misalignment between the line of action of the force and the
neutral axis of the structure. Under that offset load, the beam must
resist the compressive load partly in axial compression, partly in
bending.
Because the slender beam is much weaker in bending than in pure axial
compression, a large increase in deformation due to bending occurs.
This, in turn, rapidly degrades the ability of the beam to sustain any
loads.
53
Lesson 3 SOLIDWORKS
Buckling Analysis
Will the structure The stress factor of safety of 19 is comparable to the buckling factor of
Buckle or Yield safety of 21. It is hard to predict which failure would occur first when
First? the results are this close.
In many instances yielding changes geometry which in turn reduces the
buckling factors of safety and a structure collapses by a combination of
material yielding and buckling.
A nonlinear analysis, available in SOLIDWORKS Simulation
Premium, is required to describe these complex problems.
Summary In this lesson we conducted buckling analyses and made use of the
stress analysis results from the SOLIDWORKS Simulation course.
While the stress analysis assesses the performance of the design in
strength (yielding is the criterion), buckling analysis evaluates the
stability of the structure.
Safety factors related to material yield strength and to buckling were
explained.
In many situations, buckling, rather than excessive stress, is often the
predominant mode of failure for slender structures under compressive
loads.
Questions 1. Onset of buckling implies that the total stiffness of the structure
(summation of the structural elastic stiffness and ________
stiffness due to the loads) becomes (very large / zero / negative).
2. Onset of buckling (does / does not) coincide with the onset of
yielding at the material point where the largest stress occurs.
3. At buckling failure, yielding always occurs (before / at the same
time / after / all answers are correct) the onset of buckling.
4. For slender structures subjected to compressive loads, buckling (is /
is not) likely the mode of the failure.
54
Buckling Analysis of a Stool
Exercise 5: In this exercise, you will perform a buckling analysis on a stool. This
Buckling exercise reinforces the following skills:
Analysis of a  Buckling Analysis on page 48
Stool  Calculating Buckling Loads on page 52
Problem In preparation for destructive testing of a

Statement steel stool, we would like to predict its mode
of failure and approximate the highest
magnitude load it can sustain without
failing. In particular, we would like to find
out if the stool can withstand a 8900 N
[2000 lb] vertical load, and, when it
eventually collapses, is it due to excessive
stress or due to buckling?
Note that buckling is always a possibility
when slender members, like stool legs, are
under compressive loads.

1 Open a part file.
Open stool from the Lesson03\Exercises folder.
2 Create a Static study named stool stress.

The material properties of AISI 304 steel with a yield strength of
207 MPa [30,000 psi] have been defined in SOLIDWORKS. These
properties automatically transfer to SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
4 Apply load.
Apply a directional force of 8900 N [2000 lb]
to stool seat. Use the Top plane as the
reference.
55
5 Apply restraints to stool.

The most accurate description of how the stool would sit would be to
apply a prescribed displacement of zero in the translational directions.
This would allow for the stools legs to rotate about an axis and buckle.
To do this, apply a Remote Load/Mass and select Displacement
(Rigid Connection).
Then specify the Reference Coordinate System as the predefined
coordinate system at the bottom of the leg you are fixing.
Select the three directions under Translation and keep them all as
0mm.
Repeat this for the remaining three legs.
56
6 Apply mesh control.

Apply a 10mm mesh control to the
faces of the legs. There should be 20
faces selected.
7 Mesh the model.

Mesh the model with the High quality elements with a default
Maximum element size of 19.309mm. Use the Curvature based
mesh.
8 Run the analysis.
9 Plot von Mises stresses.
The results of the stool stress study show a maximum von Mises
stress of approximately 138 MPa [20,015 psi].
The yield strength of AISI Steel is 207 MPa [30,000 psi], as stated in
the material property definition.
57
10 Define factor of safety plot.

The factor of safety can be calculated by dividing the yield stress by the
maximum von Mises stress in the model:
207/138 = 1.5
We can also visualize the distribution of the factor of safety by
displaying the Factor of Safety Plot.
This plot shows the distribution of the factor of safety related to the
yield strength based on the von Mises stress.
Note The upper limit in the legend was set to 100.
11 Create buckling study named stool buckling.

Set the number of buckling modes to 2.
13 Copy input parameters from static study.
Copy the external loads, mesh and material from the stool stress
study to the stool buckling study.
58
15 Plot both mode shapes.
Animate both of the above plots to understand how the stool buckles in
each mode.
Important! It is vital to understand that the modal displacement amplitude plots are
purely qualitative just like the results of the frequency analysis. The
numerical values shown in the above plots are not real displacements.
The plots show the deformed shapes at the onset of buckling based on
the assumptions of the linear buckling theory. The numerical values can
be used to relate the displacement of some parts of the model with
respect to each other, but the actual magnitudes are not known. A non-
linear analysis would be required for the correct displacement results
and post-buckling behavior.
59
16 List buckling factors of

safety.
The results indicate that the
stool withstands a 8900 N
[2000 lb] load.
Will the Stool Buckle The stress factor of safety is lower than the lowest buckling factor of
or Yield First? safety. However, while the stress factor of safety is conservative, it
describes the load causing the first instance of yielding in the structure;
the buckling factors are non-conservative.
Most likely, one of the legs will yield before it buckles. Yielding
changes the geometry and reduces the buckling load so that finally the
stool collapses in a combination of material yielding and buckling.
To analyze this, we require the nonlinear analysis available in
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium.
Relationship We have already stated that a compressive load induces a stress
Between Buckling stiffness that is subtracted from the elastic stiffness.
and Frequency
Analyses Buckling takes place when this resultant stiffness drops to zero. How
does that relate to frequency analysis?
Try This! We suggest that you append this exercise with the following analysis:
Create a frequency study and calculate the fundamental frequency of
stool for different load magnitudes.
Observe that the fundamental frequency (as well as higher frequencies)
drops with the increase of the compressive load magnitude.
Find the load magnitude for which the fundamental frequency drops to
zero. This will be the buckling load.
60
Cabinet
Exercise 6: In this exercise, you will perform a buckling analysis on a cabinet. This
Cabinet exercise reinforces the following skills:
 Buckling Analysis on page 48
 Calculating Buckling Loads on page 52
Problem A cabinet is loaded by an isolated 4,450 N

Statement [1,000 lb] force and two 4,450 N [1,000 lb]
loads distributed along the two corner beams
of the cabinet, as shown in the figure. The
model is manufactured from Aluminum 5052
H32. All other loads and masses (such as
shelf loads, etc.) are not included in this
analysis to keep the model simple. The
bottom of the cabinet, along with the
pedestal, are bolted to the floor.
Procedure The buckling analysis is performed as follows:

Open Cabinet Assy from the Lesson03\Exercises folder.
2 Create mesh.
Create a High quality Curvature based mesh with the following
parameters: Maximum element size = 111.37mm, Minimum element
size = 5mm, Min number of elements in a circle = 16, Element size
growth ratio = 1.6.
3 Run the static analysis.
61
Cabinet
4 Review beam stress results.
We can see that the maximum stress of 42.1 MPa is located at the lower
front joint. This translates into a factor of safety in yielding in beams of
4.6.
5 Review stress results in shells and solids.
Note that the stress reaches values of approximately 80 MPa. This

translates into a factor of safety in yielding of only 2.4.
62
Cabinet
6 Isolate and locate the stress maximum.

Zoom onto the location of the maximum
stress.
Note that the maximum stress is highly
localized. It is a direct consequence of the
bonded edge.
7 Review Factor of Safety.

Set the Max limit of the legend to the value of 4.6, corresponding to the
factor of safety on beams (step 4).
The image above is derived from the von mises stress result plots (steps
4 and 5). A low value for the factor of safety is caused by the edge
bond. We will ignore this low value as unrealistic and conclude that 4.6
represents the factor of safety in yielding.
In the next part of this exercise, we will assess the performance of the
cabinet in stability.
8 Create buckling study.
Create a Buckling study named buckling analysis.
63
Cabinet
9 Copy folders.
Copy the Parts, Joint Group and External Loads folders from the
stress analysis study to the buckling analysis study.
Do not copy the Fixtures and Connections folders.
Note Due to the nature of the buckling solution, buckling study setup will
somewhat differ from that of the stress analysis study. Similarly to
frequency analysis, No penetration contacts and some connectors
(bolts for example) are not permitted in buckling analysis. In such
situations, only the estimates or the lower and upper limits of the
buckling loads can be extracted. In our case, we will simulate the No
Penetration contact by excluding the Base and adding two additional
fixtures.
10 Exclude Base from analysis.
11 Add fixtures.
Define a Fixed Geometry
fixture on the four edges of the
bolt holes previously bonded to
the Base.
12 Restrain exposed faces.

Restrain the bottom two faces in
the vertical direction.
13 Restraint exposed joints.

Restraint the bottom four joints
in the vertical direction.
Note Step 11 and 13 above assume infinite stiffness of the excluded Base in
the vertical direction and ignore any friction between the Base and the
Cabinet. Can you comment on whether the current model for the
buckling study is stiffer or softer than the model used in the stress
analysis study? What is the consequence on the critical buckling load
that we will obtain from this study?
64
Cabinet
14 Define Contacts.
Copy eight bonded beam contacts from static study to the buckling
study.
15 Apply mesh control.
Apply mesh control with the
default parameters on the two
beams indicated in the figure.
Note This mesh control is specified in order to improve bonding with the
side faces of the solid bodies.
16 Create mesh.
Create a High quality Curvature based mesh with the following
parameters: Maximum element size = 51.54 mm, Minimum element
size = 5mm, Min number of elements in a circle = 16, Element size
growth ratio = 1.6.
17 Set buckling analysis study properties.
Request 5 buckling modes.
18 Run buckling analysis.
19 List factors of safety.

Right-click on the Results folder and select List Factors of Safety.
The lowest positive value of
the buckling factor of safety
is the factor of safety in
buckling which can be used
to determine the buckling
load.
Fbuckling = 4450 N x 3.7 =
16,465 N.
The lowest buckling factors of safety, or factor of safety in buckling of

3.7, is smaller than the factor of safety in yielding 4.6. This indicates
that the buckling failure would precede the failure in yielding.
65
Cabinet
20 Plot 1st buckling mode.

Create a deformation plot for the first
buckling mode.
We can observe that the skin face loses its
stability and buckle. This shape is an
approximation of the deformation at the
onset of the buckling failure.
Note Depending on the degree of the structural importance of the skin, we

may need to search for higher buckling mode involving the stability
loss of the frame.
66
Lesson 4
Load Cases
 Understand and use the Load Case manager feature to analyze
multiple load combinations.
67
Lesson 4 SOLIDWORKS
Load Cases
Load Cases A load case manager interface allows you to take the loads defined in a
simulation study, and combine them to define so called primary load
cases such as Dead load, Wind load etc. Primary load cases can be
further linearly combined into so called secondary load combinations,
for example 1.3*Dead load + 2*Wind load. This way it is possible to
quickly evaluate effects of various load combinations on your model.
Case Study: A simple scaffolding Stand
Scaffolding model consists of one Platform with
horizontal platform with wooden flat
wooden flat, two stands

and two side braces. The
horizontal platform is
positioned somewhat off
the center line to
simulate some
assembling
imperfections. All
structural components Brace
are connected by
positioning the corresponding connecting brackets onto the tubing of
the stands; the securing bolts and safety pieces are not part of this
model. It is assumed that only no penetration contacts exist between the
connecting parts of the structural components. All components are
manufactured from AISI 304 steel, the wooden flats are made of pine
wood.
Project Design of scaffolding needs to follow design codes specific to the
Description geographical area where the scaffolding is used. In general, it shall
always be designed for the most adverse combination of dead loads,
live loads and environmental loads that can reasonably be expected
during the period that the scaffolding is expected to be in service.
Environmental loads Environmental loads can include particularly the effects of wind, rain
and snow on the scaffolding. For example, environmental loads
imposed by wind and rain may be heightened if perimeter containment
screens, shade cloth or signs are attached to the scaffolding.
Dead loads Dead loads refer to the self weight of the scaffolding structure and
components including any working, catch or access platforms,
stairways, ladders, screens, sheeting, platform brackets, suspension
ropes, secondary ropes, traversing ropes, tie assemblies, scaffolding
hoists or electrical cables.
Live loads The live load includes: the weight of persons, the weight of materials
and debris, the weight of tools and, equipment; and impact forces.
68
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 4
Load Cases
Load combinations The specific load combinations must follow the local guidelines and
codes. For the purpose of this lesson, we will consider a load
combination for Dead loads and Live loads as follows: 2*Dead loads+
2 Live loads.
The objective of this lesson is to calculate maximum displacement of
the scaffolding.
Stages in the The basic steps are:
Process  Define static study.
Define fixtures, loads, contacts and mesh.
 Define primary load cases.
Define Dead load and Live load.
 Define load combinations.
Define linear combination of load cases using the following
equation: 2*Dead load+2*Live load.
 Analyze the results.
Review the available output to determine whether the
displacements are below the required limit.

Open Scaffolding from the Lesson04\Case Study folder.
2 Review the static study setup.
Most of the study features in the static study Load cases were defined
beforehand.
The four foot subassemblies were excluded from
analysis, and were replaced with the Fixed Geometry
fixtures on the bottom of stands.
69
Lesson 4 SOLIDWORKS
Load Cases
The tubing of the two side brace subassemblies are modeled using the
beam elements. To simplify mesh, the corner gussets are excluded from
analysis and are simulated with the help of the beam joints.
No penetration
contacts
Suppressed corner
gusset, Beam joint
Braces rest atop the horizontal tubing of the two stands; this
connection is simulated using already defined no penetration contacts.
The middle plates on the Braces are welded to
the diagonal tubings. This connection is
simulated with the bonded contacts.
3 Review stabilizing fixtures.

Because the side Braces and the Platform are freely positioned on the
tubing of the Stands, they are free to displace in the Z direction. The
model had to be stabilized in this direction.
Stabilization is achieved with translational fixtures in the Z direction at
10 indicated locations. Front Plane was used as Reference.
70
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 4
Load Cases
4 Wooden flat.
The wooden flat is not crucial for the results of this simulation and it
was already excluded from analysis.
Excluded wooden flat
5 Material.
AISI 304 Steel is already assigned to all the components. This material
has a yield strength of 206.8 MPa.
6 Contact between Platform frame and Stands.
The Platform frame brackets are freely set atop the horizontal
tubings of the Stands. Their interaction is simulated with the No
Penetration contacts.
The four no penetration contacts have
already been defined.
7 Vertical distributed force.
A 3,500 N total vertical force was
already defined on the top faces of the
Platform frame members.
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Lesson 4 SOLIDWORKS
Load Cases
8 Vertical concentrated force.

A 1,650 N total vertical force was already defined on the top face of the
indicated member of Platform frame.
9 Stabilizing vertical load.

Four 1 N vertical downward forces were already defined at the corner
joints of the braces.
Suppressed corner
Note In the absence of gravity (some considered load cases do not include
gravity load), braces are unrestrained in the vertical direction.
Depending on the configuration of the problem, this lack of restrains
may lead to initial instabilities. Addition of four small stabilizing forces
in the vertical direction will help provide the required stability.
10 Gravity.
Gravity is defined in the negative Y direction.
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 4
Load Cases
11 Mesh controls.
Mesh control was already applied on the two middle brace plates with
18.4mm for Element Size, and 1.5 for Ratio.
Additional mesh control with Number of Elements=30 was applied on
the four vertical tubings of the Braces.
Note Both of the above mesh controls are defined to improve the resolution
of the bonded contacts.
12 Show mesh.
High quality, Curvature based mesh was already created.
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Lesson 4 SOLIDWORKS
Load Cases
13 Open Load Case Manager.

Right-click Load Case Manager in the simulation study tree and select
View/Edit Definition.
14 Define primary load case Dead load.

On the Load Case View tab, under Primary Load Cases, add a
primary load case.
Rename it to Dead load.
Keep all fixtures active and make sure that all forces are suppressed.
Unsuppress all three components of the Gravity load.
15 Define primary load case Live load.

Following step 14, define primary load case named Live load.
Again, keep all fixtures active, and suppress Gravity.
Unsuppress all forces (including the stabilizing 1N forces).
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 4
Load Cases
16 Define secondary load

combination.
Under Load Case
Combinations, add a load
case combination.
In the Edit Equation dialog,
enter the linear equation
shown in the figure.
Click OK to close the Edit Equation dialog.
Rename this load combination to Base combination.
17 Define displacement sensor.
Under Track Results, add a Simulation Sensor
monitoring the maximum resultant displacement.
Click OK.
18 Review the load case setup.
You should see two primary load cases (Dead load and Live load),
one secondary load combination Base combination, and one
simulation sensor for maximum resultant displacement to track the
result.
75
Lesson 4 SOLIDWORKS
Load Cases
Initial Load Case The first row on the Load Case View has all study features active. It is
so called Initial Load Case which cannot be edited.
Initial Load
Case
19 Calculate Base combination.

Click Run in the Load Case Manager.
It takes about ten minutes to solve on a 3.6 GHz Intel Xeon E5
computer with 16 GB RAM.
Software will calculate each primary load case independently, Dead
load first, Live load second. Results for the load combination Base
combination are created by linear combination of the results
calculated for Dead load and Live load cases.
20 Review results.
The Results View tab shows results for the monitored sensors, and
provides an overview of the input loads and fixtures.
The maximum calculated displacement for the primary load cases are
2.21mm for the Dead load case, and 12.2mm for the Live load case.
The maximum displacement for the secondary load combination, Base
combination, is approximately 27mm.
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 4
Load Cases
21 Activate results for Base combination.

To activate results for the secondary load combination Base
combination, click the corresponding row on the Results View tab.
The active load case is also indicated in the

study tree next to the Load Case Manager
folder.
Note You can also activate results for any of the primary load cases (Dead
load or Life load).
22 Review stress results in solids.
Under Results folder, define VON: von Mises Stress plot for Solid
and Shells.
The maximum stress in the solid components is approximately 264

MPa, located close to one of the Platform brackets.This stress is above
the yield strength of the material, 206 MPa. While this result indicates
yielding, more thorough analysis with fine mesh is required in order to
reliably decide on the capacity of this region.
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Lesson 4 SOLIDWORKS
Load Cases
23 Review stress results in beams.

Define Upper bound axial and bending plot for Beams.
The maximum stress in the beam components is 28.4 MPa located at

the bottom corner of one of the braces. This stress is significantly
smaller than the yield strength of 206 MPa.
24 Review displacement results.
Define URES: Resultant Displacement plot.
The maximum displacement of approximately 27mm is located in the

middle of the loaded Platform.
Note Because the load case results were tracked with the help of one
displacement sensor (step 17 on page 75), the same plot is also defined
in the Load Case Results folder.
25 Save results.
Save the results and close the model.
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 4
Load Cases
Summary This lesson introduced the load case feature which allows you to
quickly compute results for various combinations of loads.
Load case manager interface allows you to first define so called
primary load cases. Primary load cases are defined by combining the
load features defined in the External Loads folder of a simulation
study. In this study, you defined two primary load cases: Dead load
and Live load.
Primary load cases can then be further combined using a linear
expression into so called secondary load combinations. In this study
you defined one secondary load combination, Base combination, as
2*Dead load + 2*Life load.
On launching simulation, each primary load case is solved individually
as a separate static simulation. Results for a secondary load
combination is then obtained by combining the results of the primary
load cases using the load combination equation. T
The load case manager enables you to postprocess both results for each
load case, and for the load combination.
79
Lesson 4 SOLIDWORKS
Load Cases
80
Lesson 5
Submodeling
 Understand and use the Submodeling feature to analyze structural
details.
 Post-process results on submodel.
81
Lesson 5 SOLIDWORKS
Submodeling
Submodeling Submodeling can be conveniently used to isolate a specific area of a

larger structure and simulate it in greater detail. Submodeling is done in
two steps. In the first step, you need to solve the full structure with a
relatively coarse mesh. This study, referred to as the parent study, must
provide reliable solution for displacements. It is likely, however, that
stresses will not be as accurate, especially in the complex structural
details such as joints. In the second step you will define a group of
bodies, thus forming a submodel with the displacement boundary
conditions transferred from the parent study. This will ensure that the
boundaries of the submodel in the child study deform exactly the same
as the corresponding locations of the structure in the parent study.
Reduced size of submodel then allows you to refine the mesh in the
critical regions in order to obtain reliable stress results.
Parent Study The parent study must meet certain conditions in order to proceed with
the submodeling study:
 The parent study must be static or nonlinear static with more than
one body and not be the submodeling study itself.
 The parent study cannot be a 2D simplification study.
 The selected bodies that compose the submodel may not have the
No penetration contact with unselected bodies that result in contact
pressure across the cut boundary.
 The selected bodies that compose the submodel may not share
connectors with unselected bodies.
Body not suitable for submodeling
No penetration contact and connectors
 The boundaries of the submodel must be adequately far from stress

concentration areas.
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 5
Submodeling
Case Study: A simple scaffolding Stand

Scaffolding model consists of one Platform with
horizontal platform with wooden flat
wooden flat, two stands

and two side braces. The
horizontal platform is
positioned somewhat off
the center line to
simulate some
assembling
imperfections. All
structural components Brace
are connected by
positioning the corresponding connecting brackets onto the tubing of
the stands; the securing bolts and safety pieces are not part of this
model. It is assumed that only the no penetration contact exists between
the connecting parts of the structural components. All components are
manufactured from AISI 304 steel, the wooden flats are made of pine
wood.
Project The assembly features numerous connections and joints. Meshing all
Description these features in the top level assembly model would result in very
large mesh and significant computational times. Using the submodeling
feature, analyze stresses in the connection indicated in the figure below.
Decide whether the bracket connecting the top platform to the stands
passes the yield strength criterion.
83
Lesson 5 SOLIDWORKS
Submodeling
Stages in the The basic steps of a submodeling approach are:

Process
 Define parent study.
Define fixtures, loads and mesh in the parent study with all the
assembly components included in the model.
 Define submodeling study.
Decide what components to use in the submodeling study. Then
create a submodeling study with fine mesh providing reliable stress
results.
 Analyze the results.
Review the available output to determine whether the bracket
indicated in the above image passes the yield strength criterion
(FOS=1).
Part 1: Parent For the parent study, you will use the entire assembly model. A solved
Study model from lesson Load Cases is used here as the parent study.
Open Scaffolding from the Lesson05\Case Study folder.
2 Review geometry. Split features
Show Top Level
Annotations.
The assembly model features
splits necessary to define the
submodel. The corner
intended for submodeling is identified with the annotation.
84
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 5
Submodeling
Parent Load Cases Currently, results from load cases defined in the parent study cannot be
in Submodeling used in the submodeling study. By default, only Initial load case
Study results are used.
3 Review stress results in solids.

Go to study Parent, where calculated results are already available.
Under Results folder,
Show Stress - solids and shells (-vonMises-) plot.
The maximum stress in the solid components is approximately 181

MPa, located close to one of the Platform corners. This stress is below
the yield strength of the material, 206 MPa. While this result indicates
that the corner is safe, more thorough analysis with fine mesh is
required in order to reliably decide on the load bearing capacity of this
region.
4 Review stress detail.
You will analyze
stresses in the corner
identified as
Submodeling.
Zoom onto the corner
area and show mesh.
Probe the stress on the
contact faces of the
bracket. Its maximum value is approximately 93 MPa. The mesh is
very coarse to make any reliable conclusion on stress.
In the next part of this lesson, you will use submodeling to obtain high
quality results at this location.
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Lesson 5 SOLIDWORKS
Submodeling
5 Save results.
Save the results, but keep the model open.
Part 2: Child Child study will simulate behavior at the joint location identified at the
Study beginning of the lesson.
1 Review parent study geometry.
The assembly model features splits
necessary to define the submodel.
Split features
2 Create submodeling study.

Right-click on the study Parent and select Create Submodeling
Study .
Unless disabled, an information window shown in the figure below will
open. This window will list all limitations of the submodeling
technique in this release of the software.
Most of the important limitations were already discussed at the

beginning of this lesson.
Click OK to dismiss this window.
86
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 5
Submodeling
Selecting In general, the further you go from the critical detail (i.e. the more
Components for components you include in your submodeling study), the better.
Submodeling However, this way, you will also create larger model that will take
more time to solve. Hence, some reasonable engineering judgment is
necessary. Since the primary interest in this study is the bracket, we
need to select a few neighboring components as well.
3 Select components for the

submodeling study.
Zoom into the corner identified
as Submodeling and select the
components forming the joint
(see the figure).
Alternatively, you can select the same components from the Bodies
List of the Submodel dialog in the Define Submodel property
manager.
Click OK.
Note It may take a minute or two for the computer to create the submodeling
study.
87
Lesson 5 SOLIDWORKS
Submodeling
Submodel Fixtures Because the submodel solution is a subset of the solution from the
parent study, all fixtures are transferred directly from the parent study
and its result, and can not be modified. This also implies that no
additional fixtures can be defined in the submodel study (Hide All and
Show All are the only commands available under the Fixtures folder).
4 Review the fixtures in the Submodel study.

All fixtures are transferred directly from the parent study.
Displacement from parent fixture contains displacements of the four
exposed cross-sections transferred from the parent study and the
Reference Geometry fixture containing the prescribed displacement
restraining the bracket from displacing in the Z direction.
5 Review the loads in the Submodel study.

All loads are transferred directly from the parent study.
Gravity and Force on the top face of the Platform beams are
transferred from the parent study.
6 Apply mesh controls.

Apply 0.5mm mesh controls
0.5mm control on
with the default Ratio on the the bracket face
face of the bracket in contact
with the tube.
Default control on
Apply a default mesh control the tube body
on the body of the horizontal
tube in contact with the
bracket.
88
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 5
Submodeling
7 Create mesh.
Create High quality,
Curvature based
mesh. Use the
default mesh
parameters.
Notice that the
resulting mesh has
focused refinement
on the bracket in contact with the tube.
8 Run study.
The study takes about 2 minutes to solve on a 3 GHz computer with 12
GB RAM.
9 Review stress results.
Activate Stress - solids and shells plot.
Change the legend Max value to the material yield strength, 206.8
MPa.
The maximum contact stress jumped to approximately 1590 MPa,

which is well above the yield strength.
89
Lesson 5 SOLIDWORKS
Submodeling
10 Isolate on the bracket.

