Introduction:

In this example you will learn to model a composite material and analyze one dimensional conduction properties. Using ANSYS will allow you to output the temperature distribution in an extremely simple and accurate way.

Problem Description:
K) We are modeling heat transfer in a block with a gap filled with different gases. All units are S.I. Boundary Conditions: 1) The left side of the block has a constant temperature of 400 K. 2) The right side of the block has convection (h=20 W/m-K ; T= 300 3) The Al section generates heat at a rate of 200 W/m3 4) The He section absorbs heat at a rate of 175 W/m3 Material Properties: Aluminum(1st layer): KAl = 235 W/m*K Helium(2nd layer): KHe = 0.1513 W/m*K Copper(3rd layer): KCu = 400 W/m*K Dimensions Length = 3 m Width = 3 m Thickness of each Layer = 1 m Objective: Find the nodal temperature distribution and the rate of heat loss from the furnace. Figure:

Basic Outline of the Problem:

Preprocessing: 1. Start ANSYS. 2. Create areas through keypoints. 3. Define the material properties. 4. Define element type. (Quad 8node 77 element, which is a 2-D element for heat transfer analysis.) 5. Specify meshing controls / Mesh the areas to create nodes and elements. Solution:

6. Specify boundary conditions. 7. Solve. Postprocessing: 8. List the results of the temperature distribution. 9. Plot the results of the temperature distribution. Exit: 10. Exit the ANSYS program, saving all data.

Starting ANSYS:
Click on ANSYS 6.1 in the programs menu. Select Interactive. The following menu comes up. Enter the working directory. All your files will be stored in this directory. Also under Use Default Memory Model make sure the values 64 for Total Workspace, and 32 for Database are entered. To change these values unclick Use Default Memory Model.

Click RUN

Modeling the Structure:

Go to the ANSYS Utility Menu (the top bar). Click Workplane>WP Settings The following widow comes up: (notice the numbers are different)

Check the Cartesian and Grid Only buttons Enter the values shown in the figure above. Click OK Go to the ANSYS Utility Menu (the top bar). Click Workplane>Display Working Plane. This will display the working grid on the workspace. Use Utility Menu>PlotCtrls>Pan Zoom Rotate to display the grid as shown in the next step below. Next, go to the ANSYS Main Menu (on the left hand side of the screen) and click Preprocessor>Modeling>Create>Keypoints>On Working Plane. The following window comes up:

Click on the working plane below to select the points (they follow the dimensions explained in the beginning, (1m x 3m). After setting the workplane settings in the beginning, you should be aware that each line on the plane equals to 1m. When done, click OK.

Now you have created the points to make the block. Now select Preprocessor>Modeling>Create>Areas>Arbitrary>Through KPs. A window will now appear on the left of the screen. Select the points that form the 1st section. Click Apply such that it is formed separate from the other two areas. Repeat the step of selecting the KPs that make up each area, and clicking Apply until all three layers are defined. (Click OK for the last one) The model should look like this now: (note, you have a black background)

Material Properties:
Now that we have built the model, material properties need to be defined such that ANSYS understands how heat travels through this composite solid. Go to the ANSYS Main Menu Select Preferences. We will set up the drop menus only to include thermal tasks, to make everything easy to navigate.

Select Thermal and hit ok. Now you are ready. Click Preprocessor>Material Props>Material Models. The pop-up window will now look like this:

In the window that comes up, select Material>New Material

Hit OK. Repeat the process for the third material. (repeat the last step once more) Choose Thermal>Conductivity>Isotropic. The following window comes up:

Fill in 235 for Thermal conductivity. Click OK. This is the Thermal Conductivity of Al. Now repeat the steps of clicking Thermal>Conductivity>Isotropic and then defining the Thermal Conductivity as 0.1513 for the Model 2. You have now defined the k value of Helium. Define the last section and this time use K = 400. This is the Thermal Conductivity of Copper. Now exit the Define Material Model Behavior Window.

Element Properties:
Now that weve defined what material ANSYS will be analyzing, we have to define how ANSYS should analyze our block. Click Preprocessor>Element Type>Add/Edit/Delete... In the 'Element Types' window that opens click on Add... The following window opens:

Type 1 in the Element Type reference number. Click on Thermal Mass>Solid and select Quad 8node 77. Click OK. Close the 'Element Types' window. Now we have selected Element Type 1 to be a Thermal Solid 8node Element. This finishes the section defining how the part is to be analyzed.

