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UofAANSYSTutorial

ANSYS
UTILITIES

BASIC
TUTORIALS

BicycleSpaceFrame
PlaneStressBracket
ModelingTools

ADVANCED
TUTORIALS

POSTPROC.
TUTORIALS

COMMAND
LINEFILES

PRINTABLE
VERSION

SpaceFrameExample

TwoDimensionalTruss

INTERMEDIATE

TUTORIALS

|VerificationExample||Preprocessing||Solution||Postprocessing||CommandLine|
|BicycleExample||Preprocessing||Solution||Postprocessing||CommandLine|

SolidModeling

Introduction

Index

ThistutorialwascreatedusingANSYS7.0tosolveasimple3Dspaceframeproblem.

Contributions
Comments
MecE563

ProblemDescription
Theproblemtobesolvedinthisexampleistheanalysisofabicycleframe.Theproblemtobemodeledinthis
exampleisasimplebicycleframeshowninthefollowingfigure.Theframeistobebuiltofhollowaluminum
tubinghavinganoutsidediameterof25mmandawallthicknessof2mm.

MechanicalEngineering
UniversityofAlberta

ANSYSInc.

Copyright2001
UniversityofAlberta

Verification
Thefirststepistosimplifytheproblem.Wheneveryouaretryingoutanewanalysistype,youneedsomething
(ieanalyticalsolutionorexperimentaldata)tocomparetheresultsto.Thiswayyoucanbesurethatyou've
gottenthecorrectanalysistype,units,scalefactors,etc.
Thesimplifiedversionthatwillbeusedforthisproblemisthatofacantileverbeamshowninthefollowing
figure:

Preprocessing:DefiningtheProblem
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1. GivetheSimplifiedVersionaTitle(suchas'VerificationModel').
UtilityMenu>File>ChangeTitle
2. EnterKeypoints
Forthissimpleexample,thesekeypointsaretheendsofthebeam.
Wearegoingtodefine2keypointsforthesimplifiedstructureasgiveninthefollowingtable
coordinate
keypoint
x y z
1
0 0 0
2
500 0 0
Fromthe'ANSYSMainMenu'select:
Preprocessor>Modeling>Create>Keypoints>InActiveCS
3. FormLines
Thetwokeypointsmustnowbeconnectedtoformabarusingastraightline.
Select:Preprocessor>Modeling>Create>Lines>Lines>StraightLine.
Pickkeypoint#1(i.e.clickonit).Itwillnowbemarkedbyasmallyellowbox.
Nowpickkeypoint#2.Apermanentlinewillappear.
Whenyou'redone,clickon'OK'inthe'CreateStraightLine'window.
4. DefinetheTypeofElement
Itisnownecessarytocreateelementsonthisline.
FromthePreprocessorMenu,select:ElementType>Add/Edit/Delete.
Clickonthe'Add...'button.Thefollowingwindowwillappear:

Forthisexample,wewillusethe3Delasticstraightpipeelementasselectedintheabovefigure.
Selecttheelementshownandclick'OK'.Youshouldsee'Type1PIPE16'inthe'ElementTypes'
window.
Clickonthe'Options...'buttoninthe'ElementTypes'dialogbox.Thefollowingwindowwill
appear:

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ClickandholdtheK6button(secondfromthebottom),andselect'IncludeOutput'andclick'OK'.
Thisgivesusextraforceandmomentoutput.
Clickon'Close'inthe'ElementTypes'dialogboxandclosethe'ElementType'menu.
5. DefineGeometricProperties
Wenowneedtospecifygeometricpropertiesforourelements:
InthePreprocessormenu,selectRealConstants>Add/Edit/Delete
ClickAdd...andselect'Type1PIPE16'(actuallyitisalreadyselected).Clickon'OK'.
Enterthefollowinggeometricproperties:
OutsidediameterOD:25
WallthicknessTKWALL:2

