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Chapter1:GettingStartedwithANSYS

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1.1PerformingaTypicalANSYSAnalysis
TheANSYSprogramhasmanyfiniteelementanalysiscapabilities,rangingfromasimple,linear,static
analysistoacomplex,nonlinear,transientdynamicanalysis.TheanalysisguidemanualsintheANSYS
documentationsetdescribespecificproceduresforperforminganalysesfordifferentengineeringdisciplines.
Thenextfewsectionsofthischaptercovergeneralstepsthatarecommontomostanalyses.
AtypicalANSYSanalysishasthreedistinctsteps:
Buildthemodel.
Applyloadsandobtainthesolution.
Reviewtheresults.

1.2BuildingaModel
BuildingafiniteelementmodelrequiresmoreofanANSYSuser'stimethananyotherpartoftheanalysis.
First,youspecifyajobnameandanalysistitle.Then,youusethePREP7preprocessortodefinetheelement
types,elementrealconstants,materialproperties,andthemodelgeometry.

1.2.1SpecifyingaJobnameandAnalysisTitle
Thistaskisnotrequiredforananalysis,butisrecommended.

1.2.1.1DefiningtheJobname
ThejobnameisanamethatidentifiestheANSYSjob.Whenyoudefineajobnameforananalysis,the
jobnamebecomesthefirstpartofthenameofallfilestheanalysiscreates.(Theextensionorsuffixforthese
files'namesisafileidentifiersuchas.DB.)Byusingajobnameforeachanalysis,youinsurethatnofilesare
overwritten.
Ifyoudonotspecifyajobname,allfilesreceivethenameFILEorfile,dependingontheoperatingsystem.
Youcanchangethedefaultjobnameasfollows:
ByusingtheinitialjobnameentryoptionwhenyouentertheANSYSprogram,eitherviathelauncher
orontheANSYSexecutioncommand.Fordetails,seetheANSYSOperationsGuide.

FromwithintheANSYSprogram,youcanuseeitherofthefollowing:
Command(s):
/FILNAME
GUI:
UtilityMenu>File>ChangeJobname
The/FILNAMEcommandisvalidonlyattheBeginlevel.Itletsyouchangethejobnameevenifyou
specifiedaninitialjobnameatANSYSentry.However,thejobnameappliesonlytofilesyouopenafterusing
/FILNAME.Filesopenedbeforeyouuse/FILNAME,suchasthelogfile,Jobname.LOG,anderrorfile
Jobname.ERR,willstillhavetheinitialjobname.

1.2.1.2DefininganAnalysisTitle
The/TITLEcommand(UtilityMenu>File>ChangeTitle),definesatitlefortheanalysis.ANSYS
includesthetitleonallgraphicsdisplaysandonthesolutionoutput.Youcanissuethe/STITLEcommandto
addsubtitlesthesewillappearintheoutput,butnotingraphicsdisplays.

1.2.1.3DefiningUnits
TheANSYSprogramdoesnotassumeasystemofunitsforyouranalysis.Exceptinmagneticfieldanalyses,
youcanuseanysystemofunitssolongasyoumakesurethatyouusethatsystemforallthedatayouenter.
(Unitsmustbeconsistentforallinputdata.)
Usingthe/UNITScommand,youcansetamarkerintheANSYSdatabaseindicatingthesystemofunits
thatyouareusing.Thiscommanddoesnotconvertdatafromonesystemofunitstoanotheritsimplyserves
asarecordforsubsequentreviewsoftheanalysis.

1.2.2DefiningElementTypes
TheANSYSelementlibrarycontainsmorethan100differentelementtypes.Eachelementtypehasaunique
numberandaprefixthatidentifiestheelementcategory:BEAM4,PLANE77,SOLID96,etc.Thefollowing
elementcategoriesareavailable:
BEAM
COMBINation
CONTACt
FLUID
HYPERelastic
INFINite
LINK
MASS
MATRIX
PIPE

PLANE
SHELL
SOLID
SOURCe
SURFace
TARGEt
USER
INTERface
VISCOelastic(orviscoplastic)

Theelementtypedetermines,amongotherthings:

Thedegreeoffreedomset(whichinturnimpliesthedisciplinestructural,thermal,magnetic,electric,
quadrilateral,brick,etc.)
Whethertheelementliesintwodimensionalorthreedimensionalspace.
BEAM4,forexample,hassixstructuraldegreesoffreedom(UX,UY,UZ,ROTX,ROTY,ROTZ),isaline
element,andcanbemodeledin3Dspace.PLANE77hasathermaldegreeoffreedom(TEMP),isan
eightnodequadrilateralelement,andcanbemodeledonlyin2Dspace.
YoumustbeinPREP7,thegeneralpreprocessor,todefineelementtypes.Todoso,youusetheETfamily
ofcommands(ET,ETCHG,etc.)ortheirGUIpathequivalentsseetheANSYSCommandsReferencefor
details.Youdefinetheelementtypebynameandgivetheelementatypereferencenumber.Forexample,the
commandsshownbelowdefinetwoelementtypes,BEAM4andSHELL63,andassignthemtypereference
numbers1and2respectively.
ET,1,BEAM4
ET,2,SHELL63

Thistableoftypereferencenumberversuselementnameiscalledtheelementtypetable.Whiledefiningthe
actualelements,youpointtotheappropriatetypereferencenumberusingtheTYPEcommand(Main
Menu>Preprocessor>Create>Elements>ElemAttributes).
Manyelementtypeshaveadditionaloptions,knownasKEYOPTs,andarereferredtoasKEYOPT(1),
KEYOPT(2),etc.Forexample,KEYOPT(9)forBEAM4allowsyoutochooseresultstobecalculatedat
intermediatelocationsoneachelement,andKEYOPT(3)forSHELL63allowsyoutosuppressextra
displacementshapes.YoucanspecifyKEYOPTsusingtheETcommand,theKEYOPTcommand(Main
Menu>Preprocessor>ElementType>Add/Edit/Delete).

1.2.3DefiningElementRealConstants
Elementrealconstantsarepropertiesthatdependontheelementtype,suchascrosssectionalpropertiesofa
beamelement.Forexample,realconstantsforBEAM3,the2Dbeamelement,arearea(AREA),moment
ofinertia(IZZ),height(HEIGHT),sheardeflectionconstant(SHEARZ),initialstrain(ISTRN),andadded
massperunitlength(ADDMAS).Notallelementtypesrequirerealconstants,anddifferentelementsofthe
sametypemayhavedifferentrealconstantvalues.
YoucanspecifyrealconstantsusingtheRfamilyofcommands(R,RMODIF,etc.)ortheirequivalentmenu
pathsseetheANSYSCommandsReferenceforfurtherinformation.Aswithelementtypes,eachsetofreal
constantshasareferencenumber,andthetableofreferencenumberversusrealconstantsetiscalledthereal
constanttable.Whiledefiningtheelements,youpointtotheappropriaterealconstantreferencenumber
usingtheREALcommand(MainMenu>Preprocessor>Create>Elements>ElemAttributes).
Whiledefiningrealconstants,keeptheserulesandguidelinesinmind:
WhenusingoneoftheRcommands,youmustenterrealconstantsintheordershowninTable4.n.1
foreachelementtypeintheANSYSElementsReference.
Formodelsusingmultipleelementtypes,useaseparaterealconstantset(thatis,adifferentREAL
referencenumber)foreachelementtype.TheANSYSprogramissuesawarningmessageifmultiple
elementtypesreferencethesamerealconstantset.However,asingleelementtypemayreference
severalrealconstantsets.
Toverifyyourrealconstantinput,usetheRLISTandELISTcommands,withRKEY=1(shown

below).RLISTlistsrealconstantvaluesforallsets.ThecommandELIST,,,,,1producesaneasier
toreadlistthatshows,foreachelement,therealconstantlabelsandtheirvalues.
Command(s):
ELIST
GUI:
UtilityMenu>List>Elements>Attributes+RealConst
UtilityMenu>List>Elements>AttributesOnly
UtilityMenu>List>Elements>Nodes+Attributes
UtilityMenu>List>Elements>Nodes+Attributes+RealConst
Command(s):
RLIST
GUI:
UtilityMenu>List>Properties>AllRealConstants
UtilityMenu>List>Properties>SpecifiedRealConst
Forlineandareaelementsthatrequiregeometrydata(crosssectionalarea,thickness,diameter,etc.)
tobespecifiedasrealconstants,youcanverifytheinputgraphicallybyusingthefollowingcommands
intheordershown:
Command(s):
/ESHAPEandEPLOT
GUI:
UtilityMenu>PlotCtrls>Style>SizeandShape
UtilityMenu>Plot>Elements
ANSYSdisplaystheelementsassolidelements,usingarectangularcrosssectionforlinkandshell
elementsandacircularcrosssectionforpipeelements.Thecrosssectionproportionsaredetermined
fromtherealconstantvalues.