Isolate on the bracket and review the distribution of contact stresses.
The peak stresses are very isolated and would not cause failure of the
material. Better contact resolution would results in more distributed
stress. Probing on the load contact face reveals more realistic maximum
stress of approximately 110 MPa.
11 Plot energy norm error.
The plot shows practically no error in the critical region. This suggests
that the stress results are likely reliable in the critical contact region.
Remember, however, that to prove the stress reliability, one would have
to study convergence of stresses with various mesh refinement.
12 Save and Close the file.
90
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 5
Submodeling
Summary This lesson introduced the submodeling feature that allows users to
study detailed stress distributions in complex regions such as joints,
without need to generate fine mesh the entire assembly. The procedure
is divided in two steps.
In the first step, the entire assembly is meshed with coarser mesh
settings to save the computational time. Coarser mesh will likely not
provide reliable stress details in complex regions such as joints, but
must provide reliable displacements.
In the second step user selects bodies in the vicinity of the critical
region and defines a submodeling child study. All loads and fixtures are
automatically transferred from the parent model to the child study. User
only needs to create fine and detailed mesh and run the calculation.
Because the calculation is performed on a significantly smaller
submodel, the computational time will be significantly smaller while
the results quality in the studied region will significantly improve when
compared to those from the parent study.
Questions  What is submodeling? What are some of the benefits of
submodeling?
 The selected bodies that compose the submodel (may/may not)
have No penetration contact with unselected bodies that result in
contact pressure across the cut boundary.
 How are the loads defined in a submodeling (child) study?.
91
Lesson 5 SOLIDWORKS
Submodeling
92
Lesson 6
Topology Analysis
 Perform a topology analysis.
 Create a load case study to combine multiple loads for a topology
optimization.
 Export an optimized shape.
93
Lesson 6 SOLIDWORKS
Topology Analysis
Topology A topology analysis is used to find the optimal

Analysis structural shape of a component. The process starts
with a part which acts as the initial design space.
Material is then assigned, loads are applied and fixtures
are added. Controls can be added to dictate how the part
will eventually be manufactured and goals are added to
optimize the shape to either minimize the mass of the
model, increase its stiffness or reduce the maximum
displacement.
The Young's modulus coupled with the mass density
are then reduced uniformly across all elements in the
model. During the solve process, the material
properties are redistributed so that the structural
objectives are satisfied.
The result is a nonparametric component which can be exported as a
mesh, a surface or a solid.
Case Study: We will perform a topology analysis on a linkage arm belonging to the
Rear Bike rear shock absorber of a mountain bike. This lesson contains two case
Shock Link studies. The first shows how a component with only one loading
condition can be optimized.
In the second case study, we will consider several load cases
experienced by the linkage arm throughout its use. Combining loads in
a Topology study is performed through the Load Case Manager.
Project We will consider a linkage arm supported at three locations: the frame,
Description the seat stay and the rear shock absorber. Three separate loading
conditions are considered in this lesson. The first loading condition is
the Full Load condition where the shock is completely compressed,
supplying 800 newtons of force on the linkage arm.
Full Load
800 Newtons
94
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 6
Topology Analysis
The second loading condition is the Rest Load loading condition

where the shock exerts 200 newtons of force on the linkage arm.
Rest Load
200 Newtons
The third loading condition is the

Side Load loading condition
where a 115 newton force is
applied at the center of the wheel to
the side. This is meant to simulate
the effects of hitting a rock while
riding or standing on a single
peddle while coasting.
Side Load
115 Newtons
Stages in the  Review stress analyses

Process Several simulations have already been completed before hand.
These simulations will first be reviewed then run.
 Topology study for a single load case
We will copy the setup from the Full Load static study to a
topology study. We will then apply constraints, goals, and create a
mesh before running and analyzing the model.
 Topology study for multiple load cases
A new topology study will be created and the setup from the
Combined Loads static study will be copied over. The Multiple
Load Cases command will be used to combine loads and the
topology study will be run. The resulting geometry will then be
exported as a solid body.
95
Lesson 6 SOLIDWORKS
Topology Analysis
1 Open part.
Open Linkage from the Lesson06\
Case Studies folder.
2 Observe the static simulations.
There are four static simulations which
have already been setup.
Observe the setup for each of the
simulations.
The Combined Loads simulation
combines all the loads and fixtures from the
Full Load, Rest Load and Side Load
simulations and will be used later in the
lesson.
3 Run all simulations.
Click Run All Studies .
4 Create topology study.
Create a Topology Study named topology full load.
Click OK .
5 Copy folders.
Copy the Parts, Fixtures and External Loads folders from the
full load study to the topology full load study.
Goals and A topology study is always optimized towards a goal. There are three
Constraints goals available: Best Stiffness to Weight ratio, Minimize Maximum
Displacement and Minimize Mass with Displacement constraint.
Best Stiffness to This goal is designed to minimize the compliance of the structure while
Weight ratio reducing the weight by a specified amount. (Compliance is the opposite
of stiffness.) If no other goal is defined, Best Stiffness to Weight
ratio is used with a 30% reduction in mass.
Where to Find It  CommandManager: Simulation > Goals and Constraints >

Best Stiffness to Weight ratio
 Menu: Simulation, Topology Study, Best Stiffness to
Weight ratio
 Simulation Study Tree: Right-click Goals and Constraints and
click Best Stiffness to Weight ratio
96
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 6
Topology Analysis
Minimize The Minimize Maximum Displacement goal works by first selecting a

Maximum vertex on the model where the displacement is to be minimized. A
Displacement constraint is then added to reduce the mass of the model.

Minimize Maximum Displacement
 Menu: Simulation, Topology Study,
Minimize Maximum Displacement
click Minimize Maximum Displacement
Minimize Mass With this goal, the displacement is assumed to be reduced by a user
with Displacement specified amount from the original design space. The mass is then
constraint reduced as much as possible while maintaining the displacement
constraint.

Minimize Mass with Displacement constraint
 Menu: Simulation, Topology Study, Best Stiffness to
Weight ratio
click Best Stiffness to Weight ratio
6 Minimize mass.
Click Minimize Mass with Displacement constraint .
Here, we will eliminate as much mass from the part as possible while
ensuring that the maximum displacement does not exceed 1.3 times
what it would be without any material removed.
Click Constraint Value and enter 1.3.
Without editing any other parameters, click OK .
97
Lesson 6 SOLIDWORKS
Topology Analysis
Manufacturing Manufacturing Controls can be applied to the model to dictate the

Controls manner in which material is allocated in a Topology study. Several
manufacturing controls can be applied simultaneously.
Add Preserved The Add Preserved Region control is used to specify faces that must
Region be kept. (No material is removed from these faces.) A thickness
constraint can also be added to preserve additional material away from
the selected faces.
Where to Find It  CommandManager: Simulation > Manufacturing Controls >

Add Preserved Region
 Menu: Simulation, Topology Study, Add Preserved Region
 Simulation Study Tree: Right-click Manufacturing Controls and
click Add Preserved Region
Specified When a Topology study is run, material is allocated to regions of the
Thickness Control model to support the structure. The Specify Thickness Control
command is used to define how thin these supports can be.
Where to Find It  CommandManager: Simulation >Manufacturing Controls >

Specify Thickness Control
 Menu: Simulation, Topology Study, Specify Thickness Control
click Specify Thickness Control
Specify De-mold If a part is made through a stamping, molding or extrusion process,
Direction geometric constraints must be applied so that it can be removed from
its mold. The De-mold Direction constraint is used to help form a
shape that can be manufactured according to these processes. There are
three options available in this constraint:
Mid-Plane (Both Directions), Pull-Direction only, and
Stamping (Pull direction only).

De-mold Direction
 Menu: Simulation, Topology Study, De-mold Direction
click De-mold Direction
98
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 6
Topology Analysis
Specify Symmetry The Specify Symmetry Planes constraint can be used to specify
Planes symmetry. Symmetry can be applied across one, two or three planes
with Half Symmetry, Quarter Symmetry or One-Eighth Symmetry,
respectively.

Specify Symmetry Planes
 Menu: Simulation, Topology Study, Specify Symmetry Planes
click Specify Symmetry Planes
7 Symmetry constraint.
Click Specify Symmetry Plane .
It is our intention that the part will be symmetric about the center of the
bike. Therefore, click Half Symmetry.
Select the Right Plane as the plane of symmetry.
Click OK .
8 De-molding direction.
Click Specify De-molding Direction .
Click Mid-Plane (Both Directions) and ensure
Determine central mid plane automatically is
selected.
Select the edge of the part as shown for Select Pull
Direction.
Click OK .
9 Create mesh.
Click Create Mesh .
Create a Draft quality, Curvature-based mesh with a Maximum
element size of 3 mm and a Minimum element size of 1 mm.
Click OK .
99
Lesson 6 SOLIDWORKS
Topology Analysis
Mesh Effects When a Topology study is run, the material density and the Young’s
modulus are reduced uniformly and redistributed to elements within the
model. The elements that have the material properties redistributed to
them make up the resulting geometry. Therefore, element size has a
significant effect on the shape of the end part.
Below are the resulting geometries of the structure with the same setup
and different element sizes (element size is abbreviated, “ES”).
ES: 1mm ES: 2mm ES: 3mm ES: 4mm
10 Run.
Click Run .
Note The simulation will take approximately eight minutes to run.
11 Results.
The resulting plot shows locations
where material can be removed.
100
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 6
Topology Analysis
12 Smoothed Mesh.
Right-click the Material Mass1 plot and
click Edit Definition .
Click Calculate Smoothed mesh .

Drag the Material Mass slider towards Heavy.
Drag the Number of Cycles sliders all the way
to Smooth.
Click OK .
The plot shows a smoothed mesh of the final
shape.
13 New Topology study.
We will now create a new Topology study that
combines multiple loads.
Click Topology Study and name the new study combined load
topology.
Click OK .
14 Copy Folders.
Copy the Parts, Fixtures and External Loads folders from the
Combined Loads static stress study to the combined load topology
study.
Copy the Manufacturing Controls from topology full load study to
the combined load topology study.
15 Goals.
Here, we will find the best stiffness to weight ratio while reducing the
mass by 50%.
Under Goals and Constraints, click Best Stiffness to Weight
ratio .
With Reduce mass by (percentage) selected, enter 50%.
Click OK .
101
Lesson 6 SOLIDWORKS
Topology Analysis
Load Cases in The only way to combine multiple loading conditions within a
Topology Topology study is with the Multiple Load Cases command. This
Studies command was covered in Load Cases on page 67.
When load cases are considered in a Topology study, there are a two
algorithms that can be used. The first algorithm is used by default and it
works by creating parts which maintain proportional stiffness in each
direction of load.
The second algorithm works by first observing the responses of the
loads on the design space. The structure is then made stiffer in the
directions of highest deformation. This algorithm is called the Min Max
formulation and can be accessed through the properties of the
simulation.
16 Enter Load Case View.

Right-click the combined load topology study and select Multiple
Load Cases .
17 Create Full Load Case.
Create a Primary Load Case named Full Load Case.
Unsuppress the fixtures and the loads corresponding to the Full Load
simulation while leaving all the other loads suppressed.
18 Create Rest Load Case and Side Load Case.

Add two more Primary Load Cases named Rest Load Case and
Side Load Case.
Unsuppress the fixtures and the loads of the Rest Load study in the
Rest Load Case loading condition.
102
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 6
Topology Analysis
Likewise, unsuppress the fixtures and the loads of the Side Load study
in the Side Load Case loading condition.
Important! If a Local Constraint is added to a Load Case, it overrides the Goals

and Constraints added in the Simulation tree.
19 Activate the Min Max formulation.
Right-click the combined loads topology study and select
Properties.
Click Use Min Max formulation (for load cases).
Click OK.
20 Run the Simulation.

Click Run .
Note The simulation will take approximately ten minutes to run.
103
Lesson 6 SOLIDWORKS
Topology Analysis
21 View the Results.

Right-click the Material Mass1 plot and click
Edit Definition .
Click Calculate Smoothed mesh .

Drag the Material Mass slider towards Heavy.
Drag the Number of Cycles sliders all the way
to Smooth.
Click OK .
The plot shows a smoothed mesh of the final
shape.
Export Once the final shape has been determined, the shape can be exported as
Smoothed Mesh a solid body, a surface body or a graphical body.
Where to Find It  Right-click the Material Mass plot and click Export Smoothed
Mesh
22 Export shape.
Click Export Smoothed Mesh .
Under Save mesh into, click New part
file and name the part, Nonparametric
Shape.
Under Advanced Export, click Solid
Body.
Click OK .
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 6
Topology Analysis
23 Open Nonparametric Shape file.

The resulting body does not have any features. (It is
nonparametric.)
24 Save and close the files.
Summary In this lesson we conducted two topology analyses which created

structurally optimized parts. In the first analysis only one load was
considered. This load represented the effects of a fully compressed rear
shock against the linkage arm.
Goals and constraints were added to reduce the mass of the part as
much as possible while limiting deformation to 1.3 times that of the
original part. Symmetry and de-molding controls were then added. And
the part shape was attained.
In the second analysis, multiple loads were combined using the
Multiple Load Cases command. The optimized shape was then attained
and exported as a new part file.
105
Lesson 6 SOLIDWORKS
Topology Analysis
106
Topology Analysis of a Stool
Exercise 7: In this exercise, you will perform a topology analysis on a chair. This
Topology exercise reinforces the following skills:
Analysis of a  Topology Analysis on page 94
Stool  Goals and Constraints on page 96
 Manufacturing Controls on page 98
 Load Cases in Topology Studies on page 102
Problem To find the most efficient design for a

Statement chair, we will perform an analysis that
considers three loading conditions.
These loading conditions are meant to
simulate the weight of a person sitting
on the chair, the force on the back
support and the force of someone
pushing out on the arm rests.
In order to perform this analysis, we
will need to use the Load Case
Manager.

1 Open a part file.
Open chair from the Lesson06\Exercises folder.
2 Observe the static stress simulations.
Three static stress simulations have been created ahead of time to
represent the three loads.
Click Run All Studies .

3 Create a Topology study.
Name the new Topology study New
Chair Design.
Drag and drop the loads from each of the
three static studies into the Topology
study.
Drag the fixture and material from one of
the static studies into the Topology study.
4 Goals and Constraints.
Under Goals and Constraints, click Best Stiffness to
Weight ratio .
Specify a 75% mass reduction.
107
Topology Analysis of a Stool
5 Manufacturing Controls.
Click Specify Symmetry Plane .
Specify Half Symmetry across the Right Plane.
6 Multiple Load Cases.
Click Multiple Load Cases .
Create three load cases, one for each of the loading conditions.
Name the load cases Weight of Person, Back Support and Arm
Support and configure the load cases respectively.
7 Mesh the model.

Use a Curvature-based mesh with 25 mm, High quality elements.
8 Use Min Max formulation.
Click Properties and make sure Use Min Max formulation (for load
cases) is selected.
9 Run the study.
The simulation will take approximately 25 minutes to run.
10 Observe the results.
11 Create a smoothed shape.

Edit the Material Mass1 plot and click
Calculate Smoothed mesh .
Drag the Material Mass slider toward Light.
12 Save an close the file.
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Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

 Understand and perform thermal analysis.
 Perform a thermal analysis of assemblies with thermal resistance.
 Perform a thermal analysis with heat power and convection
coefficients.
 Perform a transient thermal analysis using time curves.
 Perform a transient thermal analysis using the thermostat feature.
 Use thermal symmetry boundary conditions.
 Create section views in results plots.
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
Thermal We have already had considerable exposure to structural analysis,

Analysis Basics performing static, frequency, and buckling analyses, all of which
represent structural problems. This is our first lesson on thermal
analysis. Therefore, before starting the analysis let us spend some time
introducing the basics behind thermal analysis.
Thermal analysis deals with heat transfer in solid bodies. Although
thermal analysis seems less intuitive than structural analysis, it is much
simpler in terms of the computational effort.
The primary unknown in a thermal analysis is temperature, which is a
scalar quantity (as opposed to displacement which is made up of three
directional components). Therefore, only one degree of freedom needs
to be assigned to the nodes of a thermal FE model, regardless of the
type of element.
The important conceptual difference between structural and thermal
analysis is that while structural static analysis deals with the state of
equilibrium under an applied load, the analogous thermal analysis does
not describe the state of equilibrium.
Instead, it models the steady state condition where heat flow continues,
but does not change over time. Therefore, the thermal analogy of a
linear static analysis is a steady state thermal analysis, while a dynamic
structural analysis is analogous to a transient (time dependent) thermal
analysis.
Temperature is the primary unknown in a thermal analysis and is
analogous to displacements in a structural analysis. Other similarities
between thermal and structural analysis are summarized in the
following table. Because of these analogous behaviors, experience you
have in performing a structural analysis is directly transferable to
performing a thermal analysis.
Analogies Between Structural and Thermal Analysis
Structural Thermal
Displacement Temperature
Strain Temperature gradient
Stress Heat flux
Load Heat source/Heat sink
Prescribed displacements Prescribed temperatures
Convection coefficients
Elastic supports
(film coefficients)
Elastic modulus Thermal conductivity
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
Mechanisms of There are three mechanisms of heat transfer: conduction, convection

Heat Transfer and radiation. Before diving into the exercise, lets go over a brief
description of each mechanism so that we can gain a more complete
understanding of heat transfer.
Conduction Conduction is the most important heat transfer mechanism in solid
bodies. It does not involve any bulk motion of matter. Heat is
transferred by direct collisions between molecules. The energy of the
molecule that causes the collisions is directly related to temperature.
Non-metallic solids transfer heat by lattice vibrations so there is no
motion of the media as heat propagates through them.
Metals are better conductors than nonmetals at normal temperatures
because they have free electrons that carry thermal energy.
Thermal conductivity is a material property that indicates the
effectiveness of a material in transferring heat energy by conduction. It
is defined as the rate of heat transfer through a unit thickness of the
material per a unit temperature difference. Thermal conductivity is
usually denoted as the variable K.
Heat transferred by conduction moves from a hot region to a cooler
region. The magnitude of heat transferred by conduction is proportional
to the following:
 Thermal conductivity, K, of the
THOT TCOLD
medium in which heat transfer takes
place
 Temperature gradient: THOT - TCOLD
 Area, A, through which heat transfer
takes place
The magnitude is inversely proportional
to the thickness, L, of the medium.
QCONDUCTION = - K A (THOT - TCOLD) / L L
The units of thermal conductivity are W/(m K) in the SI system and

BTU /(ft s °F) in the IPS system.
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
Thermal conductivity varies widely for different materials.
Convection Convection is the heat transfer Tf = Fluid bulk temperature

mode by which heat transfers
between a solid face and an Colder fluid
descends
adjacent moving fluid (liquid or
gas). The magnitude of heat
transferred by convection between
Warmer fluid
a solid body surface and the rises
Gravity
ambient fluid is proportional to the

convection coefficient h, surface TS = Surface temperature
area A, and the temperature
difference between the surface and ambient gas:
QCONVECTION = h A (Ts - Tf)
Generally, there are two modes of convection heat transfer:
 Natural (free) convection
 Forced convection
Free Convection In free convection, the motion of the fluid adjacent to a solid face is
caused by buoyancy forces. These forces are induced by changes in the
density of the fluid due to differences in temperature between the solid
and the fluid.
For example, when a hot plate is left to cool down in the air, the
particles of air adjacent to the face of the plate get warmer and their
density decreases. Hence, they move upward.
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
Forced Convection In forced convection, a fan or a pump is used to accelerate the flow of
the fluid over the face of the solid. The rapid motion of the fluid over
the face of the solid maximizes the temperature gradient and increases
the rate of heat exchange.
Cold Air Cold Air
Hot Plate Hot Plate

NATURAL CONVECTION FORCED CONVECTION
The table below shows typical convection coefficients.

Medium Heat Transfer Coefficient, h (W/m2 °K)
Air (natural convection) 5 - 25

Air/superheated steam (forced
20 - 300
convection)
Oil (forced convection) 60 - 1800

Water (forced convection) 300 - 6000
Water (boiling) 3000 - 60,000
Steam (condensing) 6000 - 120,000
Radiation Thermal radiation is the thermal energy emitted by bodies, due to their
temperature, in the form of electromagnetic waves. All bodies with a
temperature above absolute zero emit thermal energy.
Because radiation does not require a VACUUM
medium, it is the only form of heat
transfer in a vacuum.
Heat transfer by radiation becomes
more significant at higher
temperatures. Note that the amount of
radiated heat is proportional to the
fourth power of absolute temperature.
Thermal radiation occupies a narrow range in the radiation spectrum as
shown in the figure below.
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
The radiation power of a black body is described by the Stefan-

Boltzmann law, which states that the total emissive power of a black
body Q is:
4
Q = T
BLACK BODY RADIATION
where  is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and T is the absolute

temperature of the black body. The value of the Stefan-Boltzmann
constant is 5.67x10-8 W/m2 K4 or 3.3063 x 10-15 BTU/s in2 F4.
When a black body of temperature TS and surface area A is immersed in
a medium with ambient temperature TA, the net rate of heat radiated by
the black body is given by:
4 4
Q RADIATION =  A  T S – T A 
where TS is the absolute temperature of the black body and TA is the
absolute temperature of the surrounding medium (ambient
temperature).
For non-black body surfaces, the heat radiated is
4 4
Q RADIATION =  A  T S – T A 
where  is the emissivity of the radiating surface, defined as the ratio

of the emissive power of the surface to the emissive power of a black
body at the same temperature.
Materials are assigned an emissivity value between 0 and 1.0. A black
body, therefore, has an emissivity of 1.0 and a perfect reflector has an
emissivity of 0. The emissivity is a material property that is dependent
on the surface temperature and the surface finish.
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
Material Properties We conclude this theoretical section with a review of the material
for Thermal properties required in a thermal analysis.
Analysis The following material properties are specifically required as input to
various types of thermal analyses:
Type of Thermal
Material Property Definition
Analysis
Conductivity Thermal conductivity indicates the Steady state and
effectiveness of a material in transferring transient analysis
heat energy by conduction.
Specific Heat Specific heat of a material is the quantity Transient analysis
of heat needed to raise the temperature of only
a unit mass of the material by one degree
of temperature.
Mass Density Although not directly used in thermal Transient analysis
analysis, mass density is required to only
provide information on mass because
specific heat is defined as heat per unit of
mass
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
Case Study: In this case study, we will perform a steady-state thermal analysis of a
Microchip microchip assembly. The concept of thermal resistance is introduced to
Assembly model the glue between the microchip and heat sink. We will learn to
properly apply thermal boundary conditions as well as thermal loads.
In addition, several transient thermal analyses (analyses of heat flow,
which changes with time) will be performed to show how the
microchip assembly will respond to changing heat loads.
Project The CAD model of a Connectors
Description microchip assembly consists Microchip
of five components:
 Copper heat sink
 Ceramic microchip
 Three copper terminals
(connectors)
Heat Sink
The ceramic microchip
generates heat, which
dissipates to the environment by convection through all external faces
of the ceramic microchip and all external faces of the copper heat sink.
The three terminal connectors are insulated, meaning they do not
dissipate any heat. The ambient temperature around the assembly is
27°C [300 K].
The ceramic microchip and copper heat sink are connected by a layer
of Arctic Silver 5 high conductance glue, 25 m thick. It would be very
difficult to mesh this layer if we modeled it as an assembly component.
Instead of explicitly modeling this glue layer, we will account for it by
defining a thermal resistance between the bonded faces of the
microchip and the heat sink.
Stages in the  Steady-state analysis
Process The steady-state temperature distribution in the model will be
calculated. By steady-state, we mean the final temperature of the
model after enough time has been allowed for heat flow to reach
equilibrium and the temperature field to stabilize.
 Transient analysis (step heat load)
The temperature time history is calculated for 300 seconds, starting
from the time when the heat power is first applied. By “step heat
load,” we mean that the entire heat load is applied at time 0 and
stays constant throughout the analysis.
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
 Transient analysis (varying heat load)

The temperature time history is calculated for 300 seconds starting
from the time when the heat power is first applied, but in this case
the heat power takes 30 seconds to reach a maximum value, and
then decreases back to zero in the subsequent 30 seconds.
 Transient Analysis (thermostat controlled heat load)
The temperature time history is calculated for 300 seconds from the
time when the heat power is first turned on, but the power is
controlled (turned on and off) by a thermostat in order to prevent
the microchip from overheating.
Steady-State We start the lesson with the most basic type of thermal analysis, steady-
Thermal state. Heat power is applied through the microchip itself and that heat
Analysis dissipates through the heat sink, connector terminal, and through the air
via convection.
Introducing: Heat Heat Power applies a constant heat energy to a part, face, edge, or
Power vertex.
Where to Find It  Shortcut Menu: Right-click Thermal Loads in the simulation

study tree and click Heat Power
 CommandManager: Simulation > Thermal Loads > Heat Power
 Menu: Simulation, Loads/Fixture, Heat Power
Procedure The steady-state thermal analysis is performed as follows:

Open regulator from the Lesson06\Case Study folder.
2 Create a thermal study.
Create a study named steady state.
Select Thermal as the Analysis type.

3 Define heat power.
Right-click Thermal Loads and select
Heat Power . Select the microchip
part (use the SOLIDWORKS flyout
FeatureManager design tree to select
microchip part).
Enter 25 W as the Heat power.
Click OK.
Note The interface between the microchip and heat sink cannot be treated as
a perfect bond. A thin layer of thermal glue is applied between the two
surfaces, and its effect will be modeled as a thermal resistance.
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
Interfacial Two solid surfaces never form a perfect contact when they are pressed
Conductance together. Tiny air gaps always exist between the two contacting
surfaces due to their roughness.
Through the interface between the two contacting faces, two modes of
heat transfer exist. The first is conduction through points of solid-to-
solid contact, which is very effective. The second is conduction through
the gas-filled gaps, which can be poor due to their low thermal
conductivity.
To treat the thermal contact resistance, an interfacial conductance hc is
“sandwiched” between the two solid bodies in question. The
conductance hc is similar to the convection heat-transfer coefficient and
has the same units (W/m2 K) or the equivalent in IPS.
Introducing: Thermal contact resistance is the inverse of hc (conductance) and is
Thermal Resistance equal to L/KA (A is the area of contact). Typical values of interfacial
conductance are summarized in the table below:
Contacting Faces Interfacial Conductance (hc) (W/m2 °K)
Iron/aluminum 45,000
Copper/copper 10,000 - 25,000
Aluminum/aluminum 2200 - 12,000
Stainless steel/stainless steel 2000 - 3700
Stainless steel/stainless steel

200 - 1100
(evacuated gaps)
Ceramic/ceramic 500 - 3000
Thermal resistance can be effectively used to model thin layers of

material used to bond (layer of glue) or insulate (kapton thermal pods)
two components. In our lesson, for example, the thin layer of glue,
25 m thick, is not modeled and is conveniently replaced by thermal
resistance.
Where to Find It  Shortcut Menu: Right-click Connections in the Simulation Study
tree and click Contact Set
 CommandManager: Simulation > Connections Advisor >
Contact Set
 Menu: Simulation, Contact/Gaps, Define Contact Set
Use in Instructions Under the Type pull down menu, select Thermal Resistance.
118
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
4 Define thermal
contact resistance.
Define a Contact Set
for the touching faces
on the heat sink and
microchip parts.
Explode the view for
easy selection of the
contact faces.
Select Thermal
Resistance as Type.
Select the Thermal
Resistance check box.
Select Distributed, and
then enter 2.857e-6 Km2/W as the distributed thermal resistance
(thermal resistance over a unit of area).
Click OK.
Note The conductance (hc) of the 25 m layer of Arctic Silver 5 material is
approximately 350,000 W/m2K. The distributed value of thermal
resistance is the inverse of the interfacial conductance; 1/350,000 =
2.857e-6 m2K/W.
Introducing: Convection specifies convective flow on the selected faces. It requires

Convection an ambient temperature surrounding the face as well as the convection
coefficient defined by the type of fluid the face is interacting with.

study tree and click Convection
 CommandManager: Simulation > Thermal Loads > Convection
 Menu: Simulation, Loads/Fixture, Convection
119
Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
5 Define heat sink convection.