Thisdefinesanoutsidepipediameterof25mmandawallthicknessof2mm.
Clickon'OK'.
'Set1'nowappearsinthedialogbox.Clickon'Close'inthe'RealConstants'window.
6. ElementMaterialProperties
Youthenneedtospecifymaterialproperties:
Inthe'Preprocessor'menuselectMaterialProps>MaterialModels...
DoubleclickStructural>Linear>Elasticandselect'Isotropic'(doubleclickonit)
Closethe'DefineMaterialModelBehavior'Window.
WearegoingtogivethepropertiesofAluminum.Enterthefollowingfield:

EX70000
PRXY0.33

Setthesepropertiesandclickon'OK'.
7. MeshSize
InthePreprocessormenuselectMeshing>SizeCntrls>ManualSize>Lines>AllLines
Inthesize'SIZE'field,enterthedesiredelementlength.Forthisexamplewewantanelement
lengthof2cm,therefore,enter'20'(i.e20mm)andthenclick'OK'.Notethatwehavenotyet
meshedthegeometry,wehavesimplydefinedtheelementsizes.
(Alternatively,wecouldenterthenumberofdivisionswewantintheline.Foranelementlength
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of2cm,wewouldenter25[ie25divisions]).
NOTE
Itisnotnecessarytomeshbeamelementstoobtainthecorrectsolution.However,meshingisdonein
thiscasesothatwecanobtainresults(iestress,displacement)atintermediatepositionsonthebeam.
8. Mesh
Nowtheframecanbemeshed.
Inthe'Preprocessor'menuselectMeshing>Mesh>Linesandclick'PickAll'inthe'MeshLines'
Window
9. SavingYourWork
UtilityMenu>File>Saveas....Selectthenameandlocationwhereyouwanttosaveyourfile.

SolutionPhase:AssigningLoadsandSolving
1. DefineAnalysisType
FromtheSolutionMenu,select'AnalysisType>NewAnalysis'.
Ensurethat'Static'isselectedandclick'OK'.
2. ApplyConstraints
IntheSolutionmenu,selectDefineLoads>Apply>Structural>Displacement>On
Keypoints
Selecttheleftendoftherod(Keypoint1)byclickingonitintheGraphicsWindowandclickon
'OK'inthe'ApplyU,ROTonKPs'window.
Thislocationisfixedwhichmeansthatalltranslationalandrotationaldegreesoffreedom(DOFs)
areconstrained.Therefore,select'AllDOF'byclickingonitandenter'0'intheValuefieldand
click'OK'.
3. ApplyLoads
Asshowninthediagram,thereisaverticallydownwardloadof100Nattheendofthebar
IntheStructuralmenu,selectForce/Moment>onKeypoints.
SelectthesecondKeypoint(rightendofbar)andclick'OK'inthe'ApplyF/M'window.
Clickonthe'Directionofforce/mom'atthetopandselectFY.
Enteravalueof100inthe'Force/momentvalue'boxandclick'OK'.
Theforcewillappearinthegraphicswindowasaredarrow.
Theappliedloadsandconstraintsshouldnowappearasshownbelow.

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4. SolvingtheSystem
WenowtellANSYStofindthesolution:
Solution>Solve>CurrentLS

Postprocessing:ViewingtheResults
1. HandCalculations
Now,sincethepurposeofthisexercisewastoverifytheresultsweneedtocalculatewhatweshould
find.
Deflection:

Themaximumdeflectionoccursattheendoftherodandwasfoundtobe6.2mmasshownabove.
Stress:

Themaximumstressoccursatthebaseoftherodandwasfoundtobe64.9MPaasshownabove(pure
bendingstress).
2. ResultsUsingANSYS
Deformation
fromtheMainMenuselectGeneralPostprocfromthe'ANSYSMainMenu'.Inthismenuyou
willfindavarietyofoptions,thetwowhichwewilldealwithnoware'PlotResults'and'List
Results'
SelectPlotResults>DeformedShape.
Select'Def+undefedge'andclick'OK'toviewboththedeformedandtheundeformedobject.

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Observethevalueofthemaximumdeflectionintheupperlefthandcorner(shownhere
surroundedbyablueborderforemphasis).Thisisidenticaltothatobtainedviahandcalculations.
Deflection
Foramoredetailedversionofthedeflectionofthebeam,
Fromthe'GeneralPostproc'menuselectPlotresults>ContourPlot>NodalSolution.
Select'DOFsolution'and'USUM'.Leavetheotherselectionsasthedefaultvalues.Click'OK'.

