1.

1 Definition of Structural Analysis

Structural analysis is probably the most common application of the finite element method. The term structural (or
structure) implies not only civil engineering structures such as bridges and buildings, but also naval, aeronautical,
and mechanical structures such as ship hulls, aircraft bodies, and machine housings, as well as mechanical
components such as pistons, machine parts, and tools.

1.2 Types of Structural Analysis

The seven types of structural analyses available in the ANSYS family of products are explained below. The primary
unknowns (nodal degrees of freedom) calculated in a structural analysis are displacements. Other quantities, such
as strains, stresses, and reaction forces, are then derived from the nodal displacements.

Structural analyses are available in the ANSYS/Multiphysics, ANSYS/Mechanical, ANSYS/Structural, and

ANSYS/LinearPlus programs only.

You can perform the following types of structural analyses:

Static Analysis-Used to determine displacements, stresses, etc. under static loading conditions. Both linear and
nonlinear static analyses. Nonlinearities can include plasticity, stress stiffening, large deflection, large strain,
hyperelasticity, contact surfaces, and creep. Chapter 2 describes static analyses, and Chapter 8 describes
nonlinearities.

Modal Analysis-Used to calculate the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a structure. Different mode
extraction methods are available. Chapter 3 describes modal analysis.

Harmonic Analysis-Used to determine the response of a structure to harmonically time-varying loads. Chapter 4
describes harmonic analysis.

Transient Dynamic Analysis-Used to determine the response of a structure to arbitrarily time-varying loads. All
nonlinearities mentioned under Static Analysis above are allowed. Chapter 5 describes transient dynamic analysis.

Spectrum Analysis-An extension of the modal analysis, used to calculate stresses and strains due to a response
spectrum or a PSD input (random vibrations). Chapter 6 describes spectrum analysis.

Buckling Analysis-Used to calculate the buckling loads and determine the buckling mode shape. Both linear
(eigenvalue) buckling and nonlinear buckling analyses are possible, and are described in Chapter 7.

Explicit Dynamics Analysis-ANSYS provides an interface to the LS-DYNA explicit finite element program and is used
to calculate fast solutions for large deformation dynamics and complex contact problems. Chapter 14 describes
explicit dynamics analysis.

In addition to the above analysis types, several special-purpose features are available:

 Fracture mechanics (Chapter 10)

 Composites (Chapter 11)

 Fatigue (Chapter 12)

 p-Method (Chapter 13)

1.3 Elements Used in Structural Analyses

Most ANSYS element types are structural elements, ranging from simple spars and beams to more complex
layered shells and large strain solids. Most types of structural analyses can use any of these elements.

1
Note-Explicit dynamics analysis can use only the explicit dynamics elements (LINK160, BEAM161, SHELL163,
SOLID164, COMBI165, MASS166, and LINK167).

Table 1-1 Structural element types

Shape or
Category Element Name(s)
Characteristic
General LINK1, LINK8
Spars
Bilinear (Cable) LINK10
General
BEAM3, BEAM4
Tapered
BEAM54, BEAM44
Beams Plastic
BEAM23, BEAM24
Shear Deformable
BEAM188, BEAM189
Elasto-Plastic
General PIPE16, PIPE17, PIPE18
Pipes Immersed PIPE59
Plastic PIPE20, PIPE60
Quadrilateral PLANE42, PLANE82, PLANE182
Triangle PLANE2
Hyperelastic HYPER84, HYPER56, HYPER74
2-D Solids Viscoelastic VISCO88
Large Strain VISCO106, VISCO108
Harmonic PLANE83, PLANE25
p-Element PLANE145, PLANE146
Brick SOLID45, SOLID95, SOLID73, SOLID185
Tetrahedron SOLID92, SOLID72
Layered SOLID46
Anisotropic SOLID64, SOLID65
3-D Solids
Hyperelastic HYPER86, HYPER58, HYPER158
Viscoelastic VISCO89
Large Strain VISCO107
p-Element SOLID147, SOLID148
Quadrilateral SHELL93, SHELL63, SHELL41, SHELL43, SHELL181
Axisymmetric SHELL51, SHELL61
Shells Layered SHELL91, SHELL99
Shear Panel SHELL28
p-Element SHELL150

Point-to-Surface
CONTAC48, CONTAC49
Contact Point-to-Point
CONTAC12, CONTAC52
Rigid Surface
CONTAC26

Acoustic
FLUID29, FLUID30, FLUID129, FLUID130, INFIN110, INFIN111
PLANE13, SOLID5, SOLID98
Piezoelectric
Coupled-Field PLANE13, SOLID5, SOLID98
Thermal-Stress
PLANE13, SOLID5, SOLID62, SOLID98
Magnetic-Structural
FLUID38, FLUID79, FLUID80, FLUID81
Fluid-Structural
Specialty Spring COMBIN14, COMBIN40, COMBIN39
2
 Mass MASS21
Control Element COMBIN37
Surface Effect SURF19, SURF22, SURF153, SURF154
Pin Joint COMBIN7
Linear Actuator LINK11
Matrix MATRIX27, MATRIX50
Spar LINK160
Beam BEAM161
Shell SHELL163
Explicit Dynamics Solid SOLID164
Spring-Damper COMBI165
Mass MASS166
Cable LINK167

1.4 Types of Solution Methods

Two solution methods are available for solving structural problems in the ANSYS family of products: the h-method
and the p-method. The h-method can be used for any type of analysis, but the p-method can be used only for
linear structural static analyses. Depending on the problem to be solved, the h-method usually requires a finer
mesh than the p-method. The p-method provides an excellent way to solve a problem to a desired level of
accuracy while using a coarse mesh. In general, the discussions in this manual focus on the procedures required
for the h-method of solution. Chapter 13 discusses procedures specific to the p-method.

Chapter 2: Structural Static Analysis

2.1 Definition of Static Analysis

A static analysis calculates the effects of steady loading conditions on a structure, while ignoring
inertia and damping effects, such as those caused by time-varying loads. A static analysis can,
however, include steady inertia loads (such as gravity and rotational velocity), and time-varying
loads that can be approximated as static equivalent loads (such as the static equivalent wind
and seismic loads commonly defined in many building codes).

3
2.2 Loads in a Static Analysis

Static analysis is used to determine the displacements, stresses, strains, and forces in
structures or components caused by loads that do not induce significant inertia and damping
effects. Steady loading and response conditions are assumed; that is, the loads and the
structure's response are assumed to vary slowly with respect to time. The kinds of loading that
can be applied in a static analysis include:

 Externally applied forces and pressures

 Steady-state inertial forces (such as gravity or rotational velocity)

 Imposed (non-zero) displacements

 Temperatures (for thermal strain)

 Fluences (for nuclear swelling)

2.3 Linear vs. Nonlinear Static Analyses

A static analysis can be either linear or nonlinear. All types of nonlinearities are allowed- large
deformations, plasticity, creep, stress stiffening, contact (gap) elements, hyperelastic elements,
etc. This chapter focuses on linear static analyses, with brief references to nonlinearities. Details
of how to handle nonlinearities are described in Chapter 8.

Chapter 3: Modal Analysis

3.1 Definition of Modal Analysis

You use modal analysis to determine the vibration characteristics (natural frequencies and
mode shapes) of a structure or a machine component while it is being designed. It also can be a
starting point for another, more detailed, dynamic analysis, such as a transient dynamic
analysis, a harmonic response analysis, or a spectrum analysis.
4
3.2 Uses for Modal Analysis

You use modal analysis to determine the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a structure.
The natural frequencies and mode shapes are important parameters in the design of a structure
for dynamic loading conditions. They are also required if you want to do a spectrum analysis or
a mode superposition harmonic or transient analysis.

You can do modal analysis on a prestressed structure, such as a spinning turbine blade.
Another useful feature is modal cyclic symmetry, which allows you to review the mode shapes of
a cyclically symmetric structure by modeling just a sector of it.

Modal analysis in the ANSYS family of products is a linear analysis. Any nonlinearities, such as
plasticity and contact (gap) elements, are ignored even if they are defined. You can choose from
several mode extraction methods: subspace, Block Lanczos, PowerDynamics, reduced,
unsymmetric, and damped. The damped method allows you to include damping in the structure.
Details about mode extraction methods are covered later in this section.

Chapter 4: Harmonic Response Analysis

4.1 Definition of Harmonic Response Analysis

Any sustained cyclic load will produce a sustained cyclic response (a harmonic response) in a
structural system. Harmonic response analysis gives you the ability to predict the sustained
dynamic behavior of your structures, thus enabling you to verify whether or not your designs will
successfully overcome resonance, fatigue, and other harmful effects of forced vibrations.

