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Module 01: Overview and Procedure

ANSYS Mechanical Basic Structural Nonlinearities

1 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 Module 01 Topics
1. About ANSYS, Inc.
2. ANSYS Customer Portal
3. What is Nonlinear Behavior?
4. Types of Nonlinearities
5. Nonlinear Solution Using Linear Solvers
6. Nonlinear FEA Issues
7. Building a Nonlinear Model
8. Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
9. Workshop 01.1: Shell Disk
10. Workshop 01.2: Large Deflection

2 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.01 About ANSYS, Inc. ANSYS is the Simulation Leader

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3 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.01 About ANSYS, Inc.
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4 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.02 ANSYS Customer Portal
https://support.ansys.com
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5 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.02 ANSYS Customer Portal
The ANSYS Customer Portal’s search is
powered by dedicated Google® hardware.
Search Facets
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6 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.03 What is Nonlinear Behavior?
Recall, in the 1600s, Robert Hooke discovered a simple linear relationship
between force (F) and displacement (u), known as Hooke’s Law:
F = Ku
• The constant K represents structural stiffness.
• A linear structure obeys this linear relationship.
• A common example is a simple spring:
F
F
K
K u
u
• Linear structures are well-suited to finite-element analysis, which is
based on linear matrix algebra.

7 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.03 What is Nonlinear Behavior?
Significant classes of structures do not have a linear relationship between force
and displacement.

Because a plot of F versus u for such structures is not a straight line, such
structures are said to be nonlinear.
• The stiffness is no longer a constant, but varies as you progress through the load path
• KT (tangent stiffness) represents the tangent to the force deflection curve at a particular
point in the load path.
F
KT

u
8 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.03 What is Nonlinear Behavior?
A structure is nonlinear if the loading causes significant changes in stiffness.

Typical reasons for stiffness change are:

• Strains beyond the elastic limit (plasticity)
• Large deflections, such as a loaded fishing rod
• Changing Status (Contact between two bodies, Element birth/death)

9 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.04 Types of Nonlinearities
There are three main sources of nonlinearities:
• Geometric nonlinearities: If a structure
experiences large deformations, its
changing geometric configuration can
cause nonlinear behavior.

• Material nonlinearities: A nonlinear stress-strain

relationship, such as metal plasticity shown on
the right, is another source of nonlinearities.

• Contact: A “changing status” nonlinearity, where an

abrupt change in stiffness may occur when
bodies come into or out of contact with each other.

10 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.04 Types of Nonlinearities
Of course, all three types of nonlinearities can be encountered in combination.
Mechanical can readily handle combined nonlinear effects.

Rubber Boot Seal

An example of nonlinear
geometry (large strain and
large deformation),
nonlinear material (rubber),
and changing status
nonlinearities (contact).

11 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.05 Nonlinear Solution Using Linear Solvers
How does Mechanical solve for a changing stiffness?
• In a nonlinear analysis, the response cannot be predicted directly with a set of linear
equations.
• However, a nonlinear structure can be analyzed using an iterative series of linear
approximations, with corrections.
• Mechanical uses an iterative process called the Newton-Raphson Method. Each iteration is
known as an equilibrium iteration.

Load

F
4
3 A full Newton-Raphson iterative
2
analysis for one increment of load.
1 (Four iterations are shown.)

u Displacement
12 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.05 Nonlinear Solution Using Linear Solvers
The actual relationship between load and displacement (shown by the blue dotted
line) is not known beforehand.
Consequently, a series of linear approximations with corrections is performed. This
is a simplified explanation of the Newton-Raphson method (shown as solid red lines)

• In the Newton-Raphson Method, the total load Fa is applied Newton-Raphson Method

in iteration 1. The result is x1. From the displacements, the
internal forces F1 can be calculated. If Fa  F1, then the system Fa
4
is not in equilibrium. Hence, a new stiffness matrix (slope of 3

dotted line) is calculated based on the current conditions. F1

2
The difference of Fa - F1 is the out-of-balance or residual
forces. The residual forces must be ‘small’ enough for the 1
solution to converge.
• This process is repeated until Fa = Fi. In this example, after
x1 x
iteration 4, the system achieves equilibrium and the solution
is said to be converged.