Youmaywanttohaveamoreusefulscale,whichcanbeaccomplishedbygoingtotheUtility
MenuandselectingPlotControls>Style>Contours>UniformContours
Thedeflectioncanalsobeobtainedasalistasshownbelow.GeneralPostproc>ListResults>
NodalSolution...select'DOFSolution'and'ALLDOFs'fromthelistsinthe'ListNodalSolution'
windowandclick'OK'.Thismeansthatwewanttoseealistingofalltranslationalandrotational
degreesoffreedomfromthesolution.Ifwehadonlywantedtoseethedisplacementsforexample,
wewouldhavechosen'ALLUs'insteadof'ALLDOFs'.

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Aretheseresultswhatyouexpected?Again,themaximumdeflectionoccursatnode2,theright
endoftherod.Alsonotethatalltherotationalandtranslationaldegreesoffreedomwere
constrainedtozeroatnode1.
Ifyouwantedtosavetheseresultstoafile,usethemousetogotothe'File'menu(attheupper
lefthandcornerofthislistwindow)andselect'Saveas'.
Stresses
Forlineelements(iebeams,spars,andpipes)youwillneedtousetheElementTabletogainaccessto
deriveddata(iestresses,strains).
FromtheGeneralPostprocessormenuselectElementTable>DefineTable...
Clickon'Add...'

Asshownabove,inthe'Item,Comp'boxesintheabovewindow,select'Stress'and'vonMises
SEQV'
Clickon'OK'andclosethe'ElementTableData'window.
PlottheStressesbyselectingPlotElemTableintheElementTableMenu
Thefollowingwindowwillappear.Ensurethat'SEQV'isselectedandclick'OK'

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IfyouchangedthecontourintervalsfortheDisplacementplotto"UserSpecified"youmayneedto
switchthisbackto"Autocalculated"toobtainnewvaluesforVMIN/VMAX.
UtilityMenu>PlotCtrls>Style>Contours>UniformContours...

Again,selectmoreappropriateintervalsforthecontourplot
ListtheStresses
Fromthe'ElementTable'menu,select'ListElemTable'
Fromthe'ListElementTableData'windowwhichappearsensure'SEQV'ishighlighted
Click'OK'
Notethatamaximumstressof64.914MPaoccursatthefixedendofthebeamaspredicted
analytically.
BendingMomentDiagrams
Tofurtherverifythesimplifiedmodel,abendingmomentdiagramcanbecreated.First,let'slookathow
ANSYSdefineseachelement.Pipe16has2nodesIandJ,asshowninthefollowingimage.

Toobtainthebendingmomentforthiselement,theElementTablemustbeused.TheElementTable
containsmostofthedatafortheelementincludingthebendingmomentdataforeachelementatNodeI
andNodeJ.First,weneedtoobtainobtainthebendingmomentdata.
GeneralPostproc>ElementTable>DefineTable....Click'Add...'.

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Inthewindow,
A. EnterIMomentasthe'Userlabelforitem'thiswillgiveanametothedata
B. Select'Bysequencenum'intheItembox
C. Select'SMISC'inthefirstCompbox
D. EnterSMISC,6inthesecondCompbox
E. Click'OK'
Thiswillsaveallofthebendingmomentdataatthelefthandside(Iside)ofeachelement.Now
weneedtofindthebendingmomentdataattherighthandside(Jside)ofeachelement.
Again,click'Add...'inthe'ElementTableData'window.
A. EnterJMomentasthe'Userlabelforitem'again,thiswillgiveanametothedata
B. Sameasabove
C. Sameasabove
D. ForstepD,enterSMISC,12inthesecondCompbox
E. Click'OK'
Click'Close'inthe'ElementTableData'windowandclosethe'ElementTable'Menu.SelectPlot
Results>ContourPlot>LineElemRes...

Fromthe'PlotLineElementResults'window,select'IMOMENT'fromthepulldownmenufor
LabI,and'JMOMENT'fromthepulldownmenuforLabJ.Click'OK'.Noteagainthatyoucan
modifytheintervalsforthecontourplot.