Right-click Thermal Loads and select
Convection . Select all external faces
of the heat sink part except the face
where the thermal resistance has been
defined.
Assign a Convection Coefficient of 250
W/m2K for the selected faces. This high
value of a convection coefficient
corresponds to forced air cooling.
Enter 300K as the Bulk Temperature;
300K is the temperature of the ambient
air.
Click OK.
6 Define microchip convection.
Repeat the same procedure for the
microchip part, but enter 100 W/m2
K as the convection coefficient for all
faces except the face where thermal
resistance has been defined.
Enter 300K as the Bulk
Temperature as you did for the heat
sink model.
7 Collapse the assembly.
The model setup is complete in preparation for a steady-state thermal
analysis.
Note We have already defined the way heat will enter the model when we
applied the heat power. By defining convection, we have defined the
mechanism for heat to leave the model.
8 Mesh the model.
Create a High quality mesh with the default Maximum element size of
1.345mm. Use Curvature based mesh.
9 Run the analysis.
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
Insulation Any boundary that has not had any mode of heat transfer defined will
be assumed to be insulated. This is the case with the connector pins in
the model. No heat will be allowed to transfer across these boundaries.
Initial Temperature No initial temperature of the model is needed when analyzing a steady-
state problem. Steady-state thermal analysis, by definition, pertains to
the situation where the temperature field has stabilized under the
defined conditions.
The initial temperature may only shorten or lengthen the time required
to obtain thermal equilibrium, but does not affect the steady-state
conditions. Therefore, initial temperature is irrelevant for a steady-state
analysis.
Thermal Results To examine what results are available in a
thermal analysis, right-click the Thermal1
plot and select Edit Definition to open the
Thermal Plot window.
Note that temperature (TEMP), as a scalar
entity, is available for display only as a fringe
plot. Temperature gradients and heat flux (both
resultants and components), are vector
quantities and can be displayed in fringe or
vector format.
Thermal analysis plots can be modified or controlled using basically
the same methods we are familiar with from static analysis. Animate,
Probe, and so on work exactly the same as in a static analysis.
10 Display steady-state temperature distribution.

Double-click on the Thermal1 plot that is automatically generated in
the Results directory.
Because the maximum temperature is located inside the microchip
volume, it is best to view the temperature distribution using a section
plot.
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
11 Display the temperature distribution as a section plot.

Right-click the Thermal1 plot and select Section Clipping. Use
Right Plane to define the plane of the cut. (For more information on
section clipping, please consult Lesson 1 of the SOLIDWORKS
Simulation training manual.)
Note To display the model boundaries in the plot, use plot Settings.
The temperature distribution is very strongly dependent on the thermal

conductivity of the assembly components. Due to its good conductivity,
the temperature of the heat sink is almost uniform.
We also see the cooling effect of the heat sink on the ceramic
microchip, which runs colder on the side of the heat sink than on the
side cooled by convection.
The maximum temperatures have to be below the design limits to
ensure that components do not malfunction.
Heat Flux While temperature is related to the energy level stored in a system
relative to the same object (from the same material) at zero degrees,
heat flux provides information on the direction and the density of
energy flow throughout the object.
W J
The units of heat flux, ------2 = ------------2- , represent the fact that every second
m sm
one Joul leaves/enters/flows through one m2 of the surface
perpendicular to the direction of the flux component.
BTU
The corresponding units in the English (IPS) system are -------------2- .
s  in
Heat flux is a vector with three components and a resultant.
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SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
12 Plot the resultant heat flux distribution.

Define a new plot for HFLUXN: Resultant heat flux.
We can observe that the greatest amount of energy flowing every

second is located at the cutouts of the heat sink.
Heat Flux Results As we discussed earlier in the lesson, heat flux is most similar to stress
in structural analysis. Therefore, like stress, heat flux magnitude tends
to approach infinity at the sharp corners. For this reason, higher density
meshes are recommended if the heat flux results are of importance to
the designer.
13 Probe the results.

Zoom closer to the cutout region and
probe the location shown in the figure.
The indicated heat flux resultant value of
3.48e5 W/m2 represents the fact that every
second the energy of 3.48e5 Joules flows
through one m2 of the surface area, which
is perpendicular to the resultant.
However, the above information does not
mean that all of the indicated energy is
leaving the heat sink through this face at
the selected node. Plot the x component of
the heat flux (HFLUXX: X Heat flux) and
Probe the same location.
We can observe that the heat flux in the
x direction, indicating the heat leaving the
heat sink through this face at the selected node, is much smaller
(2.4e4 W/m2).
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
Heat Power Heat power indicates the variation of energy leaving/entering every
second through the boundary. To obtain the total or average heat power
for a specific entity, List selected command has to be used.
The basic unit for the hear power is Watt, W = J-- in the SI system
s
Btu
of units, and ----------
s in the English system of units.
14 Total Heat Power.

Right-click on the
Results folder and select
List Heat Power. Select
the indicated face and
click Update.
The Summary dialog
indicates the total heat
flow through this face as
0.058 Watts out of the
heat sink.
Transient The results of the steady-state thermal analysis, which we have just
Thermal completed, describe the situation where sufficient time has elapsed and
Analysis the heat flow has stabilized so that the temperature field reaches
equilibrium.
Note that we do not know at what time this stabilized situation occurs.
The results only display what the stabilized state will look like. The
amount of time depends on the initial temperature conditions, which
are not defined in a steady-state thermal analysis.
To analyze temperature changes in time, a transient thermal analysis is
required.
We assume that prior to turning on the power, all model components
are at a room temperature of 25°C. At time t = 0 s, the power is turned
on and the microchip starts generating 25 W of heat power (25 Joules
every second). Our objective is to monitor the temperature changes
during the first 300 seconds of operation, with particular attention to
the temperature of the middle connector.
124
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
1 Create new thermal study.

Copy study steady state into a new study named transient 01.
Note Two modifications are required to change the study transient 01 (by
default a steady-state analysis) into a transient thermal analysis. First,
we will change the Analysis type from Steady state to Transient.
The second required modification is the definition of initial
temperatures for the model.
2 Set analysis type to Transient.
Right-click transient 01 and select Properties. This opens the
Thermal window.
Select Transient as the Solution type.
To set initial conditions and time increment, enter 300 sec for the Total
time and 10 sec for the Time increment.
Select the Direct Sparse solver.
Click OK.
The simulation will be run for 300 seconds and the results are saved
every 10 seconds.
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
Importing Note that it is possible to first run a detailed fluid dynamics simulation
Convective Effect using SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation and then import the resulting
from convection coefficients directly into the thermal study in
SOLIDWORKS SOLIDWORKS Simulation. (See the SOLIDWORKS Flow
Flow Simulation Simulation tutorial titled Conjugate heat transfer for an example of the
analysis of heat transfer within an air-cooled electronic package.) This
option is very useful for simulations with forced convection in which
the convection coefficient is unknown or difficult to compute by hand.
Introducing: As previously discussed, the Temperature command is used in
Temperature transient thermal analysis. The command provides SOLIDWORKS
Simulation with an initial condition from which it will begin its
calculations.
Where to Find It  Shortcut Menu: Right-click Thermal Loads in the simulation study
tree and click Temperature
 CommandManager: Simulation > Thermal Loads > Temperature
 Menu: Simulation, Loads/Fixture, Temperature
3 Set initial temperatures for components.

We assume that all the assembly components
have the same initial temperature of 25°C,
which happens to be equal to the bulk (ambient)
temperature. However, this equality is not a
requirement.
To define the initial temperature, right-click
Thermal Loads and select Temperature .
Select Initial temperature as Type and enter
25°C.
From the SOLIDWORKS flyout
FeatureManager, select all assembly
components: heat sink, microchip, and three
instances of the connector.
Click OK.
Note It is also possible to import the initial distribution of the temperatures
from another SOLIDWORKS Simulation thermal study (see the
thermal study property window on the previous page).
126
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
Transient Data For transient simulation it is not possible to define transient data sensor
Sensors to monitor desired quantities in time. Data stored in the transient data
sensor can then be used to generate various graphs for the selected
quantities.
4 Define transient sensor.

To monitor temperature add
Simulation Data sensor.
Under Data Quantity select
Thermal, TEMP: Temperature.
Under Properties select Celsius,
Max over Selected Entities, and
select the indicated vertex on the
middle terminal.
Still under Properties, select
Transient to store data from all
time steps of this transient
simulation.
5 Run the analysis.
6 Display temperature plot.

Display the temperature plot for the last step (step 30) by right-clicking
the Thermal1 plot in the Results folder and selecting Edit Definition.
Set the Plot Step to 30 and click OK.
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
7 Graph Transient Sensor.

Right-click the Results folder and select Graph Transient Sensor.
Specify Time for the X axis, transient sensor Thermal1 for the Y axis,
Celsius.
Click OK.
A review of the temperature/time history shows that the temperature

has practically stabilized (reached steady state) in less than half of the
allotted 300 seconds.
Results When we compare the temperature results from the steady state study
Comparison and the results from the last step of the transient 01 study, they both
show the same temperature distribution because both characterize the
same steady-state heat flow.
Notice that the Result window can be split to display two result plots at
the same time using the split panes technique which is identical to that
of SOLIDWORKS.
128
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
Transient Now, we will add more complexity to the transient thermal analysis.
Analysis with We still want to monitor what happens during the first 300 seconds
Time Varying using 10-second intervals, but heat power will now vary with time.
Load
1 Create new thermal study.
Copy study transient 01 into a new study named transient 02.
2 Create time curve for heat power.
In the study transient 02, we need to amend the definition of heat
power with information on how the heat power changes with time.
In the Thermal Loads folder, right-click Heat Power-1 and select
Edit Definition to open the Heat Power PropertyManager.
In the Heat Power PropertyManager, click the
Use Time curve button and select Edit to
open the Time curve window.
Enter three points to define the time curve:
(0,0), (30,1), (60,0). Double-click on a cell to
create a new row.
To view the curve, click the View
button in the Heat Power
PropertyManager.
Click OK.
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
Time Curves The heat power time curve describes the following events:
Power is gradually increased to its maximum value during the first 30
seconds. Then power is gradually decreased to 0 over the next 30
seconds. After 60 seconds, no power is generated.
The heat power time curve does not define the actual heat power. It
defines a time-dependent multiplier to the heat-power magnitude
entered in the Heat Power window.
Note that heat flux, convection coefficients, and bulk temperature can
also be made time or temperature dependent.
Having defined heat power as a function of time, we are ready to run
the study transient 02.
Temperature Similar to time dependence of the load using time curves, any thermal
Curves load can be made temperature dependent using temperature curves .
In this lesson, for example, one could specify the heat power magnitude
as a function of temperature. Each finite element then generates a
different level of heat power based on its average temperature.
Note that solutions with temperature curves are significantly more time
demanding as convergence iterations are required.
130
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
3 Run the analysis.
4 Graph temperature in the middle terminal.

Follow step 7 on page 128 to Graph Transient Sensor in the same
location as the previous study.
The temperature reaches its maximum at step 4, or 40 seconds after the

power has been turned on.
Transient Having analyzed the results for the transient 01 study (the study with
Thermal constant heat power), we decided that the microchip is overheating.
Analysis using Recall that the steady-state temperature measured at the tip of the
a Thermostat middle terminal reached approximately 165oC.
We would like to keep the maximum operating temperature at the
middle terminal below 120oC. To achieve this, the heat power
generated by the microchip needs to be controlled. This can be
simulated by the thermostat feature available in SOLIDWORKS
Simulation.
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Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
Introducing: The Thermostat (Transient) feature allows the temperature of a given

Thermostat feature to be controlled by turning the Heat Power on and off. This
type of feedback control is commonly called on-off control and is used
by almost all domestic thermostats.
Where to Find It.  Shortcut Menu: Right-click Thermal Loads in the simulation
study tree and click Heat Power
 CommandManager: Simulation > Thermal Loads > Heat Power
 Menu: Simulation, Loads/Fixture, Heat Power
Use in Instructions In the Heat Power PropertyManager, click the check box next to
Thermostat (Temperature).
1 Create new study.

Copy study transient 01 into a new study transient 03.
2 Define a Thermostat.
In the transient 03
study, right-click Heat
Power-1 and select Edit
Definition to open the
Heat Power
Property Manager.
Select the Thermostat
(Transient) check box.
Select the vertex for the
Sensor location. This is
the location where we
want to install
thermostat.
In the Lower bound
temperature box, enter
a value of 100°C [373K].
In the Upper bound
temperature box, enter
a value of 120°C [393K].
Click OK.
Verify that the heat power definition does not use any curve (this would
occur if you accidentally made a copy of study transient 02 instead
of transient 01).
132
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 7
Thermal Analysis
Question: How does the addition of Thermostat change the Heat Power
definition?
Answer: The temperature in the selected location is now monitored. If the
temperature raises above 120oC, the heat power is turned off. If it drops
below 100oC, the heat power is turned on again. The Thermostat
feature is available only for transient thermal analysis.
3 Modify time increment.
Right-click transient 03 and select Properties.
In the Time increment box, enter 5 sec. This will increase the solution
time but will provide more accurate results.
4 Run the analysis.
5 Graph temperature in the middle terminal.

Follow step 7 on page 128 to Graph Transient Sensor in the same
location as the previous study.
The graph clearly illustrates how microchip heat power is controlled by

the thermostat. Because of the heat inertia, the temperature oscillates
between 92°C [365K] and 125°C [398K], even though we specified the
operating range between 100°C and 120°C.
To keep the microchip temperature below 120°C [393K], as we
originally intended, we would have to define the upper bound
temperature in Thermostat definition to be below 120°C [393K]. The
actual upper bound temperature could be found by trial and error.
133
Lesson 7 SOLIDWORKS
Thermal Analysis
Symmetry Thermal boundary conditions are easier to use than structural boundary
Boundary conditions because nothing needs to be defined on the faces that fall on
Condition in the plane of symmetry.
Thermal Analysis
As we said before, the absence of convection coefficients means that
the faces are insulated; there is no heat flowing through them (heat flux
in the direction normal to the symmetry face is zero). This is exactly
what happens in the absence of any thermal conditions.
Summary In this lesson, the mechanisms of heat transfer: conduction, convection
and radiation were introduced. Different types of thermal analysis
require specific material properties to be input. Comparing structural
and thermal analyses, we found that because of close and direct
analogies, expertise in structural analysis can be easily transferred to
thermal analysis. We eventually used those analogies to identify
singularities in the thermal analysis results.
The concept of a thermal resistance layer was introduced. The use of a
thermal resistance layer allows for a significant simplification of the
finite element model, yet it accurately models heat transfer through a
boundary between assembly components.
We performed both steady-state and transient thermal analyses.
Transient thermal analyses require the definition of initial temperatures,
whereas, steady-state thermal analyses are independent of initial
temperatures.
Time curves were used to define a time-dependent heat power load. We
learned that other entities, such as the convection coefficient and bulk
temperature, can also be made a function of time or temperature.
Finally, the Thermostat feature was defined to control the temperature
at a specific location by adjusting the generated heat power in a
transient analysis.
Questions 1. The three basic modes of heat transfer are: 1. ________ , 2.
________ and 3. ________ .
2. The only unknown in the thermal simulation is (temperature /
temperature gradient / heat flux).
3. While (temperature / temperature gradient / heat flux) is a scalar
quantity and has no sense of direction, (temperature / temperature
gradient / heat flux) are vector quantities and have X, Y and X
components.
4. Heat transfer coefficient (is / is not) one of the results from the
thermal simulation study.
5. Heat transfer coefficient (is / is not) required when specifying the
radiation boundary condition.
6. If run for sufficient amount of time, transient thermal study (must /
does not) always lead to a steady state situation.
134
Thermal Analysis of a Cup
Exercise 8: In this exercise, you will perform a thermal analysis on a cup housing
Thermal that encloses a rotating shaft.
Cup  Steady-State Thermal Analysis on page 117
 Convection on page 112
 Vector Plots from the SOLIDWORKS Simulation training manual
Problem Find the steady state temperature distribution of the cup housing due to
Statement the heat produced by a rotating shaft which is in contact with the cup.
Use the Heat Flux command to generate the heat coming from the
rotating shaft.
1 Open a part file.
Open Cup from the Lesson06\Exercises folder.
2 Create thermal analysis study.
Create a study named thermal study one. Select Thermal as the
Analysis type.
3 Define material properties.
Select Manganese Bronze (under Copper category).
4 Define heat flux.
Select the inside face. Apply a Heat
Flux of 8177 W/m2 [0.005 BTU/
s/in2].
5 Define Convection condition.

Select the three outside faces.
Enter 30 W/m2K
[1.0e-5 BTU/s °F in2] for the
Convection Coefficient and enter
294K [70ºF, 20.85ºC] as the Bulk
Ambient Temperature.
135
6 Mesh the model.

Mesh the model with High quality elements and the default Maximum
element size of 14.7mm. Use Curvature Based Mesh.
7 Run the study.
8 Plot temperature distribution.
9 Create a vector plot of the Resultant heat flux.
10 Evaluate results.
To examine the accuracy of your results, define a new study and repeat
the analysis with a finer mesh. When you run the analysis with the
finest mesh setting, you will see the same results as in our first study.
Therefore, we know our results are quite accurate for both studies.
136
Summary In this exercise we calculated the temperature distribution of the cup

housing. The maximum temperatures on both the inside and outside
faces would have to be compared against the design limits.
For realistic simulation, it is important to correctly determine the load
levels, namely the heat flux and the convection on the exposed faces.
This may be difficult sometimes.
137
138
Lesson 8
Thermal Analysis with
Radiation
Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

 Perform a steady state heat transfer analysis with radiation.
 Properly post-process radiation analysis.
139
Lesson 8 SOLIDWORKS
Case Study: In this case study, we will perform a steady-state thermal analysis of a
Spot Light spot light assembly with radiation. We will learn about radiation as a
Assembly heat transfer mechanism and how it works. The properties that define
heat transfer will be discussed. We will also comment on when
radiation will become a dominant mode of heat transfer and when it can
be ignored.
Project An aluminum reflector and the glass cover house a light bulb producing
Description 50 W [0.0475 BTU/s] of heat power.
Aluminum Reflector Air Side
Vacuum
Side
Convection
Radiation
Glass Aluminum
Glass Bulb
Cover Housing
Glass Cover
Conduction
The reflector side of the aluminum housing as well as the inside face of
the glass cover are exposed to a vacuum. Both the back side of the
housing and the front side of the glass cover are then exposed to air.
Our objective is to find the steady state temperature distribution of the
reflector housing and the glass cover due to the heat produced by the
light bulb. Certain assumptions on the environment as well as the
geometry were made.
Let’s review the heat transfer mechanism in the model. What happens
to the heat generated by the light bulb?
Some of the heat produced by the light bulb is radiated out directly into
the glass cover and the reflector. A small portion of it enters the
reflector directly through the base of the bulb by conduction. Heat that
has reached the reflector either by radiation or conduction is partially
radiated out and partially transferred by conduction through the
aluminum material to the air side of the reflector. It is then dissipated
by convection to the ambient air. Similar mechanism applies also in the
case of the glass cover.
140
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 8
Stages in the  Define Heat Power

Process Heat is generated from the entire volume of the glass bulb.
 Define Radiation
The heat generated by the bulb is radiated from the surface of the
bulb onto the reflector.
 Define Convection
Heat is allowed to leave the model through convection on the
opposite side of the bulb and housing.
 Run the study

Properly analyze the results from the thermal analysis study.
Steady State Since we only want to know how the temperature is distributed when
Analysis the light has already been on for a while, we will only perform a
steady-state analysis. If we wanted to know how the light reacted when
turned on, a transient analysis would be required.

Open light from the Lesson07\Case Study folder.
2 Create thermal study.
Create a study named radiation. Select Thermal as the
Analysis type.
The material properties of the reflector (Aluminum 2014), bulb (Glass)
and the Glass cover (Glass) are transferred automatically from the
SOLIDWORKS models to SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
141
Lesson 8 SOLIDWORKS
4 Define heat power.

Right-click Thermal Loads and select Heat Power .
Select the bulb from the flyout FeatureManager design tree.
Enter 50 W [0.0475 BTU/s] under Heat power. This heat power is

generated in the entire volume of the bulb.
Click OK.
Introducing: Radiation allows for heat to enter or leave a surface due to radiation. It
Radiation is defined by an emissivity of the surface as well as an ambient
temperature of the surroundings.

study tree and click Radiation
 CommandManager: Simulation > Thermal Loads > Radiation
 Menu: Simulation, Loads/Fixture, Radiation
142
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 8
5 Radiation condition on the bulb.

To define heat transfer out of the bulb by radiation, right-click
Thermal Loads and select Radiation .
Select the outside faces of the light bulb, and under Type, select
Surface to Surface.
This selection means that the selected face radiates heat to the other
surfaces in the model.
The Open system check box should remain unchecked. This selection
accounts for the fact that some heat may be radiated out directly into
space rather than to the reflector or the glass cover. This is, however,
not the case here as all the heat is received by either of the two.
Also under Radiation Parameters, enter 0.7 as the Emissivity for the
bulb material.
Click OK.
Note As was explained in Lesson 7: Thermal Analysis, emissivity is a
material property that depends on the surface temperature and the
surface finish of the body. The emissivity of a black body is 1. The
emissivity of a perfect reflector is 0.
143
Lesson 8 SOLIDWORKS
6 Radiation condition on the reflector.

To define how the reflector receives the heat radiated out of the bulb,
we must define the radiation condition on the reflector surface.
Right-click Thermal Loads and select Radiation . Select the

internal face of the reflector.
Under Type, select Surface to surface.

The Open system checkbox should again be unchecked as the system
inside the bulb is fully closed.
Enter 0.1 as the Emissivity. Note that the reflector is designed to
reflect radiation, which is why the value of the emissivity coefficient is
low.
Click OK.
7 Radiation condition on the glass cover
- internal face.
Explode the assembly for easy definition
of this condition.
Similarly to the previous steps, define the
Surface to surface, closed system
radiation condition. Specify the Emissivity
of 0.97 (most of the radiation is absorbed
by the glass cover).
Note As depicted in the figure at right, the

condition should only be applied on the
split face exposed to radiation.
144
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 8
Note In this simulation we assume that the glass cover can be modeled as a
black body. This assumption is, however, not very accurate and will
result in increase of the cover temperature. Correct solution for models
with glass components would require additional parameters such as
radiation absorption available in the HVAC module of SOLIDWORKS
Flow Simulation.
8 Radiation condition on the glass cover - external face.
The external face of the glass cover emits all energy to the ambient
space.
Right-click Thermal Loads and select Radiation . Select the

external face of the glass cover.
Under Type, select Surface to ambient.

Enter 25°C [77°F] for the Ambient Temperature, 0.97 for the
Emissivity and 1 for the View Factor.
Click OK.
Note When surface to ambient type is used, view factor must be input
manually because any geometry blocking the radiation out of the glass
cover is not part of the model.
145
Lesson 8 SOLIDWORKS
9 Convection condition for

Casing.
To define heat transfer out
of the reflector Casing by
convection to the ambient
air, right-click Thermal
Loads and select
Convection .
Select the external faces of
the reflector which are in
contact with air. These
external faces dissipate
heat by convection.
Enter the Convection Coefficient of 50 W/m2K [1.7x10-5 BTU/s in2
F] and the Bulk Ambient Temperature of 315 K [41.85 °C or 107.3
°F], which is the temperature of the air surrounding the back of the
reflector housing.
Click OK.
10 Convection condition for glass cover.
Because the glass cover faces open space its
convection parameters are different.
Define the Convection condition on the
outside faces of the glass cover with the
Convection Coefficient of 70 W/m2K
[2.37x10-5 BTU/s in2 F] and the Bulk
Ambient Temperature of 298 K [24.85 °C or
76.73 °F].
Review of Analysis The mechanism for heat transfer has been fully defined. This completes
Parameters the model setup for the thermal analysis.
In preparation for this steady-state thermal analysis, we have defined
the coefficient of convection, heat power, and emissivity. The only
thermal quantity we do not use in this lesson is a heat flux load (heat
power per unit of area).
If a transient thermal analysis was required, then all three quantities
could have been defined as functions of time using time curves.
146
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 8
11 Mesh the model.

Mesh the model with Draft quality elements and the Maximum
element size of 2.29 mm. Use Curvature based mesh.
A simulation solves in approximately 3 minutes on Intel Xeon E5-1620
processor system.
Click the More button in the solver window and notice that most of the
computational time is spent on the calculation of the view factors. View
factors express the fraction of radiation leaving one area that is
intercepted by the receiving area.
The automatically created Thermal-1 plot in the Results folder shows
the temperature distribution.
Note that the bulb reaches a high temperature of 1234°C [2253.2°F or

1507.15°K].
Because the geometry of the bulb is very approximate, the temperature
result at that location has to be ignored. In reality, vacuum filled bulb
with integrated heat sink would have to be modeled to come closer to
the real problem description at this location. Our current geometry
merely models the presence of the bulb as a source of heat and the
radiation emitter.
147
Lesson 8 SOLIDWORKS
14 Temperature of glass
cover.
Set the upper limit of
the legend to the
maximum value of
200°C, the maximum
design temperature on
the outside surfaces.
Using the Probe
function we can see that
the maximum
temperature on the
external face of the
glass cover is 316°C,
well above the design limit of 200°C.
It can be seen, that the design temperature of the glass cover external
surface was not met and is of a serious concern. The result indicates
that substantial design changes, including those of using less powerful
bulb, may be required.
However, as mentioned in the Note on page 145, more accurate
modeling of response of glass material to radiation is required.
It also needs to be concluded, that more accurate geometry of the bulb
along with its integral heat sinks may be required. We can therefore
also conclude that this model is too coarse in its problem description.
Heat Flux Recall the L-bracket lesson (see Lesson 2, in the SOLIDWORKS
Singularities Simulation training manual) where we identified stress singularity in a
sharp re-entrant corner.
To conceptualize the singularity of heat flux in a sharp re-entrant edge,
it helps to use the direct analogy between heat flux and stress. Just like
a structural analysis of a model with a sharp re-entrant edge cannot
have a stress solution in the sharp re-entrant edge, a thermal analysis
cannot find heat flux solution in the sharp re-entrant edge. Because of
discretization error, infinite stress does not show, but the heat flux
results are entirely dependent on the element size used to mesh the
edge. With mesh refinement, the heat flux tends to infinity.
148
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 8
15 Plot heat flux.