Meshing:
This section is responsible for telling ANSYS how to divide the block such that it has enough nodes, or points, to produce accurate results. Go to Preprocessor>Meshing>Size Controls>Manual Size>Lines>All Lines. In the menu that comes up type 0.05 in the field for Element edge length and 1 for the Spacing Ratio.

Click on OK. Now when you mesh the figure ANSYS will automatically create square meshes that have an edge length of 0.05m along the lines you selected. Now go to Preprocessor>Meshing>Mesh Attributes>Default Attributes . The window is shown below:

Make sure that the window matches the one above, click OK, and proceed to Preprocessor>Meshing>Mesh>Areas>Free A popup window will appear on the left hand side of the screen. This window allows you to select the area to be meshed. Choose the 1st area and then click OK in the pop-up window. This both meshes the area and defines it as Material 1. Material 1 (as you recall from before) was set to Aluminum originally by defining the k value of the material as 235 W/m*K. Now return to Preprocessor>Meshing>Mesh Attributes>Default Attributes. This time, select Material Number 2 from the dropdown menu and click OK. Once the pop-up window appears, select the middle layer and click OK. Repeat this process of defining each layer as a different material for Material 3 and mesh it so that all three layers have been meshed. The block should now look like this when you are done meshing: (if you choose fit in the pan zoom rotate dialog)

Boundary Conditions and Constraints:

Now that we have modeled the block and defined how ANSYS is to analyze the block we will apply the appropriate Boundary Conditions. ANSYS refers to all Boundary Conditions under the Loads category, so remember that when looking for commands within the main menu Go to Preprocessor>Loads>Define Loads>Apply>Thermal (from here one can apply any of the loads, or Boundary Conditions, offered by ANSYS.)

Apply Constant Temperature

Now well apply the given temperature boundary condition on the right side of the block. This time, within the Thermal Load category select Temperature>On Lines. A popup window will appear on the left hand side of the screen. This window allows you to select the line you wish the load to be applied to. Click the innermost boundary of the block and then OK. Enter 400 in the popup window as the set temperature for the left edge of the first section:

Apply Convection

Now we will apply convection to the right side of the composite block. Select Convection>On Lines A popup dialog will appear. Select the correct line and hit OK.

Enter the appropriate values and hit OK.

Apply Heat Generation and Heat Absorption

The next step is to add heat generation to the composite block. Choose Heat Generat>On Areas

Enter 200 W/m3 for the generation and the hit ok. Repeat this step for the second area but input -175 W/m3 to imply absorption. Once that is complete, the block should look like this:

Solution:
Go to ANSYS Main Menu>Solution>Analysis Type>New Analysis. Select Steady State and click on OK. Go to Solution>Solve>Current LS. Wait for ANSYS to solve the problem. Click on OK and close the 'Information' window.

Post-Processing:
This section is designed so that one can present the results of their analysis in the most appropriate way. This presentation can be in the form of tabulated nodal values, curves, etc. Go to the ANSYS Main Menu. Click General Postprocessing>List Results>Nodal Solution. The following window will come up:

Select DOF solution and Temperature. Click on OK. The nodal temperatures will be listed as follows:

Within this window one can numerically find the maximum and minimum value of the temperature within the block. Note that you may have nodes in different places. Therefore your first displayed temperatures might not be the same as the ones shown above. If you scroll down you should find everything.

Modification / Plotting the Results:

The last section displayed the numerical results, but some people prefer a plot presentation of the temperatures on the block over the numerical results. This is how you go about doing that

First go to General Postprocessing>Plot Results>Contour Plot>Nodal Solution. The following window will come up:

Select DOF solution and Temperature to be plotted and click OK. The output will be like this:

This is the Final Solution To find extra information on Saving an ANSYS model see the Appendix on the ANSYS tutorial mainpage.

Saving Projects
Simply go to Utility Menu>File>Save As and save the project using the desired filename. To open the file later, run Interactive (the first thing explained in

this tutorial) as usual, and when that is done, go to Utility Menu>File>Resume From and choose the saved job from the directory it is saved in.