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Now,youcandoublecheckthesesolutionsanalytically.NotethatthelinebetweentheIandJ
pointisalinearinterpolation.
Beforetheexplanationoftheabovesteps,enterhelppipe16inthecommandlineasshownbelow
andthenhitenter.

BrieflyreadtheANSYSdocumentationwhichappears,payparticularattentiontotheTablesnear
theendofthedocument(shownbelow).
Table1.PIPE16Item,SequenceNumbers,andDefinitionsfortheETABLECommands
nodeI

name

item

Definition

MFORX

SMISC

MFORY

SMISC

MFORZ

SMISC

Member
forcesatthe
node

MMOMX
MMOMY

SMISC
SMISC

4
5

MMOMZ

SMISC

Member
momentsat
thenode

NotethatSMISC6(whichweusedtoobtainthevaluesatnodeI)correspondtoMMOMZthe
MembermomentfornodeI.Thevalueof'e'varieswithdifferentElementTypes,thereforeyou
mustchecktheANSYSDocumentationfilesforeachelementtodeterminetheappropriateSMISC
correspondingtotheplotyouwishtogenerate.

CommandFileModeofSolution
TheaboveexamplewassolvedusingtheGraphicalUserInterface(orGUI)ofANSYS.Thisproblemcanalso
beensolvedusingtheANSYScommandlanguageinterface.Toseethebenefitsofthecommandlineclearyour
currentfile:
FromtheUtilitymenuselect:File>ClearandStartNew
Ensurethat'ReadFile'isselectedthenclick'OK'
select'yes'inthefollowingwindow.
Copythefollowingcodeintothecommandline,thenhitenter.Notethatthetextfollowingthe"!"are
comments.
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/PREP7

!Preprocessor
K,1,0,0,0,

!Keypoint,1,x,y,z
K,2,500,0,0,

!Keypoint,2,x,y,z
L,1,2

!Linefromkeypoint1to2
!*
ET,1,PIPE16

!ElementType=pipe16
KEYOPT,1,6,1

!Thisisthechangedoptiontogivetheextraforceandmomentoutput
!*
R,1,25,2,

!RealConstant,Material1,OutsideDiameter,Wallthickness
!*
MP,EX,1,70000
!MaterialProperties,Young'sModulus,Material1,70000MPa
MP,PRXY,1,0.33
!MaterialProperties,MajorPoisson'sRatio,Material1,0.33
!*
LESIZE,ALL,20!Elementsizes,allofthelines,20mm
LMESH,1

!Meshthelines
FINISH!Exitpreprocessor
/SOLU
!Solution
ANTYPE,0!Thetypeofanalysis(static)
!*
DK,1,,0,,0,ALL
!ApplyaDisplacementtoKeypoint1toallDOF
FK,2,FY,100
!ApplyaForcetoKeypoint2of100Nintheydirection
/STATUS,SOLU

SOLVE

!Solvetheproblem
FINISH

NotethatyouhavenowfinishedPostprocessingandtheSolutionPhasewithjustthesefewlinesofcode.There
arecodestocompletethePostprocessingbutwewillreviewtheselater.

BicycleExample
Nowwewillreturntotheanalysisofthebikeframe.Thestepswhichyoucompletedintheverification
examplewillnotbeexplainedingreatdetail,thereforeusetheverificationexampleasareferenceasrequired.
WewillbecombiningtheuseoftheGraphicUserInterface(GUI)withtheuseofcommandlines.
Recallthegeometryanddimensionsofthebicycleframe:

Preprocessing:DefiningtheProblem
1. ClearanyoldANSYSfilesandstartanewfile
UtilityMenu>File>ClearandStartNew
2. GivetheExampleaTitle
Utilitymenu>File>ChangeTitle
3. DefiningSomeVariables
Wearegoingtodefinetheverticesoftheframeusingvariables.Thesevariablesrepresentthevarious
lengthsofthebicyclemembers.Noticethatbyusingvariableslikethis,itisveryeasytosetupa
parametricdescriptionofyourmodel.Thiswillenableustoquicklyredefinetheframeshouldchanges
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benecessary.Thequickestwaytoenterthesevariablesisviathe'ANSYSInput'windowwhichwasused
abovetoinputthecommandlinecodesfortheverificationmodel.Typeineachofthefollowinglines
followedbyEnter.
x1=500
x2=825
y1=325
y2=400
z1=50