Hide the glass cover component and create another plot in the
Results folder showing the resultant heat flux.
Right-click the Results folder and select Define Thermal Plot. Select
the HFLUXN: Resultant heat flux component to be displayed.
The heat flux concentrations are coincident with the sharp re-entrant
edges. However, as we learned in Lesson 7: Thermal Analysis, heat
flux results in sharp re-entrant edges are meaningless. Theoretically
these results are singular (or infinite).
Summary In this lesson, we have analyzed a steady state heat transfer problem
with conduction, convection, and radiation.
We observed that heat transfer problems with radiation take
considerably more time because the computation of the view factors is
required. We also concluded that radiation as a heat transfer mode
becomes more prominent with increased temperatures.
We also explained that modeling of glass components subjected to
incident radiation needs more sophisticated approach available in the
HVAC module of SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation.
149
Lesson 8 SOLIDWORKS
150
Lesson 9
Advanced Thermal Stress
2D Simplification
 Perform thermal stress analysis of assemblies.
 Utilize 2D simplification to reduce the problem size.
151
Lesson 9 SOLIDWORKS
Advanced Thermal Stress 2D Simplification
Thermal Stress Let us pause for a moment and explain thermal stress analysis, and how
Analysis it is handled by SOLIDWORKS Simulation. Thermal stress analysis is
a type of static analysis, which is a subgroup of the structural class of
problems. Thermal analysis does not belong to this group.
In addition to all regular structural loads, such as forces and
displacements, thermal stress analysis enables the inclusion of loads
due to the constrained thermal expansion or contraction.
In thermal stress analysis, loads due to thermal effects are defined as
nodal temperatures that are imported from the thermal study.
Analysis Name in
Analysis
Analysis Type SOLIDWORKS
Classification
Simulation
Static Static Structural
Thermal stress Static Structural
Thermal Thermal Thermal
Case Study: In this lesson, we will perform a simplified analysis of an expansion

Metal joint assembly consisting of a bellow manufactured from AISI 316
Expansion Joint stainless steel, and two carbon steel flanges. Expansion joints are used
to alleviate thermally induced stresses in high temperature piping
systems. The low structural stiffness of the bellow allows it to deform
in multiple directions and absorb the system deformations.
Project The bellow end is welded to the
Description
Flange
carbon steel flange. The flanges are
then bolted to the piping system.
The system is used to transport low
pressure steam at a temperature of
220°C [493.15K, 428°F] and
pressure of 3 bars [0.3 MPa, 43.51
psi].
Bellow
Our objective is to find the stresses
in the assembly.
152
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 9
Stages in the This type of analysis requires a two step procedure:

Process  Perform a thermal analysis.
The thermal analysis will calculate the temperature distribution in
the model. Because the stress analysis is requested after the flow of
the heat stabilizes, we will run a steady state thermal analysis.
 Perform a static analysis.
Use the temperature results from the thermal study and perform a
static analysis to find the thermal stresses.
Thermal We are looking for the steady state solution, meaning the state at which
Analysis enough time has elapsed for the temperature field to stabilize. Because
the initial condition affect the time needed to reach the steady state, but
not the steady state itself, it is not required in the definition of the
thermal problem.
The initial temperature will only be used as a reference temperature for
the calculation of thermal stresses.

Open Expansion joint from the
Lesson08\Case Study folder.
2D Simplification Simulation of some engineering problems can be represented in two

dimensions (2D) rather than three dimensions (3D), leading to a
dramatic reduction of the problem size and the time required to solve it.
Important! If applied correctly, 2D Simplification studies provide exact solution to

real 3D problems. Simplification implies reduction in the complexity of
the simulation model. If applied incorrectly by user, however,
significant errors are likely to occur.
When considering 2D Simplification, both geometry of the model and
the applied loading must meet certain conditions. Considering only one
of these two conditions may lead to serious errors.
153
Lesson 9 SOLIDWORKS
Three types of the 2D simplifications exist:

 Plane stress: Plane stress represents a 3D situation, where out of
the plane stress can be assumed to be equal to zero (stresses exists
only in the plane of the object, hence the name plane stress). This
situation occurs only when (a) the thickness of the object is
significantly smaller than the two remaining planar dimensions, and
(b) when the forces and fixtures act only in the two planar
dimensions. Consider the following example of a thin wall loaded
by in plane forces (forces in x and y directions in the next figure).
3D model 2D Simplification
The 3D thin wall can be represented as 2D model without any
significant loss of accuracy.
 Plane strain: 3D structure loaded by in plane loads and fixed in the
axial direction so that an extension of the model is restricted can be
represented as 2D problem with negligible loss of accuracy.
Consider the example of a pipe (see the figure below), restricted in
axial directions at its ends and subjected to an internal pressure and
temperature loads. Because the pipe is restricted in the axial
direction, we can conclude that it only deforms in its planar
directions (strains occur only in the planar directions, hence the
name plane strain).
154
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 9
Because each cross-section deforms identically, it is enough to

simulate a 2D cross-section only, greatly simplifying the model.
Long structures, such as pipelines, are often assumed to deform in
the plane strain fashion.
 Axi-symmetry: 3D structure created by revolving its cross-section
about an axis and subjected to loads can also be represented as a 2D
problem. In the example below, the cylindrical geometry of the
pressure vessel is created by revolving the profile about the axis of
revolution. The pressure and temperature loads, as well as the
fixtures, can also be defined as being revolved. Such situation can
be represented as a 2D model, as shown in the figure below. The
axi-symmetrical solution is an exact solution to the 3D problem.
Introducing: 2D Simplification enables users to reduce the original 3D problem into

2D Simplification a 2D problem with minimal or no loss of accuracy. This way it leads to
dramatic reduction of the problem size and the required computational
time. 2D simplification is available for static, thermal and nonlinear
study types.
Where to Find It  CommandManager: Study Advisor > New Study
 Menu: Simulation, Study
Use in Instructions Under Type choose Static, Thermal or Nonlinear. Under Options
check Use 2D Simplification.
155
Lesson 9 SOLIDWORKS
2 Symmetry.
Activate Symmetry configuration to reduce the model size.
Create a new Thermal study named t distribution.
Click the Use 2D Simplification checkbox located in
the Options dialog.
Note Because the model geometry can be created by revolving the cross-
section profile about an axis, and because all loads are axi-symmetrical,
we can reduce the 3D into a 2D model.
Click OK.
4 2D Simplification
options.
In the 2D Simplification
property manager, specify
Axi-symmetric, select
Front Plane as Section
plane and Axis1 as Axis
of symmetry.
Click OK.
Note Use the Use other side checkbox to switch the side of the cut.
The 2D cut on the new
plane named t
distribution will be
generated. The simulation
model will be built on this
geometry.
5 Materials.
The material properties transfer automatically to SOLIDWORKS
Simulation from the SOLIDWORKS assembly model.
156
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 9
Note In many instances, the material definition may have to be modified in

SOLIDWORKS Simulation. For example, if the temperature
dependence of some of the material constants (i.e. conductivity,
Young’s modulus) cannot be disregarded over the considered
temperature range, a temperature dependent material model must be
used. For the specifics on how to define a temperature dependent
material model, refer to the Thermal Stress lesson in the
6 Define temperature.
To model the hot steam we will impose the temperature on the inside
walls of the Bellow and the Flange.
Right-click the Thermal Loads and select Temperature .

Select the inside edges of the model exposed to steam.
Under Temperature specify 220°C [493.15K, 428°F].
Flange detail
Note The edges of the 2D axi-symmetrical model represent the revolved

faces of the 3D model.
Click OK.
7 Define convection.
The heat dissipated from the model through the faces exposed to the
outside air is modeled using convection.
Right-click the Thermal Loads and select Convection .
157
Lesson 9 SOLIDWORKS
Select all outside edges, as shown in the figure below.
Flange detail
Specify 50 W/m2K [1.69859e-5 BTU/s in2°F] as the Convection

Coefficient. This means that each square meter of the selected faces of
the 3D model dissipates 50 W [0.0001 BTU/s] if the difference
between the face temperature and the ambient air temperature is 1K.
Under Bulk Temperature, enter 298K [25°C, 77°F].
Click OK.
Prescribed In general, the prescribed temperature can be kept at a constant value

Temperature by means of either heating or cooling. We may not know if the face is
Condition heated or cooled until we examine the results and determine in which
direction the heat is flowing through the face in question.
In the present case, however, it is clear that the heat is entering the
walls of the Bellow and the Flange where the high temperature is
specified and exists due to the convection through the outside walls.
Meshing The model is now ready for meshing, but first let us examine some
Considerations in meshing considerations particular to thermal analysis.
Thermal Analysis
If a model is intended only for calculating temperatures, there are no
special meshing considerations. Meshing with the default element size
and no mesh controls usually produces a mesh that yields correct
results.
Meshing may require more attention if we want to calculate heat flux.
Excessive curvatures of element faces and excessively sharp corners
may cause artificial heat flux concentration.
Even though we are primarily interested in the temperature results (we
require temperatures to calculate thermal stresses), we want to generate
a mesh that could be used later for the analysis of the heat flux results
as well.
158
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 9
8 Mesh assembly.
Mesh the assembly with High quality elements. Move the Mesh Factor
all the way to the Fine position to set the Maximum element size to
0.97428mm [0.038357 in]. Use Curvature based mesh.
Note Notice that even with fine setting the 2D mesh completes very quickly.
We were able to fit 2 elements through the thickness of the Bellow.
This could be considered a minimum for reasonable temperature
results.
9 Run the analysis.
The simulation completes in a couple of seconds.
10 Resulting temperatures.
We can see that the temperature in the bellow wall is nearly constant.
Probing on the outside walls shows that the temperature drop is no
more than 2° to 3°C.
159
Lesson 9 SOLIDWORKS
11 3D plot.
Right-click the resulting temperature plot and select Show as 3D Plot.
The temperatures shown in 3D adds realism to the way the results can
be presented. The cut wedge size can be edited and is used to show the
distribution through the thickness of the walls.
12 Create a vector plot of heat flux.
Right-click the Results folder and select Define Thermal Plot.
Select HFLUXN: Resultant Heat Flux for the Component and W/m^2
for the Units.
Click Show as vector plot.
Click OK.
The arrows clearly indicate the direction of the heat flow through the
walls of the bellow and through the flange.
160
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 9
Note To change the arrow size, right-click the plot and select Vector Plot
Options.
Note that the model geometry features sharp re-entrant edges where
heat flux values are singular. This is directly analogous to stresses
being singular at similar locations in a structural analysis.
Thermal Stress Having calculated the temperature distribution, we can now proceed
Analysis with the static stress study.
1 Create a static study.
Create a Static study named thermal stress.
Under Options check the Use 2D Simplification checkbox.
Follow the procedure in step 4 to complete the definition of a 2D axi-
symmetrical static stress study.
2 Include thermal effects in analysis.
Right-click the thermal stress study and select Properties.
Under Flow/Thermal Effects, select Temperatures from thermal

study.
Note If results from more than one thermal study are available you can select
the particular thermal study to be utilized for providing thermal input
for the thermal stress study.
In our case, only the t distribution study is available.
161
Lesson 9 SOLIDWORKS
Importing As in the case of the convective effects, it is possible to first run a

Temperatures and detailed fluid dynamic simulation using SOLIDWORKS Flow
Pressures from Simulation and then import the resulting temperature distributions and
SOLIDWORKS pressures into the SOLIDWORKS Simulation static analysis. This is
Flow Simulation necessary when the coefficient of convection is unknown due to a
complicated flow around the body. Importing temperatures and
pressures from SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation only works for full
3D models.
Reference Reference temperature at zero strains corresponds to the temperature at
Temperature at which we assume no thermal strains exist in the model.
Zero Strains
3 Set reference temperature.

Still in the thermal stress study property window, under the Flow/
Thermal effects tab, enter 25°C [77°F] as the Reference temperature
at zero strain.
Click OK.
4 Symmetry.
At the beginning of this lesson we specified Symmetry configuration.
This condition must now be defined in the simulation study.
Specify Symmetry
fixture on the
exposed edge of the
Bellow.
162
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 9
5 Flange condition.
The expansion joint flanges are
bolted to the flanges of the
connecting pipes. While
significant deformations and
stresses of the Bellow are
caused by its temperature load
(steps 6 and 7), we must not
forget that the entire piping
system is subjected to the same
temperature environment. The
entire system therefore
thermally expands. This
system expansion causes
significant deformations and
stresses and can lead to a
serious system failure. Crucial
function of the expansion joint
is to alleviate these stresses by
means of deforming its soft
bellow. We will simulate the
effect of the system expansion
as prescribed horizontal
displacement of 4mm.
Right-click the Fixtures and
select Advanced Fixtures.
Select the indicated edge of the Flange and specify 4mm in the Along
Plane Dir 1 field.
Click OK.
Note The Front Plane is the default choice for the reference entity in 2D
model and can not be changed.
163
Lesson 9 SOLIDWORKS
6 Pressure.
The low pressure steam is transported
at a pressure of 3 bars [0.3 MPa,
43.51 psi].
Right-click the External Loads
folder and select Pressure.
Select the three edges indicated in the figure. Additionally, select the
remaining internal faces of the Bellow. Enter 0.3 N/mm^2 (MPa).
Click OK.
7 Mesh control - Bellow.

Define mesh control on the entire cross-section of the Bellow (see the
figure below). Specify 0.45mm [0.0177in] for the Element Size and
1.5 for the Ratio.
Note We could use mesh of the same density as in the thermal study.
However, because the walls of the Bellow are severely bent as it
expands and deforms, three to four high quality elements through the
thickness are required for reliable stress solution.
164
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 9
8 Mesh control - Flange.

Define additional mesh control on
the three edges indicated in the
figure below. Use the same
parameters which were used in
the preceding step (step 7 on
page 164).
The global mesh size is too coarse
for smooth stress results in this
region.
9 Mesh assembly.
Mesh the assembly with High quality elements. Move the Mesh Factor
all the way to the Fine position to set the Maximum element size to
0.97428mm [0.038357 in]. Use Curvature based mesh.
Note With the above mesh density we were able to fit 4 elements in the
Bellow.
10 Mesh details.
For the book keeping purposes, review the details of the mesh. Note,
that the 2D mesh features approximately 26000 nodes. In 2D, and
without any additional contact conditions, the solution of such
simulation poses no problem.
11 Run the thermal stress study.
It takes a couple of seconds to complete the study.
165
Lesson 9 SOLIDWORKS
12 Plot resulting displacements.
Not surprisingly, the maximum deformation on the joint is due to the

prescribed 4mm displacement of the Flange. Because the Bellow is
very soft in the axial direction, this does not mean automatically that
this loading is responsible for the maximum stress.
13 Plot von Mises stress.
Set the Max in the legend to the yield strength of the bellow material
AISI 316, 172.4 MPa.
The maximum stress in the model is approximately 363 MPa at the

bent of the below. This significantly exceeds the yield strength of 172.4
MPa and we conclude that the bellow design would have to be
modified or the loads reduced. Perhaps fewer bends with larger
diameter would help the situation. Furthermore, the joint would have to
qualify for certain minimum fatigue life.
166
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 9
Introducing: Energy The Energy norm error is calculated based on differences between
Norm Error nodal and element stresses (see the Introduction to Analysis lesson of
the SOLIDWORKS Simulation training manual for the definition of
nodal and elemental stresses). Although it provides a measure of the
error in energy norm, not in stress, it can still be viewed to represent the
relative distribution of stress errors in homogeneous meshes. High
values at the regions with sharp re-entrant corners should, therefore, be
ignored.
Apart from singularities, if a high stress error coincides with the
location where stress results are of interest, these stress results cannot
be considered reliable.
Where to Find It  Shortcut Menu: Right-click Results in the simulation study tree
and click Define Stress Plot
 CommandManager: Simulation > Results Advisor > New Plot >
Stress
 Menu: Simulation, Plot Results, Stress
Use in Instructions Under Display, select ERR: Energy Norm Error as the Component.
14 Plot Energy norm error.
The low magnitudes suggest that the stress results in the bellow are
reliable.
Note The stresses in the model are predominantly affected by the prescribed
displacement and temperature. You can verify yourself that both are
nearly equally contributing to the maximum stress result. The
contribution of the pressure load is minimal.
3D model We mentioned that 2D simplification leads to a dramatic reduction in
the model size. To demonstrate this fact, we will now attempt the
solution with the traditional 3D approach.
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Lesson 9 SOLIDWORKS
15 Model Configuration.
Change the configuration to 3D
symmetry.
Note The model in the 3D symmetry configuration was reduced a 15

degree wedge. The dimension of the wedge could be reduced further if
desired.
16 Define study.
Define a new Thermal study. Name it 3D thermal.
17 Mesh.
Create mesh with the same parameters as those used in the 2D model
(0.97427mm for both Maximum element size and Minimum element
size, 8 for Min number of elements in a circle and 1.5 for Elements
size growth ratio).
Note The mesh controls utilized in the 2D study (steps 7 and 8) are not used
in the 3D model. Their use would lead to an unreasonably large mesh.
18 Mesh details.
Note that this mesh features staggering 1.5 million of nodes while we
only have two elements meshing the wall of the bellow. This represents
nearly a 5750% increase compared to the 2D mesh. As you can see, the
current 3D model is not the best way to approach this problem.
168
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 9
19 Complete the solution.

On your own and if class time permits, complete the 3D solution of the
thermal study. Then, continue with the definition of the static stress
study with all of its loads. As you work on the 3D model, note the
significant amount of time needed to define, mesh and solve this
model.
Below, we are showing the final distribution of the von Mises stress.
It can be observed that the stress solution is very close to that obtained
form the 2D model. However, the size and the time required to obtain it
clearly shows that a 3D approach would not be a suitable choice here.
Summary We conducted a two step simulation of the expansion joint, a part of the
piping system transporting low pressure hot steam. The solution was
obtained in two steps.
First, a thermal study was conducted with the primary objective of
calculating temperatures for the thermal stress study. Then, a thermal
stress study was conducted with a model that was properly restrained
and loaded by the temperatures obtained in the thermal study. In
addition to the temperature load, the bellow of the joint was loaded by
the steam pressure and the prescribed displacements representing the
expansion of the piping system due to the same temperature load.
The maximum stress in the model reached approximately 363 MPa in
the bellow. Because this magnitude significantly exceeds the material
yield strength, the below design has to be modified. Because the bellow
is loaded cyclically, the next step in the validation of the design would
be fatigue simulation.
169
Lesson 9 SOLIDWORKS
The preparation of the simulation model resulted in substantial savings.

First, a symmetry was utilized to cut the 3D model in half. Then, it was
noted that both the geometry and loads can be revolved around an axis.
The model was therefore further reduced and 2D axi-symmetrical
representation was employed.
It was shown that 2D model resulted in an elegant and quick solution.
Contrary to that, the 3D approach resulted in very large model with the
mesh size nearly 5750% larger than the one used in the 2D model.
Questions 1. State at least two examples where 2D plane stress, plane strain and
axi-symmetry simplifications could be used.
2. The following figure shows a pipe loaded by uniform internal
pressure and a distributed force applied on the top edge. The force
magnitude varies along the longitudinal direction of the pipe.
Which of the following 2D simplifications could be applied to
reduce the size of this problem? (plane strain / plane stress / axi-
symmetry / none)
170
Thermal Stress Analysis of a Microchip Testing Assembly
Exercise 9: In this lesson, you will analyze a microchip testing assembly consisting
Thermal Stress of a ceramic insert, a nylon housing, and an acrylic gasket.
Microchip  Convection on page 112
Testing  Heat Flux on page 122
Assembly  Thermal Stress Analysis on page 161
Problem The gasket and the nylon

Statement housing are connected by Gasket
two bolts, which will not be
included in the analysis. The
assembly is then freely Microchip
positioned on a platform
inside the testing chamber; it
is not connected to any other
secondary structure. Housing
The initial temperature of

the assembly is 25°C [298K, 77°F]. During testing, a microchip housed
inside a pocket in the nylon housing generates a heat power of 5 W
[0.004739 BTU/s] while the face of the acrylic gasket is kept at a
constant temperature of 65°C [149°F].
The objective of the exercise is to find the thermal stresses in the
assembly.

Open microchip test from Lesson08\Exercises folder.
The touching faces between the microchip and the housing are
structurally bonded (glued), while the two faces between the gasket and
the housing can separate. It is assumed that ideal conduction exists
through all of the interfaces.
2 Create thermal study.
Create a Thermal study named t distribution.
The material properties transfer automatically to SOLIDWORKS
Simulation from the SOLIDWORKS assembly model.
171
4 Heat power.
Define 5 W [0.004739 BTU/s]
Heat power on the microchip
part.
Microchip
Note The sign of heat power distinguishes between heat entering (heat
source) and heat leaving the model (heat sink). “+” denotes heat power
(or heat flux) entering the model, “-” denotes leaving the model.
5 Convection on assembly outside faces.
Apply Convection to the outside faces, as shown in the figures below.
Specify 300 W/m2K [0.0001 BTU/s in2°F] as the Convection
Coefficient and 298K [25°C, 77°F] for the Bulk temperature.
Note The top face is not selected for the convection because it is not exposed
to the air flow. instead, a constant temperature is assigned to it in the
next step.
6 Temperature on face of acrylic Prescribed Temperature
gasket.
Apply 65°C [338.15°K or 149°F]
Temperature on the top face of the
acrylic gasket.
7 Mesh controls.
Apply mesh controls to the microchip component. Use the default
local Element size of 1.55mm [0.06in] and the default settings for the
Ratio parameter.
172
8 Mesh assembly.
Mesh the assembly with Draft quality elements and the Maximum
element size of 3.10mm [0.122 in]. Use Curvature based mesh.
Note The gasket part was hidden in the above figure to see the details of the
housing geometry.
9 Run the analysis.
10 Define section plot of temperature.
Notice the cylindrical microchip generating heat power from within,

while convection takes place on the surfaces of the model. The
resulting temperatures should be below the allowable maximums for all
components.
173
Thermal Stress Having calculated the temperature distribution, you can now proceed
Study with the static stress analysis.
Create a Static study named th stress.
2 Include thermal effects in analysis.
Include the temperature load in the stress study and set the Reference
temperature at zero strain to 25°C [77°F].
3 Study properties.
Utilize the Use inertial relief option to stabilize the model.
Note Use of this feature further reflects the fact that the assembly is placed
into the test chamber free of any external constraints.
4 Bolt connectors.
Define two Standard or Counterbore
Screw connectors threaded into the
acrylic base. The bolts have the
following parameters:
Head Diameter = 10mm [0.394in],
Nominal Shank Diameter = 6.35mm
[0.25in], Tight fit = OFF, Material =
AISI 1020 Steel, Preload = 90 N
[20.23 lb] Axial force.
5 Gasket vs. housing interface.
Define a No penetration, Surface
to Surface contact between the
touching faces of the gasket and
the housing.
6 Mesh control.
Apply identical mesh control to microchip.
7 Mesh assembly.
Mesh the assembly with Draft quality elements and the Maximum
element size of 3.10mm [0.122 in]. Use Curvature based mesh.
174
8 Run the th stress study.

If a message appears about excessive displacements, click No. Because
there are no restraints, rigid body displacements are possible but will
not affect the solution.
9 Plot resulting displacements.
We notice that, as expected, the gasket has slightly separated from the
housing.
Note Because the model is not restrained, the absolute values of the
displacements may be misleading. This is due to the fact that the entire
model may have slightly displaced as rigid body.
Change in Thermal The fact that the gasket separates from the housing due to structural
Boundary behavior changes the boundary conditions for the thermal analysis. The
Conditions global contact in the thermal analysis was set as bonded. This means
that there was zero thermal resistance between the gasket and housing.
Heat was allowed to pass through the interface perfectly. A zero
thermal resistance condition between the gasket and the housing
becomes invalid as soon as the gasket separates from the housing. A
nonlinear analysis would be required to capture this effect.
175

The maximum stresses can be observed in the location of the
microchip. Because excessive stresses may cause damage of the
component, the level of stresses needs to be controlled. The current
mesh is, however, not fine enough to give reliable stress results. A
study with fine mesh would therefore be required.
As expected, we can also see higher stress concentrations in the regions
where the two bolts are defined. Similarly, finer mesh would be
required to asses the effect of stress concentrations in these regions of
the housing and the gasket components.
11 Plot Energy norm error.
The energy norm error confirms our conclusions on the mesh quality in
the vicinity of the microchip component and around the bolt holes.
Finer mesh would be needed in this region in order to obtain more
reliable stress data.
176
Summary This exercise showed the thermal stress simulation of a microchip

testing assembly. A two step procedure was utilized. First, the
temperature distribution in the model was obtained from a thermal
study. Then, the computed temperatures were transferred into a static
stress study for the calculation of displacements and stresses.
In the thermal study, the contact between the gasket and the housing
was assumed perfectly bonded, allowing for ideal conduction without
any resistance. In the static stress simulation, this contact was set to No
penetration. As the model expands, the gasket deforms and detaches
from the housing. This causes a change in the thermal contact.
Depending on the degree of this separation a nonlinear simulation may
be required in order to update the geometry for thermal calculation.
The energy norm error plot at the end of the exercise indicated that
finer mesh would be required in order to obtain reliable stress data.
Because the model is not attached to any secondary object, the thermal
stress simulation was conducted with a model that was restrained using
the soft spring option.
177
Thermal Stress Analysis of a Gas Tank
Exercise 10: In this exercise, you will perform a thermal stress analysis on a propane
Thermal Stress tank.
Gas Tank  Convection on page 112
 Heat Flux on page 122
 Thermal Stress Analysis on page 161
Problem A propane tank is attached to a grill. It sees a

Statement fixed temperature from the grill, heat flux due
to solar radiation, as well as convection due to a
breeze. Use these conditions to calculate the
thermal stresses experienced by the grill.
Note An online calculator for heat flux due to solar radiation, in different
parts of the USA, can be found on the web site: http://rredc.nrel.gov/
solar/old_data/nsrdb/redbook/atlas/Table.html. In this study, the solar
heat flux on the propane tank was calculated in San Diego, CA in the
month of June.

Open Gas_Tank from the Lesson08\Exercises folder.
Create a study named steady state. Select Thermal as the Analysis
type.
Select Brass for the Part-1 and Alloy steel for the Tank body.
4 Define heat flux.
Select the three faces of the tank exposed to the sun.
Apply a heat flux of 200 W/m2.
178
5 Define boundary conditions on

the tank.
Select all faces on the tank except
for the rectangular face on the
back of the tank where it is
connected to the grill and the
valve. Apply a convection
coefficient of 5 W/m2K and a bulk
temperature of 294.6K [21.45°C or
70.6°F].
6 Define prescribed temperature.

Select the rectangular face on the back of the
tank.
Apply a temperature of 27°C [80.6°F or
300°K].
7 Mesh the model.