Solid Model Creation

Introduction
This tutorial is the last of three basic tutorials devised to illustrate commom features in ANSYS. Each tutorial builds upon techniques covered in previous tutorials, it is therefore essential that you complete the tutorials in order. The Solid Modelling Tutorial will introduce various techniques which can be used in ANSYS to create solid models. Filleting, extrusion/sweeping, copying, and working plane orientation will be covered in detail. Two Solid Models will be created within this tutorial.

Problem Description A
We will be creating a solid model of the pulley shown in the following figure.

Geometry Generation
We will create this model by first tracing out the cross section of the pulley and then sweeping this area about the y axis.

Creation of Cross Sectional Area

1. Create 3 Rectangles Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > Rectangle > By 2 Corners
BLC4, XCORNER, YCORNER, WIDTH, HEIGHT

The geometry of the rectangles:

Rectangle 1 2 0 Rectangle 2 3 2 Rectangle 3 8 0

WP X (XCORNER) WP Y (YCORNER)

WIDTH HEIGHT

1 5.5

5 1

0.5 5

You should obtain the following:

2. Add the Areas Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > (-Boolean-) Add > Areas
AADD, ALL

ANSYS will label the united area as AREA 4 and the previous three areas will be deleted. 3. Create the rounded edges using circles Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Areas-) Circle > Solid circles
CYL4,XCENTER,YCENTER,RAD

The geometry of the circles:

Circle 1 3 5.5 0.5 Circle 2 8.5 0.2 0.2

WP X (XCENTER) WP Y (YCENTER) RADIUS

4. Subtract the large circle from the base

Preprocessor > Operate > Subtract > Areas

ASBA,BASE,SUBTRACT

5. Copy the smaller circle for the rounded edges at the top Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Copy > Areas
o o

Click on the small circle and then on OK. The following window will appear. It asks for the x,y and z offset of the copied area. Enter the y offset as 4.6 and then click OK.

Copy this new area now with an x offset of -0.5 You should obtain the following

6. Add the smaller circles to the large area. Preprocessor > Operate > Add > Areas
AADD,ALL

7. Fillet the inside edges of the top half of the area Preprocessor > Create > (-Lines-) Line Fillet
o

Select the two lines shown below and click on OK.

The following window will appear prompting for the fillet radius. Enter 0.1

Follow the same procedure and create a fillet with the same radius between the following lines

8. Create the fillet areas o As shown below, zoom into the fillet radius and plot and number the lines.

Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Areas-) Arbitrary > By Lines

o

Select the lines as shown below

o Repeat for the other fillet 9. Add all the areas together

Preprocessor > Operate > Add > Areas

AADD,ALL

10. Plot the areas (Utility Menu > Plot - Areas)

Sweep the Cross Sectional Area

Now we need to sweep the area around a y axis at x=0 and z=0 to create the pulley. 1. Create two keypoints defining the y axis Create keypoints at (0,0,0) and (0,5,0) and number them 1001 and 1002 respectively. (K,#,X,Y,Z) 2. By default the graphics will now show all keypoints. Plot Areas 3. Sweep the area about the y axis Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > Extrude > (-Areas-) About axis
o o o

You will first be prompted to select the areas to be swept so click on the area. Then you will be asked to enter or pick two keypoints defining the axis. Plot the Keypoints (Utility Menu > Plot > Keypoints. Then select the following two keypoints

The following window will appear prompting for sweeping angles. Click on OK.

You should now see the following in the graphics screen.

Create Bolt Holes

1. Change the Working Plane By default, the working plane in ANSYS is located on the global Cartesian X-Y plane. However, for us to define the bolt holes, we need to use a different working plane. There are several ways to define a working plane, one of which is to define it by three keypoints.
o

Create the following Keypoints X 0 1 0 Y 3 3 3 Z 0 0 1

#2001 #2002 #2003

o Switch the view to top view and plot only keypoints. 2. Align the Working Plane with the Keypoints

Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Align WP with > Keypoints +

o

Select Keypoints 2001 then 2002 then 2003 IN THAT ORDER. The first keypoint (2001) defines the origin of the working plane coordinate system, the second keypoint (2002) defines the x-axis orientation, while the third (2003) defines the orientation of the working plane. The following warning will appear

when selecting the keypoint at the origin as there are more than one in this location.

