© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 1

Process Compression with ANSYS Workbench

7 Steps to a Successful FEA Simulation

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 2

7 Steps to a Successful FEA Simulation: from the project description to the simulation report

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 3

Step 1: defining the simulation process

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 4

Step 2: geometry and material definitions

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 5

Import geometry from a CAD system

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 6

Defeature models to remove unnecessary details

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 7

Create new parameters for design variations

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 8

Select the appropriate topology to maximize results quality

Complex 3-D geometries

Shell elements

Slender structures (twisted pipe model)

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 9

A large variety of nonlinear material models

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 10

Step 3: defining connections between bodies

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 11

Automatically setup contact between bodies

409 Parts 967 Contact Pairs

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 12

Use joints for mechanisms

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 13

More connections are available

Spot Welds

Constraint equations

Springs

Beam connections

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 14

Step 4: Meshing the model

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 15

Robust and automated meshing saves user’s time

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 16

Global settings for meshing

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 17

Numerous controls are available to locally modify the mesh

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 18

Complex models can be easily meshed

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 19

Graphical quality controls to assess mesh quality

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 20

Automated mesh refinement will ensure the quality of the solution

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 21

Step 5: defining loads and boundary conditions

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 22

A wide variety of geometry based loads and boundary conditions are available

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 23

Applying Loads and Orientations to Nodes

“Nodal orientation” allows users to orient nodes in an arbitrary coordinate system.

Direct FE loads and boundary conditions can be applied to selections of nodes.

Nodes are oriented in cylindrical system for loads and boundary condition definitions

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 24

Step 6: understanding and verifying the results

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 25

Thoroughly investigate your results

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 26

Use additional tools to go beyond the standard results

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 27

Check the quality of your results - stresses

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 28

Check the quality of your results - forces

Applied loads

Matching reaction forces

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 29

Step 7: Automated report generation

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 30

Automatically generate a detailed simulation report

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 31

Some words about APDL

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 32

Enhance your simulation using commands

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 33

Change attributes, add boundary conditions & post-processing commands

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 34

Import and export scripts

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 35

Use “Named Selections” and mesh numbering to identify portions of the model

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 36

Application examples

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 37

Changing key options and/or properties

Layered shell definition

Contact options and properties

© 2011 ANSYS, Inc. May 20, 2012 38

Additional post-processing