Lecture 1

Introduction 14. 0 Release

Introduction to ANSYS
Mechanical Part 1
1 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. August 20, 2012 Release 14.0
 Welcome!
Welcome to the ANSYS Mechanical application introductory training course!
This training course covers the basics of using ANSYS Mechanical in performing
structural and thermal analyses.
It is intended for all new or occasional ANSYS Mechanical users, regardless of
the CAD software used.
Course Objectives:
– General understanding of the user interface, geometry import, meshing, application
of loads and supports, and postprocessing.
– Procedure for performing FEA simulations, including linear static and modal
structural analyses and steady-state thermal analyses.
– Utilizing parameters for ‘what-if’ scenarios.

• Training Courses are also available covering the use of other Workbench applications
(e.g. DesignModeler, Design Exploration, etc.) .

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 Course Materials
The Training Manual you have is an exact copy of the slides.
Workshop descriptions and instructions are included in the Workshop Section.
Copies of the workshop files are available on the ANSYS Customer Portal
(www.ansys.com).
Advanced training courses are available. The schedule is available on the ANSYS
web page http://www.ansys.com/ under “Support > Training Center”.
Lecture 1 Contents:

A. About ANSYS Inc. E. ANSYS Mechanical Overview

B. ANSYS EKM F. Starting Mechanical
G. The Workbench Environment
C. ANSYS Customer Portal
H. Workbench File Management
D. ANSYS Workbench Overview I. Working With Units
J. License Preferences

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 A. About ANSYS, Inc.
ANSYS, Inc.
Developer of ANSYS family of products
Global Headquarters in Canonsburg, PA - USA (south of Pittsburgh)
• Development and sales offices in U.S. and around the world
• Publicly traded on NASDAQ stock exchange under “ANSS”
• For additional company information as well as descriptions and schedules for other
training courses visit www.ansys.com

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 B. ANSYS EKM - Engineering Knowledge Manager
• What is ANSYS EKM?
– ANSYS Engineering Knowledge Manager (EKM) is a web-based multi-user
collaborative product that is aimed at meeting the simulation data and process
management challenges faced by our customers. EKM is tightly integrated with
other ANSYS simulation offerings and it can also be very easily integrated with
other simulation codes including legacy and competitor’s software.

•What is ANSYS EKM Desktop?

– ANSYS EKM Desktop is a single user, local environment version of EKM. It is
available as part of ANSYS R13 release and it can be accessed via Workbench.
EKM Desktop is focused at meeting the challenge of “re-using existing
simulations” and thereby increasing simulation productivity and efficiency.

• EKM Desktop can be started

under the File menu in the
Project window

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 C. ANSYS Customer Portal

This document provides quick tour of the ANSYS Customer Portal,

including:
• Using the Software Download area
• Product information
• Customer Support & Training tools
• Knowledge Resources / FAQs
• Training Material & Animated Tutorials
• Other tools

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 ANSYS Customer Portal
1. Visit http://www.ansys.com/customerportal/ http://www.ansys.com/customerportal/
2. For first time users, click Register now
3. For returning users, click one of the following:
• ANSYS Customer Portal for
Mechanical/Fluent/CFX/Ansoft Support
• Fluent User Services Center for legacy Fluent
downloads

Notes:
If you are encountering difficulties with the ANSYS
Customer Portal please click on the ANSYS Portal Help
Support Request Form on the login page
Online Technical Support for all ANSYS products,
Mechanical/Fluent/CFX/Ansoft, is available through
the ANSYS Customer Portal

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 ANSYS Customer Portal Home Page
Search the Knowledge Resources for FAQs, Navigate to important locations on the Portal
Best Practices, Examples! with the click of an icon!

Survey: We appreciate your Review Top Solutions from

feedback! our Knowledge Resources! Review latest News!
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 ANSYS Customer Portal Download Center
The Download Wizard
Will guide you through 4
easy steps to download
the products you need.
The current release is
ANSYS 14.0!

Installation Tutorials
Download these tutorials
before proceeding. They
include step-by-step
instructions on installing
and setup your
applications

Download Ansoft
Products
Select “Ansoft Products”
on Step 1

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 D. ANSYS Workbench Overview

The ANSYS Workbench platform is a framework upon which ANSYS has developed
a suite of advanced engineering simulation applications. Workbench incorporates
bi-directional CAD connectivity, pervasive parameter management and integrated
optimization tools.

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 ANSYS Workbench Overview
ANSYS Workbench hosts numerous applications spanning many
engineering disciplines (some examples):
• Mechanical : structural and thermal analyses.
• Fluid Flow (CFX or FLUENT) : CFD analyses using CFX or FLUENT solvers.
• Geometry (DesignModeler): create and/or modify CAD geometry for use in
analysis.
• Design Exploration: optimization using state of the art methods
• AUTODYN: simulate nonlinear dynamics (crash test, metal forming, etc.)
• Maxwell: simulate electromagnetic field operation while coupling multiple
physics (structural, thermal, electrical).