Mesh the model with High quality elements and the Maximum
element size of 18.64 mm. Use Curvature based mesh.
8 Run the thermal analysis.
While the outside face temperature should not pose any problems, the
maximum temperature on the inside face may be controlled to limit the
expansion of the gas.
179
10 Evaluate and graph thermal results on a section plot.
Direction of point
selection for
Probe feature
Define a section plot using Plane1 and probe the temperatures in the
section plot.
In the Probe dialog, form a path by selecting points in the direction
shown in the figure above.
11 Graph temperatures.
In the Probe Results window, under Report Options, click the Plot
button to generate a path plot of the variation of the temperature along
the specified trajectory.
180
Thermal Stress The results from the thermal analysis will now be used to perform a
Analysis thermal stress analysis.
1 Create a thermal stress analysis.
Create a new Static study named static study to determine the
stresses and displacements induced in the tank if it was left out in the
sun for 3 hours. Copy the material properties from the previous study.
2 Apply restraints.
Select the face where the tank is attached to
the grill. Also, select an edge at the top
where the lifting ring holds the tank. Apply
a Fixed Geometry fixture to these entities.
3 Setup thermal stress analysis.
Right-click on the static study and choose
Properties.
Click the Flow/Thermal Effects tab.
Select Temperature from thermal study
and select steady state.
Set the Reference temperature at zero strain as 289K [16°C or
60°F].
4 Mesh the model.
Mesh the model with the same settings.
5 Run the analysis.
6 Plot displacement.
We can see that the tank expanded on the sunny side of the face.
181
The stress of 126 MPa is well below the Yield strength of the material
(620 MPa). We can see, however, that the stresses are rather localized
at the location of the fixture. Because the tank is so thin, it is a perfect
candidate for meshing with shell elements, so surfaces would need to
be created if this were desired.
182
Thermal Stress Analysis of a Thermoelectric Cooler
Exercise 11: In this exercise, you will Heat sink, Cu

Thermal Stress asses the safety of the
Analysis of a thermoelectric cooler (TEC)
Thermoelectric device. Thermoelectric
coolers are devices using
Cooler Peltier effect to force the
transport of heat with
TEC devices
consumption of electrical
energy. Heat pumps working Specimen channel, Al 1060
on this principle have many Ceramic plates
uses. Typically they are used (Al2O3, Alumina)
for cooling as more efficient
means exist to provide
heating. However, if one
device for cooling and
Conductors, Cu
heating is necessary, TEC is Semiconductor pellets
(Bi2Te3, Bismuth Telluride)
an ideal candidate. TEC are
frequently used for cooling electronic components and small
instruments, as is the case in this example.
This exercise reinforces the following skills:
 Convection on page 112
 Heat Flux on page 122
 Thermal Stress Analysis on page 161
Problem The figure above show typical configuration for the use of TECs. A
Description laboratory device depicted in the figure above show an aluminum
specimen channel where tested samples are placed. The six TECs,
arranged in series on the top of the channel must rapidly cool the
aluminum channel and pump the heat into the copper heat sink. The
cooling or heating effect takes place immediately when current is
turned on. Alternating the current with some system control can
effectively keep the predefined temperature environment in the
specimen channel. by alternatively cooling or heating the aluminum
channel.
Due to the significant
temperature difference that
may exist between the top Solder joint
(Sn-40Bi-0.1Cu)
and bottom Alumina plates,
significant thermal stresses
and structural deformations
may develop causing failure
of the Bismuth Telluride
pellets or of the solder joints. Structural failure of Bismuth
Telluride (Bi2Te3) pellets
183
All bonded connections

(Alumina ceramic plates and
Bismuth Telluride Ceramic plate
semiconductor pellets to Cu to Cu conductor
contact
conductors) are soldered with
Sn-40Bi-0.1Cu lead free solder
material. The maximum design
temperature differential and
the maximum heat load are Bismuth Telluride pellet
to Cu conductor contact
equal to 55°C and 8W,
correspondingly.
Materials The following table lists all required material specifications.
Solder Bismuth
Alumina
Sn-40Bi- Telluride
(Al2O3)
0.1Cu (Bi2Te3)
Young’s 380 GPa - 43.6 GPa

modulus
Poisson’s ratio 0.27 - 0.3
Yield strength 200 MPa -
Tensile strength - 26.8 MPa -
Shear strength - 23.6 MPa -
Coefficient of 8.4e-6 °C-1 - 18e-6 °C-1
thermal
expansion
Conductivity 40 W/(m-K) - 2.27 W/(m-K)
Specific Heat 930 J/(kg-K) -
Density 3950 kg/m^3 - 7700 kg/m^3
Note Some properties of Bismuth Telluride are highly dependent on the

temperature and the manufacturing process. The values in the above
table can be used for this exercise only and should not be used for real
life applications.
184
Loading In this problem we are concerned with the structural integrity of the
Conditions TEC when exposed to the maximum designed loading conditions, i.e.
the maximum temperature differential of 55°C. Therefore, the
boundary conditions of the problems are set to their typical values, as
depicted in the figure below.
Convection 5 W/(m^2.K)
on all exposed TEC faces
Convection 20 W/(m^2.K) on
specimen channel (outside faces only)
and the heat sink No convection on inside
faces of specimen channel
Theat sink=60°C
(surface temperature)
Tspeciment channel=5°C (surface temperature)
Goal Perform necessary simulation to help you decide whether the solder
joints and the Bismuth Telluride pellets are designed safely or are likely
to fail.
The assembly file Device for this exercise is located in the
Lesson06\Exercises folder.
As you are building the simulation study, consider the following points:
 Can I simplify the geometry and use smaller model to solve the
problem?
 How fine mesh and in what regions of the model do I need to solve
the problem reliably?
 How do I efficiently apply convective conditions on all exposed
faces?
185
186
Lesson 10
Fatigue Analysis
Objective Upon successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to:
 Understand the basic concepts in fatigue.
 Understand the required information to proceed with fatigue
analysis.
 Understand the concept of S-N curves.
 Setup a fatigue analysis with multiple constant amplitude events.
 Evaluate results of a fatigue analysis.
187
Lesson 10 SOLIDWORKS
Fatigue Analysis
Fatigue It is observed that repeated loading and unloading weakens objects

over time even when the induced stresses are considerably less than the
allowable stress limits. This phenomenon is known as fatigue. Each
cycle of stress fluctuation weakens the object to some extent. After a
number of cycles, the object becomes so weak that it fails. Fatigue is
the prime cause of the failure of many objects, especially those made of
metals. Examples of fatigue failure can include rotating machinery,
bolts, airplane wings, consumer products, offshore platforms, ships,
vehicle axles, bridges, and bones.
Linear and nonlinear structural studies do not predict failure due to
fatigue. They calculate the response of a design subjected to a specified
combination of restraints and loads. If the analysis assumptions are
observed and the calculated stresses are within the allowable limits, it
can be concluded that the design is safe for this combination of loads
regardless of how many times the load is applied.
Results of static studies are used as the basis for defining a fatigue
study. The number of cycles required for fatigue failure to occur at a
location depends on the material, composition, and type of loading.
Stages of Failure The following are three stages of failure due to fatigue:
due to Fatigue  Stage 1: One or more cracks develop in the material. Cracks can
develop anywhere in the material but usually occur on the boundary
faces due to higher stress fluctuations. Cracks can occur because of
many reasons including imperfections in the microscopic structure
of the materials and surface scratches caused by tooling or
handling.
 Stage 2: Some or all the cracks grow as a result of continued
loading.
 Stage 3: The ability of the design to withstand the applied loads
continue to deteriorate until failure occurs.
Because the surface of the model is exposed to various environmental
conditions (moisture, etc.) and is usually the location of the highest
stress, this is where cracks are most likely to form and begin to
propagate. Therefore, strengthening the surfaces and high quality
surface treatment increase the life of the model under fatigue.
188
SOLIDWORKS Lesson 10
Fatigue Analysis
High vs. Low Based on the stress magnitudes and the expected number of cycles
Cycle Fatigue needed to cause the damage, fatigue can be divided into the following
two basic groups:
 High Cycle Fatigue, where the magnitudes of alternating stresses
are moderate and cause none or small levels of plastic deformations
in the material. The parts loaded in this manner are assumed to
resist a high number of loading cycles (from 1000 to 1e6 cycles)
before the fatigue failure occurs.
The method used to describe high cycle fatigue is referred to as a
stress-life (S-N) based approach. The material resistance against a
certain number of loading cycles is reflected in the S-N curve,
which typically relates the number of cycles at certain stress level
required to cause fatigue failure. The fatigue analysis available in
SOLIDWORKS Simulation is based on this approach and is the
subject of further discussion in the remainder of the training
manual.
 Low Cycle Fatigue, where the alternating stresses have higher
magnitudes, causing significant plastic deformations. Due to the
high stress levels, parts subjected to the repetitive loading tend to
fail under a relatively small number of cycles, hence the name Low
Cycle Fatigue. The strain-life based approach, suitable for the
description of this class of problems, requires special codes and is
not part of the current release.
Stress-life (S-N) The SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional training manual (along
Based Fatigue with the accompanying training lessons) treats the stress-life (S-N)
based approach to high cycle fatigue in detail.
Fatigue Loading In general, structures experience various types of loading histories over
the course of their service lives. The type of loading history may be
rather simple (the definition of some maximum/minimum load is
clearly defined) or random (the description is significantly more
complex). However, even some random loading histories may exhibit
such characteristics that enable us to treat them as deterministic
loading.
In general, the loading histories can be divided into two distinct groups:
 constant amplitude loading
 variable amplitude loading
189
Fatigue Analysis
Constant Amplitude All cycles of a constant amplitude event have the same alternating and
Loading mean stresses. A constant amplitude fatigue event is fully defined by an
alternating stress, mean stress, stress ratio, and the number of cycles.
The terms characterizing the constant amplitude event are described as
follows:
Stress
Time
 Smax and Smin are the maximum and minimum stress magnitudes in
a stress cycle.
 Salt is the alternating stress.
 Smean is the mean stress calculated from Smean = (Smax + Smin) / 2.
Mean stress magnitude has a significant impact on the fatigue
resistance of the structures and is discussed in more detail later in
the lesson.
 Stress ratio R = Smin / Smax. Two typical loading histories, zero
based and fully reversed, are shown in the figures below with the
corresponding values for R and Smean.
Stress
Stress
Time
Time
In the constant amplitude loading case, the concept of time is

irrelevant, i.e. only the number of cycles with the above characteristics
is important.
Variable Amplitude A variable amplitude fatigue event is a load history record that defines
Loading the fluctuation history of a load. The time values do not play any role
for fatigue studies with a single variable amplitude event. The time may
be required to correlate between several loading events. Variable
amplitude loading is the subject of Lesson 11: Variable Amplitude
Fatigue.
190
Fatigue Analysis
Case Study: In this lesson, we will perform a constant amplitude fatigue analysis of
Pressure Vessel a pressure vessel. The pressure vessel is subjected to both a pressure
and thermal loading cycle. We will learn how to define the S-N curve
that governs fatigue failure. The interaction of multiple loading events
will be discussed. In addition, we will learn how to properly interpret
fatigue results. Finally, we will see the effect of a constant, unchanging
load on the fatigue study.
Project
Description
An Aluminum Alloy 7075-T6 pressure vessel is
to undergo an evaluation for fatigue life of
constant amplitude pressure and thermal stress
loading. The pressure loading oscillates between
negative 0.066 MPa [9.57 psi] (-0.066 MPa [-
9.57 psi]) and 3.3 MPa [478.6 psi]; the thermal
stress is due to a heat flux oscillation between 0
and 1471.8 W/m^2 [0.0009 Btu/(s-in^2)].
In the second part of this lesson the pressure vessel will be additionally
loaded by a significant dead load applied at the center of the top lid.
Our objective is to determine whether or not the vessel will fail after
2,000,000 thermal and 1,900,000 pressure loading cycles.
Stages in the Because of the various loading conditions that the vessel will undergo,
Process there are a number of steps to set up the fatigue analysis:
 Thermal study
The thermal study applies a heat flux to the inside of the vessel as
well as convection on the outside.
 Thermal stress study
A static study will be needed to see the thermal expansion effects of
the thermal study.
 Static study
The second static study needed will be the 3.3 MPa [478.6 psi]
pressure load applied to the inside of the pressure vessel.
 Fatigue study
The fatigue study will take into account all of the loading
conditions and run them on the model for a specified number of
cycles.
Once the fatigue study is run, the results must be analyzed to decide
if failure has occurred.
191
Fatigue Analysis

Open Pressure Vessel from the Lesson09\Case Study folder.
2 Select Symmetry configuration.
Because the geometry and the loads are
symmetrical, we can isolate a wedge section for the
analysis.
Note Analogously to a thermal stress study requiring an execution of the

thermal study first, a fatigue study is directly based on the results of the
structural studies which must be completed beforehand.
Because the pressure vessel is subjected to the combination of pressure
and thermal loading cycles, the following studies have to be completed
before the fatigue analysis: structural static, thermal, and thermal stress.
All three studies were prepared beforehand.
3 Review SOLIDWORKS Simulation Studies.
The Thermal study applies 1471.8 W/m^2 [0.0009 Btu/(s-in^2)] heat
flux to the inside of the pressure vessel and a convective condition of
8.8308 W/(m^2.K) [3e-6 Btu/(s-in^2F)] with the 298.15K [77°F]
ambient temperature to the outside surfaces.
The Thermal stress study is performed to obtain the stresses from
the temperature field obtained in the Thermal study.
The Static Pressure study has 3.3 MPa [478.6 psi] pressure applied
to the inside surfaces of the vessel.
A no penetration contact condition and bolt connector are used in both
structural studies.
192
Fatigue Analysis
Thermal Study We will first run the thermal study so that the temperature results can be
exported to the thermal stress study.
4 Mesh Thermal study.
Create a Draft quality mesh with the following parameters:
Maximum element size:101.5784mm,
Minimum element size: 5mm,
Minimum number of elements in a circle: 8,
Element size growth ratio: 1.2.

Note Mesh controls have been predefined.
5 Assign materials in Thermal study.
Verify that 7075-T6 (SN) Aluminum alloy is assigned to both parts.
6 Run thermal analysis.
Thermal Stress Having completed the Thermal study, we can proceed and compute
Study the thermal stresses.
The static study for the thermal stress analysis contains a bolt and no
penetration contact. To take these conditions into account, we must
create a new mesh. The mesh from the Thermal study cannot be
copied because it has different contact conditions.
7 Mesh Thermal stress study.
Create mesh with the same parameters as in the step 4.
8 Define material for Thermal stress study.
Verify that 7075-T6 (SN) Aluminum alloy is assigned to both parts.
9 Set Thermal stress study properties.
In the Flow/Thermal Effects tab, make sure that the temperature is
read from the Thermal study and that the Reference temperature at
zero strain is set to 25°C [77°F].
10 Run Thermal stress analysis.
193
Fatigue Analysis
11 Stress results.
We can see that the pressure vessel stress is very high with the
maximum magnitude close to 1026 MPa, well above the yield strength
of the material, 505 MPa.
12 Stress results - plot limits.
Modify the maximum of the legend to show the Yield strength of the
7075-T6 Aluminum, 505 MPa.
We can observe that the stresses above the yield strength are localized
in the vicinity of the bolt head/nut. As this is the location of the
theoretical bolt connector, the stress concentrations in this location are
not real and will be ignored. The thermally induced stresses in the rest
of the vessel are relatively small.
194
Fatigue Analysis
Static Pressure The last study necessary is the static pressure study. The fatigue
Study analysis will use the results of all of the previous studies to determine
failure.
13 Define material for Static Pressure study.
Assign the same Aluminum 7075-T6 Alloy (SN) to both parts.
14 Mesh pressure study.
Copy the mesh from the Thermal stress study into the Static
Pressure study.
Note Because the Thermal stress and the Static Pressure studies are
used in the fatigue study, they both must have identical meshes.
15 Run Static Pressure study.
Each analysis should take less than 5 minutes to completely run
through. You may review the results if you wish. The stresses from
these studies will serve as basic input for the fatigue analysis.
16 Stress results.
We can see that the pressure vessel stress is very high with the
maximum magnitude close to 1283 MPa, well above the yield strength
of the material, 505 MPa.
195
Fatigue Analysis
17 Stress results - plot limits.

Modify the maximum of the legend to show the Yield strength of the
7075-T6 Aluminum, 505 MPa.
We can observe that the stress above the yield strength are localized in
the vicinity of the bolt head/nut. As this is the location of the theoretical
bolt connector, the stress concentrations in this location are not real and
will be ignored. Detailed simulation of the bolted connection would be
required.
18 Stress results - detail.
Zoom onto the areas of high stress and probe the critical regions.
It can be seen that the stresses distant from the stresses concentrations
are below the yield strength of the material.
Note For high cycle fatigue, the stresses must remain below the yield
strength of the material. You can verify that combining both thermal
stress and stress caused by the pressure does not exceed this value. We
can therefore proceed with the fatigue study.
196
Fatigue Analysis
Fatigue Before continuing with the fatigue study, let’s review some more
Terminology terminology related to stress-life based fatigue and how it is defined.
S-N Curve The behavior of the material in the high cycle fatigue is characterized
by the relation between the alternating stresses (Salt) and the
corresponding number of cycles (N) to failure. A typical S-N curve is
shown in the figure below.
Stress (ksi)
Fatigue strength at
106 cycles
Endurance limit
Number of cycles to failure
Fatigue Strength This is the stress at which fatigue failure occurs at a given number of
cycles.
Endurance Limit As the alternating stress gets smaller, the material can take more stress
cycles before it fails due to fatigue. The endurance limit is the highest
alternating stress that does not result in fatigue failure. In other words,
if the alternating stress is equal to or lower than the endurance limit, the
number of stress cycles to cause failure becomes very large (practically
infinite). The endurance limit is usually defined for fully reversed
alternating stresses. The endurance limit is also called the fatigue limit.
Some metals do not have a measurable endurance limit.
Mean Stress Because the stress levels at various locations in the model are different,
Influence the magnitudes of Smax, Smin, and Smean will vary throughout the
model. In other words, each material point will experience different
mean stress magnitude. Because the mean stress has a significant
impact on the fatigue resistance, it is possible to enter up to ten S-N
curves with different stress ratios (R) for each material type. Typically,
only fully reversed (R=-1) fatigue test data is available, and the
influence of the mean stress is accounted for approximately with the
Goodman, Gerber, or Soderberg mean stress correction algorithms; all
three are described later in this lesson.
197
Fatigue Analysis
Reliability of S-N Because the results of the fatigue computations are directly dependent
Curve Data on the S-N curve(s) data, the data’s importance cannot be
overestimated.
The most accurate data can be obtained from fatigue testing of the
actual product, or a typical product of the same type and material. As
this is not feasible in most cases, a generic material S-N curve available
in various publications must be used. In most of the cases, the available
curves are obtained from uniaxial fatigue testing on fully reversed
stress cycles. If curves for different mean stress ratios are available, it is
recommended to use them over the mean stress correction algorithms
discussed later in this lesson.
It is also important to note that S-N curves exhibit significant data
scatter, especially at higher cycles. For this reason, most design
handbooks suggest a reliability factor of 0.52, reducing the fatigue
strength. It is always the responsibility of the analyst to verify the
trustworthiness of the material data source.
S-N Curve The interpolation between the S-N data points can be done using the
Interpolation following three schemes:
 Log-log - Logarithmic interpolation (base 10) for the number of
cycles and the alternating stress. Use this option when the defined
S-N curves have few data points that are widely scattered on both
axes (number of cycles and alternating stress).
 Semi-log - Linear interpolation for stress and logarithmic for
number of cycles. Use this option when the defined S-N curves has
a relatively small stress range compared to the variation in number
of cycles.
 Linear - A linear interpolation for both stress and number of cycles
is used. Use this option when the defined S-N curves have many
data points.
198
Fatigue Analysis
Example Suppose that you defined an S-N curve that has the following two data
points (in addition to others):
No. of Cycles (N) Alternating Stress (S)
1000 (= 103) 50,000 psi
100,000 (= 105) 40,000 psi
For a stress of 45,000 psi, the program reads the number of cycles
based on the S-N interpolation scheme as follows:
Log-Log S-N Curve - The X and Y Log S

axes represent the logarithm of the
number of cycles and the stress 4.699
respectively. The program takes 4.653
the logarithm of the stress value
4.602
45,000 and performs linear
interpolation. Using this
procedure, the number of cycles is 3 3.944 5 Log N
103.944 = 8,790.
Semi-Log S-N Curve - The X-axis S
represents the logarithm of the
number of cycles and the Y-axis 50,000
represents the stress. At stress
45,000
value of 45,000 psi, the program
performs linear interpolation and 40,000
calculates the number of cycles as
104=10,000. 3 4 5 Log N
Linear S-N Curve - The X and Y

axes represent the number of S
cycles and the stress respectively.
At a stress value of 45,000 psi, the
program performs linear 50,000
interpolation and calculates the 45,000
number of cycles as 50,500. 40,000
N
1000 50,500 100,000
Note If you define multiple S-N curves (with different stress ratios R), the
program uses linear interpolation between the curves to evaluate
corresponding data for a given mean stress.
199
Fatigue Analysis
Fatigue Study Proceed with the fatigue study as follows:

1 Create Fatigue Study.
Create a new study named Fatigue. Select
Fatigue as the analysis type.
Under Options select Constant amplitude
events with defined cycles.
Introducing: A fatigue loading event is defined by an alternating and mean stress

Loading Events levels and a number of cycles. You can define multiple fatigue events
for a study. Each fatigue event refers to one specific static study, or a set
of static studies.
Where to Find It  Shortcut Menu: Right-click Loading in the simulation study tree
and click Add Event
 CommandManager: Simulation > Fatigue > Add Event
 Menu: Simulation, Fatigue, Add Event
2 Add Event.
Right-click on Loading and choose
Add Event .
Enter 2,000,000, for the Cycles .

Select Zero based (LR=0) for the Loading
Type .
Select Thermal stress as the Study Association name, and make
sure the Scale value is 1.
Click OK.
Note Zero based event type is used because the thermal load oscillates
between 0 and 1471.8 W/m^2 [0.0009 Btu/(s-in^2)].
200
Fatigue Analysis
3 Define second event.

Add a second event.
Enter 1,900,000, for the Cycles .
Select Loading ratio for the Loading Type

and enter -0.02 as Loading Ratio .
Select Static Pressure as the Study
Association name and make sure the Scale value is 1.
Click OK.
Note The pressure load oscillates between negative 0.066 MPa and 3.3 MPa.
The loading ratio, identical to the stress ratio R=Smin/Smax, is then
computed as LR=Pmin/Pmax = -0.066/3.3= -0.02.
Important! The additional load which should have been considered in this fatigue
study is preload in the bolted connections causing localized
compressive stress. Because the bolt preload is constant (it does not
oscillate), its inclusion in fatigue study is rather different. This will be
explained in the next part of this lesson. Also, in its effect on fatigue
results is rather small in this case, so its omission in this study is
acceptable.
201
Fatigue Analysis
4 Apply material.
The material properties chosen in the static studies will be transferred
to the fatigue study. If the existing material data does not have a fatigue
curve, you need to enter an appropriate curve.
To make sure our material data has a curve, right-click the Parts folder
in the Simulation Study tree and select Apply Fatigue Data to all
Bodies.
Note The material data we selected in the static studies did contain a fatigue
curve, so this has been imported into the fatigue study. It is in this
dialogue that you select the interpolation method and the type of
loading (stress ratio) that was endured during the testing.
202
Fatigue Analysis
Derive from If the fatigue curve is unknown and either an Austenitic or Carbon Steel
Material Elastic is used in the analysis, the Derive from material Elastic Modulus can
Modulus be used with the appropriate steel. The software uses known ASME S-
N curves for these two types of steels. When this option is selected, the
alternating stress values from these known S-N curves are multiplied
by the Young’s Modulus of the unknown material and divided by the
Young’s Modulus of the known material.
As previously stated, the results of the fatigue analysis are highly
dependent on the quality of the input S-N curve. Be sure the material is
either and Austenitic or Carbon steel and proceed with caution when
using this option.
Constant The following interaction scenarios for multiple events are possible:
Amplitude Events
 No interaction: The software assumes that events occur
Interaction sequentially, one after the other, without any interaction.
 Random interaction: The software considers the possibility of
mixing the stress peaks from different events. This option is more
conservative and is recommended by ASME Boiler and Pressure
Vessel Code.
The selected option should reflect the real situation.
Alternating Stress Alternating stress Salt was defined as Salt = (Smax - Smin) / 2. It was not
Computation specified, however, which component of stress should be used for its
calculation. In SOLIDWORKS Simulation, the following options are
available:
 Stress intensity (P1 - P3), which is identical to twice the magnitude
of the maximum shear stress at a given material point
 Von Mises stress
 Maximum absolute principle stress P1
203
Fatigue Analysis
Mean Stress The effect of the mean stress is best accounted for by entering multiple
Correction S-N curves for various stress ratios for each material type. As these are
not typically available, various theories accounting for this effect were
devised:
 Goodman - recommended for brittle materials
 Gerber - experimentally shown to be good for ductile materials
 Soderberg - yields conservative results in tension
The following graph illustrates the effect of all three criteria together.
The horizontal axis represents the magnitude of the mean stress Smean
scaled by the value of the material ultimate tensile strength Sultimate.
The vertical axis shows the corresponding correction for the fatigue
strength of the material Sfatigue corresponding to the fully reversed
(R = -1) S-N curve.
The above graph (excluding the Gerber method) also indicates the
experimentally confirmed observation that the fatigue strength of
materials increases as the mean stress Smean becomes compressive.
204
Fatigue Analysis
5 Review and change Fatigue Study properties.

Right-click the Fatigue study, and select Properties.
In the Fatigue properties window, make sure Constant Amplitude
Event Interaction is set to Random interaction.
Change the Computing alternating stress using to Stress Intensity
(P1-P3).
In the Mean stress correction dialog, select Gerber.
Note We selected Gerber mean stress correction to account for the fact that
the material S-N curve used in the 7075-T6 Aluminum Alloy
specification is for fully reversed fatigue (R = -1), while at least one of
the loading events has substantial mean stress (none of the events is
fully reversed with R= -1).
The Fatigue strength reduction factor (Kf) should be set to 1.
Click OK.
205
Fatigue Analysis
Fatigue Strength The fatigue strength reduction factor, Kf, accounts for various
Reduction Factor phenomena that may have significant impact on the fatigue strength
Sfatigue. It is a very important factor in the fatigue design and will be
discussed in the next lesson.
Damage Factor The distribution of damage indicates whether there is any life left in the
Plot material or if the material has been exhausted.
Linear Damage Rule In SOLIDWORKS Simulation, damage is based on the linear damage
rule (Miner’s rule). Assume that the S-N curve indicates that it takes N1
cycles at an alternating stress S1 to cause fatigue failure. The theory
states that each cycle causes a damage factor D1 that consumes 1/N1 of
the life of the structure.
Moreover, if a structure is subjected to n1 cycles at S1 alternating stress
and n2 cycles at S2 alternating stress, then the total damage factor is
D = (n1/N1 + n2/N2), where N1 is the number of cycles required to
cause failure under S1, and N2 is the number of cycles required to cause
failure under S2. This rule is referred to as the Linear Damage Rule or
Miner's Rule.
The damage factor, also called usage factor, represents the ratio of the
consumed life of the structure. A damage factor of 0.35 means that
35% of the structure's life is consumed. Failure due to fatigue occurs
when the damage factor reaches 1.0 (100%). The damage is plotted as a
percentage.
6 Run the analysis.

The software will display the following message indicating that some
data point in the S-N curve may be missing:
Stresses in the model exceed the maximum stress value in
an associated S-N curve.
If you would like to modify the S-N curves or other data and
try again, press No to stop.
Otherwise if you want to use the smallest number of cycles
from the associated S-N curves and continue calculation
press Yes.
Note This message indicates that some stresses in the model exceed the
highest stress data point in the S-N curve. Depending on the situation,
you may need to add more data points in the S-N curve, or click Yes
and use the last data point in the S-N curve for all high stress locations.
This, however, can be dangerous because the solution will not be
conservative.
In the present case, however, this message is invoked due to the
presence of stress singularities. Because we are ignoring these locations
in this simulation, we can dismiss this message.
Click Yes to complete the calculation with the current S-N curve.
206
Fatigue Analysis
7 Damage plot.
Change the Max limit of the
legend to 100 and review the
resulting Damage plot.
Some regions in red color have
damage greater than 100%. This
result is suggesting a potential
fatigue failure.
8 Probe damage plot.

