FEMAP Freebody Deep-Dive

Femap Symposium 2015 Huntsville
FEMAP Freebody Deep-Dive

Patrick Kriengsiri, FEMAP Development
Unrestricted Siemens AG 2015 All rights reserved. Realize Innovation.

FEMAP Freebody Deep Dive
Topics
What is a Freebody?
Recovering Grid Point Forces in NASTRAN
Understanding Grid Point Force Output
Freebodies in FEMAP
Using the FEMAP Freebody Toolbox
FEMAP Freebody Options
Global / Local Modelling with Freebodies
Additional Topics
Unrestricted Siemens AG 2015 All rights reserved.

Page 2 05-12-2015 Siemens PLM Software
What is a Freebody?
Freebodies provide an insight into nodal forces and moments that are a result of
surrounding finite element entities
In FEMAP, freebodies can be

used to display a balanced set
of loads on a structure or
calculate the load across an
interface
Freebodies are commonly used
when modeling practices dictate
that the resulting FE mesh is a coarse-grid mesh and is suitable as an
internal loads model
Commonly modelled structures are often too complicated to model in
sufficient detail to obtain useable stresses
Allows for forces / moments to be extracted for detail stress analysis
Freebodes are heavily used (but not limited to) in the aerospace industry
Enabling GPFORCE Output in NASTRAN Case Control
Turning on the NASTRAN GPFORCE

case control request is required to
take full advantage of the FEMAP
Freebody Tool
Analysis Manager
Master Requests and Conditions
Output Requests
Force Balance
GPFORCE requests can return a large
amount of data, so this option
is not enabled by default

Enabling GPFORCE Output in NASTRAN Case Control
FEMAP can work with a reduced set

of data including applied load (OLOAD),
constraint force (SPCFORCE), and
constraint equation (MPCFORCE)
This is generally not recommended
unless only a generic freebody
display of the entire structure is
all thats required
Additionaly, care should be taken when
not requesting GPFORCE data for
the entire model

NASTRAN F06 Output
When the results destination is set to Print Only or Print and PostProcess
GPFORCE data can be viewed in the F06 file
Note that it is still recommended to read GPFORCE data into FEMAP from
the OP2 file, not the F06 file
Search for G R I D P O I N T F O R C E B A L A N C E
G R I D P O I N T F O R C E B A L A N C E
POINT-ID ELEMENT-ID SOURCE T1 T2 T3 R1 R2 R3

1 F-OF-SPC 4.169596E-02 1.031393E+00 -5.078434E+01 0.0 0.0 0.0
1 267 QUAD4 1.213303E-01 5.287078E+00 -1.944031E+01 2.078351E-03 5.017486E-01 4.834255E-04
1 268 QUAD4 -1.630262E-01 -6.318471E+00 7.022465E+01 -2.078351E-03 -5.017486E-01 -4.834255E-04
1 *TOTALS* 9.436896E-16 -6.306067E-14 2.557954E-13 1.934217E-16 0.0 -2.333203E-16
0 2 267 QUAD4 -7.904667E-01 -1.515594E+02 3.756228E+02 1.975718E-01 5.075642E-01 1.493221E-02
2 268 QUAD4 -3.752280E-01 -1.348000E+02 -4.464662E+02 1.780457E-01 -5.262242E-01 2.671471E-02
2 269 QUAD4 5.058178E-01 1.277458E+02 2.504629E+00 -1.799477E-01 -1.129834E-01 -4.392642E-02
2 270 QUAD4 6.598768E-01 1.586136E+02 6.833877E+01 -1.956698E-01 1.316434E-01 2.279495E-03
2 *TOTALS* -1.798561E-14 -1.136868E-12 7.389644E-13 6.383782E-16 1.493250E-14 5.551115E-17
0 3 269 QUAD4 -2.833224E-01 -7.450614E+01 3.083269E+02 1.501767E-01 -1.241496E-01 2.011796E-02
3 270 QUAD4 -2.021358E-01 -4.297056E+01 -3.489907E+02 1.569770E-01 1.129076E-01 4.146868E-02
3 271 QUAD4 1.617432E-01 5.205509E+01 -2.303685E+01 -1.572558E-01 -2.788103E-01 -1.574009E-02
3 272 QUAD4 3.237150E-01 6.542161E+01 6.370063E+01 -1.498980E-01 2.900524E-01 -4.584655E-02
3 *TOTALS* 1.049161E-14 8.540724E-12 -2.700062E-13 1.665335E-16 -2.886580E-15 8.326673E-17

