2-1 ansys, inc. proprietary © 2009 ansys, inc. all rights reserved. february 23, 2009 inventory...

2-1ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary© 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

February 23, 2009Inventory #002593

Workbench - Mechanical Introduction 12.0

Chapter 2

Mechanical Basics

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Training ManualChapter Overview

• In this chapter, the basics of using Mechanical to perform analyses will be covered, which include:A. The Mechanical GUI and Operation

B. Introduction to the Mechanical Application Wizard

C. Basic Analysis Procedure

D. The Engineering Data application

E. Workshop 2-1

• The capabilities described in this section are generally applicable to the ANSYS DesignSpace Entra licenses and above, unless noted.

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Training ManualA. Launching Mechanical• Recall that there are two ways of running Mechanical:– Configured from within ANSYS Workbench …

– … or from a supported CAD system

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Training Manual… Mechanical Interface• The components of the user interface are shown below:

Tree Outline

Details View

Graphics Window

ToolbarsMenus

Mechanical Application Wizard

Status Bar

Message Window

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Training Manual

• The menus provide much of the functionality present in Mechanical. The more commonly used menu items are covered below:– The title bar lists analysis type, product and active ANSYS license.– “File > Clean” to delete mesh and/or results from database.– “Units” to change units on-the-fly.– “Tools > Options… ” to customize settings and options.– “Help > Mechanical Help” to access documentation.

. . . GUI – Menus

Analysis Type Product License

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Training Manual

• There are a number of toolbars to provide users quick access to functionality also found in the menus.

– The toolbars can be repositioned anywhere on the top of the Mechanical window.

– The “Context” toolbar, as will be illustrated later, updates depending on what branch is active in the “Outline” tree.

– Tooltips appear if the cursor is placed over the toolbar button.

… GUI – Toolbars

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Training Manual

• The “Standard” toolbar is shown below:

• The “Graphics” toolbar is used for selection and graphics manipulation:

– The left mouse button can be either in “selection” mode or “graphics manipulation” mode. The above toolbar buttons are grouped as “select entities” and “graphics manipulation” control.

– The graphics selection can be done using individual selection or box-selection. This is controlled by the “Select Mode” icon.

… GUI – Toolbars

Bring up Mechanical Wizard

Solve Model

Capture Snapshot

Slice Planes

Annotations Comments

Graphics ManipulationSelection ToolsSelect mode Viewports

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Training Manual… GUI – Outline Tree

• The Outline Tree provides an easy way of organizing the model, materials, mesh, loads, and results for the analysis– The “Model” branch contains the input

data required for the analysis – The “Static Structural” branch contains

the loads and supports relevant to the

analysis discipline– The “Solution” branch contains result

objects and solution information– Other branches (not covered here)

are also available.

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Training Manual… GUI – Outline Tree

• The Outline Tree shows icons for each branch, along with a status symbol. Examples of the status symbols are below:

– Checkmark indicates branch is fully defined/OK– Question mark indicates item has incomplete data (need input)– Lightning bolt indicates solving is required– Exclamation mark means problem exists– “X” means that item is suppressed (will not be solved)– Transparent checkmark means body or part is hidden– Green lightning bolt indicates item is currently being evaluated– Minus sign means that mapped face meshing failed– Check mark with a slash indicates a meshed part/body– Red lightning bolt indicates a failed solution

Becoming familiar with the basic status symbols allows users to debug Mechanical problems quickly.

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Training Manual… GUI – Details View

• The Details View contains data input and output fields. The contents will change depending on branch selected.– White field: input data

• Data in white text field is editable

– Gray (or Red) field: information• Data in gray fields cannot be modified.

– Yellow field: incomplete input data• Data in yellow fields indicates missing information.

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Training Manual… GUI – Graphics Window

• The Graphics Window shows the geometry and results. It can also provide worksheet (tabular) listings, the HTML report, and a Print Preview option.