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 E. Mechanical Overview
Analysis types available in Workbench - Mechanical:†
• Structural (static and transient):
– Linear and nonlinear structural analyses.
• Dynamics:
– modal, harmonic, random vibration, flexible and rigid dynamics.
• Heat Transfer (steady state and transient):
– Solve for temperature field and heat flux. Temperature-dependent
conductivity, convection, radiation and materials allowed.
• Magnetostatic:
– Perform various magnetic field analyses.
• Electrical:
– Simulate electrical devices such as motors, solenoids, etc..

† Note,the active ANSYS license dictates what functionality is available to the user. Not all
features listed are covered in this Introductory course.

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 … Product Configuration
Add-on licenses for Mechanical:
• Rigid Dynamics
• Fatigue Module

14.0 Workbench products are available for Windows and Linux operating
systems.
• Check the ANSYS web site or online documentation for the latest compatibilities.

Network licensing capabilities are used for all ANSYS and ANSYS Workbench
products.

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 F. Starting Mechanical
There are two methods of launching Workbench:
• From the Windows start menu:

• From the CAD system

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 G. The Workbench Environment
For most situations the Workbench GUI is divided into 2 primary sections
(there are other optional sections we’ll see in a moment):

The Toolbox The Project Schematic

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 The Toolbox
The toolbox contains 4 subgroups:
Analysis systems: predefined templates
that can be placed in the
schematic.
Component systems: various
applications that can be accessed
to build, or expand, analysis
systems.
Custom Systems: predefined analysis
systems for coupled applications
(FSI, thermal-stress, etc.). Users
can also create their own
predefined systems.
Design Exploration: Parametric
management and optimization
tools.

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 . . . The Toolbox
The systems and components
displayed in the toolbox will
depend on the installed
products.
Using the check boxes in the “View
All / Customize” window, the
items displayed in the toolbox
can be toggled on or off.
The toolbox customization window
is normally left closed when
not in use.

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 The Project Schematic
The Workbench project schematic is a graphical representation of the workflow defining a
system or group of systems.
From the toolbox a selection can be dragged and dropped onto the schematic (or double
clicked).

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 . . . The Project Schematic
By dropping applications and/or systems into various locations in the schematic,
an overall analysis project is defined.
In the example below a structural system is dragged and dropped onto a thermal
system forming a coupled thermal/structural analysis.

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 . . . The Project Schematic
A schematic can also be constructed by RMB and choosing to “Transfer Data To
New” or “Transfer Data From New”.
These selections will vary depending on which cell in a particular system you
highlight.

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 . . . The Project Schematic
Identifying cell states:

– Unfulfilled: missing upstream data.

– Attention required: may need to correct this or upstream cells.

– Refresh required: upstream (input) data has changed. Need to refresh

cell (update will also refresh the cell).

– Update required: the data has changed and the downstream (output) of
the cell must be regenerated.

– Up to date.

– Input changes pending: cell is locally up to date but may change when
the next update is performed due to upstream changes.

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 Optional Workbench Windows
The “View” menu (and RMB) allows additional information to be displayed in
the Workbench environment.
• Below, the geometry is highlighted and the properties are displayed.

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 H. Workbench File Management
Workbench creates a project file and a series of subdirectories to manage all
associated files.
When a project is saved a project file is created (.wbpj).
A project directory will be created using the project name. In this example the file
is called “Pipe_clamp.wbpj” so the directory created is “Pipe_clamp_files”.
The subdirectories created are dependent on the Workbench applications used in
the project.

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 . . . Workbench File Management
From the Workbench “View” menu activate the “Files” option
to display a window containing file details and locations.

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 . . . Workbench File Management
Archive: quickly generates a single compressed file
containing all pertinent files.

• File is zip format (.wbpz) and can be opened using the

“Restore Archive . . . ” utility in WB2.

• Several options are available when archiving systems

as shown here.

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 I. Working With Units
The Units menu in Workbench:
• Select from predefined unit systems.
• Create custom unit systems.
• Controls unit display for Engineering Data, Parameters and
Charts.
• Activate the Units System dialog to unit display preferences.

Units can be displayed in

the active Project system or
as they were defined in their
source (e.g. CAD system).

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 . . . Working With Units
Create custom unit systems by duplicating existing systems then modifying.
Custom unit systems can be exported and imported.

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 J. License Preferences
Workbench license control is handled through the user interface shown below,
activated from the Workbench project page:“Tools > License Preferences . . . “

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 . . . License Preferences
The order of license preference is specified using the up/down arrows (first
available is used).
• The “Use License” column indicates desired licenses to use (0 = off, 1 = on).

• Workbench users can specify whether a

single license is shared when multiple
applications are open, or if each application
accesses their own license.

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