Zoom onto the detail of the bolt and Probe the high damage location at
the bent section below the bolt.
Note the bolt region which is all in red color. As we used theoretical
bolt connector to simulate the connection the result here is strongly
polluted. While we are going to ignore this region in this lesson, this
result warrants a further detailed simulation of the connection.
The bent section below the bolt gives an accurate result. The value of
nearly 120% confirms that also this bent region suffers from severe
fatigue failure. This result confirms that the design is inadequate.
207
Fatigue Analysis
Damage Result The majority of the damage was caused by the pressure fluctuations
Discussion between -0.066 MPa and 3.3 MPa [-9.57 and 478.6 psi]. The effect of
the other contributor (thermal event) is relatively small. The alternating
von Mises stress due to the fluctuating pressure is approximately
155.1 MPa [22.5 ksi] (see the stress results for Static Pressure
study).
The analyses of the S-N curve suggests that 7075-T6 alloy should be
able to resist the specified oscillations at this stress level. The mean
stress correction, however, reduces the stress values in the SN curve
considerably. Because the pressure event features significant mean
stress, it is significantly impacted by this correction so that 155.1 MPa
actually becomes considerably larger.
In the next part of this lesson we are going to deactivate the mean stress
correction algorithm and compare the results.
9 Modify study properties.

In the Fatigue study properties, change the Mean/stress correction
method to None. We will ignore the increased mean stress due to the
zero based fatigue events.
Again, the dialog window informing you about the maximum stress
exceeding the last data point in the SN curve will show. Click Yes to
complete the calculation with the current S-N curve.
11 Damage plot.
Show the detail of the damage plot and probe the bent region below the
bolt connector.
Ignoring the region of the bolt connector, we observe that the total
accumulated damage decreased significantly from 120% to 85%. This
result incorrectly indicates that the vessel is safe from fatigue failure at
this location.
This assessment represents a considerable inaccuracy brought into our
fatigue computation by completely ignoring the detrimental effects of
the mean stress.
208
Fatigue Analysis
Fatigue Study In the second portion of this lesson the pressure vessel will be loaded,
with Dead Load in addition to the fluctuating thermal and pressure loads, with a
66,725 N [15,000 lb] dead load on the top of the lid. Additionally, we
will include the effect of localized compressive stress due to the bolt
preload.
12 Apply dead load in both Thermal
stress and Static Pressure studies.
Apply 6672.5 N [1500 lb] Normal force on
to top of the lid.
13 Run updated Thermal stress and

Static Pressure studies.
Note Due to the symmetry we only apply 66,725/

10= 6,672.5 N. The dead load must be
applied in both stress studies as it is present
when both the pressure and thermal loads
fluctuate.
Dead Loads in Dead loads in the fatigue analysis do not produce any incremental
Fatigue Analysis damage since no alternating stress exists. However, its presence may
substantially increase/decrease the mean stress magnitudes and thus
considerably change fatigue damage results.
Because dead loads do not cause any alternating stresses, no direct
event definition is possible. Rather we must solve two separate static
studies defining the extremes for each fatigue event.
In our case we will therefore add two more static studies defining the
lower extreme for both thermal (0 W/m^2) and pressure (-0.066 MPa)
fatigue events.
209
Fatigue Analysis
Bolts in Fatigue With certain assumptions on its behavior in varying temperature

Analysis environment, bolt preload can be assumed as not fluctuating. With this
simplifying assumption, it can be treated as dead load.
Because bolt preload is defined in all stress simulations, its fatigue
damage will be accounted for in this part of this lesson. Note however,
that in this model, its effect on stress is rather localized in the vicinity
of the bolt connector. Similar to stress concentrations caused by the bolt
preload, additional localized fatigue damage can be ignored in this
case. Consequently, additional fatigue damage due to bolt preload in
other critical parts of the model is negligible. It was therefore
acceptable to omit effect of bolts on fatigue in the previous study.
14 Make copy of Thermal stress study into a new study Thermal

stress 0.
15 Change study properties.

In the study properties under
Flow/Thermal Effects select
Input temperature (and
deselect Temperature from
thermal study).
Note Since the thermal load fluctuates between 0 and 1471.8 W/m^2 [0.0009
Btu/(s-in^2)], for the lower extreme thermal fatigue event definition we
only need to disable the thermal loading.
16 Run Thermal Stress 0 study.
17 Make copy Static Pressure study into a new study Static

Pressure Low.
18 Modify pressure loading.

Modify the pressure load from 3.3 MPa [478.6 psi] to -0.066 MPa
[-9.57 psi].
19 Run Static Pressure Low study.
20 Define a new fatigue study Fatigue - with dead load.

Again, under Options select Constant amplitude events with
defined cycles.
210
Fatigue Analysis
21 Define the thermal fatigue event.

Right-click on Loading and choose
Add Event .
Enter 2,000,000 for Cycles .

Select Find Cycle Peaks for the
Loading Type .
Select Thermal stress 0 and Thermal stress as the extremes
between which the thermal event fluctuates.
Click OK.
Find Cycle Peaks If dead loads are present or more complex fatigue events are expected
Find Cycle Peaks event type option may be utilized.
If two studies are selected the fatigue event stresses fluctuate between
the two extremes defined by the two static studies.
Sometime, however, a single fatigue event may fluctuate between three
or more extremes when various loads peak at different times. In such
case each event loading extreme should be defined by a separate static
stress study. Fatigue events then randomly fluctuates between all such
extremes. Random fluctuation is necessary as time information as well
as the load peak sequencing are discarded in fatigue analysis.
22 Define the pressure fatigue event.

Similarly to the thermal fatigue event define the 1,900,000 cycle
pressure fatigue event fluctuating between the results of Static
Pressure Low and Static Pressure studies.
23 Review and change the study properties.
In the study properties set Random Interaction for the two specified
events, Stress intensity (P1-P3) for the computation of the alternating
stress, Gerber mean stress correction and the default Fatigue strength
reduction factor of 1.
24 Run Fatigue - with dead load study.
211
Fatigue Analysis

Show the detail of the damage plot.
Set the Max legend limit to 100 and
probe the bent region below the bolt
connector.
We observe that the maximum damage

in the bolt region seems unaffected by
the additional dead load of the force and
the bolt preload. This suggests that this additional load has negligible
impact on the fatigue result at this location. This is, however, a
misleading conclusion. As before, we are going to ignore result at this
location because a more detailed simulation modeling would be
required. Also, fatigue data in the S-N curve do not cover stress cycles
with alternating stresses above 318 MPa. These fatigue results are
therefore likely highly inaccurate.
The damage result in the bent region below the bolt is, however,
considerably different. It is not effected by the local effect of the bolt
connector. The fatigue damage dropped from
120% (step 8) to approximately 99%. The dead load due to force
therefore has positive effect on the fatigue resistance of this vessel. Can
you explain why?
To evaluate the effect of the mean stress we will rerun the study without
the mean stress correction.
26 Disable the mean stress correction.
In the study properties change the Mean stress correction method to
None.
27 Re-run Fatigue - with dead loads study.
The solution is incorrect as the mean
stress correction or multiple SN curves
for various mean stress values were
ignored in this study.
212
Fatigue Analysis
Summary In this lesson we simulated the fatigue resistance of the pressure vessel
subjected to a combination of the thermal and pressure loading cycles.
It was found that the vessel fails at the critical location in the bent
below the bolted connection and a use of different material would be
recommended. Addition of the dead load resulted in a significant
reduction in the fatigue damage. This effect, however, should be
considered as additional safety only. The region adjacent to the bolted
connection was strongly affected by the theoretical bolt connection and
the dead load due to its preload. It was excluded from the conclusions
of this simulation. A detailed dedicated simulation would be required
here.
The lesson provided a basic introduction into the fatigue analysis with
multiple constant amplitude fatigue events. Various types of the fatigue
events were discussed and shown: Zero-based (LR=0), various
Loading ratio events and Find Cycle Peaks event types.
The basic concepts and terminology relevant to the high cycle fatigue
were discussed and demonstrated in this lesson. Namely, it was shown
that the mean stress has a significant effect on the fatigue results and
must be accounted for by either specifying multiple S-N curves or
using any of the available mean stress correction algorithms.
The effect and modeling of the dead load was discussed and practiced.
The post-processing plots available in the fatigue analysis were
discussed and shown as well.
Questions 1. Damage Result Discussion on page 208 states that the alternating
stress in the pressure fatigue event is approximately 155.1 MPa
[22.5 ksi]. Verify this statement.
213
Fatigue Analysis of a Basketball Rim
Exercise 12: In this exercise, you will analyze a basketball rim for fatigue life using
Fatigue linear analysis. This exercise reinforces the following skills:
Analysis of a  Constant Amplitude Loading on page 190
Basketball Rim  S-N Curve on page 197
 Mean Stress Correction on page 204
 Damage Factor Plot on page 206
Problem The rim is loaded with a 1000 N [225 lb]

Statement force and the back face of the rim is fixed
to the backboard. Use these conditions to
determine if the rim will fail after 10,000
cycles.
1 Open a part file.
Open Basketball_rim from the Lesson09\Exercises folder.
Create a Static study named rim static.
3 Edit material properties.
Aluminum alloy 7075-T6 (SN) should already be defined for the
material.
4 Apply a load on the rim.
Apply a 1000 N [225 lb] downward force
on the split face in the front of the ring.
5 Apply a fixture.
Fix the back face, as shown in the figure.
6 Mesh the model.

Create a mesh with High quality elements and the Maximum element
size of 8.99mm [0.344in]. Use Curvature based mesh.
7 Run the analysis.
The large displacement warning appears. Obtain both the linear (small
displacement) and nonlinear (large displacement) solutions.
214
8 Plot both linear and nonlinear responses.

Plot the RES: Resultant displacement and the VON: Von Mises
stress contour plots.
Geometrically nonlinear
Linear solution
solution (large displacements)
Note We observe that both linear and nonlinear results are nearly identical.
We are going to use linear results, where stresses are a little higher, in
order to obtain more conservative fatigue estimates. Also, note that the
rim appears to yield. This can be a concern, because in high cycle
fatigue simulation stresses must be limited by the yield strength. A
more careful stress results analysis would be required.
9 Stress concentrations.
Review the stress plot in greater detail with
the upper limit of the legend set to the yield
strength of 505 MPa.
We can see that the yielding occurs at the
location of the stress singularity. More geometry realism would be
needed to eliminate singularity and capture realistic stress distribution.
The rest of the model shows stresses below the yield limit.
215
10 Fatigue curve stress limit.

Review the stress plot in greater detail with the upper limit of the
legend set to the highest alternating stress value in the 7075-T6 (SN)
material S-N curve (318 MPa).
Notice the five locations depicted in the figure. Aside from the stress
singularity identified in the previous step, the four remaining locations
exhibit stresses below or at the yield. For the highest of the four, the
alternating stress for the zero based fatigue is half the stress magnitude,
255 MPa. This is well below the highest stress data point in the fatigue
S-N curve.
Note Even though stresses at some sharp corners indicated in the figure
above are below the yield point, it is important to understand that all
such locations constitute stress singularities. With the higher mesh
refinement, stresses here would jump well above the yield. Both stress
and fatigue results at these locations will therefore not be accurate. It
may be wise to strengthen these bracket regions somewhat to bring
stresses down more and achieve higher factor of safety.
11 Create fatigue study.
Create a constant amplitude event Fatigue study named rim
fatigue.
216
12 Add event.
Right-click on Loading and choose Add Event .
Enter 10000 for the Cycles .
Select Zero based (LR=0) for the Loading Type .

Select rim static as the Study Association name, and make sure the
Scale value is 1.
Click OK.
13 Material Properties.
Right-click the solid body in the Simulation study tree and select
Apply/Edit Fatigue Data.
This aluminum alloy already has the fatigue data defined.
Select Log-Log for the Interpolate field.
Click Apply and Close.
14 Review and change Fatigue study properties.
Right-click on the Fatigue study name, and choose Properties.
Constant Amplitude Event Interaction is irrelevant in this case
because only a single event is defined.
Change Computing alternating stress using to Equivalent stress
(von Mises).
Select the Gerber method for the Mean stress correction.
The Fatigue strength reduction factor (Kf) should be set to 1.
Click OK.
15 Run the fatigue analysis.
As in the main lesson, the software will display a message indicating
that stresses in the model exceed the highest stress data point in the S-N
curve. This was expected, as discussed in step 10. Click Yes to
complete the study with the current S-N curve data.
217
16 Review results.
The resulting Damage and Life plots are shown below.
Life Plot A life plot indicates the maximum number of cycles at the given
loading level before the fatigue failure occurs. Given the maximum
alternating stress level magnitude (in our case 270.1 MPa), the
minimum life plot value can be directly obtained from the material SN
curve.
The above results show very high values of damage, 142%, (low values
for the life plot, 1,000 cycles) at the location of the stress singularity.
We will exclude this location from our conclusions as more realism in
our modeling would be necessary here. As this is a critical location,
manufacturing should pay extra attention to the joint and the weld.
Certainly, adding stronger weld would be recommended here to
alleviate the fatigue concerns.
Aside from the stress singularity location, results indicate very good
fatigue characteristics. More post-processing may be necessary,
however.
218
17 Fatigue results - details.

Probe the damage plot at the four critical location on the bracket.
The fatigue results at all the indicated critical locations are well below
100%. However, since all four locations constitute stress singularities,
no accurate results can be obtained here.
219
Fatigue of Trailer Hitch
Exercise 13: In this exercise, you will

Fatigue of simulate the fatigue test
Trailer Hitch required as part of the
product qualification
according to the European
code ECE R55.01.
This exercise reinforces the
following skills:
 Constant Amplitude Loading on page 190
 S-N Curve on page 197
 Mean Stress Correction on page 204
 Damage Factor Plot on page 206
Problem The trailer hitch with the proposed design is

Description to be tested in fatigue endurance according to
the ECE R55.01. In this test, the hitch is
mounted to the vertical fixed columns and the
testing attachment is mounted on the hitch
ball. The direction of the force can be varied,
though the ECE R55.01 test is specific in its
required direction.
Loading The fatigue test requires that the hitch is Loading plane
Conditions loaded with 2,000,000 cycles of fully
reversed oscillatory force of 7,500 N.
The force is applied in the direction
normal to Loading Plane (Kugelkopf
part).
Fixtures The hitch is attached to the

two vertical columns with
two bolts on each side. You Fixed Hinges
can simulate the bolts with
fixed hinges.
Hint: Make use of
symmetry to reduce the
model size.
220
Material The hitch is manufactured from AISI

1020 steel with the following fatigue
data.
Goal Assess the existing design in static stress and fatigue. The required
factor of safety in static stress is 1.3, and the fatigue damage should be
kept below 100%. If needed, introduce the necessary design changes.
The part for this exercise is located in the Lesson07\Exercises
folder.
221
222
Lesson 11
 Understand a variable amplitude loading history and its setup in the
fatigue study.
 Postprocess results and analyze the composition of the variable
amplitude loading.
223
Case Study: In this lesson, we will perform a variable amplitude fatigue analysis of
Suspension a suspension assembly. We will learn about some of the options when
defining a variable amplitude event as well as how the software
computes its result. In addition, we will learn how to properly post-
process these results.
Project A simple scaled model of a suspension
Description (shown in the figure) was analyzed in
the Design Scenarios lesson of the
SOLIDWORKS Simulation training
manual on the loads caused by:
 A stationary vehicle.
 A vehicle moving at a constant
acceleration on a smooth road.
 A vehicle moving on a bumpy road.
 A vehicle moving at a constant
speed on a banked road.
The above cases were each simulated by a specific combination of the
static forces, representing the amplitude of the loading exerted on the
suspension under the corresponding vehicle travel configuration.
Using linear static analysis, we concluded that case 4 represents the
worst loading combination, and the design was subsequently optimized
using the design scenario feature of SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
In reality, as the vehicle travels, the suspension is subjected to a varying
load, which is random and difficult (or impossible) to describe
deterministically. The variation of the load was obtained from a testing
setup and can be seen in the figure below.
Stress
Time
224
The graph in the figure is scaled, and the extreme values (1,-1)
correspond to the static load used in the linear static analysis.
Each of the loading cycles inflict a corresponding incremental damage
on the assembly material. The goal of this analysis is to assess the
performance of the previously optimized design in fatigue (after the
suspension has been subjected to the prescribed number of loading
cycles).
Note As in constant amplitude fatigue loading, the time (how long it took to
complete the required number of cycles) is irrelevant.
Stages in the  Static study
Process The static study that was setup in Lesson 10 of the SOLIDWORKS
Simulation training manual will be run.
 Variable amplitude fatigue study
A variable loading amplitude history curve will be input into the
study and the properties of the fatigue study will be setup.
Once the study is run, we will review the relevant results.

Open suspension from the Lesson10\Case Study folder
Notice that the static study with the loading corresponding to the worst
vehicle travel condition is already defined.
2 Review the loading.
Review the loading forces. The horizontal and vertical forces are equal
to 115 N [25.8 lb] and 900 N [202.3 lb], correspondingly. This load
represents the amplitudes (the maximum magnitude) obtained during
the test.
3 Review the restraints and the connectors.
225

Curvature Based Mesher.
5 Run static study.
Two large displacements warning message will pop up. One is about
displacements, and the other about rotations. As shown on the next
page, the effect of large displacements on stress is fairly significant.
However, to reduce time we will complete the simulation as linear.
Click No in both of the dialog windows.
6 Review the stress and displacement results.
Linear Solution Geometrically nonlinear

solution (large displacements)
Discussion The above figures indicate a substantial increase in stresses when

comparing the linear (  vm, max = 471 MPa) and nonlinear results
(  vm, max = 568 MPa). We would normally choose the nonlinear
results as a base for our fatigue analysis. Because of the time required
to complete the geometrically nonlinear problem (large displacements
analysis), we will utilize linear results in the remainder of this lesson.
Note The stress results indicate stresses below the yield strength of the
material. We can therefore proceed with the high cycle fatigue analysis.
226
Fatigue Study Now that the static study is complete, we can proceed with the fatigue
study.
7 Define Fatigue study.
Define a new Fatigue study named suspension-Fatigue.
Select Variable amplitude history data under
Options as the type of fatigue study.
Variable Amplitude The loading history shown at the beginning of this lesson needs to be
Fatigue Event decomposed by the software into a form that allows it to apply the tools
used for the constant amplitude analysis (Smax, Smin, Smean, etc.).
Several cycle counting methods have been devised during the past
decades. The most popular one used today is the Rainflow method.
Rainflow Cycle In the Rainflow counting method, the stress history is decomposed into
Counting Method cycles, as demonstrated in the figure below.
Stress history Rainflow counted cycles

Stress
Time
Note that each extracted cycle can be characterized by its Smax, Smin,
and Smean. This enables the software to accurately apply various mean
stress correction algorithms, such as Gerber, to account for the
influence of the mean stress and to calculate the incremental damage.
The total damage is then computed by summing all of the partial
damage factors.
Note The description of the Rainflow algorithm is not a subject of this text.
Students are advised to further study the literature listed at the end of
this lesson.
227
8 Add event.
Right-click on the Loading folder and
select Add Event .
In the Add Event dialog window, click the Get
Curve button.
Note The Start times field is required to specify the start

time for each variable amplitude event (if multiple variable amplitude
events are specified). If only one event is specified, this parameter is
not used.
Variable Loading The variable loading history curve can be entered in three different
Curve forms:
 Amplitude only, where the X column represents an index and the Y
column is the dimensionless loading amplitude that will be used to
scale the stresses in the associated static study. Start time is
assumed to be equal to 0.
 Sampling rate & amplitude, where the X column represents an
index and the Y column contains the dimensionless loading
amplitude scaling the associated static study. The sampling rate
corresponding to the intervals at which the data is recorded must be
specified as well. Start time for each event must be specified.
 Time and amplitude, where the X and Y columns represent the
time and the loading amplitude scaling the associated study. Start
time for each event must be specified.
The time variable in the latter two forms listed above is used only to
relate the signal peak magnitudes when multiple events are specified. If
only one event is specified, the Amplitude only type should be used.
228
9 Input the curve.

In the Load History Curve dialog
window, under Type, select
Amplitude only.
Data has previously been taken to
model the characteristic loading
that the suspension undergoes. We
will use this data in defining our
Load History Curve.
To define the curve, copy the data
from the SAE suspension-
modified.xls file located in the
lesson directory into the data area
of the Load History Curve dialog
window.
10 View the graph.
Click View to graph the loading history.
Block
The random loading sequence in the figure above is defined as Block.

Click OK in the Load History Curve dialog window, and close the
graph window.
229
Under Options, enter 1 in the Number of repeats field.

Click OK in the Add Event dialog window to complete the definition
of this event.
Note The number of repeats is equal to 1 because we wish to analyze the
damage caused by fatigue due to one block of the loading sequence.
11 Modify material information.
All of the components have their material already defined (Alloy
Steel). Because we intend to run a fatigue analysis, we have to input a
material S-N curve.
Right-click on the Parts folder and select Apply Fatigue Data to All
Bodies.
The Fatigue SN Curves tab should be active; you will see that the S-N
curve information is missing.
Enter the S-N curve data points in N/m^2, as shown in the figure.
Make sure that Stress Ratio R is set to -1 (implying that the S-N curve
was obtained from a fully reversed fatigue test) and that Interpolate is
set to Log-log.
Click Apply and Close.
Note The data for the above S-N curve is for the purpose of the training
lesson only. It is the responsibility of the analyst to obtain the most
relevant material fatigue resistance data.
230
12 Set result locations.

SOLIDWORKS
Simulation allows the
user to specify points on
the model to monitor the
counted stress cycle’s
magnitudes and damage
as functions of the
variable loading history
parameters. Right-click
on the Result Options folder and select Define/Edit.
Select the four vertices on the lower arm indicated in the figure to
monitor the damage computations.
Under Fatigue calculations, select Whole model.
Click OK.
Note The frame labeled Fatigue calculations allows you to define the
locations for damage calculations to be either at all nodes or only at
surface nodes. In general for an assembly, cracks can occur inside the
model at the interface of two parts with different materials. In most
other cases, cracks occur at the model boundary. Using the option
Surface only saves time since less calculations are needed. The
savings are substantial for large problems with multiple variable
amplitude fatigue loading.
231

In the Variable amplitude event options dialog, enter 32 for the No.
of Bins for rainflow counting.
Enter 1% in the Filter load cycles below field.

In the Computing alternating stress using dialog, select Equivalent
stress (von Mises).
Set the Mean stress correction method to Gerber.
In the Fatigue strength reduction factor (Kf) field, enter 0.75.
Click OK.
232
Bins for Rainflow The algorithm divides the stress amplitude Y axis in a number of
Counting equally spaced bins, with the constant amplitude magnitude within
each bin. The accuracy of the fatigue results depends on the number of
Rainflow counting bins. A higher number of bins will give a more
accurate result, but take longer to run. However, 32 bins are usually
enough to accurately represent the loading.
Stress
with constant amplitude

Equally spaced bins
Time
Noise in Random Noise in the loading history is defined as very small peaks that have
Loading History minimal (or no) contribution to the overall results. In general, any
stress peak smaller than the endurance limit can be filtered out since
they do not significantly contribute to the overall damage results.
Fatigue Strength S-N curves characterizing the resistance of the material against fatigue
Reduction Factor are usually obtained under the controlled test conditions at a specified
environment. However, the environment at which the analyzed product
operates can greatly differ from the conditions of the test.
To account for the environment and other important phenomena that
influence fatigue, a strength reduction factor is introduced.
The following are the most important effects that must be considered in
the fatigue design:
 Corrosion (Kc)  Temperature (Kt)
 Loading mode (Km)  Reliability (Kr)
 Frequency (Kfreq)  Notch Effects (Kn)
 Size Factor (K1)  Fretting (Kfret)
The description of each of the above effects goes beyond the scope of
this text. Because of their significant impact on the fatigue strength,
students are encouraged to review the literature referenced at the end of
this lesson. The compound effect of all of the influences is described by
the Fatigue strength reduction factor:
K f = K c  K m  K freq  K 1  K t  K r  K n  K fret .
233
14 Run the study.
15 Review the damage plot.
We can observe that the maximum damage has accumulated at the

Shock Plunger, where the long slender body meets with the cap.
The rather small numerical results can be misleading without further
discussion. The maximum damage of approximately 0.021 is very
small. It corresponds, however, to one block of the loading history
specified in the fatigue event definition. In reality, the components may
be subjected to tens of thousands of such loading blocks.
16 Review the life plot.
Note The plot is generated with the flipped legend colors.

The life plot is the inverse of the damage plot. It identifies how many
loading blocks the assembly can be subjected to before the fatigue
failure occurs.
234
We observe that, after approximately 4653 blocks of the loading

history, the fillet on the Shock Plunger fails. If the required number of
loading blocks was 4653, a redesign would be required.
17 Define Rainflow matrix chart.
Right-click on the Results folder and select Define Matrix Chart.
Under Location, specify Predefined location and select the vertex
shown in the figure.
Under Type, select Rainflow matrix and specify units of N/mm^2
(MPa).
Click OK.
235
Rainflow Matrix In the 3D Rainflow chart, the X and Y axes represent the Alternating
Chart Stress and Mean Stress, and the Z-axis represents the number of counts
for a given alternating and mean stress bin. This result gives you the
measure of composition of the loading history. For example, you may
see from this chart whether most of the alternating stress cycles occur
at a negative mean stress or at positive mean stress.
Results We can see that most of the alternating stresses have positive mean
stress. Similarly plot the Rainflow chart for the other three nodes and
the node corresponding to the worst damage location. You will notice
that for all of these Rainflow charts, most of the counted cycles have
positive mean stress.
18 Define Damage matrix chart.