NASTRAN F06 Output
GPFORCE results are listed per grid and include Fxyz (T1, T2, T3) and Mxyz
(R1, R2, R3)
Results are separated into 4 different categories, plus a summation
Elemental (discrete; per connecting flexible element)
Applied (total forces / moments applied on node; single quantity per node)
F-of-SPC (SPC forces on node; single quantity per node)
F-of-MPC (MPC forces on node, including both constraint equations and
RBE contributions; single quantity per node)
*TOTALS* (total summation of all contributions; single quantity per node)
For the majority of cases, this value should be near zero, indicating
equilibrium at the node

How GPFO Relates to Structure
Freebody output can be very dependent on the nodes and elements included
in the summation
Determining which nodes and elements are to be used is varies based on how
the model was idealized as well as what specific quantity is desired

Freebodies in FEMAP
Freebodies in FEMAP exist as creatable objects, like nodes, elements, etc.
They persist in the database

This is a huge benefit for recreating freebody displays in the future
Can help reduce analysis errors and rework
Any number of freebodies can be displayed simultaneously
Many tools exist to automate freebody-related tasks, such as creating loads
and substructure modeling
Freebodies in FEMAP
FEMAP Freebody Types There are 3 separate types of freebodes in FEMAP
Freebody user selects the elements, FEMAP automatically selects related

nodes. Intended to display a balanced set of loads on a discrete piece of
structure

Freebodies in FEMAP
Interface Load user selects both nodes and elements and FEMAP
calculates a summation of loads and forces across the interface and displays
as a single vector

Freebodies in FEMAP
Section Cut similar to interface load, a summed load across an interface is

displayed and calculated, however node and element selection is automated
by FEMAP. The user selects a cutting plane, defined by a plane, vector or a
curve. The cutting plane can be dynamically located within the model

Freebodies in FEMAP
Freebody Contributions
Freebody contributions in FEMAP are split into six categories

Applied represents applied loads
Reaction results of SPC forces
MultiPoint Reaction results of MPC forces
Peripheral Elements effects of elements
surrounding selected elements
Freebody Elements effects of elements
selected by the user or by FEMAP
Nodal Summation nodal summation values
from the solver, not FEMAP calculated values
Default contributions are Applied, Reaction, MultiPoint Reaction and
Peripheral elements
This provides forces and moments acting on the selected structure

Freebodies in FEMAP
Freebody Result Vectors As previously mentioned, the NASTRAN GPFORCE

request is recommended to fully take advantage of the freebody tool, however
the result quantities may be obtained from several different quantities
Primary Secondary
Applied GPFORCE OLOAD
SPC GPFORCE SPCFORCE
MPC GPFORCE MPCFORCE
Elemental GPFORCE None
Nodal Summation GPFORCE None
The italicized rows above represent default output requests in FEMAP and are
sufficient for displaying a balanced freebody on the entire structure

Accessing the Freebody Toolbox
The Freebody Toolbox is located in the

PostProcessing toolbox and can only
be accessed when results are present in
the model
Global Settings These controls affect all
freebodies in the model. Control global display
of freeboides, select output set (tied to contour
and deform) and enable data summation on
nodes
Freebody Settings These controls are
related to individual freebodes, such as
selecting nodes and elements
View Settings These are global settings that

affect freebody visualization (symbol sizes,
vector scaling, etc). Same as found in F6

