Course in ANSYS

Day 4
Lesson 8. Structural analysis

Structural analysis
Outline for Course in ANSYS:
Day 1
Lesson 1. Introduction to ANSYS
Lesson 2. Basics
Lesson 3. Solution phases
Day 2
Lesson 4. Modeling
Day 3
Lesson 5. Material
Lesson 6. Loading
Lesson 7. Solution
Day 4
Lesson 8. Structural analysis
Lesson 9. Postprocessing
Lesson 10. Constraint equations
Lesson 11. Parameters
Lesson 12. Macros
Day 5
Lesson 13. Vibration/dynamic analysis
Lesson 14. Thermal

Lesson 8

Structural analysis
Programme for Lesson:

Static analysis
Used to determine displacements, stresses, etc. under static loading conditions. Both linear and nonlinear
static analyses. Nonlinearities can include plasticity, stress stiffening, large deflection, large strain,
hyperelasticity, contact surfaces, and creep.
Modal analysis
Used to calculate the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a structure. Different mode extraction
methods are available.
Harmonic analysis
Used to determine the response of a structure to harmonically time-varying loads.
Transient dynamic analysis
Used to determine the response of a structure to arbitrarily time-varying loads. All nonlinearities mentioned
under Static Analysis above are allowed.
Spectrum analysis
An extension of the modal analysis, used to calculate stresses and strains due to a response spectrum or a
PSD input (random vibrations).
Buckling analysis
Used to calculate the buckling loads and determine the buckling mode shape. Both linear (eigenvalue)
buckling and nonlinear buckling analyses are possible.

Nonlinear analysis
Contact problems
Fracture mechanics
Composites
Fatigue

Lesson 8

Structural analysis
Structural analysis is probably the most
common application of the finite element
method. The term structural (or structure)
implies not only civil engineering
structures such as bridges and buildings,
but also naval, aeronautical, and
mechanical structures such as ship hulls,
aircraft bodies, and machine housings, as
well as mechanical components such as
pistons, machine parts, and tools.
Lesson 8

Static analysis
A static analysis calculates the effects of steady
loading conditions on a structure, while ignoring
inertia and damping effects, such as those
caused by time-varying loads. A static analysis
can, however, include steady inertia loads (such
as gravity and rotational velocity), and timevarying loads that can be approximated as static
equivalent loads (such as the static equivalent
wind and seismic loads commonly defined in
many building codes).
Lesson 8

Static analysis
Static analysis is used to determine the displacements, stresses,
strains, and forces in structures or components caused by loads that
do not induce significant inertia and damping effects. Steady loading
and response conditions are assumed; that is, the loads and the
structure's response are assumed to vary slowly with respect to
time. The kinds of loading that can be applied in a static analysis
include:
Externally applied forces and pressures
Steady-state inertial forces (such as gravity or rotational velocity)
Imposed (nonzero) displacements
Temperatures (for thermal strain)
Fluences (for nuclear swelling)

Lesson 8

Modal analysis
You use modal analysis to determine the
vibration characteristics (natural
frequencies and mode shapes) of a
structure or a machine component while it
is being designed. It also can be a starting
point for another, more detailed, dynamic
analysis, such as a transient dynamic
analysis, a harmonic response analysis, or
a spectrum analysis.
Lesson 8

Harmonic analysis
Any sustained cyclic load will produce a
sustained cyclic response (a harmonic
response) in a structural system.
Harmonic response analysis gives you the
ability to predict the sustained dynamic
behavior of your structures, thus enabling
you to verify whether or not your designs
will successfully overcome resonance,
fatigue, and other harmful effects of forced
vibrations.
Lesson 8

Transient dynamic analysis

Transient dynamic analysis (sometimes called timehistory analysis) is a technique used to determine the
dynamic response of a structure under the action of any
general time-dependent loads. You can use this type of
analysis to determine the time-varying displacements,
strains, stresses, and forces in a structure as it responds
to any combination of static, transient, and harmonic
loads. The time scale of the loading is such that the
inertia or damping effects are considered to be
important. If the inertia and damping effects are not
important, you might be able to use a static analysis
instead.
Lesson 8