1.2.3.1CreatingCrossSections
IfyouarebuildingamodelusingBEAM188orBEAM189,youcanusethesectioncommands(SECTYPE,
SECDATA,etc.(MainMenu>Preprocessor>Sections>BeamCommonSects))todefineanduse
crosssectionsinyourmodels.SeeChapter8oftheANSYSAdvancedAnalysisTechniquesGuidefor
informationonhowtousetheBeamTooltocreatecrosssections.

1.2.4DefiningMaterialProperties
Mostelementtypesrequirematerialproperties.Dependingontheapplication,materialpropertiesmaybe:

Linearornonlinear
Isotropic,orthotropic,oranisotropic
Constanttemperatureortemperaturedependent.
Aswithelementtypesandrealconstants,eachsetofmaterialpropertieshasamaterialreferencenumber.
Thetableofmaterialreferencenumbersversusmaterialpropertysetsiscalledthematerialtable.Withinone
analysis,youmayhavemultiplematerialpropertysets(tocorrespondwithmultiplematerialsusedinthe
model).ANSYSidentifieseachsetwithauniquereferencenumber.
Whiledefiningtheelements,youpointtotheappropriatematerialreferencenumberusingoneofthe
following:
Command(s):
MAT
GUI:
MainMenu>Preprocessor>Attributes>Define>DefaultAttribs

1.2.4.1UsingMaterialLibraryFiles
Althoughyoucandefinematerialpropertiesseparatelyforeachfiniteelementanalysis,theANSYSprogram
enablesyoutostoreamaterialpropertysetinanarchivalmateriallibraryfile,thenretrievethesetandreuseit
inmultipleanalyses.(Eachmaterialpropertysethasitsownlibraryfile.)Themateriallibraryfilesalsoenable
severalANSYSuserstosharecommonlyusedmaterialpropertydata.
Themateriallibraryfeatureoffersyouotheradvantages:
Becausethearchivedcontentsofmateriallibraryfilesarereusable,youcanusethemtodefineother,
similarmaterialpropertysetsquicklyandwithfewererrors.Forexample,supposethatyouhave
definedmaterialpropertiesforonegradeofsteelandwanttocreateamaterialpropertysetforanother
gradeofsteelthatisslightlydifferent.Youcanwritetheexistingsteelmaterialpropertysettoamaterial
libraryfile,readitbackintoANSYSunderadifferentmaterialnumber,andthen,withinANSYS,
maketheminorchangesneededtodefinepropertiesforthesecondtypeofsteel.
Usingthe/MPLIBcommand(MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>Material
Library>LibraryPath),youcandefineamateriallibraryreadandwritepath.Doingthisallowsyou
toprotectyourmaterialdataresourcesinareadonlyarchive,whilegivingANSYSuserstheabilityto
writetheirmaterialdatalocallywithoutswitchingpaths.
Youcangiveyourmateriallibraryfilesmeaningfulnamesthatreflectthecharacteristicsofthedatathey
contain.Forexample,thenameofamateriallibraryfiledescribingpropertiesofasteelcastingmight
beSTEELCST.SI_MPL.(SeeSection1.2.4.4foranexplanationoffilenamingconventions.)
Youcandesignyourowndirectoryhierarchyformateriallibraryfiles.Thisenablesyoutoclassifyand
catalogthefilesbymaterialtype(plastic,aluminum,etc.),byunits,orbyanycategoryyouchoose.
Thenextfewparagraphsdescribehowtocreateandreadmateriallibraryfiles.Foradditionalinformation,
seethedescriptionsofthe/MPLIB,MPREAD,andMPWRITEcommandsintheANSYSCommands
Reference.

1.2.4.2FormatofMaterialLibraryFiles

MateriallibraryfilesareANSYScommandfiles.Thefileformatsupportsbothlinearandnonlinear
properties.Youcanreusemateriallibraryfilesbecausethecommandsinthemarewrittensothat,onceyou
readamaterialpropertysetintotheANSYSdatabase,youcanassociatethatsetwithanymaterialnumber
youwish.

1.2.4.3SpecifyingaDefaultRead/WritePathforMaterialLibraryFiles
Beforeyoucreateanymateriallibraryfiles,defineadefaultreadpathandwritepathforthosefiles:
Command(s):
/MPLIB,option,PATH
GUI:
MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>MaterialLibrary>LibraryPath
NoteTheANSYSsuppliedmateriallibraryislocatedat/ansys5x/matlib/.
Inplaceofoption,specifyREAD(tosetthereadpath),WRITE(tosetthewritepath),orSTATtosee
whatreadandwritepathscurrentlyareinuse.InplaceofPATH,specifythepathtobeusedformaterial
libraryfiles.

