Lecture2

GeneralProcedures

ANSYSMechanical
BasicStructuralNonlinearities
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ChapterOverview
Inthischapter,generaltoolsandproceduresusefulforachievingconvergenceand
postprocessingresults areintroduce.Thesetoolsarenotspecifictoaparticular
sourceofnonlinearity.

A. BuildingaNonlinearModel
B. Obtaininganonlinearsolution

StepControls
SolverControls
RestartControls
NonlinearControls
OutputControls
AnalysisDataManagement

C. Postprocessing NonlinearResults

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A.Buildinganonlinearmodel
Whatisdifferentaboutbuildinganonlinearmodelvs.alinearmodel?
Insomecases,therewillbeno difference!

Amodelundergoingmildlynonlinearbehaviorduetolargedeflectionandstress
stiffeningeffectsmightneednomodificationwithregardstogeometrysetupand
meshing.

Inothercases,youmustincludespecialfeatures:

Elementswithspecialproperties(suchascontactelements)
NonlinearMaterialdata(suchasplasticityandcreepdata)
Includegeometricfeatures(i.e.radiusatsharpcorners)toovercomesingularitiesthat
causeconvergencetrouble.

Youmightalsoneedtogivespecialattentionto:
Meshcontrolconsiderationsunderlargedeflection
Elementtechnologyoptionsunderlargedeflectionwithnonlinearmaterials
Loadandboundaryconditionlimitationsunderlargedeflection
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...Buildinganonlinearmodel
Withregardstomeshing,iflargestrains areexpected,theshapecheckingoption
maybechangedtoAggressive

For largedeflection analyses, if elements undergo some change in shape, this may
reduce the fidelity of the solution.

Aggressive shape checking offers an improved element quality in anticipation of

excessive distortion in a largestrain analysis.
ThedefaultStandardshapecheckingissuitable
forlinearanalyses.
Dependingoncomplexityofgeometry,can
sometimescausefailuresduringmeshgeneration
RefertoMechanical Intro,pt1forwaysto
detectandremedymeshfailures.

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...Buildinganonlinearmodel
Foranystructuralelement,DOFsolutionu issolvedatnodes,stressesand
strainsarecalculatedatintegrationpoints.TheyarederivedfromDOF.

Forexample,wecandetermine
strainsfromdisplacementsvia:

B u

WhereB iscalledthestraindisplacementmatrix

u
Theimageontherightshowsa4nodequadelementwith2x2integration,
integrationpointsshowninred.
Whenwepostprocessresults,stress/strainvaluesatintegrationpointsare
extrapolatedorcopiedtonodallocations

linearresultsareextrapolated,nonlinearresultsarecopied

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...Buildinganonlinearmodel
WithElementControlsettoManual,userscanmanuallytogglebetweenFull
andReducedIntegrationSchemes

Thisoptioninfluencesthenumberofintegrationpointswithinanelement.

Forcingafullintegrationorderonlyappliestohigherorderelements,whichhavea

uniformreducedintegrationorderbydefault.
Itissometimeshelpfultoforcefullintegrationwhenonlyoneelementexistsacross
thethicknessofapartforimprovedaccuracy.
RefertotheElementTechnologyChapteroftheAdvancedMaterialsCoursefora
detaileddiscussionofoptions.
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...Buildinganonlinearmodel
Bydefault,Mechanical elementtechnologywillmeshgeometrywithhigher
orderelements(withmidside nodes).

Usershavetheoptiontodropmidside nodes
Kept midside nodes
(Quadratic shape function)
20-Node Hex

Dropped midside nodes

(Linear shape function)
8-Node Hex

Inchallenginglargedeflection,bendingdominatedproblemswithnearlyorfully
compressiblenonlinearmaterials,itcansometimesbeadvantageoustodropthe
midside nodesandallowthecodetoimplementenhancedstrainformulations
automatically
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...Buildinganonlinearmodel
Itisimportanttonotetheorientationofloadsanditseffectonthestructure
inlargedeflectionanalyses:
Direction Before
Deflection

Load
Acceleration
(constant direction)

Force, Moment,
Bolt Load
(constant direction)

Pressure
(always normal to
surface)

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Direction After
Deflection

B.Obtaininganonlinearsolution
Whatisdifferentaboutobtaininganonlinearsolution?