5
4.2 Uses for Harmonic Response Analysis

Harmonic response analysis is a technique used to determine the steady-state response of a

linear structure to loads that vary sinusoidally (harmonically) with time. The idea is to calculate
the structure's response at several frequencies and obtain a graph of some response quantity
(usually displacements) versus frequency. "Peak" responses are then identified on the graph
and stresses reviewed at those peak frequencies.

This analysis technique calculates only the steady-state, forced vibrations of a structure. The
transient vibrations, which occur at the beginning of the excitation, are not accounted for in a
harmonic response analysis (see Figure 4-1).

Figure 4-1 (a) Typical harmonic response system. Fo and are known. uo and are
unknown. (b) Transient and steady-state dynamic response of a structural system.

Harmonic
response
analysis is
a linear
analysis.
Any
nonlinearities, such as plasticity and contact (gap) elements, will be ignored, even if they are
defined. You can, however, have unsymmetric system matrices such as those encountered in a
fluid-structure interaction problem (see Chapter 4 of the ANSYS Coupled-Field Analysis Guide).
Harmonic analysis can also be performed on a prestressed structure, such as a violin string
(assuming the harmonic stresses are much smaller than the pre-tension stress).

4.3 Commands Used in a Harmonic Response Analysis

You use the same set of commands to build a model and perform a harmonic response analysis
that you use to do any other type of finite element analysis. Likewise, you choose similar
options from the graphical user interface (GUI) to build and solve models no matter what type of
analysis you are doing.

Section 4.7, "Sample Harmonic Response Analysis (Command or Batch Method)," shows you
the sequence of commands you would issue (either manually or while running ANSYS as a
batch job) to perform an example harmonic response analysis. Section 4.6 "Sample Harmonic
Response Analysis (GUI Method)," shows you how to execute the same sample analysis using
menu choices from the ANSYS GUI. (To learn how to use the commands and GUI selections for
building models, read the ANSYS Modeling and Meshing Guide.)

For detailed, alphabetized descriptions of the ANSYS commands, see the ANSYS Commands
Reference.

4.4 The Three Solution Methods

6
Three harmonic response analysis methods are available: full, reduced, and mode
superposition. (A fourth, relatively expensive method is to do a transient dynamic analysis with
the harmonic loads specified as time-history loading functions; see Chapter 5 for details.) The
ANSYS/LinearPlus program allows only the mode superposition method. Before we study the
details of how to implement each of these methods, let's explore the advantages and
disadvantages of each method.

4.4.1 The Full Method

The full method is the easiest of the three methods. It uses the full system matrices to calculate
the harmonic response (no matrix reduction). The matrices may be symmetric or unsymmetric.
The advantages of the full method are:

 It is easy to use, because you don't have to worry about choosing master degrees of
freedom or mode shapes.

 It uses full matrices, so no mass matrix approximation is involved.

 It allows unsymmetric matrices, which are typical of such applications as acoustics and
bearing problems.

 It calculates all displacements and stresses in a single pass.

 It accepts all types of loads: nodal forces, imposed (non-zero) displacements, and
element loads (pressures and temperatures).

 It allows effective use of solid-model loads.

A disadvantage of the full method is that no prestressed option is available. Another

disadvantage is that this method usually is more expensive than either of the other methods
when you use the frontal solver. However, when you use the JCG solver or the ICCG solver, the
full method can be very efficient.

4.4.2 The Reduced Method

The reduced method enables you to condense the problem size by using master degrees of
freedom and reduced matrices. After the displacements at the master DOF have been
calculated, the solution can be expanded to the original full DOF set. (See Section 3.12, "Matrix
Reduction," for a more detailed discussion of the reduction procedure.) The advantages of this
method are:
7
  It is faster and less expensive compared to the full method when you are using the frontal
solver.

 Prestressing effects can be included.

The disadvantages of the reduced method are:

 The initial solution calculates only the displacements at the master DOF. A second step,
known as the expansion pass, is required for a complete displacement, stress, and force
solution. (However, the expansion pass might be optional for some applications.)

 Element loads (pressures, temperatures, etc.) cannot be applied.

 All loads must be applied at user-defined master degrees of freedom. (This limits the use
of solid-model loads.)

4.4.3 The Mode Superposition Method

The mode superposition method sums factored mode shapes (eigenvectors) from a modal
analysis to calculate the structure's response. Its advantages are:

 It is faster and less expensive than either the reduced or the full method for many
problems.

 Element loads applied in the preceding modal analysis can be applied in the harmonic
response analysis via the LVSCALE command.

 It allows solutions to be clustered about the structure's natural frequencies. This results in
a smoother, more accurate tracing of the response curve.

 Prestressing effects can be included.

 It accepts modal damping (damping ratio as a function of frequency).

Disadvantages of the mode superposition method are:

 Imposed (non-zero) displacements cannot be applied.

 When you are using PowerDynamics for the modal analysis, initial conditions cannot
have previously-applied loads.

4.4.4 Restrictions Common to All Three Methods

All three methods are subject to certain common restrictions:

 All loads must be sinusoidally time-varying.

 All loads must have the same frequency.

8
  No nonlinearities are permitted.

 Transient effects are not calculated.

You can overcome any of these restrictions by performing a transient dynamic analysis, with
harmonic loads expressed as time-history loading functions. Chapter 5 describes the procedure
for a transient dynamic analysis.

Chapter 5: Transient Dynamic Analysis

5.1 Definition of Transient Dynamic Analysis

Transient dynamic analysis (sometimes called time-history analysis) is a technique used to

determine the dynamic response of a structure under the action of any general time-dependent
loads. You can use this type of analysis to determine the time-varying displacements, strains,
stresses, and forces in a structure as it responds to any combination of static, transient, and
harmonic loads. The time scale of the loading is such that the inertia or damping effects are
considered to be important. If the inertia and damping effects are not important, you might be
able to use a static analysis instead (see Chapter 2).

The basic equation of motion solved by a transient dynamic analysis is

where:

[M] = mass matrix

[C] = damping matrix
[K] = stiffness matrix
= nodal acceleration vector
= nodal velocity vector
{u} = nodal displacement vector
{F(t)} = load vector

At any given time, t, these equations can be thought of as a set of "static" equilibrium
equations that also take into account inertia forces ([M]) and damping forces ([C]). The ANSYS
program uses the Newmark time integration method to solve these equations at discrete
timepoints. The time increment between successive timepoints is called the integration time
step.

5.2 Commands Used in a Transient Dynamic Analysis

You use the same set of commands to build a model and perform a transient dynamic analysis
that you use to do any other type of finite element analysis. Likewise, you choose similar
options from the Graphical User Interface (GUI) to build and solve models no matter what type
of analysis you are doing.

9
Section 5.8, "Sample Transient Dynamic Analysis (Command or Batch Method)," shows you the
sequence of commands you would issue (either manually or while running ANSYS as a batch
job) to perform an example transient dynamic analysis. Section 5.7, "Sample Transient Dynamic
Analysis (GUI Method)," shows you how to execute the same sample analysis using menu
choices from the ANSYS GUI. (To learn how to use the commands and GUI selections for
building models, read the ANSYS Modeling and Meshing Guide.)

For detailed, alphabetized descriptions of the ANSYS commands, see the ANSYS Commands
Reference.

5.3 Preparing for a Transient Dynamic Analysis

A transient dynamic analysis is more involved than a static analysis because it generally
requires more computer resources and more of your resources, in terms of the "engineering"
time involved. You can save a significant amount of these resources by doing some preliminary
work to understand the physics of the problem. For example, you can:

1. Analyze a simpler model first. A model of beams, masses, and springs can provide good
insight into the problem at minimal cost. This simpler model may be all you need to determine
the dynamic response of the structure.

2. If you are including nonlinearities, try to understand how they affect the structure's response
by doing a static analysis first. In some cases, nonlinearities need not be included in the
dynamic analysis.

3. Understand the dynamics of the problem. By doing a modal analysis, which calculates the
natural frequencies and mode shapes, you can learn how the structure responds when those
modes are excited. The natural frequencies are also useful for calculating the correct integration
time step.

4. For a nonlinear problem, consider substructuring the linear portions of the model to reduce
analysis costs. Substructuring is described in the ANSYS Advanced Analysis Techniques Guide.

5.4 The Three Solution Methods

Three methods are available to do a transient dynamic analysis: full, reduced, and mode
superposition. The ANSYS/LinearPlus program allows only the mode superposition method.
Before we study the details of how to implement each of these methods, let's examine the
advantages and disadvantages of each.

5.4.1 The Full Method

The full method uses the full system matrices to calculate the transient response (no matrix
reduction). It is the most powerful of the three methods because it allows all types of
nonlinearities to be included (plasticity, large deflections, large strain, etc.).