Follow the procedure in the previous step and define a Damage matrix
chart at the same vertex as the previous step.
From the above chart you can see that most of the damage is not caused
by the highest mean stress cycles (they do not occur as frequently), but
rather it is caused by the intermediate mean stress cycles.
Note The results could be verified with a larger number of bins (128 for
example). Note that the duration of the analysis with a higher number
of bins can be significantly longer.
236
Fatigue Literature The following literature is suggested for further study of this subject:
Stephens, R. I., Fatemi, A., Stephens, R. R., and Fuchs, M. O., Metal
Fatigue in Engineering, 2001.
Suresh, S., Fatigue of Metals, 2004.
Summary In this lesson, we used the model of suspension that was already
analyzed and optimized, using linear static analysis, in the
SOLIDWORKS Simulation training course. The fatigue analysis
investigated the performance of this design when subjected to a
variable amplitude loading history obtained from the test data.
This lesson demonstrated the definition of the variable amplitude event
and introduced the concept of the Rainflow counting method, bins,
blocks, and the noise filter. Similarly to the case of the constant
amplitude events, the time is also irrelevant when a variable amplitude
event is specified (it does not matter how long it took to complete the
loading history).
However, start time and the time axis values in the loading history
definitions are important to correlate the occurrence of the cycles if the
multiple events are defined.
Matrix plots used to analyze the composition of the load were shown
and discussed as well.
Lastly, it was shown that the assembly passing the yield strength
criteria of the linear static analysis may still fail when subjected to
fatigue. If the design is subjected to a cycling loading history
(irrespective of whether it is a variable or constant amplitude loading),
both static and fatigue analyses must be performed.
Questions 1. Fatigue analysis is computed from the stress results obtained in the
static analysis. The fatigue failure ( Damage  1 ) therefore (does /
does not) imply the onset of yielding.
2. Because components loaded by fluctuating loading typically fail
due to (yielding / buckling / fatigue), the fatigue analysis (is / is not)
essential for safe product design.
3. A GPS navigation system is mounted on the dashboard of a
traveling vehicle. This product (would / would not) need to be
analyzed using a fatigue module of SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
4. A loading history for the above case would fit the (constant
amplitude / variable amplitude) event.
237
238
Lesson 12
Drop Test Analysis
 Perform a drop test analysis.
 Use an elasto-plastic material model.
 Analyze results of a dynamic analysis.
239
Drop Test Analysis
Drop Test A drop test study is a specific type of dynamic analysis used to model
Analysis the impact force of a short time duration event. Although this type of
analysis is not fully nonlinear as in complete dynamic analysis, drop
test analysis can prove very useful in obtaining a benchmark
simulation.
Case Study: In this study, we will perform a drop test analysis on a camera
Camera assembly. Many of the options in setting up the drop test analysis will
be discussed. Once the analysis has been run, we will learn to properly
interpret the results produced. It will be shown that a drop test analysis
is capable of using an elasto-plastic material model and we will see
how this can affect the results of the simulation. In addition, we will see
that the drop test analysis has some limitations that can be considered
in a fully dynamic simulation.
Project The structural integrity of a camera Bottom Cover
Description is tested by dropping it on a rigid
floor. The testing includes different
drop heights and floor types.
Normally, the testing also includes
different positions of the falling
camera at different areas of the
floor. Due to time considerations,
we will drop the camera in one
position from a height of 2m Lens
Zoom Top Cover
[78.7in].
We will consider the floor to be both rigid as well as flexible in
different analyses. In addition, we will model the camera using an
elasto-plastic material model and see how this changes the results of
the analysis.
You are encouraged to experiment with different dropping heights,
floor positions (horizontal or sloped), and materials.
Stages in the  Apply materials.
Process Linear-elastic or elasto-plastic material can be defined for the drop
test.
 Drop test setup.
A height or impact velocity can be chosen for the drop test. In
addition, gravity is defined.
 Define results options.
Decide how long the simulation will be run and what options will
be saved.
240
Drop Test Analysis
 Mesh the model.

Create an appropriate mesh that will obtain accurate results for the
simulation.
 Run the analysis.
 Postprocess the results.

Properly analyze the results from the drop test analysis.
 Apply study refinements.
Refinements to the study, such as an elasto-plastic material model
or contact can be applied to make the simulation more realistic.
Rigid Floor In the first analysis, we will drop the camera on a rigid floor. In the
Drop Test second analysis, we will consider the floor to be partially elastic.

Open Camera from the Lesson11\Case Study folder.
A magnesium-cased camera with a steel zoom and glass lens is
represented in a simplified form, which features all components
essential for modeling its behavior under a dynamic impact.
2 Create drop test study.
Create a study named free fall 01. Select Drop Test as the Type.
Note that the drop test analysis only supports solid meshes.
The material properties transfer automatically from SOLIDWORKS.
The magnesium and glass are both elastic material models. Later in the
lesson, you will have the option to use an elasto-plastic material model.
Introducing: Drop The drop test analysis is defined by editing three automatically created
Test Folders icons in the Simulation Study tree: Connections, Setup, and Result
Options. Note that the typical connections are not available here in the
drop test study. The Connections folder is used to define the contact in
the model.
Where to Find It  Connections can be found in either the Simulation Study tree
or the Simulation CommandManager.
 Setup can be found in the Simulation menu as well as the
Simulation Study tree.
 Result Options can be found in the Simulation menu as well as the
Simulation Study tree.
241
Drop Test Analysis
4 Open drop test setup window.

Right-click Setup and select Define/Edit to open the Drop Test
Setup PropertyManager.
In this PropertyManager, we define the drop height (h), the acceleration
(g), and the orientation of the impact plane. Additionally, damping can
be added.
Drop Test The orientation of the impact plane may be normal to gravity or parallel
Parameters to a reference plane. The free falling body moves in the direction of
gravity as a rigid body until impact with the rigid plane. The program
determines the region of impact based on the direction of velocity at
impact and the orientation of the impact plane.
The velocity at impact  v  is calculated as v = 2gh .

As an alternative to the drop height, we can define the velocity at
impact.
No rotations are considered until initial impact occurs.
.
5 Define drop height.

Select Drop height under Specify,
From centroid under Height , and enter
2m [78.7in].
Note In this problem the drop height of 2m [78.7in] is measured from the
camera centroid.
242
Drop Test Analysis
6 Define gravity.
The direction of gravity is
normal to the horizontal
reference plane. If necessary,
use the arrow button to
control the orientation of
gravity.
Enter one of the following as
the magnitude of
gravitational acceleration:
 9.81 and select m/s2
 386 and select in/s2
7 Set impact plane orientation.
Under Target, for the Target orientation, select Normal to gravity.
Leave the Friction Coefficient set to 0.

Click Rigid target.
Select OK.
The setup of the drop test study is complete.
Note The position of the impact plane is normal to gravity, that is, horizontal.
You can experiment with other floor positions after you complete this
study.
8 Review drop test setup details.
To review the details of the drop test setup, right-click Setup and select
Details to display the Setup Details window.
Dynamic Analysis Loss of energy in a drop test normally occurs due to damping, friction,
or plastic deformation (it is possible to use elasto-plastic material, as
we will see later in the lesson).
In this study, we do not define friction and we use a linear material.
Therefore, the impact causes no energy loss and the model continues to
bounce off the impact plane for an indefinite period of time.
The drop test requires a dynamic analysis solver. SOLIDWORKS
Simulation solves this analysis using an explicit method of direct-time
integration. This is a computationally intensive, but numerically stable
technique for small time steps when solving problems in a dynamic
analysis.
243
Drop Test Analysis
Damping As previously stated, additional losses of energy can occur due to

damping. Typically damping energy loss is specified with some modal
damping ratio (as in linear dynamic analysis) or with Rayleigh
damping coefficients (as in nonlinear dynamic analysis). These
damping values are related to the structure and allow for more realistic
dynamic behavior of the structure.
In the Drop Test study, we can specify Contact Damping. Due to
numerical instabilities in the solution procedure, an energy imbalance
can occur and the solution would fail to converge. In these instances,
the user can enter in some contact damping to potentially allow for the
balance of energy and add more stability to the solution. The energy
loss associated with this type of damping is through the contact
interface only. It is recommended that this option is only used if such an
energy imbalance occurs since it is only providing numerical stability,
not “real” damping.
9 Define sensors.
When we set up our Results Options,
we may want to log data from the Vertex 1
simulation at certain predefined points
on the model.
Vertex 2 Vertex 4
In the SOLIDWORKS
FeatureManager design tree, right
click Sensors and select Add Sensor.
Vertex 3
Under Sensor Type select Simulation
Data.
Under Data Quantity select Workflow Sensitive.
Then select the four vertices shown below. Simulation data will be
logged for these locations.
Select OK.
Note We selected these locations based on previous experience with physical

drop tests that produced cracks around the lens base.
Split lines are used to define the locations of the four vertices. The time
history data (stresses, displacements, velocities, accelerations) will be
available in the form of graphs only for these locations.
244
Drop Test Analysis
10 Set solution time after impact.

Right-click Result Options and select
Define/Edit.
Enter 50 microsec as the Solution Time
After Impact.
In the Save Results dialog, enter 0 microsec
under Save Results Starting From.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation starts saving
results immediately after the impact.
Enter 25 for No. of plots. The solution time is divided into twenty-five
intervals, and the full results (available as plots) are saved only for
those intervals.
In the Sensor List field, select the Workflow Sensitive1 sensors that
you defined in the previous step. These are used as reference points for
the time history graph.
Enter 20 as the No. of Graph Steps Per Plot. The total number of data
points for each graph is equal to the number of plots times the number
of graph steps per plot.
Select OK.
Note Full results (in the form of contour plots) are saved for twenty-five
plots evenly spaced out over fifty microseconds, as we defined under
the Solution Time After Impact.
However, for graphing the time history results at the requested 4
vertices more data points may be required. We define how many of
these partial results are saved in the No. of Graph Steps Per Plot field.
Solution Time Solution time after impact is a period of real time for which the
program calculates the response starting from the moment of first
impact. If you specify a drop height, the solution time does not include
the period of free fall of the body.
The program estimates a value for the
E
---
solution time based on the model geometry v ELASTIC WAVE =
and the default material properties for 
magnesium. E - modulus of elasticity
 - density of material
245
Drop Test Analysis
The default solution time is based on the time that it takes for the elastic
wave generated by impact to travel through the model and back. The
program estimates the velocity of the elastic wave from the wave that
starts propagating in the model at the moment of impact.
Assuming that the length of the model is L, the wave takes a time
period approximately equal to 2L/v to travel to the farthest boundary
(where it is reflected) and back to the originating area.
The forces that are opposite to gravity start acting on the model during
this period. The program sets the default solution time to 3L/v. Note
that this value is an estimate intended to help you enter a reasonable
time duration.
Because the impact period is usually very small, the program measures
it in microseconds. The maximum response may occur during impact or
after impact while the body is rebounding. The study can evaluate
multiple impacts and rebounds if you specify an adequate solution time.
While there is no limit on Solution Time After Impact, a longer
solution time requires a longer time to run the analysis.
If a solution is going to take more than sixty minutes, SOLIDWORKS
Simulation issues a prompt to let you know this, and asks:
Would you like to change the solution time and rerun the
analysis?
Graphing Results The number of graph steps per plot is not equal to the number of actual-
time steps. Time steps are selected internally by the solver and the time
interval between steps may vary to assure stability of the numerical
solution.
The relation between the number of plots and the number of time
instances where the data is saved for graphing at selected vertices is
shown in the next figure.
246
Drop Test Analysis
11 Apply mesh controls. Fillets

Because we are interested in stress
results at the four sensors that we
selected in the Result Options
window, we must ensure that the
finite element mesh correctly
meshes these locations.
Right-click Mesh, select Apply
Mesh Control and select the fillet
on the TopCover assembly
component.
Accept the default mesh control parameters.
12 Mesh the model.
Mesh the assembly with High quality elements. Set Maximum
element size to 10mm, Minimum element size to 2mm, Min number
of elements in a circle to 8 and Element size growth ratio to 1.6.
Use Curvature based mesh.
Tip Designing a mesh for a complicated drop test study could prove
troublesome. To insure that you have created an appropriate mesh, use
the following procedure:
1. Identify the surface that will first hit the wall during the drop test
study.
2. Create a static study.
3. Apply some G-loading (i.e. 10g).
4. Apply a fixed restraint to the surface identified in step 1.
5. Run an h-adaptive study with the lowest accuracy settings.
6. Create the drop test study and the mesh from the static study.
7. Proceed with drop test study.
Running the static h-adaptive study with low accuracy settings will
ensure that the quality of the mesh in the region of impact will obtain
fair results.

Right-click the free fall 01 study and select Properties.
Make sure that the Large displacement option is checked.
247
Drop Test Analysis
Linear vs. At the end of the SOLIDWORKS Simulation course it was explained
Nonlinear Solution that depending on the magnitude of the loads and the stiffness of the
structure, the model may exhibit large structural deformations; in such
case a nonlinear solution is required.
In impact analysis, the structural deformations are almost always
nonlinear. SOLIDWORKS Simulation therefore uses Large
displacement nonlinear solution as a default option. If it is observed
that no noticeable structural deformations occur during the impact test
(such behavior is rather rare), uncheck Large displacement option to
force a geometrically linear solution.
Normally, in analysis with large deformations, the stress magnitudes
often surpass the yield strength of the material. SOLIDWORKS
Simulation Drop Test module allows for the specification of full elasto-
plastic material model required to correctly model these situations. The
description of this material model goes beyond the scope of this
training and the students are referred to SOLIDWORKS Simulation
Premium: Nonlinear training course.

Solve will display the following warning message:
Large unbalanced energy is detected. Solver is going to
switch the element type from default to composite
tetrahedron and rerun the analysis.
Click Yes to accept the more suitable element type suggested by the
solver.
15 Plot von Mises stresses.
After the first solution is complete, review the automatically created
stress plot in the Results folder. The default plot is generated for the
last saved time step.
248
Drop Test Analysis
This solution is plot number 25 (the last one in the specified range),
showing the von Mises stresses corresponding to the last performed
time step.
Note that the very high stress magnitude (645 MPa [93.5 ksi]) is likely
to damage the magnesium case.
Create and review plots corresponding to other time steps.
16 Animate results.
The most interesting way of reviewing the drop test results is through
animation.
Animate this plot using the default options.
An animated plot shows the camera hitting the horizontal floor with the
rear edge near the viewfinder.
You do not have to use the last plot to see the complete animation; any
one of the twenty-five plots can be used.
17 Plot time history response.
To review the time history response, right-click the Results folder and
select Define Time History Plot. The Time History Graph
PropertyManager opens.
To create a time history plot for all four selected locations, select
Predefined locations and choose the vertices to include in the graph.
Select the VON: von Mises Stress to be plotted in the graph.
Click OK.
We can see that the von Mises stresses are well above the yield point
even at the four monitored sensor locations.
249
Drop Test Analysis
18 Bound plot for von Mises stresses.

Edit the stress plot.
Click the Plot Bounds across All Steps button
to see the maximum stress plot over the duration
of the entire event.
The maximum stress increased to 931 MPa (135 ksi). It may be

premature to draw conclusions on whether the camera is going to get
damaged at impact or not. Very high levels of stresses suggest that the
damage is more than likely, but the impact simulation models typically
needs more complex material model and more realistic description of
the target.
Elastic Floor, The camera will now be dropped on an elastic floor. Let us say that the
Elasto-Plastic floor is a 0.4 in thick layer of Nylon 6/10 material.
Material
1 Create new study.
Copy the study free fall 01 into free fall 01 soft.
2 Edit Drop Test setup to add elastic floor.
Edit the Setup to add information about the normal and tangential
stiffness of the floor.
In the Drop Test Setup PropertyManager, under Target select the
Flexible target.
Under Stiffness and thickness, in the Units list, select SI.
250
Drop Test Analysis
For the Normal stiffness, enter 8.16e11 (N/m)/m2

[3.01e6 (lb/in)in^2].
For the Tangential stiffness, enter 3.11e11 (N/m)/m2

[1.175e6 (lb/in)/in^2].
For the Mass density, enter 1400.6 kg/m3 [0.0506 lb/in^3].

For the Target thickness, enter 10.16mm [0.4in].
Click OK.
3 Set results options.
Right-click Result Options and make sure that Workflow Sensitive1
is selected under the Sensor List.
Make sure that Large displacement (geometrically nonlinear)
solutions is specified.
5 Run the analysis.
solver.
6 Bound for stress results.
Comparing the maximum von Mises stresses between the studies with
the rigid and flexible target we observe that the maximum value has
reduced from 931 MPa (135 ksi) to approximately 305 MPa (44.4 ksi).
251
Drop Test Analysis
7 Compare results for vertex 1.

For a better comparison between the impacts on a rigid and an elastic
floor, plot the resultant translational acceleration versus time for
vertex 1 for studies free fall 01 and free fall 01 soft.
RESULTANT ACCELERATION TIME HISTORY
RIGID FLOOR ELASTIC FLOOR
The maximum resultant acceleration, as measured at vertex 1, is

10.5e4g when the camera falls on a rigid floor. When the camera falls
on the Nylon base this value drops to 4.6e4.
Elasto-Plastic As we mentioned before, loss of energy in a drop test normally occurs

Material Model due to damping, friction, or plastic deformation. A fully dynamic
simulation would be needed to include all of these variables.
Using drop test analysis, we are able to include plastic deformation to
make our model a little more realistic. In all of the previous analyses,
we used a linear elastic material model. Without any energy loss, the
camera would continue to bounce forever. In the next simulation, we
will use an elasto-plastic material model. For a more detailed
explanation of material models, please refer to the SOLIDWORKS
Simulation Premium: Nonlinear course.
1 Create new study.

Copy the study free fall 01 into free fall elasto-plastic.
2 Edit material properties.
Right-click the BottomCover, TopCover, and Zoom parts and select
Apply/Edit Material.
Right-click the Magnesium Alloy under Other Alloys, then select
Copy.
252
Drop Test Analysis
Paste the material under a folder in Custom Materials.

With the new Magnesium Alloy custom material selected, under the
Model Type, select Plasticity - von Mises.
Enter the Yield stress as 165e6 N/m^2.
Enter the Tangent modulus as 17.2e9 N/m^2, then Apply and Close.
Elasto-Plastic The two additional necessary parameters for the elasto-plastic material
Model Parameters model in the drop test are the yield stress and the tangent modulus. In
our case, both of these parameters were not in the SOLIDWORKS
material library, so they were obtained from an outside source. Yield
stress is usually a readily available material property, however the
tangent modulus is usually more difficult to find. If the tangent
modulus is unknown, a rough approximation of between E/5 and E/10
can be used.
3 Edit results options.

Make sure that the Workflow Sensitive1 sensor is selected.
4 Run the analysis.
solver.
253
Drop Test Analysis
5 Bound for stress results.
We can see that even with the maximum von Mises stress dropped from
931 MPa (135 ksi) to 375 MPa (54.3 ksi).
Processing Note that the stress results have reduced significantly. Based on the
Elasto-Plastic design criteria it has to be decided whether this amount of yielding at
Results the impact location is still acceptable.
6 Compare the results.

Plot a time history response of the free fall elasto-plastic study and
compare it to free fall 01. We can see that the stresses in the elastic
model continue to rise whereas for the elasto-plastic model, the rise in
stresses seems to have slowed considerably.
VON MISES STRESS TIME HISTORY
RIGID MODEL ELASTO PLASTIC MODEL
Furthermore, we can see that the maximum stress at the four sensor
location (approximately 142 MPa) is now below the material yield
strength of 165 MPa (23.9 ksi).
254
Drop Test Analysis
Discussion Will the model break?

The study indicates that localized yielding does occur at the impact
location for a short time during the impact. While this would cause
some level of permanent damage in the cover, it does not imply
immediately that the camera would be destroyed. Provided the optical,
electronic and other mechanical components remain functional, the
camera could still be used.
The study also indicates that while the localized yielding was detected
at the impact locations, the magnesium cover was stressed below the
yield strength in the vicinity of the lens.
Often times, maximum acceleration is used as a means of predicting
whether or not something will fail in a drop test, so these results are
useful to evaluate such cases as well.
You are encouraged to repeat both studies using a longer solution time,
for example 500 microseconds. If a long enough solution time is used
for the analysis, you will see the camera bouncing off the floor and
hitting it in different locations.
Drop Test with If time permits, you can specify contact conditions between different
Contact parts of an assembly. Use the global, component, and local contact
(optional) settings to simulate the desired contact conditions.
1 Create new study.
Copy the study free fall 01 (rigid floor) into free fall with contact.
2 Create contact conditions.
Edit the camera model by adding a No penetration contact condition
between the TopCover and BottomCover. This way the camera will
be held together only by the two tabs.
Tabs
255
Drop Test Analysis
3 Apply mesh controls.

Right-click Mesh, select Apply Control, and select the face on the
TopCover and BottomCover assembly component with contact
conditions.
Accept the default mesh control parameters.
4 Mesh the model.
Mesh the assembly with the default mesh parameters. Use Curvature
based mesh.
Make sure that Large displacement (geometrically nonlinear)
solutions is specified.
6 Run the analysis.
solver.
7 Bound for von Mises stress.
From this plot, we can see that the contact condition is no longer
bonded.
The plot also indicates high stresses around the clips, but the highest
stress of 900 MPa (130.5 ksi) is again located at the impact location at
the corners of the clip. To better understand the stresses at these
regions, more realistic geometry and elasto-plastic material model
would have to be utilized.
256
Drop Test Analysis
8 Animate displacement plot.

When viewing animated results, observe how the top and bottom cover
shift along each other.
Summary A drop test analysis is a dynamic analysis intended to model the

dynamic impact force of a very short duration event. It considers
inertial effects, but not damping. The only mechanism of energy loss is
material yielding, if an elasto-plastic material model is specified.
A drop test analysis uses a numerically intensive, but stable, direct time
integration method, and its analysis time is generally limited to within a
short time after the impact, which is when damage is most likely to
occur.
A drop test analysis can process a large amount of result data at the
expense of solution time and storage space. Therefore, only selected
results should be requested.
A drop test analysis does not directly provide pass/fail results. It is best
used to compare the severity of impact for different drop scenarios.
In the case of the camera drop test, we find that all of the studies will
most likely result in permanent damage to the camera body.
257
Drop Test of a Clip
Exercise 14: In this lab exercise, you will perform a drop test analysis of a clip.
Drop Test of a This exercise reinforces the following skills:
Clip
 Rigid Floor Drop Test on page 241
 Drop Test Parameters on page 242
Problem A plastic clip is dropped from a height of Arm<1>

Statement 2m [79in] onto a rigid floor. Calculate
the stresses and displacements of the
clip. Note that there is a gap where the
arms of the clip meet. A no penetration
contact will be used to address this.
Arm<2>

Open clip from the Lesson11\Exercises folder.
This model has been specifically prepared for an easy illustration of
how a drop test analysis can account for relative contact or sliding
between parts.
2 Create drop test study.
Create a study named drop test. Select Drop Test as the Type.
Material Nylon 6/10 has been assigned to the parts from
SOLIDWORKS.
4 Define drop height.
Define an 2m [79in] drop test measured
From centroid of the assembly.
Specify 9.81 m/s^2 [386.22 in/s^2] for
Gravity in the direction normal to the Top
Plane.
Face Hitting Rigid Target
Specify Rigid target orientated Normal to
gravity. Select OK.
5 Set solution time after impact.
Right-click Result Options and select Define/Edit.
In the Solution Time After Impact box, enter 350 microsec.
Specify 25 full data storage points with Save Results Starting From
set to 0 microsec.
258
Drop Test of a Clip
6 Define contact conditions.

Define a No penetration contact condition between the
gap created by arm<1> and arm<2>.
Leave the Global contact condition as Bonded. This is
required to keep the assembly components firmly
connected at one end.
7 Mesh the model.
Mesh the assembly with the High quality elements and the default
element size. Use Curvature based mesh.
8 Run the analysis.
9 Plot resultant displacement results.
10 Animate results.
Before Impact
250 Microseconds after

the first impact
Animate the resultant displacement plot to observe how the two faces
collide during impact and then slide after impact.
259
Drop Test of a Clip
260
Lesson 13
 Perform an optimization analysis based on static and frequency
analyses.
 Properly post-process optimization results.
261
Optimization Design optimization determines the optimum design with respect to the
Analysis selected objective by finding the best combination of allowable values
in the design variables.
The optimum design is subject to imposed constraints.
The optimized design can be further optimized according to a new
objective and new constraints.
The model geometry is updated to the optimized configuration. The
prerequisite studies (in our case, static and frequency) show
corresponding results for the optimized model.
Case Study: In this case study, we will perform an optimization analysis of a press
Press Frame frame. We will learn about many of the different options when defining
an optimization study. The optimization results will then be processed
and we will learn exactly how much better our design will get as a
result of the study.
Project A press frame assembly consists Top Plate
Description of a top plate where a 22,250 N
[5,000 lb.] upward force is
applied, two side plates with
“legs” that are supported along
the bottom faces, and a back
plate connecting the side plates.
We would like to reduce the mass
of the assembly by modifying the
frame geometry. Side Plate
We wish to consider the

following changes, provided, of Back Plate
course, that they are beneficial to
our goal of mass reduction:
 The height of the side plate (where it supports the top plate) may
be decreased within a range varying from the current 100mm down
to a minimum of 50mm.
 The cut-out forming legs of the side plate may be increased within
a range varying from the current 100mm up to a maximum of
250mm.
 The back plate may be shortened within a range varying from the
current 375mm down to a minimum of 150mm.
262
Design We also must comply with the following design requirements:

Requirements
 The von Mises stresses in the model must not exceed 100 MPa
[15,000 psi].
 The maximum deflection must not exceed 1mm.
 The first natural (resonant) frequency must not be less than 80 Hz.
The optimized design will meet all of these criterion.
Stages in the  Run static study.
Process Results from the static study will be used in the optimization
analysis.
 Run frequency study.
Results from the frequency study will be used in the optimization
analysis.
 Create optimization study and define parameters.
Define what needs to be optimized as well as the boundaries on the
variable parameters for the simulation to perform it’s optimization.
 Postprocess the results.
Determine whether or not the design changes that get made meet
your needs.
Static and Before starting the optimization analysis, we should verify that the
Frequency design “as is” does not violate any of the above constraints. Therefore,
Analyses we need to conduct static and frequency analyses of the frame
assembly in its initial configuration prior to optimization.

Open press from the Lesson12\Case Study folder.
2 Create static study.
Create a Static study named press static.
The material, Plain Carbon Steel, has been defined for all components
and transfers automatically to SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
263
4 Apply loads and restraints.

Apply a 22,250 N [5,000 lb.] upward vertical force to the top plate, and
apply Fixed Geometry to bottom faces of all four legs.
Load 22,250N
Supports
5 Mesh the model.

Mesh the model with the High quality elements and the default
Maximum element size. Use Curvature based mesh.
6 Run the analysis.
7 Create frequency study.

Create study named press frequency.
8 Define study parameters.
Copy fixture, mesh, and load from the static study.
Specify for the computation of the first natural frequency only, and
select Direct Sparse Solver.
Remember, we have to use the Direct Sparse solver because we wish to
include the effect of the load in the frequency analysis.
11 Show displacement, stress and frequency results.

The illustrations present the resultant displacement, von Mises stresses,
and frequency results in the model prior to optimization.
264
The maximum displacement is 0.33 mm and the maximum von mises

stress is 63.3 MPa.
The first natural frequency is 129.16 Hz.
Optimization All design constraints are satisfied in the original design configuration.
Analysis We now try to reduce the mass of the press frame assembly while still
satisfying the design constraints.
Design Study The optimization analysis is defined by
three design study parameters:
Variables, Constraints, and Goals.
The optimization study uses the
previously defined studies for
information about the loading and
constraints.
Before proceeding, let us review some terminology used in an
optimization analysis.
Variables Design variables define what can be changed in the model, such as the
wall thickness, hole diameter, fillet radius, and so on.
They must be selected parameters of the SOLIDWORKS model. Up to
25 design variables can be defined in an optimization study.
The visible dimensions are design variables in our optimization study.
Constraints Constraints define allowable ranges of stress, deflection, frequency,
and so on. Both minimum and maximum values can be specified.
Constraints narrow down the optimization space. Note that there are
two possible outcomes of an optimization study.
The first is that the limit of design variable has been reached. The
optimum design then lies on the boundary of this design variable that
has reached a limit of its allowed range of variation.
265
The second possible outcome is that the constraint has been reached.
The optimum design then lies on the critical constraint boundary. The
critical constraint refers to the restraint that has been activated; for
example, stress has reached its limit.
Up to 60 constraints can be defined. The constraints can be: stresses,
strains, displacements, buckling load factors, frequencies,
temperatures, temperature gradients, and/or heat fluxes.
Goals Also called the optimization criterion or optimization objective, the
goals defines the objective of the optimization lesson.
In an optimization study, you can choose to minimize mass, volume, or
frequency, or you can choose to maximize frequency or buckling (i.e.,
the load factor).
12 Create optimization study.

