Chapter 2

FEA and ANSYS

Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS

A. About the Company Training Manual
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
ANSYS, Inc.
– Developer of ANSYS family of
products
– Headquartered in Canonsburg, PA -
USA (south of Pittsburgh)

ANSYS Channel Partners

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– Sales and support network for ANSYS

– Over 75 offices worldwide
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– Local expertise for ANSYS consulting

and training
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Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS
…About the Company Training Manual

INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
ANSYS Support Coordinator (ASC)
– Contact for ANSYS at your company site
– Focal point for ANSYS correspondence; software updates, error
notices, newsletter and other mailings, etc.

For more information about ANSYS and the company:

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– www.ansys.com
• Where you’ll find the Customer Portal

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– On-line documentation
– Training manuals from other ANSYS courses

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Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS

B. About ANSYS Training Manual
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
ANSYS, Inc. Family of Products include the following:

• ANSYS – Advanced nonlinear mechanical

and multiphysics FEA solution capabilities

• ANSYS Workbench – Complete environment

for geometry modeling, mesh manipulation,
structural/thermal analysis, and optimization,
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which is tightly integrated with CAD packages

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• CFX – State-of-the-art CFD solvers,

including the coupled, parallel CFX-5 solver
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• ICEM CFD – Powerful meshing tools with

general pre- and post-processing features,
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including ICEM CFD for generating complex

CFD grids and AI*Environment for creating
with sophisticated structural FEA meshes
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Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS
…About ANSYS Training Manual

INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
• ANSYS is a complete FEA software package used by engineers
worldwide in virtually all fields of engineering. Partial listing of the
capabilities:
– Structural
• Linear
• Nonlinear
– Material, Geometric, Contact

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• Dynamics

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– Modal, Harmonic, Transient Dynamic, Spectrum, Random Vibration
– Explicit Dynamics with ANSYS LS-DYNA
– Thermal
• Steady State and Transient

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– Fluid (CFD, Acoustics, and other fluid analyses)
– Low- and High-Frequency Electromagnetics

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– Coupled Field

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Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS

…About ANSYS Training Manual
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
• A partial list of industries in which ANSYS is used:
– Aerospace
– Automotive
– Biomedical
– Bridges & Buildings
– Electronics & Appliances
– Heavy Equipment & Machinery
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– MEMS - Micro Electromechanical Systems

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– Sporting Goods
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 Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS
…About ANSYS Training Manual

INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
• ANSYS Multiphysics - Provides the analysis industry's most comprehensive
coupled physics tool combining structural, thermal, CFD, acoustic and electromagnetic
simulation capabilities into a single software product.
• ANSYS Mechanical - Structural and Thermal analysis tool which includes a full
complement of nonlinear and linear elements, material laws ranging from metal to rubber,
and the most comprehensive set of solvers available.

• ANSYS Structural - Provides all the power of ANSYS nonlinear structural capabilities

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-- as well as linear capabilities -- to deliver the highest quality, most-reliable structural
simulation results available.

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• ANSYS Professional – Inexpensive, easy-to-use program for structural/thermal
analysis projects.

• ANSYS DesignSpace – An easy-to-use package that gives designers the tool to

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conceptualize, design and validate ideas right on the desktop.

• ANSYS LS-DYNA – Meets design challenges by fusing LSTC’s LS-DYNA explicit

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dynamic solver technology with the pre-/post-processing power of ANSYS software. This
powerful pairing helps engineers understand the elaborate combinations of nonlinear
phenomena found in crash tests, metal forging, stamping and catastrophic failures.

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ANSYS Emag – Addresses the analysis needs of the low-frequency electromagnetics
market.

Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS

…About ANSYS Training Manual
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
Workbench Modules:

• DesignModeler – Workbench application that provides modeling functions unique for simulation that
include detailed geometry creation, CAD geometry modification, and concept model creation tool.

• DesignXplorer – Works within the Workbench environment to perform Design Of Experiments (DOE)
analyses of any Workbench simulation, including those with CAD parameters.

• DesignXplorer VT – A robust Variational Technology solution that gives users a broader view of design
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concepts providing complete FEA results for every design point.

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• ANSYS Fatigue – Adds the capability to simulate performance under anticipated cyclic loading conditions
over anticipated product life span.
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Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS
…About ANSYS Training Manual

INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
• Other products:
– ANSYS ICEM CFD – Provides sophisticated geometry acquisition, mesh
generation, post-processing and mesh optimization tools.
– ANSYS CFX – Suite of finite-volume-based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
software, offered by CFX, an ANSYS, Inc. subsidiary including CFX-5, the best-in-class
CFD software.

– ANSYS ParaMesh – a tool that works directly on legacy models. The mesh, a

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tessellated representation, can be parameterized and made to move almost as though it
were geometry, giving a legacy model incredible utility.

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Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS

C. What is FEA? Training Manual
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
• Finite Element Analysis is a way to simulate loading conditions on
a design and determine the design’s response to those
conditions.

• The design is modeled using discrete building blocks called

elements.

– Each element has exact equations Historical Note

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that describe how it responds to a • The finite element method of

certain load.
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structural analysis was created

– The “sum” of the response of all by academic and industrial
elements in the model gives the researchers during the 1950s
and 1960s.
total response of the design.
• The underlying theory is over
– The elements have a finite number
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100 years old, and was the basis

of unknowns, hence the name for pen-and-paper calculations
finite elements. in the evaluation of suspension
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bridges and steam boilers.

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…What is FEA? Training Manual

INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
• The finite element model, which has a finite number of unknowns,
can only approximate the response of the physical system, which
has infinite unknowns.
– So the question arises: How good is the approximation?

– Unfortunately, there is no easy

answer to this question. It depends
entirely on what you are simulating

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and the tools you use for the

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simulation. We will, however,
attempt to give you guidelines
throughout this training course.

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Physical System F.E. Model

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…What is FEA? Training Manual
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
Why is FEA needed?

• To reduce the amount of prototype testing

– Computer simulation allows multiple “what-if” scenarios to be tested
quickly and effectively.

• To simulate designs that are not suitable for prototype testing

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– Example: Surgical implants, such as an artificial knee

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• The bottom line:

– Cost savings
– Time savings… reduce time to market!
– Create more reliable, better-quality designs
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Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS
D. Instructor Example Training Manual

INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
• Your instructor is going to do a simple example so you get a feel
for what you’re going to be learning.

• The instructor will do the example through the GUI without going
into any detail on how to generate the model.

• The example is of a cantilever beam with a load at the end.

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• You will see that the deflection at the tip matches theory.
→ δ = PL3/3EI = (-100)*(103)/(3)*(30e6)*(1/12) = -0.013

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Instructor cheat sheet:
/prep7 alls
mp,ex,1,30e6 d,node(0,0.5,0),uy
mp,nuxy,1,0.3

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f,node(10,1,0),fy,-100
et,1,plane42 /solu
blc4,0,0,10,1 solve

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amesh,all /post1
nsel,s,loc,x,0 plns,u,y
d,all,ux

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Chapter 2 - FEA and ANSYS

E. Workshop Training Manual
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO
• Refer to your Workshop Supplement for instructions on:
W2 Introductory Workshop
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