1.2.4.4Creating(Writing)aMaterialLibraryFile
Tocreateanarchivalmateriallibraryfile,performthesesteps:
1.TotelltheANSYSprogramwhatsystemofunitsyouareusing,issuethe/UNITScommand.For
example,tospecifytheinternationalsystemofunits,youwouldissuethecommand/UNITS,SI.Youcannot
accessthe/UNITScommanddirectlyfromtheGUI.
2.DefineamaterialpropertyusingtheMPcommand(MainMenu>Preprocessor>Material
Props>Isotropic).Todoso,youmustspecifyamaterialnumberandatleastonematerialpropertyvalue
(forexample,magneticpermeabilityorMURX).
3.FromthePREP7preprocessor,issuethecommandshownbelow:
MPWRITE,Filename,,,LIB,MAT

Filenameisthenametoassigntothemateriallibraryfile.IssueMPWRITE(Main
Menu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>MaterialLibrary>ExportLibrary)andspecifythe
filenameforthemateriallibraryfile.
IssuingMPWRITEwritesthematerialdataspecifiedbymaterialnumberMATintothenamedfileinthe
currentworkingdirectory.(Ifyoupreviouslyspecifiedamateriallibrarywritepathbyissuingthe/MPLIB
command(MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>MaterialLibrary>LibraryPath),ANSYS
writesthefiletothatlocationinstead.)
Namingconventionsforamateriallibraryfileareasfollows:
ThenameofthefileisthenameyouspecifyontheMPWRITEcommand.Ifyoudonotspecifya
filename,thedefaultnameisJOBNAME.

Theextensionofamateriallibraryfilenamefollowsthepattern.xxx_MPL,wherexxxidentifiesthe
systemofunitsforthismaterialpropertysets.Forexample,ifthesystemofunitsistheCGSsystem,
thefileextensionis.CGS_MPL.Thedefaultextension,usedifyoudonotspecifyaunitssystem
beforecreatingthemateriallibraryfile,is.USER_MPL.(Thisindicatesauserdefinedsystemofunits.)

1.2.4.5ReadingaMaterialLibraryFile
ToreadamateriallibraryfileintotheANSYSdatabase,performthesesteps:
1.Usethe/UNITScommandoritsGUIequivalenttotelltheANSYSprogramwhatsystemofunitsyouare
using.
NoteThedefaultsystemofunitsforANSYSisSI.TheGUIlistsonlymateriallibraryfileswiththecurrently
activeunits.
2.Specifyanewmaterialreferencenumberoranexistingnumberthatyouwishtooverwrite:
Command(s):
MAT
GUI:
MainMenu>Preprocessor>Create>Elements>ElemAttributes
Caution:OverwritinganexistingmaterialintheANSYSdatabasedeletesallofthedataassociatedwithit.
3.Toreadthemateriallibraryfileintothedatabase,useoneofthefollowing:
Command(s):
MPREAD,Filename...LIB
GUI:
MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>MaterialLibrary>ImportLibrary
TheLIBargumentsupportsafilesearchhierarchy.Theprogramsearchesforthenamedmaterial
libraryfilefirstinthecurrentworkingdirectory,theninyourhomedirectory,theninthereadpath
directoryspecifiedbythe/MPLIBcommand,andfinallyintheANSYSsupplieddirectory
/ansys5x/matlib.IfyouomittheLIBargument,theprogramssearchesonlyinthecurrentworking
directory.

1.2.4.6LinearMaterialProperties
Linearmaterialpropertiescanbeconstantortemperaturedependent,andisotropicororthotropic.Todefine
constantmaterialproperties(eitherisotropicororthotropic),useoneofthefollowing:
Command(s):
MP

GUI:
MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>propertytype
YoualsomustspecifytheappropriatepropertylabelforexampleEX,EY,EZforYoung'smodulus,KXX,
KYY,KZZforthermalconductivity,andsoforth.ForisotropicmaterialyouneedtodefineonlytheX
directionpropertytheotherdirectionsdefaulttotheXdirectionvalue.Forexample:
MP,EX,1,2E11!Young'smodulusformaterialref.no.1is2E11
MP,DENS,1,7800!Densityformaterialref.no.1is7800
MP,KXX,3,43!Thermalconductivityformaterialref.no1is43