Geometry Tab

Worksheet Tab

Print Preview Tab

Report Preview Tab

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Training Manual… GUI – Mechanical Application Wizard

• The Mechanical Wizard is an optional component, a useful aid to remind users steps required to complete an analysis– The Mechanical Wizard provides a list of required

steps and the status of them– Green checkmark indicates the item is complete– Green “i” shows an informational item– A greyed symbol shows that the step cannot be

performed yet– A red question mark means that there is an

incomplete item– An “x” means that the item is not performed yet– A lightning bolt means that the item is ready to be

solved or updated

• The Mechanical Wizard can be toggled on/off byselecting the button on the Standard Toolbar

• The options on the Mechanical Wizard menu will change depending on the analysis type chosen

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Training ManualB. Mechanical Application Wizard

• By selecting an item on the “Required Steps” checklist, a callout appears, illustrating how that function is performed.– In the example below, “Verify Materials” was selected, and the callout shows the

user where this item can be changed.

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Training Manual… Mechanical Application Wizard

• The Mechanical Wizard is handy for users who do not use Mechanical every day– Besides basic functionality, callouts

for more advanced items are also available as shown on right

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Training ManualC. Basic Procedure

• The purpose of analysis is usually to determine the response of a system based on some type of excitation or loading.

• It is crucial to remember that a mathematical model is used:– CAD geometry is an idealization of the physical model– The mesh is a mathematical representation of the CAD model– The accuracy of answers is determined by various factors:

• How well the physical model is represented depends on the assumptions• Numerical accuracy is determined by the mesh density

CAD Model Finite Element Mesh

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Training Manual… Basic Procedure

• Every analysis involves four main steps:– Preliminary Decisions

• What type of analysis: Static, modal, etc.?• What to model: Part or Assembly?• Which elements: Surface or Solid Bodies?

– Preprocessing• Attach the model geometry• Define and assign material properties to parts• Mesh the geometry• Apply loads and supports• Request results

– Solve the Model– Postprocessing

• Review results• Check the validity of the solution

Preprocessing

Solution

Postprocessing

Preliminary Decisions

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Training Manual… Basic Procedure

• The Wizards in Mechanical aid the user in following the basic analysis template discussed previously:– Attach/import geometry– Assign material properties– (Mesh geometry)

• A default mesh will be supplied by Mechanical if this step is not performed manually by the user

– Apply loads and supports– Request results– Solve model– Review results/postprocessing

• Several examples of using the Mechanical Wizard follow . . . .

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Training Manual… Wizard Example: Assign/Verify Material Properties

• “Verify Materials” is selected, and the callout shows how to verify/change material properties in the pull-down menu (engineering data is described later in this chapter).

After “Verify Materials” is selected, all of the parts from the “Geometry” branch are highlighted, and the Details view shows how to change the material.

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Training Manual… Wizard Example: Assign Material Properties

• The call out message indicates the user should return to the Workbench interface to access Engineering Data– The default material property is “Structural Steel” but can be changed– As a material is added to the project it will appear in the material

assignment detail field

– Material properties supplied with Mechanical are for demonstration purposes. Users should use their own material property values in production use.

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Training ManualWizard Example: insert Loads & Supports

• After verifying and assigning materials, “Insert Structural Loads” is selected from the Stress Wizard– Loads are applied from the pull-down icons in the Context toolbar.

After “Insert Loads” is selected, notice that the “Environment” branch is highlighted.

By highlighting the “Environment” branch, the Context toolbar and Details view change.

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Training ManualApplying Loads & Supports• Loads and supports are applied on geometric entities in two different ways:

– Pre-select geometry entity in Graphics Window, then select load or support from Context Toolbar

– Or, select load or support from Context Toolbar then select geometry entities in Graphics Window, then click on “Apply” in Details View.

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Training Manual… Applying Loads & Supports• After assigning the load the user can enter additional data in the Details view,

if necessary.– Notice that in the Outline Tree the associated load’s branch symbol status will also

change to ‘completed’ (checkmark).

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Training Manual… Applying Loads & Supports

• For some structural loads direction is needed:

• If “Components” is chosen, enter X, Y, or ZComponents of loading

• If “Vector” is chosen, select geometry andenter magnitude of loading

• Defaults can be set in “Tools > Options … > Mechanical: Miscellaneous > Load Orientation Type”

– The Global Coordinate System or user defined local coordinate systems can be referenced

• User-Defined Coordinate Systems will be discussed later

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Training Manual… Applying Loads & Supports

• Existing geometry can be referenced to control direction:

• In the “Details” view, select “Define By: Vector”• Three types of existing geometry can be used

– Normal to planar face or along axis of cylindrical face

– Along straight edge or normal to cylindrical edge– Two vertices defining vector

• Click on “Direction” and select geometry used for vector orientation. Use the arrows in the Graphics window to toggle the direction.