Note-If you do not want to include any nonlinearities, you should consider using one of the other
methods because the full method is also the most expensive method of the three.

10
The advantages of the full method are:

 It is easy to use, because you don't have to worry about choosing master degrees of
freedom or mode shapes.

 It allows all types of nonlinearities.

 It uses full matrices, so no mass matrix approximation is involved.

 All displacements and stresses are calculated in a single pass.

 It accepts all types of loads: nodal forces, imposed (non-zero) displacements (although
not recommended), and element loads (pressures and temperatures).

 It allows effective use of solid-model loads.

The main disadvantage of the full method is that it is more expensive than either of the other
methods.

5.4.2 The Reduced Method

The reduced method condenses the problem size by using master degrees of freedom and
reduced matrices. After the displacements at the master DOF have been calculated, ANSYS
expands the solution to the original full DOF set. (See Section 3.12, "Matrix Reduction," for a
more detailed discussion of the reduction procedure.) The advantages of the reduced method
are:

 It is faster and less expensive than the full method.

The disadvantages of the reduced method are:

 The initial solution calculates only the displacements at the master DOF. A second step,
known as the expansion pass, is required for a complete displacement, stress and force
solution. (However, the expansion pass might not be needed for some applications.)

 Element loads (pressures, temperatures, etc.) cannot be applied. Accelerations,

however, are allowed.

 All loads must be applied at user-defined master degrees of freedom. (This limits the use
of solid-model loads.)

 The time step must remain constant throughout the transient, so automatic time-stepping
is not allowed.

 The only nonlinearity allowed is simple node-to-node contact (gap condition).

5.4.3 The Mode Superposition Method

The mode superposition method sums factored mode shapes (eigenvectors) from a modal
analysis to calculate the structure's response. This is the only method available in the
ANSYS/LinearPlus program. Its advantages are:

 It is faster and less expensive than the reduced or the full method for many problems.

11
  Element loads applied in the preceding modal analysis can be applied in the transient
dynamic analysis via the LVSCALE command.

 It accepts modal damping (damping ratio as a function of mode number).

The disadvantages of the mode superposition method are:

 The time step must remain constant throughout the transient, so automatic time-stepping
is not allowed.

 The only nonlinearity allowed is simple node-to-node contact (gap condition).

 It should not be used for a "floating" or disjoint structure.

 When you are using PowerDynamics, initial conditions may not have previously-applied
loads or displacements. For further information, see Section 5.10.2.2, "Obtaining the
Solution."

 It does not accept imposed (non-zero) displacements.

Chapter 6: Spectrum Analysis

6.1 Definition of Spectrum Analysis

A spectrum analysis is one in which the results of a modal analysis are used with a known
spectrum to calculate displacements and stresses in the model. It is mainly used in place of a
time-history analysis to determine the response of structures to random or time-dependent

12
loading conditions such as earthquakes, wind loads, ocean wave loads, jet engine thrust, rocket
motor vibrations, and so on.

6.2 What is a Spectrum?

The spectrum is a graph of spectral value versus frequency that captures the intensity and
frequency content of time-history loads. Three types of spectra are available for a spectrum
analysis:

 Response Spectrum
o Single-point Response Spectrum (SPRS)

o Multi-point Response Spectrum (MPRS)

 Dynamic Design Analysis Method (DDAM)

 Power Spectral Density (PSD)

The only method available in the ANSYS/LinearPlus program is the single-point response
spectrum.

6.2.1 Response Spectrum

A response spectrum represents the response of single-DOF systems to a time-history loading
function. It is a graph of response versus frequency, where the response might be displacement,
velocity, acceleration, or force. Two types of response spectrum analysis are possible: single-
point response spectrum and multi-point response spectrum.

6.2.1.1 Single-point Response Spectrum (SPRS)

In a single-point response spectrum (SPRS) analysis, you specify one response spectrum curve
(or a family of curves) at a set of points in the model, such as at all supports, as shown in Figure
6-1(a).

6.2.1.2 Multi-Point Response Spectrum (MPRS)

In a multi-point response spectrum (MPRS) analysis, you specify different spectrum curves at
different sets of points, as shown in Figure 6-1(b).

Figure 6-1 Single-point and multi-point response spectra

6.2.2 Dynamic Design

Analysis
Method
(DDAM)
The Dynamic
Design Analysis
Method (DDAM) is a technique used to evaluate the shock resistance of shipboard equipment.
The technique is essentially a response spectrum analysis in which the spectrum is obtained
from a series of empirical equations and shock design tables provided in the U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory Report NRL-1396.

13
6.2.3 Power Spectral Density
Power spectral density (PSD) is a statistical measure defined as the limiting mean-square value
of a random variable. It is used in random vibration analyses in which the instantaneous
magnitudes of the response can be specified only by probability distribution functions that show
the probability of the magnitude taking a particular value.

A PSD spectrum is a statistical measure of the response of a structure to random dynamic loading conditions. It is
a graph of the PSD value versus frequency, where the PSD may be a displacement PSD, velocity PSD, acceleration
PSD, or force PSD. Mathematically, the area under a PSD-versus-frequency curve is equal to the variance (square
of the standard deviation of the response).

Similar to response spectrum analysis, a random vibration analysis may be single-point or multi-point. In a single-
point random vibration analysis, you specify one PSD spectrum at a set of points in the model. In a multi-point
random vibration analysis, you specify different PSD spectra at different points in the model.

Note-The sparse direct solver is not applicable to PSD spectrum analysis.

6.2.4 Deterministic vs. Probabilistic Analyses

Response spectrum and DDAM analyses are deterministic analyses because both the input to
the analyses and output from the analyses are actual maximum values. Random vibration
analysis, on the other hand, is probabilistic in nature, because both input and output quantities
represent only the probability that they take on certain values.

6.3 Commands Used in a Spectrum Analysis

You use the same set of commands to build a model and perform a spectrum analysis that you
use to do any other type of finite element analysis. Likewise, you choose similar options from
the graphical user interface (GUI) to build and solve models no matter what type of analysis you
are doing.

Section 6.6 ﾧ, "Sample Spectrum Analysis (Command or Batch Method)," shows you the sequence of commands
you issue (either manually or while running ANSYS as a batch job) to perform an example spectrum analysis.
Section 6.5 ﾧ, "Sample Spectrum Analysis (GUI Method)," shows you how to execute the same sample analysis
using menu choices from the ANSYS GUI. (To learn how to use the commands and GUI selections for building
models, read the ANSYS Modeling and Meshing Guide ﾧ.)

For detailed, alphabetized descriptions of the ANSYS commands, see the ANSYS Commands Reference ﾧ.

We will now describe how to do the two most commonly used spectrum analyses-single-point response spectrum
(SPRS) and random vibrations (PSD). For the DDAM and multi-point response spectrum (MPRS) analyses, we will
simply list the steps that are different.

Chapter 7: Buckling Analysis

7.1 Definition of Buckling Analysis

Buckling analysis is a technique used to determine buckling loads-critical loads at which a

structure becomes unstable-and buckled mode shapes-the characteristic shape associated
with a structure's buckled response.

14
7.2 Types of Buckling Analyses

Two techniques are available in the ANSYS/Multiphysics, ANSYS/Mechanical,

ANSYS/Structural, and ANSYS/LinearPlus programs for predicting the buckling load and
buckling mode shape of a structure: nonlinear buckling analysis, and eigenvalue (or linear)
buckling analysis. Since these two methods frequently yield quite different results, let's
examine the differences between them before discussing the details of their implementation.

7.2.1 Nonlinear Buckling Analysis

Nonlinear buckling analysis is usually the more accurate approach and is therefore
recommended for design or evaluation of actual structures. This technique employs a
nonlinear static analysis with gradually increasing loads to seek the load level at which your
structure becomes unstable, as depicted in Figure 7-1(a).

Using the nonlinear technique, your model can include features such as initial imperfections,
plastic behavior, gaps, and large-deflection response. In addition, using deflection-controlled
loading, you can even track the post-buckled performance of your structure (which can be
useful in cases where the structure buckles into a stable configuration, such as "snap-
through" buckling of a shallow dome).

7.2.2 Eigenvalue Buckling Analysis

Eigenvalue buckling analysis predicts the theoretical buckling strength (the bifurcation point)
of an ideal linear elastic structure. (See Figure 7-1(b).) This method corresponds to the
textbook approach to elastic buckling analysis: for instance, an eigenvalue buckling analysis
of a column will match the classical Euler solution. However, imperfections and nonlinearities
prevent most real-world structures from achieving their theoretical elastic buckling strength.
Thus, eigenvalue buckling analysis often yields unconservative results, and should generally
not be used in actual day-to-day engineering analyses.