BesidesthedefaultsforYandZdirectionproperties(whichdefaulttotheXdirectionproperties),other
materialpropertydefaultsarebuiltintoreducetheamountofinput.Forexample,Poisson'sratio(NUXY)
defaultsto0.3,shearmodulus(GXY)defaultstoEX/2(1+NUXY)),andemissivity(EMIS)defaultsto1.0.
SeetheANSYSElementsReferencefordetails.
Youcanchooseconstant,isotropic,linearmaterialpropertiesfromamateriallibraryavailablethroughthe
GUI.Young'smodulus,density,coefficientofthermalexpansion,Poisson'sratio,thermalconductivityand
specificheatareavailablefor10materialsinfourunitsystems.
Caution:Thepropertyvaluesinthemateriallibraryareprovidedforyourconvenience.Theyaretypical
valuesforthematerialsyoucanuseforpreliminaryanalysesandnoncriticalapplications.Asalways,theuser
isresponsibleforalldatainputtotheANSYSprogram.
Todefinetemperaturedependentmaterialproperties,youcanusetheMPcommandincombinationwith
theMPTEMPorMPTGENcommand(MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>propertytype
andMainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>TempTableorMain
Menu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>GenerateTemp).YoualsocanusetheMPTEMPand
MPDATAcommands(MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>TempTableorMainMenu>
Preprocessor>MaterialProps>PropTable).TheMPcommandallowsyoutodefineapropertyversus
temperaturefunctionintheformofapolynomial.Thepolynomialmaybelinear,quadratic,cubic,orquartic:

CnarethecoefficientsandTisthetemperature.YouenterthecoefficientsusingtheC0,C1,C2,C3,and
C4argumentsontheMPcommand.IfyouspecifyjustC0,thematerialpropertyisconstantifyouspecify
C0andC1,thematerialpropertyvarieslinearlywithtemperatureandsoon.Whenyouspecifya
temperaturedependentpropertyinthismanner,theprograminternallyevaluatesthepolynomialatdiscrete
temperaturepointswithlinearinterpolationbetweenpoints(thatis,piecewiselinearrepresentation)anda
constantvaluedextrapolationbeyondtheextremepoints.YoumustusetheMPTEMPorMPTGEN
commandbeforetheMPcommandforsecondandhigherorderpropertiestodefineappropriate
temperaturesteps.
ThesecondwaytodefinetemperaturedependentmaterialpropertiesistouseacombinationofMPTEMP
andMPDATAcommands.MPTEMP(orMPTGEN)definesaseriesoftemperatures,andMPDATA
definescorrespondingmaterialpropertyvalues.Forexample,thefollowingcommandsdefineatemperature
dependententhalpyformaterial4:
MPTEMP,1,1600,1800,2000,2325,2326,2335!6temperatures(temps16)
MPTEMP,7,2345,2355,2365,2374,2375,3000!6moretemps(temps712)
MPDATA,ENTH,4,1,53.81,61.23,68.83,81.51,81.55,82.31!Corresponding
MPDATA,ENTH,4,7,84.48,89.53,99.05,112.12,113.00,137.40!enthalpyvalues

Ifanunequalnumberofpropertydatapointsandtemperaturedatapointsaredefined,theANSYSprogram
usesonlythoselocationshavingbothpointsdefinedforthepropertyfunctiontable.Todefineadifferentset
oftemperaturesforthenextmaterialproperty,youshouldfirsterasethecurrenttemperaturetablebyissuing
MPTEMP(withoutanyarguments)andthendefinenewtemperatures(usingadditionalMPTEMPor
MPTGENcommands).
TheMPPLOTcommand(MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>Graph)displaysagraphof
materialpropertyversustemperature.Figure11showsaplotoftheenthalpytemperaturecurvedefinedin
theexampleabove.TheMPLISTcommand(MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>List),lists
materialproperties.
Figure11AsampleMPPLOTdisplay

Belowaresomenotesabouttemperaturedependentmaterialproperties:
Tomodifyapropertydatapointonanexistingcurve,simplyredefinethedesireddatapointbyissuing
MPDATAwiththeappropriatelocationnumber.Forexample,tochangetheENTHvalueinlocation
6oftheaboveenthalpytemperaturecurvefrom82.31to83.09,thecommandwouldbe
MPDATA,ENTH,4,6,83.09

Tomodifyatemperaturedatapointonanexistingcurve,youneedtwocommands:MPTEMPwith
theappropriatelocationnumbertospecifythenewtemperaturevalue,andMPDRES(Main
Menu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>ModifyTemps)toassociatethenewtemperaturetable
withthematerialproperty.Forexample,tochangethetemperatureinlocation7oftheabove
enthalpytemperaturecurvefrom2345to2340,thecommandswouldbe:
MPTEMP,7,2340!Modifieslocation7,retainsotherlocations
MPDRES,ENTH,4!AssociatesENTHformaterial4withnewtemps