Linearstaticrequiresonlyonepass

throughthematrixequationsolver
K

F = Ku

Nonlinearperformsanewsolution
witheveryiteration

Ki

Fi = Kiui

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
Whatisdifferentaboutobtaininganonlinearsolution?
AnalysisSettingshasmanyoptionsthatneedtobe
consideredforanonlinearrun.

StepControl Loadsteps,Substeps,Autotime stepping

SolverControl ChoosingtherightSolvertype
RestartControls resumingasolve
NonlinearControls NRconvergencecriteria
OutputControls controllingwhatdataissaved
AnalysisDataManagement deleting/keepingfiles

Inthefollowingslides,weconsidereachofthesetools
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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
StepControls
AutoTimeSteppingcalculatesanoptimum
timestepattheendofeachsubstep,based
ontheresponseofthestructuretothe
appliedloads.
Userspecifiesaninitialnumberofsubsteps
alongwitharange(minimumandmaximum).

AutoTimeSteppinghastheeffectof
adjustingtheloadincrement(upand down)
throughoutthesolution.

Load

Smallerincrementswhenconvergenceis
difficult,largerincrementswhenconvergenceis
easy.

Time
tstart

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tmin

tmax

...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
StepControls(contd)

Recallthatbreakingtheloadinto
incrementsimprovesconvergenceby
bringingthestartpointwithintheradius
ofconvergence.
F

IfMechanical hastroubleconverging,the
autotimesteppingalgorithmwillbisect
thesolution.
Bisectionreturnstothelastsuccessfully
convergedsubstep andappliestheloadina
smallerincrement(therebyusingmore
substeps withinthespecifiedrange).

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F1
ustart

...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
StepControls(contd)
ForAutoTimeStepping=ProgramControlled(Default),Mechanicalwill
automaticallysetspecificationsdependingonthenatureofthenonlinearity
inthemodel.
UsershouldalwaysverifythatthesevaluesareadequatebycheckingtheSolution
Informationfolderatthebeginningoftherunandwatchingforbisections.
DiscussedinmoredetailinChapter6NonlinearDiagnostics

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SolverControls
SolverTypeofferstwooptions,Directand
Iterative.
Thisisareferencetothewaythecodebuildsthe
stiffnessmatrixforeachNewtonRaphson
equilibriumiteration.
Direct(Sparse)solverismorerobustandis
recommendedforchallengingnonlinearmodels
andwithnoncontinuum elements(shellsand
beams).
Iterative(PCG)solverismoreefficient(intermsof
runtime)andisrecommendedforlargebulksolid
modelsdominatedbylinearelasticbehavior.
ThedefaultProgramControlledwillautomatically
selectasolverbasedontheproblemcurrentlyin
session.
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SolverControls(contd)
BysettingLargeDeflection=ON,inthe
SolverControlbranchofAnalysisSettings:
Adjustmentsaremadetothestiffnessmatrix
overmultipleiterationstoaccountforchanges
suchaslargedeflection,largerotationandlarge
strainduringthecourseoftheanalysis.
Stressstiffeningandspinsofteningeffectsare
included.

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Workshop2A LargeDeflection
PleaserefertoyourWorkshopSupplementforinstructionson:
W2A SmallDeflectionVs.LargeDeflectionAnalysis

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
RestartControls facilitate
Pausingorstoppingaruntoreviewresults
inprogress.
Changinganalysissettingstocorrectan
unconverged solution.
ModifyingexistingLoads.
Extendingasolutionthathasalready
completed.
Forexample,toallowsystemtransientsto
progressfurtherintotime.

Addingpostprocessingcommandobject(s)
afterthemodelhasbeenfullysolved.

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RestartControls(contd)
WithGenerateRestartPointssettoProgram
Controlled
Restartpointsareautomaticallycreatedby
Mechanicaldependingontheanalysistype.
Thissettingtypicallycreatesonerestartpointatthe
lastsuccessfulsolvepointforanonlinearanalysis.
Youcanmanuallyinterruptasolutionandpreserve
anyrestartpointsthatmayhavebeenproduced
fromaconvergediterationbyclickingtheInterrupt
SolutionbuttonontheSolutionStatuswindow.
- Note: A stand-alone linear analysis will not
produce any restart points with the program
controlled option. It has to be explicitly turned on
using the manual setting (next slide). However, if
the analysis is linked to a follow on modal
analysis, it will generate restart points by default.
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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
RestartControls(Contd)
WithGenerateRestartPointssettoManual
Load Step: Specifies at what load steps to create restart
points (Last or All).
Substep: Specifies how often the restart points are
created within a load step.
Last:Createarestartpointforthelastsubstep of
eachloadsteponly.
All:Createsrestartpointsforallsubsteps ofeach
loadstep.
Specified:Createsrestartpointsforauserspecified
number(N)ofsubsteps perloadstep.
WhereNisdefinedinRateofRecurrenceField