13 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.05 Nonlinear Solution Using Linear Solvers
• The difference between external and internal loads, {Fa} - {Fnr}, is called the
residual. It is a measure of the force imbalance in the structure.
• The goal is to iterate until the residual becomes acceptably small; that is, until
the solution is converged.
• When convergence is achieved, the solution is in equilibrium, within an
acceptable tolerance.

Fa
{ Fnr
{Fa} {Fnr}

u
14 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.05 Nonlinear Solution Using Linear Solvers
The Newton-Raphson method:
• Is not guaranteed to converge in all cases!
• Will converge only if the starting configuration is inside the radius of
convergence.
Load Load
Diverging!
Converged

F F

ustart u Displacement ustartu Displacement

Starting outside the Starting inside the radius

radius of convergence of convergence
15 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.05 Nonlinear Solution Using Linear Solvers
• Two techniques can help you obtain a converged solution:

F
F

F1

ustart u ustart u
Apply load incrementally to move Use convergence-enhancement
the target closer to the start tools to enlarge the radius of
convergence

Mechanical combines both strategies to obtain convergence.

16 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.05 Nonlinear Solution Using Linear Solvers
As a general rule, sudden changes to any aspect of a system will cause
convergence difficulties.
With this in mind, it is useful to understand how loads are managed
• Load steps differentiate changes in general loading.
– In the Figure at the bottom right, Fa and Fb are loadsteps. Fb
Fb2
• Substeps apply the loads in an incremental fashion Fb1
– Because of the complex response, it may be necessary to apply
Fa
the load incrementally. For example, Fa1 may be near 50% of
Fa1
the Fa load. After the load for Fa1 is converged, then the full Fa
load is applied. Fa has 2 substeps while Fb has 3 substeps in this
example xa xb

• Equilibrium iterations are the corrective solutions to obtain a converged substep

– In this example, the iterations between the dotted lines indicate equilibrium iterations.

17 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.06 Nonlinear FEA Issues
Three main issues arise whenever you do a nonlinear finite element analysis:
• Obtaining convergence
• Balancing expense versus accuracy
• Verification

It takes care and skill to

juggle these three
issues successfully!

18 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.06 Nonlinear FEA Issues
Obtaining convergence…
Usually your biggest challenge.
Solution must start within the radius of convergence.
• The radius of convergence is unknown!
– If solution converges, the start was within the radius.
– If solution fails to converge, the start was outside the radius.
• Trial-and-error is sometimes required.
• Experience and training reduce your trial-and-error effort.
Difficult problems might require many load increments, and many iterations at
each load increment, to reach convergence.
• When many iterations are required, the overall solution time increases.
19 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.06 Nonlinear FEA Issues
Balancing expense versus accuracy…
• All FEA involves a trade-off between expense (elapsed time, disk and memory
requirements) and accuracy.
• More detail and a finer mesh generally lead to a more accurate solution, but
require more time and system resources.
• Nonlinear analyses add an extra factor, the number of load increments, which
affects both accuracy and expense. More increments =improve the accuracy, with
increase the expense.
• Other nonlinear parameters, such as contact stiffness (discussed later), can also
affect both accuracy and expense.
• Use your own engineering judgment to determine how much accuracy you need,
how much expense you can afford.

20 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.06 Nonlinear FEA Issues
Verification…
• In a nonlinear analysis, as in any finite-element analysis, you must verify your results.
• Due to the increased complexity of nonlinear behavior, nonlinear results are
generally more difficult to verify.
• Sensitivity studies (increasing mesh density, decreasing load increment, varying
other model parameters) become more expensive.