ThereasonfortheMPDREScommandisthis:Wheneveryoudefineatemperaturedependentproperty,the
temperaturepropertydatapairsareimmediatelystoredinthedatabase.Modifyingthetemperaturedata
pointsaffectsonlymaterialpropertiesthataresubsequentlydefined,notwhatisalreadystored.The
MPDREScommandforcesmodificationofwhatisalreadystoredinthedatabase.Twoadditionalfieldson
MPDRESallowyoutomodifyastoredpropertyandstoreitunderanewlabeloranewmaterialreference
number.

TheMPTREScommand(MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>RestoreTemps)allowsyouto
replacethecurrenttemperaturetablewiththatofapreviouslydefinedmaterialpropertyinthedatabase.You
canthenusetheprevioustemperaturedatapointsforanotherproperty.
Fortemperaturedependentthermalexpansioncoefficients(ALPX,ALPY,ALPZ),ifthebasetemperature
forwhichtheyaredefined(thedefinitiontemperature)differsfromthereferencetemperature(the
temperatureatwhichzerothermalstrainsexist,definedbyMP,REFTorTREF),thenusetheMPAMOD
commandtoconvertthedatatothereferencetemperature.ForGUIpathsequivalenttothiscommand,see
theMPAMODdescriptionintheANSYSCommandsReference.
TheANSYSprogramtakestemperaturedependentmaterialpropertiesintoaccountduringsolutionwhen
elementmatricesareformulated.Theprogramfirstcalculatesthetemperatureatthecenterofeachelement
(or,forthermalelements,attheintegrationpointsofeachelement),determinesthecorrespondingmaterial
propertyvaluebylinearinterpolationofthepropertytemperaturetable,andthenusesthisvaluetoformulate
theelementmatrices.Ifanelement'stemperaturefallsbeloworabovethedefinedrangeoftabulardata,then
thedefinedextrememinimumormaximumvalue,respectively,isassumedforthematerialpropertyoutside
thedefinedrange.
Youcansavelinearmaterialproperties(whethertheyaretemperaturedependentorconstant)toafileor
restorethemfromatextfile.(SeeSection1.2.4foradiscussionofmateriallibraryfiles.)Youalsocanuse
eitherofthefollowingtowritebothlinearandnonlinearmaterialpropertiestoafile:
Command(s):
CDWRITE,MAT
GUI:
MainMenu>Preprocessor>ArchiveModel>Write
NoteIfyouareusingtheCDWRITEcommandinanyoftheANSYSderivedproducts(ANSYS/Emag,
ANSYS/Thermal,etc.),youmustedittheJobname.CDBfilethatCDWRITEcreatestoremovecommands
whicharenotavailableinthederivedproduct.YoumustdothisbeforereadingtheJobname.CDBfile.

1.2.4.7NonlinearMaterialProperties
Nonlinearmaterialpropertiesareusuallytabulardata,suchasplasticitydata(stressstraincurvesfordifferent
hardeninglaws),magneticfielddata(BHcurves),creepdata,swellingdata,hyperelasticmaterialdata,etc.
ThefirststepindefininganonlinearmaterialpropertyistoactivateadatatableusingtheTBcommand
(MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>DataTables>Define/Activate).Forexample,TB,BH,2
activatestheBHtableformaterialreferencenumber2.
Toenterthetabulardata,usetheTBPTcommand(MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>Data
Tables>EditActive).Forexample,thefollowingcommandsdefineaBHcurve:
TBPT,DEFI,150,.21
TBPT,DEFI,300,.55
TBPT,DEFI,460,.80
TBPT,DEFI,640,.95
TBPT,DEFI,720,1.0
TBPT,DEFI,890,1.1
TBPT,DEFI,1020,1.15

TBPT,DEFI,1280,1.25
TBPT,DEFI,1900,1.4

Youcanverifythedatatablethroughdisplaysandlistingsusingthefollowing:
Command(s):
TBPLOT,TBLIST
GUI:
MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>DataTables>Graph
MainMenu>Preprocessor>MaterialProps>DataTables>List
Figure12showsasampleTBPLOT(oftheBHcurvedefinedabove):
Figure12AsampleTBPLOTdisplay