Figure 7-1 (a) Nonlinear load-deflection curve (b) Linear (Eigenvalue) buckling curve

7.3
Commands
Used in a
Buckling
Analysis

You use the

same set of commands to build a model and perform a buckling analysis that you use to do
any other type of finite element analysis. Likewise, you choose similar options from the
graphical user interface (GUI) to build and solve models no matter what type of analysis you
are doing.

Section 7.7, "Sample Buckling Analysis (Command or Batch Method)," shows you the
sequence of commands you would issue (either manually or while running ANSYS as a
batch job) to perform an example eigenvalue buckling analysis. Section 7.6, "Sample
Buckling Analysis (GUI Method)," shows you how to execute the same sample analysis
15
using menu choices from the ANSYS GUI. (To learn how to use the commands and GUI
selections for building models, read the ANSYS Modeling and Meshing Guide.)

For detailed, alphabetized descriptions of the ANSYS commands, see the ANSYS
Commands Reference.

7.4 Procedure for Nonlinear Buckling Analysis

A nonlinear buckling analysis is a static analysis with large deflections turned on

[NLGEOM,ON], extended to a point where the structure reaches its limit load or maximum
load. Other nonlinearities such as plasticity may be included in the analysis. The procedure
for a static analysis is described in Chapter 2, and nonlinearities are described in Chapter 8.

7.4.1 Applying Load Increments

The basic approach in a nonlinear buckling analysis is to constantly increment the applied
loads until the solution begins to diverge. Be sure to use a sufficiently fine load increment as
your loads approach the expected critical buckling load. If the load increment is too coarse,
the buckling load predicted may not be accurate. Turn on bisection and automatic time
stepping [AUTOTS,ON] to help avoid this problem.

7.4.2 Automatic Time Stepping

With automatic time stepping on, the program automatically seeks out the buckling load. If
automatic time stepping is ON in a static analysis having ramped loading and the solution
does not converge at a given load, the program bisects the load step increment and
attempts a new solution at a smaller load. In a buckling analysis, each such convergence
failure is typically accompanied by a "negative pivot" message indicating that the attempted
load equals or exceeds the buckling load. You can usually ignore these messages if the
program successfully obtains a converged solution at the next, reduced load. If stress
stiffness is active [SSTIF,ON], you should run without adaptive descent active
[NROPT,FULL,,OFF] to ensure that a lower bound to the buckling load is attained. The
program normally converges to the limiting load as the process of bisection and re-solution
continues to the point at which the minimum time step increment (specified by DELTIM or
NSUBST) is achieved. The minimum time step will directly affect the precision of your
results.

7.4.3 Important

Remember that an unconverged solution does not necessarily mean that the structure has
reached its maximum load. It could also be caused by numerical instability, which might be
corrected by refining your modeling technique. Track the load-deflection history of your
structure's response to decide whether an unconverged load step represents actual
structural buckling, or whether it reflects some other problem. Perform a preliminary analysis
using the arc-length method [ARCLEN] to predict an approximate value of buckling load.

16
Compare this approximate value to the more precise value calculated using bisection to help
determine if the structure has indeed reached its maximum load. You can also use the arc-
length method itself to obtain a precise buckling load, but this method requires you to adjust
the arc-length radius by trial-and-error in a series of manually directed re-analyses.

7.4.4 Points to Remember

 If the loading on the structure is perfectly in-plane (that is, membrane or axial stresses
only), the out-of-plane deflections necessary to initiate buckling will not develop, and the
analysis will fail to predict buckling behavior. To overcome this problem, apply a small
out-of-plane perturbation, such as a modest temporary force or specified displacement,
to begin the buckling response. (A preliminary eigenvalue buckling analysis of your
structure may be useful as a predictor of the buckling mode shape, allowing you to
choose appropriate locations for applying perturbations to stimulate the desired buckling
response.) The imperfection (perturbation) induced should match the location and size of
that in the real structure. The failure load is very sensitive to these parameters.

 In a large-deflection analysis, forces (and displacements) will maintain their original

orientation, but surface loads will "follow" the changing geometry of the structure as it
deflects. Therefore, be sure to apply the proper type of loads.

 You should carry your stability analysis through to the point of identifying the critical load
in order to calculate the structure's factor of safety with respect to nonlinear buckling.
(Merely establishing the fact that a structure is stable at a given load level is generally
insufficient for most design practice; you will usually be required to provide a specified
safety factor, which can only be determined by establishing the actual limit load.)

 You can extend your analysis into the post-buckled range by activating the arc-length
method [ARCLEN]. Use this feature to trace the load-deflection curve through regions of
"snap-through" and "snap-back" response.

 For most solid elements, you do not need to use stress stiffening in a nonlinear buckling
analysis. Do not use stress stiffening on "discontinuous" elements (nonlinear elements
that experience sudden discontinuous changes in stiffness due to status changes, such
as various contact elements, SOLID65, etc.) or on elements adjacent to discontinuous
elements.

 For those elements that support the consistent tangent stiffness matrix (BEAM4,
SHELL63, and SHELL181), activate the consistent tangent stiffness matrix
(KEYOPT(2)=1 and NLGEOM,ON) to enhance the convergence behavior of your
nonlinear buckling analyses and improve the accuracy of your results. This element
KEYOPT must be defined before the first load step of the solution and cannot be
changed once the solution has started.

7.5 Procedure for Eigenvalue Buckling Analysis

Again, remember that eigenvalue buckling analysis generally yields unconservative results,
and should usually not be used for design of actual structures. If you decide that eigenvalue
buckling analysis is appropriate for your application, follow this five-step procedure:

1. Build the model.

17
2. Obtain the static solution.

3. Obtain the eigenvalue buckling solution.

4. Expand the solution.

5. Review the results.

7.5.1 Build the Model

In this step, you specify the jobname and analysis title and then use PREP7 to define the
element types, element real constants, material properties, and the model geometry. These
tasks are common to most analyses. The ANSYS Modeling and Meshing Guide explains
them in detail.

7.5.1.1 Points to Remember

 Only linear behavior is valid. Nonlinear elements, if any, are treated as linear. If you
include contact elements, for example, their stiffnesses are calculated based on their
status after the static prestress run and are never changed.

 Young's modulus (EX) (or stiffness in some form) must be defined. Material properties
may be linear, isotropic or orthotropic, and constant or temperature-dependent. Nonlinear
properties, if any, are ignored.

7.5.2 Obtain the Static Solution

The procedure to obtain a static solution is the same as described in Chapter 2, with the
following exceptions:

 Prestress effects [PSTRES] must be activated. Eigenvalue buckling analysis requires the
stress stiffness matrix to be calculated.

 Unit loads are usually sufficient (that is, actual load values need not be specified). The
eigenvalues calculated by the buckling analysis represent buckling load factors.
Therefore, if a unit load is specified, the load factors represent the buckling loads. All
loads are scaled. (Also, the maximum permissible eigenvalue is 1,000,000-you must use
larger applied loads if your eigenvalue exceeds this limit.)

 Note that eigenvalues represent scaling factors for all loads. If certain loads are constant
(e.g., self-weight gravity loads) while other loads are variable (e.g., externally applied
loads), you need to ensure that the stress stiffness matrix from the constant loads is not
factored by the eigenvalue solution.

One strategy that you can use to achieve this end is to iterate on the eigensolution, adjusting
the variable loads until the eigenvalue becomes 1.0 (or nearly 1.0, within some convergence

18
tolerance). Design optimization could be useful in driving this iterative procedure to a final
answer.

Consider, for example, a pole having a self-weight W 0, which supports an externally-applied

load, A. To determine the limiting value of A in an eigenvalue buckling solution, you could
solve repetitively, using different values of A, until by iteration you find an eigenvalue
acceptably close to1.0.

Figure 7-2 Adjusting variable loads to find an eigenvalue of 1.0

 You can
apply a
non-zero
constraint in
the
prestressing
pass as the static load. The eigenvalues found in the buckling solution will be the load
factors applied to these non-zero constraint values. However, the mode shapes will have
a zero value at these degrees of freedom (and not the non-zero value specified).

 At the end of the solution, leave SOLUTION [FINISH].

Chapter 8: Nonlinear Structural Analysis

8.1 What is Structural Nonlinearity?

You encounter structural nonlinearities on a routine basis. For instance, whenever you staple
two pieces of paper together, the metal staples are permanently bent into a different shape.
(See Figure 8-1(a).) If you heavily load a wooden shelf, it will sag more and more as time
passes. (See Figure 8-1(b).) As weight is added to a car or truck, the contact surfaces
between its pneumatic tires and the underlying pavement change in response to the added

19
load. (See Figure 8-1(c).) If you were to plot the load-deflection curve for each of these
examples, you would discover that they all exhibit the fundamental characteristic of
nonlinear structural behavior-a changing structural stiffness.