EquallySpaced:Createsspecifiednumber(N)of
restartpointsatequallyspacedtimeintervals
withinaloadstep.
WhereNisdefinedinRateofRecurrenceField
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RestartControls(Contd)
Max Points to Save per Step
Default is All (=999)
When the maximum number has been saved for each
load step, the first file of that load step will be
overwritten for subsequent substeps.

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RestartControls(Contd)
Forexample,towrite3equallyspacedrestartfilesforeachloadstep:

Load

r5

r6 (last
converged)

r4
r3
r2

r1
LS1

Substeps
Restart
points
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Time

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LS2

...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
RestartControls(contd)
RetainFilesAfterFullSolve:
Restartfilesareautomaticallydeletedifafull
solvecompletessuccessfully(default)
Userhastheoptiontokeeprestartfilesregardless
bysettingthisfieldtoYES.

Restartfilesarealwaysretainedforan
incompletesolveduetoaconvergencefailureor
ifsolutionrunismanuallyinterrupted.
UnderAnalysisDataManagement,settingFuture
AnalysistoPrestressed analysisalsoforcesthe
restartfilestoberetained.
Similarly,settingDeleteUnneededFilestoNo
impliesthatrestartfilesaretoberetained.

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
Restart Controls (contd)
Atthecompletionoftherun,userscanspecifytherestartpointforthe
subsequentrun.
Ifdefaultrestartcontrolsweretaken,restartwillonlybeavailableforthe
lastsuccessfullyconvergedsubstep
Restartspecifications:

RestartType=Manual
RestartPoint=LoadStep1,Substep 6
Once the restart specifications have been set and the analysis control
settings and/or existing loads have been adjusted as needed, execute a
solve to begin the solution restart

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Restart Controls (contd)
Belowisasummaryofloadssupportedforrestarts
LoadsmustalreadyexistintheProjectTreefromthestartoftheanalysis
Addinganewloadintotheprojecttreewillnullifytherestart

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
NonlinearControls
TolerancesonConvergencearecalculated
automatically.TheyareusedduringtheNewton
Raphson processtodictatewhenamodelis
Convergedorbalanced
Thedefaultconvergencecriterionworksverywell
formostengineeringapplications.
Forspecialsituations,userscanoverridethese
defaultstoTightenorloosentheconvergence
tolerance.
Atightertolerancegivesbetteraccuracy,butcan
makeconvergencemorechallenging

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
NonlinearControls(Contd)
Inadditiontoforcebalance,amomentbalance
willalsobeincludedifrotationaldegreesof
freedom(DOF)arepresentinthemodel(i.e.when
beamand/orshellelementsarepresentfor
example).

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
NonlinearControls(contd)
Balancechecksondisplacementand/orrotational
DOFvaluescanalsobeaddedasasupplementto
force/momentbalances.

WhenJointsarepresentinamodel,these
additionalconstraintswillbeadded
automatically.
Whennonlinearcontactispresent,these
supplementalcheckscansometimesbeoverly
restrictiveandcancauseunnecessary
divergence.Usercanremoveasnecessary.

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
TheForceConvergencegraphdisplaysaplotoftheforcecriterionandresidual
forces(forceconvergence)vsiteration.
Whentheresidualislessthanthecriterion,thesolutionisconverged.

Residual

Similarplotsareavailablefor
momentconvergenceandfor
displacementandrotationalDOF
convergencewhenapplicable.

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Criteria

...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
Eachconvergedsubstepis
highlighedonthisForce
ConvergenceGraphwitha
verticalgreendottedline.
Eachconvergedloadstepis
highlighedwithablue
dottedline.

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
NonlinearControls(contd)
If you change any convergence criteria, the program
deletes all the default criteria!
Forexample,ifyouoverrideprogramcontrolby
addingadisplacementconvergencecheck,theforce
convergencecheckwillbedeleted.
Makesureyoureestablishtheforceconvergencecheck.