Spectrum analysis
A spectrum analysis is one in which the
results of a modal analysis are used with a
known spectrum to calculate
displacements and stresses in the model.
It is mainly used in place of a time-history
analysis to determine the response of
structures to random or time-dependent
loading conditions such as earthquakes,
wind loads, ocean wave loads, jet engine
thrust, rocket motor vibrations, and so on.
Lesson 8

10

Buckling analysis
Buckling analysis is a technique used to
determine buckling loads - critical loads at
which a structure becomes unstable - and
buckled mode shapes - the characteristic
shape associated with a structure's
buckled response.

Lesson 8

11

Nonlinear analysis
If a structure experiences large deformations, its
changing geometric configuration can cause the
structure to respond nonlinearly. An example would be
the fishing rod shown in Figure 8.2: "A Fishing Rod
Demonstrates Geometric Nonlinearity". Geometric
nonlinearity is characterized by "large" displacements
and/or rotations.
Nonlinear stress-strain relationships are a common
cause of nonlinear structural behavior. Many factors can
influence a material's stress-strain properties, including
load history (as in elastoplastic response), environmental
conditions (such as temperature), and the amount of
time that a load is applied (as in creep response).
Lesson 8

12

Contact problems
Contact problems are highly nonlinear and require significant
computer resources to solve. It is important that you understand the
physics of the problem and take the time to set up your model to run
as efficiently as possible.
Contact problems present two significant difficulties. First, you
generally do not know the regions of contact until you've run the
problem. Depending on the loads, material, boundary conditions,
and other factors, surfaces can come into and go out of contact with
each other in a largely unpredictable and abrupt manner. Second,
most contact problems need to account for friction. There are
several friction laws and models to choose from, and all are
nonlinear. Frictional response can be chaotic, making solution
convergence difficult.
In addition to these two difficulties, many contact problems must
also address multi-field effects, such as the conductance of heat and
electrical currents in the areas of contact.

Lesson 8

13

Fracture mechanics
Cracks and flaws occur in many structures and components,
sometimes leading to disastrous results. The engineering field of
fracture mechanics was established to develop a basic
understanding of such crack propagation problems.
Fracture mechanics deals with the study of how a crack or flaw in a
structure propagates under applied loads. It involves correlating
analytical predictions of crack propagation and failure with
experimental results. The analytical predictions are made by
calculating fracture parameters such as stress intensity factors in the
crack region, which you can use to estimate crack growth rate.
Typically, the crack length increases with each application of some
cyclic load, such as cabin pressurization-depressurization in an
airplane. Further, environmental conditions such as temperature or
extensive exposure to irradiation can affect the fracture propensity of
a given material.

Lesson 8

14

Composites
Composite materials have been used in structures for a long time. In
recent times composite parts have been used extensively in aircraft
structures, automobiles, sporting goods, and many consumer
products.
Composite materials are those containing more than one bonded
material, each with different structural properties. The main
advantage of composite materials is the potential for a high ratio of
stiffness to weight. Composites used for typical engineering
applications are advanced fiber or laminated composites, such as
fiberglass, glass epoxy, graphite epoxy, and boron epoxy.
ANSYS allows you to model composite materials with specialized
elements called layered elements. Once you build your model using
these elements, you can do any structural analysis (including
nonlinearities such as large deflection and stress stiffening).

Lesson 8

15

Fatigue
Fatigue is the phenomenon in which a repetitively loaded
structure fractures at a load level less than its ultimate
static strength. For instance, a steel bar might
successfully resist a single static application of a 300 kN
tensile load, but might fail after 1,000,000 repetitions of a
200 kN load.
The main factors that contribute to fatigue failures
include:

Number of load cycles experienced

Range of stress experienced in each load cycle
Mean stress experienced in each load cycle
Presence of local stress concentrations
A formal fatigue evaluation accounts for each of these factors as
it calculates how "used up" a certain component will become
during its anticipated life cycle.
Lesson 8

16