Just click on 'Next' until the one selected is 2001.

o

Once you have selected the 3 keypoints and clicked 'OK' the WP symbol (green) should appear in the Graphics window. Another way to make sure the active WP has moves is: Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Show WP Status

note the origin of the working plane. By default those values would be 0,0,0. 3. Create a Cylinder (solid cylinder) with x=5.5 y=0 r=0.5 depth=1 You should see the following in the graphics screen

We will now copy this volume so that we repeat it every 45 degrees. Note that you must copy the cylinder before you use boolean operations to subtract it because you cannot copy an empty space. 4. We need to change active CS to cylindrical Y Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Change Active CS to > Global Cylindrical Y This will allow us to copy radially about the Y axis 5. Create 8 bolt Holes Preprocessor > Copy > Volumes
o

Select the cylinder volume and click on OK. The following window will appear; fill in the blanks as shown,

Youi should obtain the following model,

Subtract the cylinders from the pulley hub (Boolean operations) to create the boltholes. This will result in the following completed structure:

Command File Mode of Solution

The above example was solved using a mixture of the Graphical User Interface (or GUI) and the command language interface of ANSYS. This problem has also been solved using the ANSYS command language interface that you may want to browse. Open the .HTML version, copy and paste the code into Notepad or a similar text editor and save it to your computer. Now go to 'File > Read input from...' and select the file. A .PDF version is also available for printing.

Problem Description B
We will be creating a solid model of the Spindle Base shown in the following figure.

Geometry Generation
We will create this model by creating the base and the back and then the rib.

Create the Base

1. Create the base rectangle
WP X (XCORNER) 0 WP Y (YCORNER) 0 WIDTH 109 HEIGHT 102

2. Create the curved edge (using keypoints and lines to create an area) o Create the following keypoints
X -20 -20 0 0 Y 82 20 82 20 Z 0 0 0 0

Keypoint 5 Keypoint 6 Keypoint 7 Keypoint 8 o

You should obtain the following:

o o

Create arcs joining the keypoints Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Lines-) Arcs > By End KPs & Rad

Select keypoints 4 and 5 (either click on them or type 4,5 into the command line) when prompted. Select Keypoint 7 as the center-of-curvature when prompted. Enter the radius of the arc (20) in the 'Arc by End KPs & Radius' window Repeat to create an arc from keypoints 1 and 6

(Alternatively, type LARC,4,5,7,20 followed by LARC,1,6,8,20 into the command line)

o

Create a line from Keypoint 5 to 6 Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Lines-) Lines > Straight Line
L,5,6

Create an Arbitrary area within the bounds of the lines Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Areas-) Arbitrary > By Lines
AL,4,5,6,7

Combine the 2 areas into 1 (to form Area 3)

Main Menu > Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > (-Booleans-) Add > Volumes
AADD,1,2

3. You should obtain the following image:

4. 5. Create the 4 holes in the base We will make use of the 'copy' feature in ANSYS to create all 4 holes
o o

Create the bottom left circle (XCENTER=0, YCENTER=20, RADIUS=10) Copy the area to create the bottom right circle (DX=69) (AGEN,# Copies (include original),Area#,Area2# (if 2 areas to be copied),DX,DY,DZ)

o o

Copy both circles to create the upper circles (DY=62) Subtract the three circles from the main base (ASBA,3,ALL)

You should obtain the following:

6. Extrude the base Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > Extrude > (-Areas-) Along Normal The following window will appear once you select the area

Fill in the window as shown (length of extrusion = 26mm). Note, to extrude the area in the negative z direction you would simply enter -26.

(Alternatively, type VOFFST,6,26 into the command line)

Create the Back

1. Change the working plane

As in the previous example, we need to change the working plane. You may have observed that geometry can only be created in the X-Y plane. Therefore, in order to create the back of the Spindle Base, we need to create a new working plane where the XY plane is parallel to the back. Again, we will define the working plane by aligning it to 3 Keypoints.
o

Create the following keypoints X 109 109 159 Y 102 2 102 Z 0 0 sqrt(3)/0.02

#100 #101 #102

o

Align the working plane to the 3 keypoints Recall when defining the working plane; the first keypoint defines the origin, the second keypoint defines the x-axis orientation, while the third defines the orientation of the working plane. (Alternatively, type KWPLAN,1,100,101,102 into the command line)