Afterredefiningconvergencecriteria,youshould
alwaysconfirmthespecificationsreportedinthe
SolutionInformationbranchtoensureintended
balancechecksareactive.

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
NonlinearControls(contd)

Becausedisplacementbased
checkingisarelative measureof
convergence,itshouldonlybe
usedasasupplementtoforce
basedconvergence.
Forcebasedconvergenceprovides
anabsolute measureof
convergence,asitisameasureof
equilibriumbetweentheinternal
andexternalforces.

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Big Residual

Whymustyoureestablishaforce
convergencecriterion?

Relying on displacement
convergence alone can in some
cases lead to erroneous results.

...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
NonlinearControls(contd)
TheMinimumreferencevalue(MINREF)isasafetyfeaturethatprevents
yoursolutionfromtryingtoconvergetoazerotolerance.
Iffreebody(unconstrained)systemsormechanismshavenoexternalforces,
thecriterion(eR *||{F}||2)willbezero.Ifthecriterioniszero,thesolutionwill
never converge!
Insuchcases,theprogramredefinesthecriteriontobe
(eR *MINREF).WhereeR istheconvergencetolerancevalue.
ThedefaultvaluethatWBMechanicalusesforMINREFdependsonthephysics
oftheproblem.

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
NonlinearControls(contd)
Line Search is an additional tool intended to enhance convergence behavior.
When active, line search multiplies the displacement increment by a
programcalculated scale factor between 0 and 1, whenever a stiffening
response is detected, typical in a contact application.
By default, the program turns Line Search ON when contact elements are present.
You can override the default to turn it on or off explicitly.

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
Convergencecriteriaguidelines:
Default convergence criteria work well most of the time.
You should rarely need to change the criteria.

To tighten or loosen a criterion, dont change the default reference value,

but instead change the tolerance factor by one or two orders of magnitude.
Do not use a loose criterion to eliminate convergence difficulties.
This simply allows the solution to converge to an incorrect result!

Tightening the criterion requires more equilibrium iterations.

Review any MINREF warning messages during solution. Make sure the
minimum reference value used makes sense for the problem being solved.

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...Obtaininganonlinearsolution
NonlinearControls(contd)
Stabilization is a nonlinear control intended to
deal with structural instability (buckling and/or
localized yielding).
Analogous to adding artificial dampers or dashpot
elements at strategic locations.

RefertoChapter5fordetaileddiscussion.

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C.Reviewingnonlinearresults
Whatisdifferentaboutreviewingnonlinearresults?
Theprocedureforreviewingnonlinearresultsissimilartothatofalinear
problem.Thedifferenceisthatthereisusuallymoreinformationtoprocess

multipleresultssets
moreinformationperresultset(i.e.contactstatus,pressure,penetration,inelastic
strainsduetoplasticityandorcreep,...etc).

Anonlinearanalysesproducesaresponsehistory

Animated response history

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Response history graph

...Reviewingnonlinearresults
Inlargedeformationproblems,oneusuallyshouldviewthe
deformationwithActualscalingfromtheResulttoolbar
Anyofthestructuralresultsmayberequested,suchasEquivalent
Stress,shownbelow

Model shown is from a sample Unigraphics assembly.

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...Reviewingnonlinearresults
Ifcontactisdefined,acontacttoolcanbeusedtopostprocess contact
relatedresults(pressure,penetration,frictionalstress,status,..etc)

We can explore this tool in greater detail in Chapter 3

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...Reviewingnonlinearresults
Ifnonlinearmaterialisdefined,variousstressandstrain
componentscanberequested.

We will explore this in greater detail in Chapter 4.

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...Reviewingnonlinearresults
InOutputControlsofAnalysisSettings
Branch,thereareoptionsforcontrolling
theavailabilityofresults.
Someoftheseoptionsareoffbydefaultto
controlresultsfilesize

Inparticular
ContactMiscellaneousshouldbesettoYES
ifcontactbasedforcereactionsaredesired
(default=No).
GeneralMiscellaneousshouldbesettoYES
toaccesselementmiscellaneousrecords
viaSMISC/NMISCexpressionsforuser
definedresults(default=No).

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Workshop2B RestartControl
PleaserefertoyourWorkshopSupplementforinstructionson:
W2B RestartControl

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