1.2.4.8AnisotropicElasticMaterialProperties
Someelementtypesacceptanisotropicelasticmaterialproperties,whichareusuallyinputintheformofa
matrix.(Thesepropertiesaredifferentfromanisotropicplasticity,whichrequiresdifferentstressstraincurves
indifferentdirections.)AmongtheelementtypesthatallowelasticanisotropyareSOLID64(the3D
anisotropicsolid),PLANE13(the2Dcoupledfieldsolid),SOLID5andSOLID98(the3Dcoupledfield
solids).
Theproceduretospecifyanisotropicelasticmaterialpropertiesresemblesthatfornonlinearproperties.You
firstactivateadatatableusingtheTBcommand(withLab=ANEL)andthendefinethetermsoftheelastic
coefficientmatrixusingtheTBDATAcommand.BesuretoverifyyourinputwiththeTBLISTcommand.
SeeSection2.5oftheANSYSElementsReferencemanualandtheappropriateelementdescriptionsfor
moreinformation.

1.2.5CreatingtheModelGeometry
Onceyouhavedefinedmaterialproperties,thenextstepinananalysisisgeneratingafiniteelementmodel
nodesandelementsthatadequatelydescribesthemodelgeometry.Thegraphicbelowshowssomesample

finiteelementmodels:
Figure13Somesamplefiniteelementmodels

Therearetwomethodstocreatethefiniteelementmodel:solidmodelinganddirectgeneration.Withsolid
modeling,youdescribethegeometricshapeofyourmodel,theninstructtheANSYSprogramto
automaticallymeshthegeometrywithnodesandelements.Youcancontrolthesizeandshapeofthe
elementsthattheprogramcreates.Withdirectgeneration,you"manually"definethelocationofeachnode
andtheconnectivityofeachelement.Severalconvenienceoperations,suchascopyingpatternsofexisting
nodesandelements,symmetryreflection,etc.areavailable.
Detailsofthetwomethodsandmanyotheraspectsrelatedtomodelgenerationcoordinatesystems,working
planes,coupling,constraintequations,etc.aredescribedintheANSYSModelingandMeshingGuide.

1.2.6ApplyLoadsandObtaintheSolution
Inthisstep,youusetheSOLUTIONprocessortodefinetheanalysistypeandanalysisoptions,applyloads,
specifyloadstepoptions,andinitiatethefiniteelementsolution.YoualsocanapplyloadsusingthePREP7
preprocessor.

1.2.6.1DefiningtheAnalysisTypeandAnalysisOptions
Youchoosetheanalysistypebasedontheloadingconditionsandtheresponseyouwishtocalculate.For
example,ifnaturalfrequenciesandmodeshapesaretobecalculated,youwouldchooseamodalanalysis.
YoucanperformthefollowinganalysistypesintheANSYSprogram:static(orsteadystate),transient,
harmonic,modal,spectrum,buckling,andsubstructuring.
Notallanalysistypesarevalidforalldisciplines.Modalanalysis,forexample,isnotvalidforathermal
model.TheanalysisguidemanualsintheANSYSdocumentationsetdescribetheanalysistypesavailablefor
eachdisciplineandtheprocedurestodothoseanalyses.
Analysisoptionsallowyoutocustomizetheanalysistype.Typicalanalysisoptionsarethemethodofsolution,
stressstiffeningonoroff,andNewtonRaphsonoptions.
Todefinetheanalysistypeandanalysisoptions,usetheANTYPEcommand(Main
Menu>Preprocessor>Loads>NewAnalysisorMainMenu>Preprocessor>Loads>Restart)andthe
appropriateanalysisoptioncommands(TRNOPT,HROPT,MODOPT,SSTIF,NROPT,etc.).ForGUI
equivalentsfortheothercommands,seetheirdescriptionsintheANSYSCommandsReference.

Youcanspecifyeitheranewanalysisorarestart,butanewanalysisisthechoiceinmostcases.Restartsare
availableonlyforstatic(steadystate),harmonic(2Dmagneticonly),andtransientanalyses.Thevarious
analysisguidesdiscussdetailsofrestarts.Youcannotchangetheanalysistypeandanalysisoptionsafterthe
firstsolution.
Asampleinputlistingforastructuraltransientanalysisisshownbelow.Rememberthatthediscipline
(structural,thermal,magnetic,etc.)isimpliedbytheelementtypesusedinthemodel.
ANTYPE,TRANS
TRNOPT,FULL
SSTIF,ON
NLGEOM,ON

Onceyouhavedefinedtheanalysistypeandanalysisoptions,thenextstepistoapplyloads.Somestructural
analysistypesrequireotheritemstobedefinedfirst,suchasmasterdegreesoffreedomandgapconditions.
TheANSYSStructuralAnalysisGuidedescribestheseitemswherenecessary.