2. Create the back area o Create the base rectangle (XCORNER=0, YCORNER=0, WIDTH=102, HEIGHT=180) o Create a circle to obtain the curved top (XCENTER=51, YCENTER=180, RADIUS=51) o Add the 2 areas together 3. Extrude the area (length of extrusion = 26mm) Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > Extrude > (-Areas-) Along Normal
VOFFST,27,26

4. Add the base and the back together o Add the two volumes together Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > (-Booleans-) Add > Volumes
VADD,1,2

You should now have the following geometry

Note that the planar areas between the two volumes were not added together.
o

Add the planar areas together (don't forget the other side!) Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Operate > (-Booleans-) Add > Areas
AADD, Area 1, Area 2, Area 3

5. Create the Upper Cylinder o Create the outer cylinder (XCENTER=51, YCENTER=180, RADIUS=32, DEPTH=60) Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Volumes-) Cylinder > Solid Cylinder
CYL4,51,180,32, , , ,60 o o o

Add the volumes together Create the inner cylinder (XCENTER=51, YCENTER=180, RADIUS=18.5, DEPTH=60) Subtract the volumes to obtain a hole

You should now have the following geometry:

Create the Rib

1. Change the working plane o First change the active coordinate system back to the global coordinate system (this will make it easier to align to the new coordinate system) Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Align WP with > Global Cartesian (Alternatively, type WPCSYS,-1,0 into the command line)
o

Create the following keypoints X -20 0 -20 Y 61 61 61 Z 26 26 30

#200 #201 #202

o

Align the working plane to the 3 keypoints Recall when defining the working plane; the first keypoint defines the origin, the second keypoint defines the x-axis orientation, while the third defines the orientation of the working plane. (Alternatively, type KWPLAN,1,200,201,202 into the command line)

2. Change active coordinate system

We now need to update the coordiante system to follow the working plane changes (ie make the new Work Plane origin the active coordinate) Utility Menu > WorkPlane > Change Active CS to > Working Plane
CSYS,4

3. Create the area o Create the keypoints corresponding to the vertices of the rib
X 129-(0.57735*26) 129-(0.57735*26) + 38 Y 0 sqrt(3)/2*76 Z 0 0

#203 #204 o

Create the rib area through keypoints 200, 203, 204 Preprocessor > (-Modeling-) Create > (-Areas-) Arbitrary > Through KPs
A,200,203,204

4. Extrude the area (length of extrusion = 20mm) 5. Add the volumes together You should obtain the following:

Modelling Using Axisymmetry

Introduction
This tutorial was completed using ANSYS 7.0 This tutorial is intended to outline the steps required to create an axisymmetric model. The model will be that of a closed tube made from steel. Point loads will be applied at the center of the top and bottom plate to make an analytical verification simple to calculate. A 3/4 cross section view of the tube is shown below. As a warning, point loads will create discontinuities in the your model near the point of application. If you chose to use these types of loads in your own modelling, be very careful and be sure to understand the theory of how the FEA package is appling the load and the assumption it is making. In this case, we will only be concerned about the stress distribution far from the point of application, so the discontinuities will have a negligable effect.

Preprocessing: Defining the Problem

1. Give example a Title Utility Menu > File > Change Title ...
/title, Axisymmetric Tube

2. Open preprocessor menu ANSYS Main Menu > Preprocessor

/PREP7

3. Create Areas Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Areas > Rectangle > By Dimensions
RECTNG,X1,X2,Y1,Y2

For an axisymmetric problem, ANSYS will rotate the area around the y-axis at x=0. Therefore, to create the geometry mentioned above, we must define a Ushape. We are going to define 3 overlapping rectangles as defined in the following table: Rectangle X1 X2 Y1 Y2 1 2 3 0 20 0 5 15 20 0 100 0 20 95 100

4. Add Areas Together Preprocessor > Modeling > Operate > Booleans > Add > Areas
AADD,ALL

Click the Pick All button to create a single area. 5. Define the Type of Element Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete... For this problem we will use the PLANE2 (Structural, Solid, Triangle 6node) element. This element has 2 degrees of freedom (translation along the X and Y axes). Many elements support axisymmetry, however if the Ansys Elements Reference (which can be found in the help file) does not discuss axisymmetric applications for a particular element type, axisymmetry is not supported.