Create a new design study called press
optimization.
13 Define goal.
Select the Goals drop down menu and click
Add sensor. The Sensor PropertyManager
opens.
The goal here is to minimize the mass of the
press assembly.
Select Mass Properties under Sensor Type.
Select Mass under Properties. Make sure that the press assembly is
also selected.
Click OK.
Optimization Goal The goal of minimizing the mass is potentially based on the two
available studies which we have already completed: press static and
press frequency.
Either study or both studies can be used for the optimization depending
on how the constraints are set up.
If, for example, the constraints pertain only to the deflections or
stresses, which are produced by the press static study, then the
optimization study is based on the prerequisite press static study.
In this case, the optimization study is based on both the press static
and press frequency studies due to the desired constraints.
266
In general, the prerequisite studies required for optimization analysis

not only depend on the type of constraints, but also on the goals. For
example, we can have constraints defined in terms of stresses while the
goal is defined in terms of frequency. In this case, both prerequisite
static and frequency studies would be required.
14 Define first design variable.

Select the Variables drop down menu and click Add parameter. The
Parameters dialog window opens.
In the Parameters window enter back height as the parameter Name.
Under Category, make sure that Model Dimension is selected.
Select the column for Value and then select the 100
dimension that defines the height of the back as
shown in the figure. The dimension will
automatically be populated as the Value. This will
assign the dimension value D2@Sketch1@press
side plate to the new parameter.
Click OK in the Parameters window.

The parameter is now added to the Variables list in the design study.
Next to parameter back height in the Variables list, select Range
from the drop down menu.
Enter 100mm as the Max and 50mm as the Min.
Tip Considering that the Initial value is 100mm, we do not allow it to
increase because this would increase the mass. We allow it to decrease
to a possible minimum of 50mm.
267
Note Optimization analysis requires the parametric formulation of

SOLIDWORKS. In order to be used as a design variable, a dimension
must be explicitly defined in SOLIDWORKS. It is not possible to
optimize a model, which consists of only imported features.
Often times, it may not be possible to create your design to the exact
specifications calculated in the design study. In this case, you can select
Range with step so that the variables can only change in increments
defined by the Step.
15 Define second design variable.
Add another parameter from the Parameters dialog.
Call this parameter feet width.
In the model view window, select the 100mm
dimension (at the support locations) as the Value. This
will assign the dimension value to the parameter. Click
OK.
Select Range from the drop down menu. Enter 100mm and 250mm as
the Min and Max limits respectively.
16 Define last design variable.
Repeat the same procedure for the back plate
dimension of 375mm. Call this parameter plate
length. Select Range from the drop down menu.
Enter 150mm and 375mm as the Min and Max limits,
respectively.
Design Variable The definition of the three design variables that we use in this study is
Summary complete. The SOLIDWORKS Simulation design study displays three
design variables under the Variables list.
Define Constraints The last step in the setup of the optimization study is the definition of
constraints.
268
17 Define global stress constraint.

Select the Constraints drop down menu and
click Add sensor. The Sensor
Select Simulation Data as the Sensor Type.
Under Data Quantity, select Stress and
VON: von Mises Stress.
Under Properties, select N/mm^2 (MPa) as
the Unit, Model Max as the Criterion. and
Across all Steps as the Step Criterion.
Click OK.
Select Is less than, and then enter 100 N/mm^2 (MPa) as the Max
limit.
This constraint prevents model changes that result in von Mises
stresses higher than 100 MPa anywhere in the model.
Note The static type of response is based only on the press static study.
18 Define global displacement constraint.
Select the Constraints drop down menu and
click Add sensor. The Sensor
Under Data Quantity, select Displacement
and URES: Resultant Displacement.
Under Properties, select mm as the Unit,
Model Max as the Criterion and Across all
Steps as the Step Criterion.
Click OK.
Select Is less than, and then enter 1mm as the Max limit.
269
19 Define frequency constraint.

Repeat the same steps used previously to define
another Constraint sensor.
Under Data Quantity, select Frequency and
under Properties, select Hz as the Unit and
Model Max as the Criterion. Also, enter 1 as
the Mode Shape.
Click OK.
Select Is between, and then enter 80 Hz as the
Min and 150 Hz as the Max limits.
20 Define local displacement
constraint.
Select the Constraints drop down
menu and click Add sensor. The
Sensor PropertyManager opens.
Select Simulation Data as the
Sensor Type.
Under Data Quantity, select
Displacement and
URES: Resultant Displacement.
Under Properties, select mm as
the Unit.
Select Max over Selected
Entities as the Criterion. Clear the
selection field and select the edge of the yellow plate as shown in the
figure.
Click OK.
Select Is less than, and then enter 0.5mm as the Max limit.
Note With sensors defined anywhere, you can monitor any quantity at that
particular location and ensure that your design meets your specific
criterion in that area.
270
Constraint In the constraints definition, tolerance pertains to the range of allowed

Tolerance changes. Here we allow the frequency to change within the range of
150 Hz - 80 Hz = 70 Hz.
Constraint Constraint definition proceeds in the following order:
Definition 1. Definition of sensor type.
Procedure
2. Definition of response quantity (stress, displacement, frequency, etc.)
3. Definition of the particular measure of the response quantity (von
Mises stress, resultant displacement, first mode of vibration, etc.)
4. Definition of the allowed range of variation.
21 Set optimization properties.

Before running the optimization analysis, select Design Study
Options .
Under Design Study Quality, select High Quality.

Click OK.
22 Run optimization analysis.
Select Run from the design study.
The analysis takes 15 steps for the design objective (minimizing mass)
to converge.
271
23 Final design.
The Results View tab of the design study is activated. The final design
is plotted and the results for each iteration are shown in the design
study. In the first row of the table, if we click on the Initial, Optimal, or
any iteration, the results for that model will be shown. Displaying these
plots allows us to compare the model before, after, and during the
optimization procedure.
BEFORE AFTER
Postprocessing The side plate height has decreased from 100mm to 66.861mm. The
Optimization length of the back plate has been reduced from 375mm to 206.32mm,
Results and the size of cut-out has increased from 100mm to 247.062mm.
In the next paragraphs, we discover that the maximum allowed stress
and the minimum allowed frequency constraints were activated and the
design was modified to honor these constraints.
Important! Before proceeding, note that the SOLIDWORKS model geometry has
changed. For this reason, optimization analysis should never be
conducted on production part files.
An optimization analysis should be conducted using local copies of
parts or assemblies.
272
24 Plot optimized design results.

Let us review the stress, displacement, and frequency results
corresponding to the optimized design.
The results are accessible in the corresponding studies: press static
and press frequency.
These studies have been updated to reflect the new model
configuration.
The maximum von Mises stress is 97.6 MPa. It did not exceed the
maximum allowed stress of 100 MPa.
This result indicates that the constraint defined on stress has been met.
The maximum resultant displacement is 0.54mm. This result did not

exceed its allowed maximum magnitude of 1mm, meaning that the
displacement constraint has also been met.
273
The first natural frequency is 80.96 Hz, which is within the allowed
frequency range of 80-150 Hz.
The frequency constraint has also been met.
25 Examine mass properties of optimized design.
Under Results View, we have a summary of each iteration. We have
information about the values that the variables were changed to as well
as the results with respect to the goals. A red column means that the
iteration did not satisfy all of the design constraints.
It can be seen that the mass of the optimized design dropped from
73.953 kg to 59.6 kg. This translates to approximately 19% reduction
in the material mass.
Note Detailed information about the mass before and after optimization can
also be determined using SOLIDWORKS tools (Tools, Mass
Properties).
274
26 Define a design local trend graph.

Right-click the Results and Graphs folder
and select Define Local Trend Graph.
Select the variable back plate to be plotted on
the X-axis.
This design variable controls the length of the
back plate.
Select the Objective to be plotted on the Y-
axis.
This variable defines the Local Trend Graph showing mass as a

function of back plate length as it changes within the specified range of
150mm to 375mm.
275
27 Define second design local trend graph.

Create one more plot in the Results folder. Right-click the Results
folder and select Define Local Trend Graph.
Select the same design variable, back plate, as before (back plate
length) to be plotted on the X-axis, and select Constraint to be plotted
on the Y-axis.
Of the three available constraints, select Frequency1. This is the
frequency constraint.
These selections create a graph showing the first natural frequency as a

function of the back plate length.
Local Trend Try creating additional graphs using different design variables and
Graphs constraints.
Local trend graphs show design sensitivities to changes in design
variables. The same relations can be found using a Design Scenario in
place of optimization.
Summary A model of a press frame was optimized to operate within a range of
stresses, displacements, and frequencies. The optimization took fifteen
steps to complete and the final design satisfied all constraints.
Design Local Trend Graphs show the optimization objective and
optimization constraints as functions of the design variables.
276
Optimization Analysis of a Cantilever Bracket
Exercise 15: In this exercise, you will perform an optimization analysis on a

Optimization cantilever bracket based on its stress analysis.
Cantilever  Optimization Goal on page 266
Bracket  Postprocessing Optimization Results on page 272
Problem In this exercise we will perform an

Statement optimization of a cantilever bracket
based on its stress analysis. The
bracket is supported by two rods
mounted through the two circular
holes. The goal is to minimize mass
by varying the dimensions of the
triangular cutout.
1 Open a part file.
Open Cantilever_Bracket from the Lesson12\Exercises folder.
2 Create static analysis study.
Create a study named bracket static. Select Static as the
Analysis type.
Create a custom material with an Elastic modulus of 2E11 N/m^2
(Pa) and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.3. Also, enter 7800 kg/m^3 for the
Mass density and 350E6 N/m^2 for the Yield strength.
4 Apply load.
Apply a Pressure of 5E6 N/m^2 (Pa)
to the top face of the bracket.
5 Apply restraint.
Apply Fixed Hinge restraints to the
two cylindrical holes.
6 Mesh the model.

Mesh the model with High quality elements and the default Maximum
element size. Use Curvature based mesh.
7 Run the analysis.
8 Create an design study.
9 Define a goal.
The goal here is to minimize the mass.
277
10 Define design variables.

We will now select the dimensions defining the bracket cutout as the
design variable.
Design variable 1
Design variable 2
Design variable 3
Select the 23.13mm dimension located on the top of the bracket as the
first design variable. Set the lower bound to 10mm and upper bound to
25mm.
Select the 25 mm dimension located on the slanted bottom of the
bracket as the second design variable. Set the lower bound to 10 mm
and upper bound to 25 mm.
Select the 50 mm dimension located on the bottom right side of the
bracket as the last design variable. Set the lower bound to 20 mm and
upper bound to 50 mm.
11 Apply constraint.
Select Stress as the Data Quantity and VON: von Mises stress as the
stress Component.
Select N/mm^2 as the Unit.
Select Is less than and enter 300 N/mm^2 (MPa).
12 Set optimization properties.
Under Quality, select High Quality in the Design Study properties
window.
13 Run optimization analysis.
278
14 Plot optimized design.
15 Show details of the optimized design.
We find that the mass has been significantly reduced from the initial
value of 105.252g to approximately 72.8g.
16 Plot stress results in the optimized design.
The maximum von Mises stress of 296.3 MPa is below the limit of 300
MPa.
279
Optimization of Heat Sink
Exercise 16: In this exercise, you will

Optimization of optimize dimensions of an
Heat Sink LED light heat sink.
This exercise reinforces the
following skills:
 Optimization Goal on
page 266
 Postprocessing
Optimization Results on page 272
Problem The heat sink is used to remove heat from an LED light fixture. The
Description light is mounted so that the inside part is facing the space above the
ceiling, while the bottom part is exposed to the room environment. This
heat sink design accommodates five LEDs. The desired maximum
temperature of the heat sink should be 76°C.
Loading It is assumed that all faces (both internal

Conditions and external) but the two with the heat
flux load, are exposed to the same
convective condition, 8 W/(m^2*K),
with the bulk temperature of 35°C
[308.15°K].
The two internal faces with the heat flux
load are exposed to the convective Faces with the thermal load
condition of 4 W/(m^2*K), and the bulk
temperature of 50°C [323.15°K].
The heat generated by LEDs can be represented by an equivalent heat
flux of 2000 W/m^2 applied on the two internal faces (see the figure
above).
Goal Optimize the design of the heat sink to

minimize its mass, while ensuring that
its maximum temperature remains
below 76°C. The following design
parameters can be varied: number of
fins (20 to 60), fin thickness (2mm to
6mm), fin height (10mm to 40mm), fin
depth (26mm to 50mm) and the fin
fillet radius (2mm to 20mm).
The part for this exercise is located in
the Lesson10\Exercises folder. Fin height and Fin depth
fillet radius
280
Lesson 14
Pressure Vessel
Analysis
 Apply SOLIDWORKS Simulation Pressure Vessel Design module
to the design of the pressure vessels.
 Create linear and SRSS combinations of the load cases.
 Evaluate stress results.
281
Case Study: The objective of this lesson is to show the functionality of the
Pressure Vessel Pressure Vessel Design module and its application to the vessel
design in accordance with ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code,
Section VIII, Division 2. Other codes and requirements may be
followed as well. We will analyze the same pressure vessel that was
discussed in the Mixed Meshing (Shells and Solids) lesson of the
Project A pressure vessel manufactured from low
Description alloy carbon steel SA515, grade 60 is used to
carry a 700°F hot steam at a pressure of 165
psi. In addition to the gas pressure, the vessel
is subject to various other loading conditions
such as elevated temperature, free nozzle end
forces, moments, and additional stresses due
to the support conditions. Wind and
earthquake conditions are not considered in
this example even though a real life vessel
would have to be analyzed with those
loadings as well.
Evaluate the pressure vessel’s ability to
withstand the given loading conditions.
Stages in the  Static studies.

Process We will run a different study for each loading condition and
evaluate the results.
 Pressure vessel study.
The pressure vessel study will combine the loading conditions
defined in the static studies. The results can then be evaluated.

Open Pressure vessel from the Lesson13\Case Study folder.
2 Review the studies.
Four studies have been completed before hand:
 pressure: pressure vessel shell as well as nozzles are subjected to
a 165 psi internal pressure,
 inlet nozzle loads: external bending moments and forces exerted
on the vessel due to the connection to the piping system,
 temperature: temperature load of 700° F applied to all the
components,
 self weight: weight of the pressure vessel.
282
3 Review supports.
The pressure vessel is supported by four
symmetrically orientated lugs with slotted
bolt holes allowing for the radial expansion
of the vessel.
4 Review mesh.
The design of the mesh was the subject of
the Mixed Meshing (Shells and Solids)
lesson of SOLIDWORKS Simulation
training manual and will not be further
discussed here. You will notice, however
that some parts (manhole nozzle) are
meshed with significantly finer mesh.
To reduce the computational time, other
parts of the vessel are meshed with coarser
draft quality mesh.
Note All of the studies participate in a pressure vessel analysis and must
have identical mesh properties.
5 Review study results.
All studies have been computed beforehand. Open each one and review
its resulting displacements and stresses.
6 Material.
The pressure vessel is manufactured from low alloy carbon steel SA
515, grade 60 with the design stress intensity value at 700° F equal to
Sm = 15.3 ksi.
283
Stress Intensity Stress intensity is defined as twice the maximum shear stress and can
be expressed in terms of the principal stresses as P1 - P3. ASME Boiler
and Pressure Vessel Code therefore relies on the Tresca yield criterion
which is more conservative than the von Mises criterion. The
maximum difference between these two criteria is 13%.
Membrane and ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code states possible limiting values
Bending Stresses of the membrane and bending components of the stress intensities.
(stress Since shell elements assume constant shear deformation (or none at all)
linearization) along the cross-section, linear distribution of the stresses is a direct
consequence of this assumption and both membrane and bending
components are readily available.
In solid elements no such assumption on the shear deformation exists
and a stress linearization along a selected trajectory is required. This
lesson demonstrates the linearization procedure towards its end.
Basic Stress ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code defines five stress intensity
Intensity Limits limits which must be satisfied (Section VIII, Division 2, Appendix 4,
Article 4-130)
 General Primary Stress Intensity Pm
 Local Membrane Stress Intensity PL
 Primary Membrane (General or Local) Plus Primary Bending Stress
Intensity PL + Pb
 Primary Plus Secondary Stress Intensity PL + Pb + Q
 Peak Stress Intensity PL + Pb + Q + F
Nozzle piping transition is then the subject of yet another Article 4-138
of the same Appendix 4.
Other articles of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code may apply
as well.
Pressure Vessel Once the static studies have been defined an run, the pressure vessel
Analysis study will account for the combination of the results.
1 Pressure vessel study.
Define a new study. Specify Pressure Vessel Design as a study
Type and name it vessel 1.
284
2 Isolate the vessel shell.

Hide all components but the vessel shell with
the bottom and top head.
3 Define load configuration.

Right-click on the Setup icon and select
Define/Edit. Under Option select Linear
combination and specify pressure, inlet
nozzle loads and self weight, all with the
scaling factor of 1.
Click OK.
Note The temperature load is not included in this combination. In this lesson
the vessel shell will be subjected to the General Primary Membrane
Stress Intensity criterion only. Temperature load is not considered in
this criterion.
285
Load Case Pressure vessel module features two methods for the load case
Combinations combinations:
 Linear combination. Where the resulting quantity X
(displacement, stress etc.) is computed from:
N
X =  x
=1
In the equation above, N is the number of studies included in the

combination, and x  is the quantity (displacement, stress etc.) from
study  .
 SRSS (Square Root Sum of Squares). In this method the resulting
quantity is obtained using the equation:
N
  x 
2
X =
=1
Note An SRSS combination of the loads can also be included in a linear
combination as a separate load case. Such combination may be required
if the pressure vessel is subjected to the seismic load.
4 Run study vessel 1.
5 General Primary Membrane Stress

Intensity.
Plot the Membrane component of the
INT: Stress Intensity (P1-P3). Make sure
that the legend limits show the minimum
and maximum values for shown parts
only.
Note that the maximum value in the plot
is 29.8 ksi which exceeds the limiting
stress intensity for this category Sm = 15.3
ksi. This maximum is however highly
localized and does not fit the definition of
the General Primary Membrane Stress
Intensity as per the ASME Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code.
286
General Primary The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code defines General Primary
Membrane Stress Membrane Stress Intensity as:
Intensity  not self- limiting.
 resulting in failure or gross distortion if above a yield strength
magnitude.
 distributed in the structure so that no redistribution of loads occurs
as a result of yielding.
The temperature load is not considered in this stress limit criterion;
Primary Membrane (General or Local) plus Primary Bending Stress
Intensity or Peak Stress Intensity criteria include the temperature loads.
The above definition does not fit the location of our maximum values.
The maximum membrane stress intensity of 29.8 ksi is at the junction
of the shell opening and the nozzle. It is therefore highly localized and
significant redistribution of the load would occur as a result of yielding
at this location. These regions are covered by the Local Membrane
Stress Intensity and the Peak Stress Intensity criteria.
6 Modify the limit of the plot.

Set the upper limit in the plot to Sm = 15.3
ksi, a limit for the General Primary
Membrane Stress Intensity.
Notice how the plot changes with areas
close to and above the limit value of Sm =
15.3 ksi in red color. Any region away
from the nozzle reinforcement should be
below this limiting value for the design to
pass this criterion.
You can verify that the values are below
15.3 ksi in all shell regions except in the
vicinities of the nozzle openings and lug
supports. The shell design therefore passes the General Primary
Membrane Stress Intensity criterion.
Note The remaining components must satisfy the General Primary
Membrane Stress Intensity limit criterion as well (nozzles are covered
by its own special provision).
Also, the remaining Basic Stress Intensity Limits as listed on page 284
must be satisfied.
287
Manhole Nozzle Manhole nozzle flange and the Manhole cover are modeled using
Flange and solid elements due to their substantial thickness vs. span ratios and the
Cover bolted connections. The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code does
not specify the limiting stress intensities values for these components.
For flange it states instead the limiting values for the longitudinal,
radial and tangential stresses as 1.5 Sm, Sm and Sm, respectively. (For
the simplicity we assume that flanges are manufactured from the same
material as the pressure vessel body and nozzles.)
7 Plot longitudinal, radial and tangential stresses in the Manhole

nozzle flange.
Define plots of SZ: Z Normal Stress, SY: Y Normal Stress and SX: X
Normal Stress. For all stress plots request the axis of the Manhole
nozzle as a reference to specify the cylindrical coordinate system.
Ignoring the longitudinal stress concentrations in the vicinity of the bolt

openings, the stress values are well below the limits for all three cases.
288
Stress Even though the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code does not
Linearization require us to compute the membrane and bending components for the
flanges and opening covers, other parts of the vessel may be rather
bulky, requiring modeling with solid elements. While shell elements
report directly both the membrane and bending components of the
stress intensities, solid elements results are of general 3D format and
require additional processing (stress linearization). We will practice
this stress linearization of the Manhole nozzle flange.
8 Isolate components, stress intensity plot.

Isolate Manhole nozzle flange and Manhole cover components.
Create an INT: Stress
Intensity (P1-P3) plot.
Specify the Section
clipping feature using the
Right plane as a reference.
Note The stress limits are set to 15,300 psi.
289
9 Linearize stress results.

Right-click on the stress plot created in the previous step and select
Linearize.
On the flange cross section select 2 points defining the trajectory along
which you wish to linearize the stress results.
Click Calculate to obtain the summary.
The Linearize stress dialog shows the summary of the membrane and
bending components.
290
10 Save the data.

Click the Save button. Save the information into a *.csv file.
Open the above *.csv file with Microsoft Excel, for example. The file
contains additional informations required for the comparison with the
ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.
The resulting Stress Intensity values for the membrane and bending
stress components would be compared against the stress intensity
values set by the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.
291
11 Plot stress graphs.

Click the Plot button in the linear stress dialog (step 9) to generate
graphs of the stress components variations.
The above six graphs show the variations of all stress components
through the cross-section along the line defined by Point 1 and Point 2.
Each graph shows the computed real stress component (shown in red)
and linearized variations (membrane and membrane+bending in blue
and green, correspondingly).
12 Save and close the assembly.
Summary In this lesson we demonstrated application of the Pressure Vessel

Design module to the vessel design in accordance with ASME Boiler
and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII, Division 2. The code requires
the vessel to pass several design criteria and the complete simulation
may be rather lengthy and involved. In this lesson we only focused on
the General Primary Membrane Stress Intensity criteria and concluded
that the vessel passes it.
In some regions, real stress distribution across the cross-section must
be decomposed into membrane and bending components. Because this
variation can be rather complex, linearization may be necessary. The
second part of the lesson demonstrated the stress linearization
procedure as well as the retrieval of all the necessary quantities from
the external file.
292
Index
B M
Best Stiffness to Weight ratio 96 Material Properties for Thermal
Buckling Load Factor 49, 53 Analysis 115
Bulk Temperature 120 Minimize Mass with Displacement
constraint 97
C Minimize Maximum Displacement 97
Centrifugal Load 26 Mode Shapes 10
Conduction 111
Convection 112 O
Convection Coefficient 146 Optimization Analysis
Define 146 Constraints 268
Forced Convection 113 Define 265
Free Convection 112 Local Trend Graph 275
Objective 266
D Results 272
Damping 8
design scenario 68, 83 P
Drop Test Plot Heat Flux 149
Define 241 Plot Temperature 147
Drop Height. 242, 258
Impact Plane 243 R
Parameters 242 Radiation 113
Response Graph 249 Define 143
Parameters 143
E Stefan-Boltzmann Law 114
Eigenvectors 48 Surface to Surface 143
Elastic Stiffness Matrix 48 Type 143
Reference Temperature at Zero
F Strain. 162, 174
Fatigue Analysis Theory 188 Resonant Frequencies 8
Fundamental Frequency 10
S
G SOLIDWORKS 5
Goals and Constraints 96
T
H Temperature Curves 130
Heat Flux Singularities 148 Thermal Contact Resistance 117
Heat Power 117 Define 119
Define 142 Thermal Resistance 36, 118, 155
Thermostat 131
I Time Curves 129–130
Include Thermal Effects 161, 174 Transient Thermal Analysis 125
Initial Temperature 126
Interfacial Conductance 118, 153 V
Vector Plot 160
L
Linear vs. Nonlinear Buckling 48
List Resonant Frequencies 13
293
Index SOLIDWORKS
294

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SOLIDWORKS

SYSPRICE - REVENDA SOLIDWORKS

Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation

Frequency Analysis With Supports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Case Study: Particle Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

About This The SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional training course is a direct

Use of Color The SOLIDWORKS and SOLIDWORKS Simulation user interface

What is SOLIDWORKS Simulation is a design analysis tool based on a

In this volume, we introduce SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional

The equation above is traditionally referred to as the equation of

When you analyze the results of a frequency analysis of a symmetric

Important! In order to model inertial stiffness, material properties specified for a

 Run the analysis

Procedure The frequency analysis is performed as follows:

Under Options enter 4 for Number of frequencies, so that the first

Results After the solution is complete, SOLIDWORKS Simulation creates four

8 List resonant frequencies.

Note SOLIDWORKS Simulation generated four deformation plots in the

10 Show the deformed model on the plot.

Postprocessing The maximum modal displacement amplitude in the above plot is

11 Review other mode shapes.

The lower A frequency of 440 Hz, which we expected to be the first

Note To display the deformation plots without the displacement contours,

Note Effective mass participation factor (EMPF) and Cumulative

1 Create new frequency study.

5 List resonant frequencies.

6 Review the mode shapes.

1 Create new frequency study.

4 List resonant frequencies.

5 Review the mode shapes.

Questions 1. Natural frequencies (are / are not) structural properties. As such,

Exercise 1: In this exercise, you will perform a frequency analysis on a car

Problem The bulkhead shown is used as part of the

6 Run the analysis.

7 List resonant frequencies.

8 Create new frequency study.

10 Run the analysis.

11 List resonant frequencies.

12 Plot frequency response graph for mode number.

The frequency value increases for higher mode numbers.

Problem Perform a frequency analysis on a

3 Create a frequency study named section.

4 Apply Fixed Geometry fixture. Support

5 Request 5 modes of vibration.

6 Mesh the model.

8 List the resonant frequencies.

9 Animate the mode shapes.

11 Apply centrifugal load.

Design Study It may be of interest to investigate the effect of different speeds of

After you define and run the design scenario:

15 Create design history graph.

You can control the appearance of the graph by selecting Options on

Exercise 3: In this exercise, you will perform a frequency analysis on an impeller

Problem The impeller shown sits on a shaft rotating at

Procedure Follow the procedure below:

7 Define connection between shells and solids.

Summary In this exercise we extracted natural frequencies of an impeller rotating

 Run the analysis

Procedure The frequency analysis is performed as follows:

2 Define remote mass.

two independent beams

two beams in contact

Therefore, in our assembly, the