Creating a New Freebody
In the Freebody Toolbox, new Freebodies are created within the Freebody
Manager
The New Freebody dialog allows for setup of basic settings, such as freebody
type, vector display, and contribution selection

Creating a New Freebody
Any of the settings applied in the New Freebody dialog can be changed at any
time within the toolbox

Accessing Different Freebodies
Multiple Freebodies can be displayed at any

time however, only a single freebody can be
active at any time within the toolbox
Use the drop-down menu to change the active
freebody and modify settings
Display of individual freebodies can be
controlled with the Is Visible checkbox as
well as with the Visibility Quick View Dialog

Freebody Vector Types
Depending on the freebody type, there are vector quantities for nodal vectors
and a single total summation vector
Nodal Vectors
Displays the summation at each node, based on the selected freebody
contributions
Available for all freebody types
Total Summation Vector
Displays the total summation across all nodes at a pre-defined position.
The selected position does not affect summed for calculations, but will
affect summed moment calculations to do the difference in moment arms
Available for Interface Load and Section Cut freebodies
Both force and moment vectors are available and are individually togglable
Vectors can be displayed as either components or resultant vectors
Individual components can be toggled on and off
Freebody Vector Visualization
Visibility Quick Toggle Buttons

All On / All Off
Forces On/Off
Moments On/Off
Toggle between resultant/component
Select summation location (interface load
and section cut only)

Freebody Vector Visualization
Detail Options
Additional detailed options for visualization
can be found by expanding the Total
Summation Vector and Nodal Vector(s)
nodes
Select components displayed (Fx, Fy, Fz),
(Mx, My, Mz)
Select components included in calculation
(interface load and section cut only)

Freebody Coordinate Systems
The selected freebody coordinate system

controls the coordinate system for both nodal
vectors and the total summation vector (if
applicable) for the selected freebody
Nodal vectors may optionally be displayed in
the nodal output coordinate system
If no nodal output system was specified on
the node, the default coordinate system used
is the global rectangular system

Freebody Mode
When using Freebody Mode, the user selects

elements and FEMAP will automatically select
related nodes
This mode is designed to display a balanced
set of loads on a selected set of elements
Entities may be selected manually (default) or
inferred for a selected group
The default contribution selections will display
forces/moments acting on the selected
elements
Select Elements Reset Element Selection
Highlight Selected Elements

Display of balanced set of loads on wingpost model. All elements in the model
were selected for this display

Interface Load Mode
Interface load freebodies display nodal

vectors for selected nodes as well as a total
summation vector at a selected location
Unlike freebody mode freebodies, interface
load freebodies are not likely to be in
equillibrium
In addition to element selection, nodes must
be selected manually FEMAP does not infer
them based on the selected elements
When selected entities from a group, both
the nodes and elements of interest must
exist in the group

Interface Load Mode Selecting Nodes
Locate Summation Vector at Node Centroid Select Free Edge Nodes
Select Nodes Reset Node Selection
Highlight Selected Nodes
When selecting elements, any elements

may be selected, however only those
connected to the selected nodes will be
used

Interface Load Selecting Components in Summation
Individual force and moment contributions

that are included in the total summation
vector calculation toggled on and off
By default, all force and all moment vectors
are included in the calculation
Changes made here will affect the total
summation calculation
Turning on and off certain contributions
is dependent on how the model was
idealized ; it is up to the analyst to
understand how the FE model correlates
to real-world structure

Interface Load Display, Showing Summed Shear Load at a Rib

Section Cut Mode
An extension to Interface Load mode

The user defines a cutting plane in the
model and the contributing freebody
nodes and elements are determined
automatically
Total summation location can be placed at
Plane/path intersection
Nodal centroid
Static location
Nodal and total summation vectors can
optionally be aligned tangent to the path
without having to create additional
coordinate systems