 Turn on Axisymmetry While the Element Types window is still open, click the Options... button. Under Element behavior K3 select Axisymmetric.

Define Element Material Properties Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for steel: i. ii. Young's modulus EX: 200000 Poisson's Ratio PRXY: 0.3

Define Mesh Size Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Areas > All Areas For this example we will use an element edge length of 2mm. Mesh the frame Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Areas > Free > click 'Pick All' Your model should know look like this:

Solution Phase: Assigning Loads and Solving

1. Define Analysis Type Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Static
ANTYPE,0

Apply Constraints

Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > Symmetry B.C. > On Lines Pick the two edges on the left, at x=0, as shown below. By using the symmetry B.C. command, ANSYS automatically calculates which DOF's should be constrained for the line of symmetry. Since the element we are using only has 2 DOF's per node, we could have constrained the lines in the x-direction to create the symmetric boundary conditions.

Utility Menu > Select > Entities Select Nodes and By Location from the scroll down menus. Click Y coordinates and type 50 into the input box as shown below, then click OK.

Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Nodes > Pick All Constrain the nodes in the y-direction (UY). This is required to constrain the model in space, otherwise it would be free to float up or down. The location to constrain the model in the y-direction (y=50) was chosen because it is along a symmetry plane. Therefore, these nodes won't move in the y-direction according to theory. Utility Menu > Select > Entities In the select entities window, click Sele All to reselect all nodes. It is important to always reselect all entities once you've finished to ensure future commands are applied to the whole model and not just a few entities. Once you've clicked Sele All, click on Cancel to close the window. Apply Loads

Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Keypoints Pick the top left corner of the area and click OK. Apply a load of 100 in the FY direction. Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Keypoints Pick the bottom left corner of the area and click OK. Apply a load of -100 in the FY direction. The applied loads and constraints should now appear as shown in the figure below.

 Solve the System Solution > Solve > Current LS

SOLVE

Postprocessing: Viewing the Results

1. Hand Calculations Hand calculations were performed to verify the solution found using ANSYS: The stress across the thickness at y = 50mm is 0.182 MPa.

2. Determine the Stress Through the Thickness of the Tube o Utility Menu > Select > Entities...

Select Nodes > By Location > Y coordinates and type 45,55 in the Min,Max box, as shown below and click OK.

General Postproc > List Results > Nodal Solution > Stress > Components SCOMP The following list should pop up.

If you take the average of the stress in the y-direction over the thickness of the tube, (0.18552 + 0.17866)/2, the stress in the tube is 0.182 MPa, matching the analytical solution. The average is used because in the analytical case, it is assumed the stress is evenly distributed across the thickness. This is only true when the location is far from any stress concentrators, such as corners. Thus, to approximate the analytical solution, we must average the stress over the thickness. 3. Plotting the Elements as Axisymmetric Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Symmetry Expansion > 2-D Axi-symmetric... The following window will appear. By clicking on 3/4 expansion you can produce the figure shown at the beginning of this tutorial.

4. Extra Exercise It is educational to repeat this tutorial, but leave out the key option which enables axisymmetric modelling. The rest of the commands remain the same. If this is done, the model is a flat, rectangular plate, with a rectangular hole in the middle. Both the stress distribution and deformed shape change drastically, as expected due to the change in geometry. Thus, when using axisymmetry be sure to verify the solutions you get are reasonable to ensure the model is infact axisymmetric.

Data Plotting: Using Tables to Post Process Results

Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 The purpose of this tutorial is to outline the steps required to plot Vertical Deflection vs. Length of the following beam using tables, a special type of array. By plotting this data on a curve, rather than using a contour plot, finer resolution can be achieved.

This tutorial will use a steel beam 400 mm long, with a 40 mm X 60 mm cross section as shown above. It will be rigidly constrained at one end and a -2500 N load will be applied to the other.