4. EnterKeypoints
Forthisspaceframeexample,thesekeypointsaretheframevertices.
Wearegoingtodefine6keypointsforthisstructureasgiveninthefollowingtable(these
keypointsaredepictedbythecirclednumbersintheabovefigure):
keypoint

coordinate
x

y1

y2

x1 y2

x1

x2

z1

x2

z1

NowinsteadofusingtheGUIwindowwearegoingtoentercodeintothe'commandline'.First,
openthe'PreprocessorMenu'fromthe'ANSYSMainMenu'.Thepreprocessormenuhastobe
openinorderforthepreprocessorcommandstoberecognized.Alternatively,youcantype/PREP7
intothecommandline.Thecommandlineformatrequiredtoenterakeypointisasfollows:

K,NPT,X,Y,Z

where,eachAbbreviationisrepresentativeofthefollowing:

Keypoint,Referencenumberforthekeypoint,coordsx/y/z

Foramoredetailedexplanation,typehelpkintothecommandline
Forexample,toenterthefirstkeypointtype:

K,1,0,y1,0

intothecommandlinefollowedbyEnter.
Aswithanyprogramminglanguage,youmayneedtoaddcomments.Theexclamationmark
indicatesthatanythingfollowingitiscommentedout.ieforthesecondkeypointyoumighttype:

K,2,0,y2,0

!keypoint,#,x=0,y=y2,z=0

Enterthe4remainingkeypoints(listedinthetableabove)usingthecommandline
Nowyoumaywanttochecktoensurethatyouenteredallofthekeypointscorrectly:
UtilityMenu>List>Keypoints>Coordinatesonly
(Alternatively,type'KLIST'intothecommandline)

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Ifthereareanykeypointswhichneedtobereentered,simplyreenterthecode.Apreviously
definedkeypointofthesamenumberwillberedefined.However,ifthereisonethatneedstobe
deletedsimplyenterthefollowingcode:

KDELE,#

where#correspondstothenumberofthekeypoint.
Inthisexample,wedefinedthekeypointsbymakinguseofpreviouslydefinedvariableslikey1=325.
Thiswassimplyusedforconvenience.Todefinekeypoint#1,forexample,wecouldhavealternatively
usedthecoordinatesx=0,y=325,z=0.
5. ChangingOrientationofthePlot
Togetabetterviewofourviewofourmodel,we'llviewitinanisometricview:
SelectUtilitymenubar>PlotCtrls>Pan,Zoom,Rotate...'

Inthewindowthatappears(shownleft),
youhavemanycontrols.Try
experimentingwiththem.Byturningon
thedynamicmode(clickonthe
checkboxbeside'DynamicMode')you
canusethemousetodragtheimage,
translatingandrotatingitonallthree
axes.
Togetanisometricview,clickon'Iso'
(atthetopright).Youcaneitherleave
the'Pan,Zoom,Rotate'windowopen
andmoveittoanemptyareaonthe
screen,orcloseitifyourscreenis
alreadycluttered.

6. CreateLines
Wewillbejoiningthefollowingkeypointstogether:
line
1

keypoint
1st 2nd
1

Again,wewillusethecommandlinetocreatethelines.Thecommandformatto
createastraightlinelookslike:
L,P1,P2
Line,Keypointatthebeginningoftheline,Keypointattheendofline

Forexample,toobtainthefirstline,Iwouldwrite:'L,1,2'

Note:unlike'Keypoints','Lines'willautomaticallyassignthemselvesthenext
availablereferencenumber.