Figure 8-1 Common examples of nonlinear structural behavior

8.1.1 Causes of
Nonlinear
Behavior

Nonlinear
structural
behavior arises
from a number
of causes,
which can be
grouped into
three principal
categories:

8.1.1.1 Changing Status (Including Contact)

Many common structural features exhibit nonlinear behavior that is status-dependent. For
example, a tension-only cable is either slack or taut; a roller support is either in contact or
not in contact. Status changes might be directly related to load (as in the case of the cable),
or they might be determined by some external cause.

Situations in which contact occurs are common to many different nonlinear applications.
Contact forms a distinctive and important subset to the category of changing-status
nonlinearities.

See Chapter 9 for detailed information on performing contact analyses using ANSYS.

8.1.1.2 Geometric Nonlinearities

If a structure experiences large deformations, its changing geometric configuration can

cause the structure to respond nonlinearly. An example would be the fishing rod shown in
Figure 8-2. Geometric nonlinearity is characterized by "large" displacements and/or
rotations.

Figure 8-2 A fishing rod demonstrates geometric nonlinearity

20
8.1.1.3 Material Nonlinearities

Nonlinear stress-strain relationships are a common cause of nonlinear structural behavior.

Many factors can influence a material's stress-strain properties, including load history (as in
elasto-plastic response), environmental conditions (such as temperature), and the amount of
time that a load is applied (as in creep response).

8.1.2 Basic Information About Nonlinear Analyses

ANSYS employs the "Newton-Raphson" approach to solve nonlinear problems. In this

approach, the load is subdivided into a series of load increments. The load increments can
be applied over several load steps. Figure 8-3 illustrates the use of Newton-Raphson
equilibrium iterations in a single DOF nonlinear analysis.

Figure 8-3 Newton-Raphson approach

Before each solution, the

Newton-Raphson method
evaluates the out-of-balance
load vector, which is the
difference between the
restoring forces (the loads
corresponding to the element
stresses) and the applied
loads. The program then
performs a linear solution,
using the out-of-balance loads, and checks for convergence. If convergence criteria are not
satisfied, the out-of-balance load vector is re-evaluated, the stiffness matrix is updated, and
a new solution is obtained. This iterative procedure continues until the problem converges.

A number of convergence-enhancement and recovery features, such as line search,

automatic load stepping, and bisection, can be activated to help the problem to converge. If
convergence cannot be achieved, then the program attempts to solve with a smaller load
increment.

In some nonlinear static analyses, if you use the Newton-Raphson method alone, the
tangent stiffness matrix may become singular (or non-unique), causing severe convergence
difficulties. Such occurrences include nonlinear buckling analyses in which the structure
either collapses completely or "snaps through" to another stable configuration. For such
situations, you can activate an alternative iteration scheme, the arc-length method, to help
avoid bifurcation points and track unloading.

The arc-length method causes the Newton-Raphson equilibrium iterations to converge along
an arc, thereby often preventing divergence, even when the slope of the load vs. deflection
curve becomes zero or negative. This iteration method is represented schematically in
Figure 8-4.

Figure 8-4 Traditional Newton-Raphson Method vs. Arc-Length Method

21
 To

summarize, a nonlinear analysis is organized into three levels of operation:

 The "top" level consists of the load steps that you define explicitly over a "time" span (see
the discussion of "time" in Chapter 2 of the ANSYS Basic Analysis Procedures Guide).
Loads are assumed to vary linearly within load steps (for static analyses).

 Within each load step, you can direct the program to perform several solutions (substeps
or time steps) to apply the load gradually.

 At each substep, the program will perform a number of equilibrium iterations to obtain a
converged solution.

Figure 8-5 illustrates a typical load history for a nonlinear analysis. Also see the discussion
of load steps, substeps, and equilibrium iterations in Chapter 2 of the ANSYS Basic Analysis
Procedures Guide.

Figure 8-5 Load steps, substeps, and "time"

The ANSYS program

gives you a number of
choices when you
designate convergence
criteria: you can base
convergence checking
on forces, moments,
displacements, or
rotations, or on any
combination of these items. Additionally, each item can have a different convergence
tolerance value. For multiple-degree-of-freedom problems, you also have a choice of
convergence norms.

You should almost always employ a force-based (and, when applicable, moment-based)
convergence tolerance. Displacement-based (and, when applicable, rotation-based)
convergence checking can be added, if desired, but should usually not be used alone.

8.1.2.1 Conservative versus Nonconservative Behavior; Path Dependency

22
If all energy put into a system by external loads is recovered when the loads are removed,
the system is said to be conservative. If energy is dissipated by the system (such as by
plastic deformation or sliding friction), the system is said to be nonconservative. An example
of a nonconservative system is shown in Figure 8-6.

An analysis of a conservative system is path independent: loads can usually be applied in

any order and in any number of increments without affecting the end results. Conversely, an
analysis of a nonconservative system is path dependent: the actual load-response history of
the system must be followed closely to obtain accurate results. An analysis can also be path
dependent if more than one solution could be valid for a given load level (as in a snap-
through analysis). Path dependent problems usually require that loads be applied slowly
(that is, using many substeps) to the final load value.

Figure 8-6 Nonconservative (path-dependent) behavior

8.1.2.2 Substeps

When using multiple

substeps, you need to
achieve a balance
between accuracy and
economy: more
substeps (that is, small
time step sizes) usually
result in better accuracy, but at a cost of increased run times. ANSYS provides automatic
time stepping that is designed for this purpose.

Automatic time stepping adjusts the time step size as needed, gaining a better balance
between accuracy and economy. Automatic time stepping activates the ANSYS program's
bisection feature.

Bisection provides a means of automatically recovering from a convergence failure. This

feature will cut a time step size in half whenever equilibrium iterations fail to converge and
automatically restart from the last converged substep. If the halved time step again fails to
converge, bisection will again cut the time step size and restart, continuing the process until
convergence is achieved or until the minimum time step size (specified by you) is reached.

8.1.2.3 Load and Displacement Directions

Consider what happens to loads when your structure experiences large deflections. In many
instances, the loads applied to your system maintain constant direction no matter how the
structure deflects. In other cases, forces will change direction, "following" the elements as
they undergo large rotations.

The ANSYS program can model both situations, depending on the type of load applied.
Accelerations and concentrated forces maintain their original orientation, regardless of the
element orientation. Surface loads always act normal to the deflected element surface, and
can be used to model "following" forces. Figure 8-7 illustrates constant-direction and
following forces.
23
Note-Nodal coordinate system orientations are not updated in a large deflection analysis.
Calculated displacements are therefore output in the original directions.

Figure 8-7 Load directions before and after deflection

8.1.2.4
Nonlinear
Transient
Analyses

The procedure
for analyzing nonlinear transient behavior is similar to that used for nonlinear static behavior:
you apply the load in incremental steps, and the program performs equilibrium iterations at
each step. The main difference between the static and transient procedures is that time-
integration effects can be activated in the transient analysis. Thus, "time" always represents
actual chronology in a transient analysis. The automatic time stepping and bisection feature
is also applicable for transient analyses.

8.2 Using Geometric Nonlinearities

Small deflection and small strain analyses assume that displacements are small enough that
the resulting stiffness changes are insignificant.

In contrast, large strain analyses account for the stiffness changes that result from changes
in an element's shape and orientation. By issuing NLGEOM,ON (GUI path Main
Menu>Solution>Analysis Options), you activate large strain effects in those element types
that support this feature. The large strain feature is available in most of the solid elements
(including all of the large strain and hyperelastic elements), as well as in most of the shell
and beam elements. Large strain effects are not available in the ANSYS/LinearPlus
program.

The large strain procedure places no theoretical limit on the total rotation or strain
experienced by an element. (Certain ANSYS element types will be subject to practical
limitations on total strain-see below.) However, the procedure requires that strain increments
must be restricted to maintain accuracy. Thus, the total load should be broken into smaller
steps.

Stress-Strain

24
In large strain solutions, all stress-strain input and results will be in terms of true stress
and true (or logarithmic) strain. (In one dimension, true strain would be expressed as = ln
($B(B/$B(B0). For small-strain regions of response, true strain and engineering strain are
essentially identical.) To convert strain from small (engineering) strain to logarithmic strain,
use ln = ln (1 + eng). To convert from engineering stress to true stress, use true = eng (1 + eng).
(This stress conversion is valid only for incompressible plasticity stress-strain data.)

Large Deflections with Small Strain

This feature is available in all beam and most shell elements, as well as in a number of the
nonlinear elements. Issue NLGEOM,ON (Main Menu>Solution> Analysis Options) to
activate large deflection effects forin those elements that are designed for small strain
analysis. types that support this feature.

