Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

Tutorial
Project 1: 2D Truss Problem

Problem
Analyze the following truss using the FEA tool
ABAQUS
Cross-sections:
AB = AD = BD = 200 mm2
BC = CD = 300 mm2
Material Properties:
AB, AD, BD: E = 200 GPa, = 0.25
BC, CD: E = 150 GPa, = 0.3

Determine:
Displacements at each nodes
Stresses in each bars
Deformed

Introduction
The truss problem will be analyzed using
commercial Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
software ABAQUS/CAE Student Edition 6.12-2
The software is available for download for free
in www.3ds.com/
The FEA problem will be divided into three
parts Preprocessing
Solving
Postprocessing

Preprocessing

File Management
Open ABAQUS/CAE from start menu
Start > All Programs > Abaqus 6.12
Student Edition > Abaqus CAE

Set the working directory to a specific

folder. All the files will be generated
and saved in that folder.
File > Set Working Directory

Save the database file with a specific

name (.cae extension)
File > Save As > Truss.cae (This file will be
saved in the folder set as working
directory )

Creating the Geometry

From the left side Model tree
menu, double click Parts to
create part (geometry) and
change the settings as follows:

Name: Truss
Modeling Space: 2D Planar
Type: Deformable
Base Feature: Wire
Approximate Size: 8000

Click Continue
The truss geometry will be created
in the grid space
Use the mouse scroll button to
zoom in and zoom out
Buttons will show up in between the
Model tree menu and the space to
created different geometries

Creating the Geometry (Contd.)

Click Create Lines and write down the first point 3000,0
Tips: hover over the buttons slowly to see their names

Hit enter and write down the second point -3000,0 then
Click the middle mouse button or hit Esc to create the
horizontal AD line

Create the following lines:

AB = (-3000,0) (0,4000)
BD = (0,4000) (3000,0)
CD = (3000,4000) (3000,0)
BC = (0,4000) (3000,4000)

Click the middle mouse button twice to finish

Truss will be appeared in the Model tree under Parts

Creating the Materials

Double click Materials under
Model tree to create Material1
Edit Material window will pop up
Click Mechanical > Elasticity >
Elastic
Write down the properties:
Youngs Modulus: 200E3
Poissons Ratio: 0.25

Click Ok

Create Material-2 with the

following properties
Youngs Modulus: 150E3
Poissons Ratio: 0.3

Creating the Sections

Double click Sections under
Model tree to create Section-1
Create Section window will pop up
Modify as following and click
Continue

Name: Section-1
Category: Beam
Type: Truss
Hit Continue

Edit Section window will pop up

Select Material-1 from the Material
drop down list
Put 200 in the Cross-sectional area
and click Ok

Create Section-2 with Material-2

and the Cross-sectional area as
300

Creating the Section Assignments

Under Model-1, go to Parts > Truss >
Double click Section Assignments to
assign the Section-1
Select the lines AB, BD and AD and
click Done (or middle mouse button)
Tips: Click to select and hold Shift to
select multiple lines

Edit Section Assignment window

will pop up
Select Section-1 from the Section drop
down list
Click Ok
Tips: Only the assigned lines will turn
into green

Follow the above instructions to assign

Section-2 to the line BC and CD

Creating an Assembly
Under Model-1, go to
Assembly > Double click
Instances to create an
instance
Create Instance window
will pop up
Click Ok
Tips: Truss will turn into
blue

Creating a Step
Double click Steps under Model
tree and Create Step window
will pop up
Keep the properties in default

Name: Step-1
Procedure Type: General
Static, General
Hit Continue

Edit Step window will pop up

Hit Ok

Creating Boundary Conditions (BCs)

Go to Steps > Step-1 and double click
BCs to create boundary condition BC-1
Create Boundary Condition window will
pop up

Name: BC-1
Steps: Step-1
Category: Mechanical
Types for Selected Step:
Displacement/Rotation

Hit Continue, click point A and hit Done

Edit Boundary Condition window will
pop up
Click the check box U2 and put 0 in the right
side box

Create BC-2 by selecting point C

U1 = 0, U2 = 0

Creating Loads
Go to Steps > Step-1 and double click
Loads to create load
Create Load window will pop up

Name: Load-1
Steps: Step-1
Category: Mechanical
Types for Selected Step: Concentrated Force

Hit Continue, click point B and hit Done

Edit Load window will pop up. Put,
CF1 = 0, CF2 = -400
Hit Ok

Create Load-2 by selecting point D

CF1 = 600, CF2 = 0

Creating Mesh

Go to Parts > Truss and double click Mesh

(Empty) to enter in the Mesh module
Select Mesh > Element Type from the menu
bar
Select the whole truss by holding down the
left mouse button, dragging and releasing the
left mouse button
Tips: Zoom out to make the truss smaller
Hit Done

Element Type window will pop up

From the Family select Truss and hit Ok

Select Seed > Edges from the menu bar

Select the whole truss and hit Done

Local Seeds window will pop up

Method: By Number
Number of Elements: 1
Hit Ok
Hit Done

Select Mesh > Part from the menu bar

Ok to mesh part? Hit Yes

Solving

Create a Job
Under Analysis, double click Jobs to
create a job
Create Job window will pop up
Name: Job-1
Hit Continue
Hit Ok

Submit the Job

In order to conduct the
analysis, the job needs to be
submit for solving
Right click Job-1 under Jobs
and click Submit
The following solver status of
the job will appear right next
to Job-1 in a parenthesis
Submitted
Running
Completed

Postprocessing

Deformed Shape
Once Completed status appears, again Right click Job-1 under Jobs and click
Results to enter in the Postprocessing
Plot Undeformed Shape is the default. To see the deformed shape, click Plot
Contours on Deformed Shape button
To increase the fonts, go to Viewport > Viewport Annotations Options >
Legend > Set Fonts
Set size to 12 and Apply To: check all the boxes; hit Ok

Changing Contour Plots

From Results > Field
Outputs select U Spatial
displacement at nodes and
hit Ok. Now displacement
contour plot will appear.

Displacement at Nodes
From Tools > Query select
Probe values
Probe Values window will pop up
Change Probe to Nodes
Click the nodes A, B, C, D from
viewport
Displacement values will appear in
the window
Click Write to File
Change the name to
Displacement.rpt
Click Ok. The file will have the
displacement value of each nodes
and can be found in the working
directory folder.
Tips: .rpt files can be read using
Notepad/WordPad etc.

Stresses in the Elements (Bars)

From Probe Values window, click
the small button of the Field
output variable for Probe
Select Output Variable S: Stress
Component at integration points
Select Invariant Mises
Hit Ok to change the contour plot

In the Probe Values window

Change Probe to Elements

Click the elements AB, AD, BD, BC, CD
Stress values will appear in the window
Click Write to File
Change the name to Stress.rpt
Click Ok. The file will have the stress
value of each elements and can be
found in the working directory folder.

Results
Displacement at Nodes

Stress in Elements