Freebody Section Cut Modes
Plane: Cutting plane is defined via base Curve: Cutting plane is normal to the
point and normal vector. Path is defined as tangent vector at a point along the plane.
the normal vector; cutting plane will always Cutting plane will always be normal to the
be normal to the path tangent vector
Plane / Vector: Similar to Plane, however an

additional vector is defined for the path. The
cutting plane will always remain co-planar to
the original plane and does not have to be
normal to the path
Vector: Cutting plane is normal to the

defined vector. Path is the defined vector;
cutting plane will always be normal to the
path

Section cut defined using plane

Section cut defined using curve

Additional Section Cut options
Slider tool can be used to move the cutting

plane along the length of the path
interactively within the available entities
Section cut entities may be limited to a
specific group or selected from the entire
model, and can be limited to a search
distance from the base location of the
cutting plane
The cutting plane can optionally be given a
thickness tolerance that will allow for
accurate selection of entities that are
slightly out-of-plane
Clipped entities can either be included or
excluded from the summation calculations
Cut plane initial position Cut plane moved along the path
Freebody nodes
Freebody elements

Freebody Tools
1 2 3 4 5
1 List freebody to message window

2 List freebody to data table
3 List freebody summation to message
window (interface load / section cut)
4 List freebody summation to data table
(interface load / section cut)
5 Freebody validation tool; warns user
when freebody results are potentially
missing from the model

Global-Local Modeling with Freebodies
The freebody Multi-Model Load from Freebody tool automates the creation of
global-local models
Used to map freebody loads from a coarse grid

model to a fine grid model and automatically
create connections with RBE3 elements
Start with a balanced freebody in a coarse model
FEMAP can automatically locate suitable target
nodes in the fine grid FEM and will connect with
RBE3 elements
Once properly constrained, the detail FEM is
ready to run with a mapped set of loads
The detail FEM must exist in the same space as
the part in the coarse grid FEM

Define Target Model Parameters
Freebody loads can be applied to target

nodes based according to
Existing nodes (IDs must match)
Closest node in space to source
node
Existing nodes to be connected with
RBE3 elements
User can define target nodes or
FEMAP can automatically find
Search distance can be limited
Maximum nodes to map can be
limited


Additional Topics Freebodies with NX Nastran Glue
/ Contact
As of NX Nastran v10.1, the GPFORCE output request does not include

contributions from glue or contact in the F06 or OP2 datablock
The result is a nodal imbalance that is the summation of all other contributions
Nodes that are affected by glue or contact will not be in equillibrium
The nodal summation quantity is equal and opposite to the existing
summation
G R I D P O I N T F O R C E B A L A N C E
POINT-ID ELEMENT-ID SOURCE T1 T2 T3 R1 R2 R3
0 686 821 HEXA -7.854530E-03 5.974986E-02 7.854530E-03 0.0 0.0 0.0
686 822 HEXA -4.059431E-03 4.661321E-02 2.316282E-02 0.0 0.0 0.0
686 827 HEXA 7.568718E-03 -6.126883E-02 -7.568719E-03 0.0 0.0 0.0
686 828 HEXA -2.503399E-02 -9.182400E-02 -3.478359E-03 0.0 0.0 0.0
686 857 HEXA -2.316282E-02 4.661320E-02 4.059429E-03 0.0 0.0 0.0
686 858 HEXA -1.751655E-03 6.132058E-02 1.751656E-03 0.0 0.0 0.0
686 863 HEXA 3.478360E-03 -9.182400E-02 2.503399E-02 0.0 0.0 0.0
686 864 HEXA 5.081535E-02 3.061997E-02 -5.081535E-02 0.0 0.0 0.0
686 *TOTALS* -1.318390E-16 5.620504E-16 -4.440892E-16 0.0 0.0 0.0
0 10000 468 HEXA 2.385245E-17 5.842150E-02 3.122502E-17 0.0 0.0 0.0
10000 *TOTALS* 2.385245E-17 5.842150E-02 3.122502E-17 0.0 0.0 0.0