8.2.1 Stress Stiffening

The out-of-plane stiffness of a structure can be significantly affected by the state of in-plane
stress in that structure. This coupling between in-plane stress and transverse stiffness,
known as stress stiffening, is most pronounced in thin, highly stressed structures, such as
cables or membranes. A drumhead, which gains lateral stiffness as it is tightened, would be
a common example of a stress-stiffened structure.

Even though stress stiffening theory assumes that an element's rotations and strains are
small, in some structural systems (such as in Figure 8-8 (a)), the stiffening stress is only
obtainable by performing a large deflection analysis. In other systems (such as in Figure 8-8
(b)), the stiffening stress is obtainable using small deflection, or linear, theory.

Figure 8-8 Stress-stiffened beams

To use stress stiffening

in the second category
of systems, you must
issue PSTRES,ON (GUI
path Main

Menu>Solution>Analysis Options) in your first load step.

Large strain and large deflection procedures include initial stress effects as a subset of their
theory. For most elements, initial stiffness effects are automatically included when large
deformation effects are activated [NLGEOM,ON] (GUI path Main Menu>Solution>Analysis
Options).

8.2.2 Spin Softening

Spin softening adjusts (softens) the stiffness matrix of a rotating body for dynamic mass
effects. The adjustment approximates the effects of geometry changes due to large
deflection circumferential motion in a small deflection analysis. It is usually used in
conjunction with prestressing [PSTRES] (GUI path Main Menu>Solution> Analysis
Options), which is caused by centrifugal force in the rotating body. It should not be used
with the other deformation nonlinearities, large deflection or large strain. Spin softening is
25
activated by the KSPIN field on the OMEGA command (GUI path Main
Menu>Preprocessor>Loads>-Loads- Apply>-Structural- Other>Angular Velocity).

8.3 Modeling Material Nonlinearities

A number of material-related factors can cause your structure's stiffness to change during
the course of an analysis. Nonlinear stress-strain relationships of plastic, multilinear elastic,
and hyperelastic materials will cause a structure's stiffness to change at different load levels
(and, typically, at different temperatures). Creep, viscoplasticity, and viscoelasticity will give
rise to nonlinearities that can be time-, rate-, temperature-, and stress-related. Swelling will
induce strains that can be a function of temperature, time, neutron flux level (or some
analogous quantity), and stress. Any of these kinds of material properties can be
incorporated into an ANSYS analysis if you use appropriate element types.

8.3.1 Nonlinear Materials

If a material displays nonlinear or rate-dependent stress-strain behavior, then you must use
the TB family of commands [TB, TBTEMP, TBDATA, TBPT, TBCOPY, TBLIST, TBPLOT,
TBDELE] (GUI path Main Menu>Solution>-Load Step Opts-Other> Change Mat
Props>Data Tables>Define/Activate) to define the nonlinear material property relationships
in terms of a data table. The exact form of these commands varies depending on the type of
nonlinear material behavior being defined. The different material behavior options are
described briefly below. See Section 2.5 of the ANSYS Elements Reference for specific
details for each material behavior type.

8.3.1.1 Plasticity

Most common engineering materials exhibit a linear stress-strain relationship up to a stress

level known as the proportional limit. Beyond this limit, the stress-strain relationship will
become nonlinear, but will not necessarily become inelastic. Plastic behavior, characterized
by nonrecoverable strain, begins when stresses exceed the material's yield point. Because
there is usually little difference between the yield point and the proportional limit, the ANSYS
program assumes that these two points are coincident in plasticity analyses (see Figure 8-
9).

Plasticity is a nonconservative, path-dependent phenomenon. In other words, the sequence

in which loads are applied and in which plastic responses occur affects the final solution
results. If you anticipate plastic response in your analysis, you should apply loads as a

26
series of small incremental load steps or time steps, so that your model will follow the load-
response path as closely as possible. The maximum plastic strain is printed with the substep
summary information in your output (Jobname.OUT).

Figure 8-9 Elasto-plastic stress-strain curve

The automatic time

stepping feature
[AUTOTS] (GUI
path Main
Menu>Solution>

Time/Frequenc>Time & Substeps) will respond to plasticity after the fact, by reducing the
load step size after a load step in which a large number of equilibrium iterations was
performed or in which a plastic strain increment greater than 15% was encountered. If too
large a step was taken, the program will bisect and re-solve using a smaller step size.

Other kinds of nonlinear behavior might also occur along with plasticity. In particular, large
deflection and large strain geometric nonlinearities will often be associated with plastic
material response. If you expect large deformations in your structure, you must activate
these effects in your analysis with the NLGEOM command (GUI path Main
Menu>Solution>Analysis Options). For large strain analyses, material stress-strain
properties must be input in terms of true stress and logarithmic strain.

27
Chapter 9: Contact
9.1 Contact Overview

Contact problems are highly nonlinear and require significant computer resources to solve. It
is important that you understand the physics of the problem and take the time to set up your
model to run as efficiently as possible.

Contact problems present two significant difficulties. First, you generally do not know the
regions of contact until you've run the problem. Depending on the loads, material, boundary
conditions, and other factors, surfaces can come into and go out of contact with each other
in a largely unpredictable and abrupt manner. Second, most contact problems need to
account for friction. There are several friction laws and models to choose from, and all are
nonlinear. Frictional response can be chaotic, making solution convergence difficult.

Note-If you do not need to account for friction in your model, and the interaction between the
bodies is always bonded, you may be able to use constraint equations or coupled degrees of
freedom instead of contact. Constraint equations are only available for small strain
applications (NLGEOM,off). For more information, see Chapter 12 of the ANSYS Modeling
and Meshing Guide.

In addition to these two difficulties, many contact problems must also address multi-field
effects, such as the conductance of heat and electrical currents in the areas of contact.

9.1.1 Explicit Dynamics Contact Capabilities

In addition to the implicit contact capabilities discussed in this chapter, ANSYS also offers
explicit contact capabilities with the ANSYS/LS-DYNA explicit dynamics product. Explicit
capabilities are ideally suited for short-duration contact-impact problems. For more
information on the ANSYS/LS-DYNA product and its contact capabilities, see the
ANSYS/LS-DYNA User's Guide.

9.2 General Contact Classification

Contact problems fall into two general classes: rigid-to-flexible and flexible-to-flexible. In
rigid-to-flexible contact problems, one or more of the contacting surfaces are treated as rigid
(i.e., it has a much higher stiffness relative to the deformable body it contacts). In general,
any time a soft material comes in contact with a hard material, the problem may be assumed
to be rigid-to-flexible. Many metal forming problems fall into this category. The other class,
flexible-to-flexible, is the more common type. In this case, both (or all) contacting bodies are

28
deformable (i.e., have similar stiffnesses). An example of a flexible-to-flexible contact is
bolted flanges.

9.3 ANSYS Contact Capabilities

ANSYS supports three contact models: node-to-node, node-to-surface, and surface-to-

surface. Each type of model uses a different set of ANSYS contact elements and is
appropriate for specific types of problems.

To model a contact problem, you first need to identify the parts to be analyzed for their
possible interaction. If one of the interactions is at a point, the corresponding component of
your model is a node. If one of the interactions is at a surface, the corresponding component
of your model is an element: either a beam, shell, or solid element. The finite element model
recognizes possible contact pairs by the presence of specific contact elements. These
contact elements are overlaid on the parts of the model that are being analyzed for
interaction. The different contact elements that ANSYS uses, and procedures for using them,
are described in the remainder of this chapter.

An overview of the ANSYS contact elements and their capabilities follows. For detailed
information on any of these elements, refer to the ANSYS Elements Reference and the
ANSYS Theory Reference.

9.3.1 Surface-to-Surface Contact Elements

ANSYS supports both rigid-to-flexible and flexible-to-flexible surface-to-surface contact

elements. These contact elements use a "target surface" and a "contact surface" to form a
contact pair.

 the target surface is modeled with either TARGE169 or TARGE170 (for 2-D and 3-D,
respectively)

 the contact surface is modeled with elements CONTA171, CONTA172, CONTA173, and
CONTA174.

To create a contact pair, assign the same real constant number to both the target and
contact elements. More details on defining these elements and their shared real constant
sets appears later in Section 9.4, "Performing a Surface-to-Surface Contact Analysis."

These surface-to-surface elements are well-suited for applications such as interference fit
assembly contact or entry contact, forging, and deep-drawing problems. The surface-to-
surface elements have several advantages over the node-to-surface elements. These
elements

 Support lower and higher order elements on the surface (i.e., corner noded or midside
noded elements).

29
 Support large deformations, with a significant amount of sliding and friction, efficiently. A
consistent stiffness matrix is calculated, and the elements provide an unsymmetric
stiffness matrix option.