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Entertheremaininglinesuntilyougetapicturelikethatshownbelow.
Again,checktoensurethatyouenteredallofthelinescorrectly:type'LLIST'intothecommand
line
Ifthereareanylineswhichneedtobechanged,deletethelinebytypingthefollowingcode:'
LDELE,#'where#correspondstothereferencenumberoftheline.(Thiscanbeobtainedfromthe
listoflines).Andthenreentertheline(note:anewreferencenumberwillbeassigned)
Youshouldobtainthefollowing:

7. DefinetheTypeofElement
Preprocessor>ElementType>Add/Edit/Delete>Add
Asintheverificationmodel,definethetypeofelement(pipe16).Asintheverificationmodel,don't
forgettochangeOptionK6'IncludeOutput'toobtainextraforceandmomentoutput.
8. DefineGeometricProperties
Preprocessor>RealConstants>Add/Edit/Delete
Nowspecifygeometricpropertiesfortheelements
OutsidediameterOD:25
WallthicknessTKWALL:2

9. ElementMaterialProperties
TosetYoung'sModulusandPoisson'sratio,wewillagainusethecommandline.(ensurethatthe
preprocessormenuisstillopenifnotopenitbyclickingPreprocessorintheMainMenu)

MP,LAB,MAT,C0
MaterialProperty,Validmaterialpropertylabel,MaterialReferenceNumber,value

ToentertheElasticModulus(LAB=EX)of70000MPa,type:'MP,EX,1,70000'
TosetPoisson'sratio(PRXY),type'MP,PRXY,1,0.33'
10. MeshSize
Asintheverificationmodel,settheelementlengthto20mm
Preprocessor>Meshing>SizeCntrls>ManualSize>Lines>AllLines
11. Mesh
Nowtheframecanbemeshed.

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Inthe'Preprocessor'menuselect'Mesh'>'Lines'andclick'PickAll'inthe'MeshLines'Window
SavingYourJob
UtilityMenu>File>Saveas...

SolutionPhase:AssigningLoadsandSolving
Closethe'Preprocessor'menuandopenupthe'Solution'menu(fromthesame'ANSYSMainMenu').
1. DefineAnalysisType
Solution>AnalysisType>NewAnalysis...>Static
2. ApplyConstraints
Onceagain,wewillusethecommandline.Wearegoingtopin(translationalDOFswillbefixed)the
firstkeypointandconstrainthekeypointscorrespondingtotherearwheelattachmentlocationsinboth
theyandzdirections.Thefollowingisthecommandlineformattoapplyconstraintsatkeypoints.

DK,KPOI,Lab,VALUE,VALUE2,KEXPND,Lab2,Lab3,Lab4,Lab5,Lab6
DisplacementonK,K#,DOFlabel,value,value2,Expansionkey,otherDOFlabels

Notallofthefieldsarerequiredforthisexample,thereforewhenenteringthecodecertainfieldswillbe
empty.Forexample,topinthefirstkeypointenter:

DK,1,UX,0,,,UY,UZ

TheDOFlabelsfortranslationmotionare:UX,UY,UZ.Notethatthe5thand6thfieldsareempty.
Thesecorrespondto'value2'and'theExpansionkey'whicharenotrequiredforthisconstraint.Alsonote
thatallthreeofthetranslationalDOFswereconstrainedto0.TheDOFscanonlybecontrainedin1
commandlineifthevalueisthesame.
ToapplythecontraintstoKeypoint5,thecommandlinecodeis:

DK,5,UY,0,,,UZ

NotethatonlyUYandUZarecontrainedto0.UXisnotconstrained.Again,notethatthe5thand6th
fieldsareemptybecausetheyarenotrequired.
Applytheconstraintstotheotherrearwheellocation(Keypoint6UYandUZ).
Nowlisttheconstraints('DKLIST')andverifythemagainstthefollowing:

Ifyouneedtodeleteanyoftheconstraintsusethefollowingcommand:'DKDELE,K,Lab'(ie
'DKDELE,1,UZ'woulddeletetheconstraintinthe'z'directionforKeypoint1)
3. ApplyLoads
Wewillapplyverticaldownwardloadsof600Nattheseatpostlocation(keypoint3)and200Natthe
pedalcranklocation(keypoint4).Wewillusethecommandlinetodefinetheseloadingconditions.
FK,KPOI,Lab,value,value2
Forceloadsatkeypoints,K#,ForceLabeldirections(FX,FY,FZ),value1,value2(ifreq'd)

Toapplyaforceof600Ndownwardatkeypoint3,thecodeshouldlooklikethis:'FK,3,FY,600'
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Applyboththeforcesandlisttheforcestoensuretheywereinputtedcorrectly(FKLIST).
Ifyouneedtodeleteoneoftheforces,thecodelookslikethis:'FKDELE,K,Lab'(ie'FKDELE,3,FY'
woulddeletetheforceinthe'y'directionforKeypoint3)
Theappliedloadsandconstraintsshouldnowappearasshownbelow.