Preprocessing: Defining the Problem

1. Give the example a Title Utility Menu > File > Change Title ...
/title, Use of Tables for Data Plots

2. Open preprocessor menu ANSYS Main Menu > Preprocessor

/PREP7

3. Define Keypoints Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > In Active CS...
K,#,x,y,z

We are going to define 2 keypoints for this beam as given in the following table: Keypoint Coordinates (x,y,z) 1 (0,0) 2 4. Create Lines Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Lines > Lines > In Active Coord
L,1,2

(400,0)

Create a line joining Keypoints 1 and 2 5. Define the Type of Element Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete... For this problem we will use the BEAM3 (Beam 2D elastic) element. This element has 3 degrees of freedom (translation along the X and Y axes, and rotation about the Z axis). Define Real Constants Preprocessor > Real Constants... > Add... In the 'Real Constants for BEAM3' window, enter the following geometric properties: i. ii. iii. Cross-sectional area AREA: 2400 Area moment of inertia IZZ: 320e3 Total beam height: 40

This defines a beam with a height of 40 mm and a width of 60 mm. Define Element Material Properties Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for steel: i. ii. Young's modulus EX: 200000 Poisson's Ratio PRXY: 0.3

Define Mesh Size Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Lines > All Lines... For this example we will use an element edge length of 20mm.

 Mesh the frame Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Lines > click 'Pick All'

Solution Phase: Assigning Loads and Solving

1. Define Analysis Type Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Static
ANTYPE,0

Apply Constraints Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Keypoints Fix keypoint 1 (ie all DOF constrained) Apply Loads Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Keypoints Apply a load of -2500N on keypoint 2. The model should now look like the figure below.

Solve the System Solution > Solve > Current LS

SOLVE

Postprocessing: Viewing the Results

It is at this point the tables come into play. Tables, a special type of array, are basically matrices that can be used to store and process data from the analysis that was just run. This example is a simplified use of tables, but they can be used for much more. For more information type help in the command line and search for 'Array Parameters'. 1. Number of Nodes Since we wish to plot the verticle deflection vs length of the beam, the location and verticle deflection of each node must be recorded in the table. Therefore, it is necessary to determine how many nodes exist in the model. Utility Menu > List > Nodes... > OK. For this example there are 21 nodes. Thus the table must have at least 21 rows. 2. Create the Table o Utility Menu > Parameters > Array Parameters > Define/Edit > Add

The window seen above will pop up. Fill it out as shown [Graph > Table > 22,2,1]. Note there are 22 rows, one more than the number of nodes. The reason for this will be explained below. Click OK and then close the 'Define/Edit' window. 3. Enter Data into Table First, the horizontal location of the nodes will be recorded
o o

Utility Menu > Parameters > Get Array Data ... In the window shown below, select Model Data > Nodes

Fill the next window in as shown below and click OK [Graph(1,1) > All > Location > X]. Naming the array parameter 'Graph(1,1)' fills in the table starting in row 1, column 1, and continues down the column.

Next, the vertical displacement will be recorded.

o o

Utility Menu > Parameters > Get Array Data ... > Results data > Nodal results Fill the next window in as shown below and click OK [Graph(1,2) > All > DOF solution > UY]. Naming the array parameter 'Graph(1,2)' fills in the table starting in row 1, column 2, and continues down the column.

4. Arrange the Data for Ploting Users familiar with the way ANSYS numbers nodes will realize that node 1 will be on the far left, as it is keypoint 1, node 2 will be on the far right (keypoint 2), and the rest of the nodes are numbered sequentially from left to right. Thus, the second row in the table contains the data for the last node. This causes problems during plotting, thus the information for the last node must be moved to the final row of the table. This is why a table with 22 rows was created, to provide room to move this data.
o

Utility Menu > Parameters > Array Parameters > Define/Edit > Edit

The data for the end of the beam (X-location = 400, UY = -0.833) is in row two. Cut one of the cells to be moved (right click > Copy or Ctrl+X), press the down arrow to get to the bottom of the table, and paste it into the appropriate column (right click > Paste or Ctrl+V). When both values have been moved check to ensure the two entries in row 2 are zero. Select File > Apply/Quit 5. Plot the Data o Utility Menu > Plot > Array Parameters o The following window will pop up. Fill it in as shown, with the X-location data on the X-axis and the vertical deflection on the Y-axis.

o o o

To change the axis labels select Utility Menu > Plot Ctrls > Style > Graphs > Modify Axes ... To see the changes to the labels, select Utility Menu > Replot The plot should look like the one seen below.