Stress

Mesh Density
Typical Sensitivity Study
Later chapters will provide modeling tips for different nonlinear situations.
21 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.07 Building a Nonlinear Model
What is different about building a nonlinear model vs. a linear model?
In some cases, there will be no difference!
• A model undergoing mildly nonlinear behavior due to large deflection and stress stiffening effects
might need no modification with regards to geometry set up and meshing.
In other cases, you must include special features:
• Elements with special properties (such as contact elements)
• Nonlinear Material data (such as plasticity and creep data)
• Include geometric features (i.e. radius at sharp corners) to overcome singularities that cause
convergence trouble.
• You might also need to give special attention to:
– Mesh control considerations under large deflection
– Element technology options under large deflection with nonlinear materials
– Load and boundary condition limitations under large deflection
22 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.07 Building a Nonlinear Model
With regards to meshing, if large strains are expected, the shape checking option
may be changed to “Aggressive” or “Nonlinear”
• For large-deflection analyses, if elements undergo some change in shape, this
may reduce the fidelity of the solution.
• “Aggressive” and “Nonlinear” shapes checking offers an improved element
quality in anticipation of excessive distortion in a large-strain analysis.
– The default “Standard” shape checking is suitable for linear analyses.
– Depending on complexity of geometry, can sometimes cause
failures during mesh generation.
– Refer to course Introduction to ANSYS Mechanical for ways to
detect and remedy mesh failures.

23 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.07 Building a Nonlinear Model
For any structural element, DOF solution Du is solved at nodes, stresses and
strains are calculated at integration points. They are derived from DOF.

• For example, we can determine Dε  BDu

strains from displacements via: s, e

• Where B is called the strain-displacement matrix

u

The image on the right shows a 4-node quad element with 2x2 integration,
integration points shown in red.

When we post-process results, stress/strain values at integration points are

extrapolated or copied to nodal locations
• linear results are extrapolated, nonlinear results are copied
24 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.07 Building a Nonlinear Model
With Element Control set to Manual, users can manually toggle between Full and
Reduced Integration Schemes
• This option influences the number of integration points within an element.

• Forcing a full integration order only applies to higher order elements, which have a uniform
reduced integration order by default.
– It is sometimes helpful to force full integration when only one element exists across the thickness
of a part for improved accuracy.
• Refer to the Element Technology Chapter of course ANSYS Mechanical Material Nonlinearities for
a detailed discussion of options.

25 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.07 Building a Nonlinear Model
By default, Mechanical element technology will mesh geometry with higher order
elements (with midside nodes).
• Users have the option to drop midside nodes
Kept midside nodes
(Quadratic shape function)
20-Node Hex

Dropped midside nodes

(Linear shape function)

8-Node Hex
• In challenging large deflection, bending dominated problems with nearly or fully incompressible
nonlinear materials, it can sometimes be advantageous to drop the midside nodes and allow the
code to implement enhanced strain formulations automatically

26 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.07 Building a Nonlinear Model
It is important to note the orientation of loads and its effect on
the structure in large-deflection analyses:
Direction Before Direction After
Load Deflection Deflection

Acceleration
(constant direction)

Force, Moment,
Bolt Load
(constant direction)

Pressure
(always normal to
surface)

27 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.08 Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
What is different about obtaining a nonlinear solution?
F
• Linear static requires only one pass through
the matrix equation solver K

F = Ku
u

• Nonlinear performs a new solution with every F

Ki 4
iteration 3
2
Fi = Kiui
1
u

28 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.08 Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
…What is different about obtaining a nonlinear solution?