/ Contact
In FEMAP 11.2, the ability to reverse the nodal summation value was added,
allowing the nodal imbalance to be treated as a separate contribution in the
equal-and-opposite direction
This option should only be used if the

cause of the imbalance is a result of
data missing from the GPFO table
and not as a result of mechanism at
the node

/ Contact
Default contributions Freebody elements / nodal summation
Freebody elements + nodal summation Reversed nodal summation

Additional Topics Load from Freebody Tool
Freebody results can be used to create loads within an existing model using the
Model->Load->From Freebody tool
Works with all freebody modes

For interface load and section cut
freebodies, total summation load
can be created at a new node in
the model
Loads can be created in an
existing load set as well as
in a new load set

Freebody Loads

Created Loads

Additional Topics Sum Data on Nodes Option
By default, freebody vectors at each node are displayed as a summation of the

selected components
A global setting allows for nodal

quantities to be displayed as
individual contributions. It affects
all displayed freebodies
This allows for comparison to
F06 data, as well as troubleshooting
of models
This option is best used with
the element shrink view option

Additional Topics Sum Data on Nodes Option
ID: 342
Source Fx Fy Fz Mx My Mz
ELEM 8 -4.12634 -2.76307 -130.752 46.32936 47.4351 -1.88713
ELEM 182 -18.5132 142.901 -466.199 0.280101 0.999626 0.022155
ELEM 80 208.315 34.15445 109.5391 0.067844 0.091289 -0.06195

Q and A


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Femap Symposium 2015 Huntsville

FEMAP Freebody Deep-Dive

Unrestricted Siemens AG 2015 All rights reserved. Realize Innovation.

Unrestricted Siemens AG 2015 All rights reserved.

In FEMAP, freebodies can be

Enabling GPFORCE Output in NASTRAN Case Control

Turning on the NASTRAN GPFORCE

Unrestricted Siemens AG 2015 All rights reserved.

Enabling GPFORCE Output in NASTRAN Case Control

FEMAP can work with a reduced set

Unrestricted Siemens AG 2015 All rights reserved.

NASTRAN F06 Output

POINT-ID ELEMENT-ID SOURCE T1 T2 T3 R1 R2 R3

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NASTRAN F06 Output

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How GPFO Relates to Structure

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Freebodies in FEMAP exist as creatable objects, like nodes, elements, etc.

They persist in the database

FEMAP Freebody Types There are 3 separate types of freebodes in FEMAP

Freebody user selects the elements, FEMAP automatically selects related

Unrestricted Siemens AG 2015 All rights reserved.

FEMAP Freebody Types There are 3 separate types of freebodes in FEMAP

Unrestricted Siemens AG 2015 All rights reserved.

FEMAP Freebody Types There are 3 separate types of freebodes in FEMAP

Section Cut similar to interface load, a summed load across an interface is

Unrestricted Siemens AG 2015 All rights reserved.

Freebody contributions in FEMAP are split into six categories

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Freebody Result Vectors As previously mentioned, the NASTRAN GPFORCE

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Accessing the Freebody Toolbox

The Freebody Toolbox is located in the

View Settings These are global settings that

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Creating a New Freebody

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Creating a New Freebody

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Accessing Different Freebodies

Multiple Freebodies can be displayed at any

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Freebody Vector Types

Freebody Vector Visualization

Visibility Quick Toggle Buttons

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Freebody Vector Visualization

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Freebody Coordinate Systems

The selected freebody coordinate system

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When using Freebody Mode, the user selects

Select Elements Reset Element Selection

Highlight Selected Elements

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Interface Load Mode

Interface load freebodies display nodal

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Interface Load Mode Selecting Nodes

Locate Summation Vector at Node Centroid Select Free Edge Nodes

Select Nodes Reset Node Selection

Highlight Selected Nodes