 Provide better contact results needed for typical engineering purposes, such as normal
pressure and friction stresses.

 Have no restrictions on the shape of the target surface. Surface discontinuities can be
physical or due to mesh discretization.

 Require fewer contact elements than the node-to-surface elements, resulting in less disk
space and CPU usage, and efficient visualization.

 Allow numerous modeling controls, such as:

o Bonded contact, no separation, and rough contact pair interaction

o Ramping initial penetration

o Automatic movement of target surface to come into initial contact

o Offset contact surface (to account for beam and shell element thickness) and
user-defined contact offset

o Birth and death support.

Using these elements for a rigid target surface, you can model straight and curved surfaces
in 2-D and 3-D, often using simple geometric shapes such as circles, parabolas, spheres,
cones, and cylinders. More complex rigid forms or general deformable forms can be
modeled using special preprocessing techniques. See Step 3 of Section 9.4 "Performing a
Surface-to-Surface Contact Analysis," later in this chapter.

Surface-to-surface contact elements are not well-suited for point-to-point or point-to-surface

contact applications, such as pipe whip or snap-fit assemblies. You should use the node-to-
surface or node-to-node elements in these cases. You also can use surface-to-surface
contact elements for most contact regions and use a few node-to-node contact elements
near contact corners.

The remainder of this chapter discusses the procedures for the various types of contact
analyses using ANSYS capabilities.

9.3.2 Node-to-Surface Contact Elements

Node-to-surface contact elements are typically used to model point-to-surface contact

applications, such as two beams contacting each other (at a beam tip or sharp corner node),
and the corners of snap-fit parts.

You can also use the node-to-surface elements to model surface-to-surface contact, if the
contacting surface is defined by a group of nodes and multiple elements are generated. The
surfaces can be either rigid or deformable. An example of this type of contact problem is a
wire inserted into a slot.

30
You do not need to know the exact location of the contacting area beforehand, nor do the
contacting components need to have a compatible mesh. Large deformation and large
relative sliding are allowed, although this capability can also model small sliding.

CONTAC48 and CONTAC49 elements are node-to-surface contact elements. They support
large sliding, large deformation, and different meshes between the contacting components.
Also, you can use these elements to run coupled thermo-mechanical analyses, where heat
transfer across the contacting bodies is important.

Use CONTAC26 to model flexible node-to-rigid surface contact. CONTAC26 is not

recommended for problems with non-smooth rigid surfaces and can result in loss of contact
under such circumstances. CONTAC48 offers better modeling abilities under these
circumstances by using pseudo-element algorithms (see Section 14.48 of the ANSYS
Theory Reference), but can still fail if the target surface is severely discontinuous.

9.3.3 Node-to-Node Contact Elements

Node-to-node contact elements are typically used to model point-to-point contact

applications. To use node-to-node contact elements, you need to know the location of
contact beforehand. These types of contact problems usually involve small relative sliding
between contacting surfaces (even in the case of geometric nonlinearities). An example of a
node-to-node contact application is the traditional pipe whip model, where the contact point
is always located between the pipe tip and the restraint.

Node-to-node contact elements can also be used to solve a surface-to-surface problem if

the nodes of the two surfaces line up, the relative sliding deformation is negligible, and
deflections (rotations) of the two surfaces remain small. An interference fit problem is an
example of a surface-to-surface problem where the use of node-to-node contact may be
sufficient.

ANSYS elements CONTAC12 and CONTAC52 are node-to-node contact elements and
support infinitesimal sliding and Coulomb's friction law.

9.4 Performing a Surface-to-Surface Contact Analysis

You can use the surface-to-surface contact elements to model either rigid-flexible or flexible-
flexible contact between surfaces. The Contact Wizard, accessible through the
Preprocessor> Create> Contact Pair> Contact Wizard menu item, provides a simple way
to construct a contact pair for most contact problems. The Contact Wizard will guide you
through the process of creating the contact pair. The help attached to each dialog box in the
wizard explains its use and options.

The Contact Wizard remains unavailable (dimmed) if you haven't meshed any portion of
your model. If you wish to create a rigid-flexible model, mesh only those parts of the model
which will be used as flexible contact surfaces (do not mesh the rigid target surfaces) before
launching the wizard. If you wish to create a flexible-flexible model, mesh all parts of the
model which will be used as contact surfaces (including target surfaces) before launching
the wizard.

The following sections deal with creating a contact and target surfaces without using the
wizard.
31
9.4.1 Using Surface-to-Surface Contact Elements

In problems involving contact between two boundaries, one of the boundaries is

conventionally established as the "target" surface, and the other as the "contact" surface.
For rigid-flexible contact, the target surface is always the rigid surface, and the contact
surface is the deformable surface. For flexible-to-flexible contact, both contact and target
surfaces are associated with the deformable bodies. These two surfaces together comprise
the "contact pair." Use TARGE169 with either CONTA171 or CONTA172 to define a 2-D
contact pair. For 3-D contact pairs, use TARGE170 with either CONTA173 or CONTA174.
Each contact pair is identified via the same real constant number.

9.4.2 Steps in a Contact Analysis

The basic steps for performing a typical surface-to-surface contact analysis are listed below.
Each step is then explained in detail in the following pages.

1. Create the model geometry and mesh.

2. Identify the contact pairs.

3. Designate contact and target surfaces.

4. Define the target surface.

5. Define the contact surface.

6. Set the element key options and real constants.

7. Define/control the motion of the target surface (rigid-to-flexible only).

8. Apply necessary boundary conditions.

9. Define solution options and load steps.

10. Solve the contact problem.

11. Review the results.

9.4.3 Creating the Model Geometry and Mesh

First, create solid model entities that represent the geometry of the contacting bodies. Set
element types, real constants, and material properties as you would for any ANSYS
analysis. Mesh the contacting bodies by meshing the areas or volumes with the element
type that you have chosen. For more information, see the ANSYS Modeling and Meshing
Guide.

Command(s):

AMESH

VMESH
32
GUI:

Main Menu>Preprocessor>Mesh

9.4.4 Identifying Contact Pairs

You must identify where contact might occur during the deformation of your model. Once
you've identified potential contact surfaces, you define them via target and contact elements,
which will then track the kinematics of the deformation process. Target and contact elements
that make up a contact pair are associated with each other via a shared real constant set.

The contact zone can be arbitrary; however, for the most efficient solution (primarily in CPU
time), you may want to define smaller, localized contacting zones, but be sure your zones
are adequate to capture all necessary contact. Different contact pairs must be defined by a
different real constant set, even if the element real constant values do not change. There is
no limit on the number of surfaces allowed.

Figure 9-1 Localized Contact Zones

Depending
on the
geometry of
the model
(and the
potential
deformation),
multiple
target
surfaces
could interact
with the
same zone of
the contact
surface. In
such cases, you must define multiple contact pairs (using multiple overlapping contact
elements), each with its own real constant number. See Figure 9-1.

9.4.5 Designating Contact and Target Surfaces

Contact elements are constrained against penetrating the target surface. However, target
elements can penetrate through the contact surface. For rigid-to-flexible contact, the
designation is obvious: the target surface is always the rigid surface and the contact surface
is always the deformable surface. For flexible-to-flexible contact, the choice of which surface
is designated contact or target can cause a different amount of penetration and thus affect
the solution accuracy. Consider the following guidelines when designating the surfaces:

 If a convex surface is expected to come into contact with a flat or concave surface, the
flat/concave surface should be the target surface.

33
 If one surface has a fine surface mesh and, in comparison, the other has a coarse mesh,
the fine mesh should be the contact surface and the coarse mesh should be the target
surface.

 If one surface is stiffer then the other, the softer surface should be the contact surface
and the stiffer surface should be the target surface.

 If higher-order elements underly one of the external surfaces and lower-order elements
underly the other surface, the surface with the underlying higher-order elements should
be the contact surface and the other surface should be the target.

 If one surface is markedly larger than the other surface, such as in the instance where
when surface surrounds the other surface, the larger surface should be the target
surface.

These guidelines are true for asymmetric contact; however, asymmetric contact may not
perform satisfactorily for your model. The following sub-section details the difference
between asymmetric and symmetric contact and outlines some of the situations that require
symmetric contact.

9.4.6 Asymmetric Contact vs. Symmetric Contact

Asymmetric contact is defined as having all contact elements on one surface and all target
elements on the other surface. This is sometimes called "one-pass contact." This is usually
the most efficient way to model surface-to-surface contact. However, under some
circumstances asymmetric contact does not perform satisfactorily. In such cases, you can
designate each surface to be both a target and a contact surface. You can then generate two
sets of contact pairs between the contacting surfaces (or just one contact pair; for example,
a self-contact case). This is known as symmetric contact (or "two-pass contact"). Obviously,
symmetric contact is less efficient than asymmetric contact. However, many analyses will
require its use (typically to reduce penetration). Specific situations that require symmetric
contact include models where

 The distinction between the contact and target surfaces is not clear.