Analysis Settings has many options that need to be considered

for a nonlinear run.
• Step Control - Load steps, Substeps, Autotime stepping
• Solver Control - Choosing the right Solver type
• Restart Controls - resuming a solve
• Nonlinear Controls - N-R convergence criteria
• Output Controls - controlling what data is saved
• Analysis Data Management – deleting/keeping files

In the following slides, we consider each of these tools

29 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.08 Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
Step Controls

• “Auto Time Stepping” calculates an optimum time

step at the end of each substep, based on the
response of the structure to the applied loads.
- User specifies an initial number of substeps along with a
range (minimum and maximum).
Load

• Auto Time Stepping has the effect of adjusting the

load increment (up and down) throughout the
solution. Time
- Smaller increments when convergence is difficult, larger
increments when convergence is easy. Dtstart Dtmin Dtmax

30 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.08 Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
Step Controls (cont’d)
F
• Recall that breaking the load into increments
improves convergence by bringing the start point
within the radius of convergence.
F

• If Mechanical has trouble converging, the auto time F1

stepping algorithm will bisect the solution.
ustart u u
- “Bisection” returns to the last successfully converged substep
and applies the load in a smaller increment (thereby using
more substeps within the specified range).

31 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.08 Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
Step Controls (cont’d)
• For Auto Time Stepping = Program Controlled (Default), Mechanical will
automatically set specifications depending on the nature of the nonlinearity in the
model.
- User should always verify that these values are adequate by checking the Solution Information
folder at the beginning of the run and watching for bisections.
- Discussed in more detail in Chapter 6 “Nonlinear Diagnostics”

32 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.08 Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
Solver Controls
• Solver Type offers two options, ‘Direct’ and ‘Iterative’.
- This is a reference to the way the code builds the stiffness matrix for
each Newton-Raphson equilibrium iteration.
- Direct (Sparse) solver is more robust and is recommended for
challenging nonlinear models and with non-continuum elements
(shells and beams).
- Iterative (PCG) solver is more efficient (in terms of run time and is
recommended for large bulk solid models dominated by linear
elastic behavior.
- There can also be different ‘In-Core’ memory requirements:
• Sparse requires about 10GB/MDOF, while PCG requires 1GB/MDOF
- The default ‘Program Controlled’ will automatically select a solver
based on the problem currently in session.

33 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.08 Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
Solver Controls (cont’d)
• By setting “Large Deflection” = ON, in the Solver Control
branch of Analysis Settings, Adjustments are made to the
stiffness matrix over multiple iterations to account for
changes due to:
‐ Large deflection, large rotation
‐ Large strain.
‐ Stress stiffening
‐ Spin softening

34 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.08 Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
Solver Controls (cont’d):
Large Deflection: If an element’s orientation changes (rotation), the
transformation of its local stiffness into global components will change.
• Change in orientation is also accounted for when Large Deflection analysis is
specified.
• It is possible to have large deflection without large strain.
• For elements that support large deflection but do not support large strain
(previous slide), the mechanical strains are evaluated using linear
expressions.
Y

X
35 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.08 Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
Solver Controls (cont’d):
Large Deflection = On will also account for Large Strain.
If an element’s shape changes (area, thickness, etc.), its individual element stiffness
will change.

• The mechanical strains are evaluated using nonlinear expressions

l
dl l 
el    Ln  
lo
l  l0 
• This measure is a nonlinear strain measure since it is a nonlinear function of the unknown final
length l. It is also referred to as the log strain. The 3-D equivalent of the log strain is the Hencky
strain.
36 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.08 Obtaining a Nonlinear Solution
Solver Controls (cont’d):
Large Deflection = On will also account for Stress Stiffening.
If an element’s strains produce an in-plane stress state (membrane stresses), the
out-of-plane stiffness can be significantly affected.
• As the vertical deflection (UY), increases, significant membrane stresses (SX) lead
to a stiffening response.
• This is characteristic of thin structures with bending stiffness very small
compared to axial stiffness
• cables, thin beams, shells and couples in the in-plane and transverse
displacements
• It is possible to have stress stiffening without large deflection and/or large strain
F
Y F
X uy
37 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016
 01.09 Workshop 01.1: Shell Disk
Please refer to instructions for Workshop 01.1 – Shell Disk

38 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016

 01.10 Workshop 01.2: Large Deflection
Please refer to instructions for Workshop 01.2 – Large Deflection

39 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 31, 2016