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Lecture 1 Overview

ANSYS Mechanical Structural Nonlinearities

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ANSYS Mechanical Structural Nonlinearities

Chapter Overview

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In this chapter, an overview of the basics of nonlinear finite-element analysis (FEA) is presented:
A. B. C. D. What is Nonlinear Behavior? Types of Nonlinearities Nonlinear solution using linear solvers Nonlinear FEA issues

The purpose is to give you an understanding of the fundamental nature of nonlinear FEA. The capabilities described in this section are generally applicable to Structural licenses and above.

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ANSYS Mechanical Structural Nonlinearities

A. What is nonlinear behavior?

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Recall, in the 1600s, Robert Hooke discovered a simple linear relationship between force (F) and displacement (u), known as Hookes Law:

F = Ku
The constant K represents structural stiffness stiffness.

A linear structure obeys this linear relationship. A common example is a simple spring:

F K u

F K u

Linear structures are well well-suited suited to finite-element finite element analysis, analysis which is based on linear matrix algebra.
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... What is nonlinear behavior?

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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, constant K; it becomes a function of applied load, KT (the tangent stiffness).

KT

u
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... What is nonlinear behavior?

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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 bodies, Element birth/death)

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B. Types of Nonlinearities
There are three main sources of nonlinearities:
Geometric nonlinearities: If a structure experiences p large g deformations, its changing geometric configuration can cause nonlinear behavior. Material nonlinearities: A nonlinear stress-strain relationship, such as metal plasticity shown on the right, g , 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.

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Types of Nonlinearities
Of course, all three types of nonlinearities are commonly encountered in combination.

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Workbench Mechanical can readily y handle combined nonlinear effects.

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

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ANSYS Mechanical Structural Nonlinearities

B. Nonlinear solution using linear solvers

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How does Workbench 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. ANSYS uses an iterative process called the Newton-Raphson Method. Each iteration is known as an equilibrium iteration.
Load

F 2 1 3

A full Newton-Raphson iterative analysis for one increment of load. (Four iterations are shown.)
u
Displacement
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ANSYS Mechanical Structural Nonlinearities

Nonlinear solution using linear solvers

Customer Training Material

The actual relationship between load and displacement (shown with a blue dotted line) is not known beforehand. Consequently, C tl a series i of f linear li approximations i ti with ith corrections ti is i performed. This is a simplified explanation of the Newton-Raphson method (shown as solid red lines)
Newton-Raphson Method In the Newton-Raphson Method, the total load Fa is applied in iteration 1. The result Fa is x1. From the displacements, the internal 4 3 f forces F1 can be b calculated. l l t d If Fa F1, then th 2 the system is not in equilibrium. Hence, F1 a new stiffness matrix (slope of red line) is calculated ca cu ated based o on the t e cu current e t co conditions. dto s 1 The difference of Fa - F1 is the out-of-balance or residual forces. The residual forces must be small enough for the solution to converge. x1 x This process is repeated until Fa = Fi. In this example, after iteration 4, the system achieves equilibrium and the solution is said to be converged.
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Nonlinear solution using linear solvers

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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}
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Fa Fnr

u
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... Nonlinear solution using linear solvers

The Newton-Raphson method: Is not guaranteed to converge in all cases!

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Will converge only l if th the starting t ti configuration fi ti is i inside i id the th radius of convergence.
Load Diverging! Load Converged

ustart

Displacement

ustartu

Displacement

Starting outside the radius of convergence

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Starting inside the radi radius s of convergence

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... Nonlinear solution using linear solvers

Two techniques can help you obtain a converged solution:

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F F1 ustart u

ustart

Apply load incrementally to move g closer to the start the target

Use convergence-enhancement tools to enlarge the radius of convergence

Workbench Mechanical combines both strategies g to obtain convergence.

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... Nonlinear solution using linear solvers

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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.

Substeps p apply pp y the loads in an incremental fashion

Because of the complex response, it may be necessary to apply the load incrementally. For example, Fa1 may be near 50% of f th the Fa load. l d After Aft the th load l d for Fa1 is converged, then the full Fa load is applied. Fa has 2 substeps while Fb has 3 substeps in this example
Fb Fb2 Fb1 Fa Fa1

Equilibrium iterations are the corrective solutions to obtain a converged substep

xa

xb

In the example on right, the iterations between the dotted lines indicate equilibrium iterations.
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C. Nonlinear FEA Issues

Customer Training Material

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! y

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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 l ti converges, the th start t t was within ithi the th radius. di If solution fails to converge, the start was outside the radius.

Customer Training Material

Trial-and-error is sometimes required. q 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.

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Nonlinear FEA Issues

Balancing expense versus accuracy

Customer Training Material

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. N Nonlinear li analyses l add dd an extra t factor, f t th number the b of f load l d increments, which affects both accuracy and expense.
More load increments will often improve the accuracy, but will also generally 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.

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Nonlinear FEA Issues

Customer Training Material

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. S Sensitivity y studies ( (increasing g mesh density, y, decreasing g load increment, varying other model parameters) become more expensive.
Stress

Mesh Density

Typical Sensitivity Study Later chapters will provide case-by-case details of modeling tips for different nonlinear situations.
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