1.2.6.2ApplyingLoads
Thewordloadsasusedinthismanualincludesboundaryconditions(constraints,supports,orboundaryfield
specifications)aswellasotherexternallyandinternallyappliedloads.LoadsintheANSYSprogramare
dividedintosixcategories:
DOFConstraints
Forces
SurfaceLoads
BodyLoads
InertiaLoads
CoupledfieldLoads
Youcanapplymostoftheseloadseitheronthesolidmodel(keypoints,lines,andareas)orthefiniteelement
model(nodesandelements).Fordetailsabouttheloadcategoriesandhowtheycanbeappliedonyour
model,seeChapter2inthismanual.
Twoimportantloadrelatedtermsyouneedtoknowareloadstepandsubstep.Aloadstepissimplya
configurationofloadsforwhichyouobtainasolution.Inastructuralanalysis,forexample,youmayapply
windloadsinoneloadstepandgravityinasecondloadstep.Loadstepsarealsousefulindividinga
transientloadhistorycurveintoseveralsegments.
Substepsareincrementalstepstakenwithinaloadstep.Youusethemmainlyforaccuracyandconvergence
purposesintransientandnonlinearanalyses.Substepsarealsoknownastimestepsstepstakenovera
periodoftime.
NoteTheANSYSprogramusestheconceptoftimeintransientanalysesaswellasstatic(orsteadystate)
analyses.Inatransientanalysis,timerepresentsactualtime,inseconds,minutes,orhours.Inastaticor
steadystateanalysis,timesimplyactsasacountertoidentifyloadstepsandsubsteps.

1.2.6.3SpecifyingLoadStepOptions
Loadstepoptionsareoptionsthatyoucanchangefromloadsteptoloadstep,suchasnumberofsubsteps,
timeattheendofaloadstep,andoutputcontrols.Dependingonthetypeofanalysisyouaredoing,loadstep

optionsmayormaynotberequired.Theanalysisproceduresintheanalysisguidemanualsdescribethe
appropriateloadstepoptionsasnecessary.SeeChapter2forageneraldescriptionofloadstepoptions.

1.2.6.4InitiatingtheSolution
Toinitiatesolutioncalculations,useeitherofthefollowing:
Command(s):
SOLVE
GUI:
MainMenu>Solution>CurrentLS
MainMenu>Solution>solution_method
Whenyouissuethiscommand,theANSYSprogramtakesmodelandloadinginformationfromthedatabase
andcalculatestheresults.Resultsarewrittentotheresultsfile(Jobname.RST,Jobname.RTH,
Jobname.RMG,orJobname.RFL)andalsotothedatabase.Theonlydifferenceisthatonlyonesetof
resultscanresideinthedatabaseatonetime,whileyoucanwriteallsetsofresults(forallsubsteps)tothe
resultsfile.
Youcansolvemultipleloadstepsinaconvenientmanner:
Command(s):
LSSOLVE
GUI:
MainMenu>Solution>FromLSFiles
Chapter3discussesthisandothersolutionrelatedtopics.

1.2.7ReviewtheResults
Oncethesolutionhasbeencalculated,youcanusetheANSYSpostprocessorstoreviewtheresults.Two
postprocessorsareavailable:POST1andPOST26.
YouusePOST1,thegeneralpostprocessor,toreviewresultsatonesubstep(timestep)overtheentire
modelorselectedportionofthemodel.ThecommandtoenterPOST1is/POST1(MainMenu>General
Postproc),validonlyattheBeginlevel.Youcanobtaincontourdisplays,deformedshapes,andtabular
listingstoreviewandinterprettheresultsoftheanalysis.POST1offersmanyothercapabilities,including
errorestimation,loadcasecombinations,calculationsamongresultsdata,andpathoperations.
YouusePOST26,thetimehistorypostprocessor,toreviewresultsatspecificpointsinthemodeloverall
timesteps.ThecommandtoenterPOST26is/POST26(MainMenu>TimeHistPostpro),validonlyat
theBeginlevel.Youcanobtaingraphplotsofresultsdataversustime(orfrequency)andtabularlistings.
OtherPOST26capabilitiesincludearithmeticcalculationsandcomplexalgebra.DetailsofPOST1and
POST26capabilitiesandhowtousethemaredescribedinchapterslaterinthisdocument.

Gotothebeginningofthischapter

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