4. SolvingtheSystem
Solution>Solve>CurrentLS

Postprocessing:ViewingtheResults
TobeginPostprocessing,openthe'GeneralPostproc'Menu
1. Deformation
PlotResults>DeformedShape...'Def+undefedge'

Youmaywanttotryplottingthisfromdifferentanglestogetabetterideawhat'sgoingonby
usingthe'PanZoomRotate'menuthatwasearlieroutlined.
Trythe'Front'viewbutton(Notethattheviewsof'Front','Left','Back',etcdependonhowthe
objectwasfirstdefined).
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Yourscreenshouldlookliketheplotbelow:

2. Deflections
Nowlet'stakealookatsomeactualdeflectionsintheframe.Thedeflectionshavebeencalculatedatthe
nodesofthemodel,sothefirstthingwe'lldoisplotoutthenodesandnodenumbers,soweknowwhat
node(s)we'reafter.
GotoUtilitymenu>PlotCtrls>Numbering...andturnon'Nodenumbers'.Turneverythingelse
off.
Notethenodenumbersofinterest.Ofparticularinterestarethosenodeswheretheconstraintswere
appliedtoseeiftheirdisplacements/rotationswereindeedfixedtozero.Alsonotethenode
numbersoftheseatandcranklocations.
ListtheNodalDeflections(MainMenu>GeneralPostproc>ListResults>Nodal
Solution...').Arethedisplacementsandrotationsasyouexpected?
Plotthedeflectionaswell.
GeneralPostproc>PlotResults>(ContourPlot)NodalSolutionselect'DOFsolution'
and'USUM'inthewindow

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Don'tforgettousemoreusefulintervals.
3. ElementForces
Wecouldalsotakealookattheforcesintheelementsinmuchthesameway:
Select'ElementSolution...'fromthe'ListResults'menu.
Select'Nodalforcedata'and'Allforces'fromthelistsdisplayed.
Clickon'OK'.
Foreachelementinthemodel,theforce/momentvaluesateachofthetwonodesperelementwill
bedisplayed.
Closethislistwindowwhenyouarefinishedbrowsing.
Thenclosethe'ListResults'menu.
4. Stresses
Asshowninthecantileverbeamexample,usetheElementTabletogainaccesstoderivedstresses.
GeneralPostproc>ElementTable>DefineTable...
Select'Add'
Select'Stress'and'vonMises'
ElementTable>PlotElemTable

Again,selectappropriateintervalsforthecontourplot
5. BendingMomentDiagrams
Asshownpreviously,thebendingmomentdiagramcanbeproduced.
SelectElementTable>DefineTable...todefinethetable(rememberSMISC,6andSMISC,12)
And,PlotResults>LineElemRes...toplotthedatafromtheElementTable

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CommandFileModeofSolution

TheaboveexamplewassolvedusingamixtureoftheGraphicalUserInterface(orGUI)andthecommand
languageinterfaceofANSYS.ThisproblemhasalsobeensolvedusingtheANSYScommandlanguage
interfacethatyoumaywanttobrowse.Openthe.HTMLversion,copyandpastethecodeintoNotepadora
similartexteditorandsaveittoyourcomputer.Nowgoto'File>Readinputfrom...'andselectthefile.A
.PDFversionisalsoavailableforprinting.

QuittingANSYS
ToquitANSYS,select'QUIT'fromtheANSYSToolbarorselect'UtilityMenu'/'File'/'Exit...'.Inthedialogbox
thatappears,clickon'SaveEverything'(assumingthatyouwantto)andthenclickon'OK'.

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