 Both surfaces have very coarse meshes. The symmetric contact algorithm enforces the
contact constraint conditions at more surface locations than the asymmetric contact
algorithm.

If the meshes on both surfaces are identical and sufficiently refined, the symmetric contact
algorithm may not significantly improve performance and may, in fact, be more "expensive"
in CPU time. In such circumstances, simply pick one surface to be the target and the other
the contact surface.

In any contact model, you can mix different types of contact pairs: rigid-to-flexible or flexible-
to-flexible contact; symmetric contact or asymmetric contact. However, only one type can
exist with a contact pair.

9.4.7 Defining the Target Surface

34
The target surface can be 2-D or 3-D and either rigid or deformable. For deformable target
surfaces, you will normally use the ESURF command to generate the target elements along
the boundaries of an existing mesh. You can follow the same method to generate the
deformable contact surface (see section 9.4.8 for details). You should not use the following
rigid target segments for a deformable target surface: ARC, CARC, CIRC, CYL1, CONE,
SPHE, or PILO. For rigid target surfaces, the following provides general guidelines.

In 2-D cases, the shape of the target surface is described by a sequence of straight lines,
circular arcs, and parabolas, all of which can be represented with the target segment
element TARGE169. You can use any combination to define the complex target surface
geometry. In 3-D cases, the shape of the target surfaces is described by a sequence of
triangles, quadrilaterals, cylinders, cones, and spheres, which can be represented with
TARGE170. You can use any combination of low/high-order triangles and quadrilaterals to
model a target surface with a complex, arbitrary geometry.

9.4.7.1 Pilot Nodes

The rigid target surface can also be associated with a "pilot node," which is really an element
with one node, whose motion governs the motion of the entire target surface. You can think
of a pilot node as a handle for the rigid target surface. Forces/moments or
rotations/displacements for the entire target surface can be prescribed on just the pilot node.
The pilot node can be one of the nodes on the target element or a node at any arbitrary
location. The location of the pilot node is important only when rotation or moment loading is
required. If you define a pilot node, ANSYS checks for boundary conditions only on the pilot
node and ignores any constraints on other nodes.

Note-The contact wizard does not currently support creating pilot nodes. You can define the
pilot node outside of the contact wizard.

9.4.7.2 Primitives

You can use circle, cylinder, cone, and sphere primitives to model the target (which require
real constants to define the radius). You can combine primitive segments with general
segments (such as lines, parabolas, triangles, and quadrilaterals) to define a target surface.

35
Chapter 10: Fracture Mechanics
10.1 Definition of Fracture Mechanics

Cracks and flaws occur in many structures and components, sometimes leading to
disastrous results. The engineering field of fracture mechanics was established to develop a
basic understanding of such crack propagation problems.

Fracture mechanics deals with the study of how a crack or flaw in a structure propagates
under applied loads. It involves correlating analytical predictions of crack propagation and
failure with experimental results. The analytical predictions are made by calculating fracture
parameters such as stress intensity factors in the crack region, which you can use to
estimate crack growth rate. Typically, the crack length increases with each application of
some cyclic load, such as cabin pressurization-depressurization in an airplane. Further,
environmental conditions such as temperature or extensive exposure to irradiation can affect
the fracture propensity of a given material.

Some typical fracture parameters of interest are:

 Stress intensity factors (KI, KII, KIII) associated with the three basic modes of fracture (see
Figure 10-1)

 J-integral, which may be defined as a path-independent line integral that measures the
strength of the singular stresses and strains near a crack tip

 Energy release rate (G), which represents the amount of work associated with a crack
opening or closure

Caution: Crack width in most of the figures in this section is shown greatly enlarged for
clarity.

Figure 10-1 The three basic modes of fracture

10.2 Solving
Fracture
Mechanics
Problems

36
Solving a fracture mechanics problem involves performing a linear elastic or elastic-plastic
static analysis and then using specialized postprocessing commands or macros to calculate
desired fracture parameters. In this section, we will concentrate on two main aspects of this
procedure:

 Modeling the Crack Region

 Calculating Fracture Parameters

See Chapter 2 for details about the general static analysis procedure. Also see Chapter 8 for
a discussion of structural nonlinearities.

10.2.1 Modeling the Crack Region

The most important region in a fracture model is the region around the edge of the crack. We
will refer to the edge of the crack as a crack tip in a 2-D model and crack front in a 3-D
model. This is illustrated in Figure 10-2.

Figure 10-2 Crack tip and crack front

In linear elastic
problems, it
has been
shown that the
displacements near the crack tip (or crack front) vary as , where r is the distance from the
crack tip. The stresses and strains are singular at the crack tip, varying as . To pick up the
singularity in the strain, the crack faces should be coincident, and the elements around the
crack tip (or crack front) should be quadratic, with the midside nodes placed at the quarter
points. Such elements are called singular elements. Figure 10-3 shows examples of singular
elements for 2-D and 3-D models.

Figure 10-3
Examples of
singular
elements for
(a) 2-D
models and
(b) 3-D
models

10.2.1.1 2-D
Fracture
Models

The
recommended
element type

37
for a two-dimensional fracture model is PLANE2, the six-node triangular solid. The first row
of elements around the crack tip should be singular, as illustrated in Figure 10-3(a). The
PREP7 KSCON command (Main Menu>Preprocessor>-Meshing-Shape & Size>-
Concentrat KPs-Create), which assigns element division sizes around a keypoint, is
particularly useful in a fracture model. It automatically generates singular elements around
the specified keypoint. Other fields on the command allow you to control the radius of the
first row of elements, number of elements in the circumferential direction, etc. Figure 10-4
shows a fracture model generated with the help of KSCON.

Figure 10-4 A fracture specimen and its 2-D FE model

Other
modeling
guidelines
for 2-D
models
are as follows:

 Take advantage of symmetry where possible. In many cases, you need to model only
one half of the crack region, with symmetry or anti-symmetry boundary conditions, as
shown below.

Figure 10-5 Taking advantage of symmetry

 For

reasonable results, the first row of elements around the crack tip should have a radius of
approximately a/8 or smaller, where a is the crack length. In the circumferential direction,
roughly one element every 30 or 40 degrees is recommended.

 The crack tip elements should not be distorted, and should take the shape of isosceles
triangles.

10.2.1.2 3-D Fracture Models

The recommended element type for three-dimensional models is SOLID95, the 20-node
brick element. As shown in Figure 10-3(b), the first row of elements around the crack front
should be singular elements. Notice that the element is wedge-shaped, with the KLPO face
collapsed into the line KO.

Generating a 3-D fracture model is considerably more involved than a 2-D model. The
KSCON command is not available, and you need to make sure that the crack front is along
edge KO of the elements.
38
Other meshing guidelines for 3-D models are as follows:

 Element size recommendations are the same as for 2-D models. In addition, aspect
ratios should not exceed approximately 4 to 1 in all directions.

 For curved crack fronts, the element size along the crack front will depend on the amount
of local curvature. As a rough guide, you should have at least one element every 15 to 30
degrees along a circular crack front.

 All element edges should be straight, including the edge on the crack front.

Chapter 12: Fatigue

12.1 Definition of Fatigue

39
Fatigue is the phenomenon in which a repetitively loaded structure fractures at a load level
less than its ultimate static strength. For instance, a steel bar might successfully resist a
single static application of a 300 kN tensile load, but might fail after 1,000,000 repetitions of
a 200 kN load.

The main factors that contribute to fatigue failures include:

 Number of load cycles experienced

 Range of stress experienced in each load cycle

 Mean stress experienced in each load cycle

 Presence of local stress concentrations

A formal fatigue evaluation accounts for each of these factors as it calculates how "used up"
a certain component will become during its anticipated life cycle.

12.1.1 What the ANSYS Program Does

The ANSYS fatigue calculations rely on the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section
III (and Section VIII, Division 2) for guidelines on range counting, simplified elastic-plastic
adaptations, and cumulative fatigue summation by Miner's rule.

For fatigue evaluations based on criteria other than those of the ASME Code, you can either
write your own macro, or else interface your ANSYS results with an appropriate third-party
program (see the ANSYS APDL Programmer's Guide for more information on these two
features).

The ANSYS program features the following fatigue-calculation capabilities:

 You can postprocess existing stress results to determine the fatigue usage factors for any
solid-element or shell-element model. (You can also manually input stresses for fatigue
evaluation of line-element models.)

 You can store stresses at a preselected number of locations for a preselected number of
events and loadings within the event.

 You can define stress concentration factors for each location and scale factors for each
event.

40