• Click on “Apply” when finished.• Enter magnitude for loading in “Magnitude.”

Toggle arrow buttons to reverse load direction

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Training Manual… Mouse Controls

– The left mouse button is used to select geometric entities OR to manipulate the graphics display

– User can select items (vertex, edge, surface, body) or manipulate the view (rotate, pan, zoom in/out, box zoom)

– Select mode can be single-select or box-select• In single-select mode, click-drag with left mouse

button to “paint select” multiple items• Use Ctrl-Left mouse button in single-select mode to select or unselect multiple

entities– In box-select mode, click-drag from left to right selects entities fully enclosed in

bounding box– In box-select mode, click-drag from right to left selects any entity partially enclosed in

bounding box

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Training Manual… Mouse Controls (shortcuts)• In select mode the middle mouse provides several short cuts for graphics

manipulation– Click + drag middle mouse button = dynamic rotate– CTRL+ Middle mouse button = dynamic pan– Shift + Middle mouse button = dynamic zoom– If present, the wheel can be used to zoom in/out– RMB + drag = box zoom– Click right mouse button once and select “Fit” to fit model in view or access

contex menu options

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Training Manual… Selection Planes• Selection planes allow for users to easily select surfaces which are hidden

from view by other surfaces.– User selects a plane; if more planes lie directly underneath the cursor, selection

planes appear. Selection planes are color-coded with the same color as its parent part and are ordered by depth from the cursor.

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Training ManualD. Engineering Data

• The Engineering Data application provides overall control for material properties.– Engineering data is a part of every project.– Engineering data can be opened “stand alone” (as a precursor to starting

a project for example).

To edit the Engineering Data in an existing

project RMB > Edit or double click

To open the Engineering Data standalone, add from the

component systems in the toolbox (drag/drop or double click), then

RMB > Edit or double click.

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Training Manual. . . Engineering Data

• The Engineering Data application is displayed below. Individual controls and components are described next.

Toolbox

Property Chart

Properties for material selected below

Properties of material selected

above

Outline of “Filtered” Materials

Outline Filter

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Training Manual. . . Engineering Data• The window interaction provides cascading data presentation.• To view or modify materials one generally follows a work flow shown here:

data source > material > individual property

Choose Data Source (Library)

Choose Material

Choose Property

Display Property in tabular and graphical

format

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A list of available material libraries is displayed. These may be ANSYS supplied or user defined.

The Engineering Data field represents the list of materials which have been imported for use in the current project

Favorites are materials which will be available in every project without the need to import from a library.

Check box allows library to be unlocked

for editing.

Browse for existing libraries or choose

new library location.

Outline Filter

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Training Manual. . . Engineering Data• The toolbox provides numerous material property definitions that can be

added to existing or new materials.• To modify materials in existing libraries the library must be unlocked, (note

this permanently modifies the material stored in that library).• Materials in the current project’s engineering data can be modified without

affecting the material library.

The Toolbox Customization settings allows filtering of the properties displayed in the toolbox.

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• To add a material from an existing library to the current project click the plus sign (+) next to that material.

• Any material defined in the current project will be marked as show at right.

• Once “added” each material becomes available for use in the current project (it becomes part of the current “Engineering Data”).

Note, to add a material to the

“Favorites” list, RMB the material

and add.

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• To create a new material first select the library where you want the definition to be stored (or Engineering Data for the current project).

• Enter a name, and description if desired, for the new material.

• From the Toolbox double click or drag and drop the desired properties.

• Finally enter values for the properties.

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• Units menu in Engineering Data:– You may choose to display “Values as Defined”

or “Values in Project Units”.– “As Defined” units are controlled individually.

“Project Units” are taken from the current Units menu

selection.

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Training Manual

• Workshop 2 – Mechanical Basics• Goal:– Using the Stress Wizard, set up and solve a structural model for

stress, deflection and safety factor.

E. Workshop 2-1 – Mechanical Basics

2-1 ansys, inc. proprietary © 2009 ansys, inc. all rights reserved. february 23, 2009 inventory...

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