ANSYS™ Quick Reference Acknowledgements

www.come.tum.de This paper is to a great extent based on the work by Prof. Dr.-
Technical University of Munich Ing. habil. Manfred Bischoff, Institute of Structural Mechanics,
University of Stuttgart (http://www.ibb.uni-stuttgart.de), and Dipl.-
Ing. Moritz Frenzel M.Sc., Chair of Computational Mechanics,
Technical University of Munich (http://www.lnm.mw.tum.de). We
gratefully acknowledge their permission to use their work.

Introduction

This is not an ANSYS™ manual! ANSYS™ is a general purpose finite element package whose full documentation is available
as ‘online help’ and would fill half a bookshelf when printed. There are numerous tutorials and sample problems available on
the internet, but all of them serve different, and mostly specific purposes, reflecting the numerous areas of applicability of
ANSYS™ (structural, thermal, electrical, etc.).

This little quick reference collects hints to the most important features in the context of the courses “Modeling and Simulation I
and II” within the Master Program in Computational Mechanics at the TU München. It is intended to serve as a help to get
started with ANSYS™. After getting familiar with these basic steps it should be no problem to handle more complex
applications with the help of the aforementioned online manual.

Disclaimer: We do not take any responsibility for the information herein. This quick reference is not licensed, sponsored or
connected in any other way to ANSYS™. If you downloaded this document and you are not a student of CoMe.TUM, please
drop us a note (come@bv.tum.de).
General Procedure

ANSYS™ provides two principally different methods to issue commands: Either using a menu structure or a command line.
Professionals who use ANSYS™ usually work with the command line because it is more efficient and provides an easy
possibility to use readily prepared ‘macros’ (often used command sequences).

To get started, however, it is recommended to use the menus. They help to lo lead you through the process of model creation,
meshing, solving and plotting the results and provide a quick overview of the possibilities that the program offers. Note:
depending on the ANSYS™ version, the menues might differ slightly from the examples herein.

The main steps of a typical ANSYS™ session are:

• Create the geometrical model (keypoints, lines, areas, Preprocessing

volumes and their combinations)
• Define the finite element model by choosing the element Preprocessing / Solution
type (including “real constants”), material data, and
applying boundary conditions and loads
• Choose a solver and compute the solution Solution
• Review and analyze the results (output numbers or display Postprocessing
plots)

It is recommended to always watch the output in the other (black) window to check if a command was accepted and how it is
interpreted.

All commands (whether written in the command line or specified over the menues) are written to a text file ("log file") which can
be saved and used for a re-modeling. Note that "everything else" (for instance re-sizing of graphics) is also written to this log
file so that it might become quite full with non-useful lines. The best is to delete unnecessary lines but it is sometimes difficult to
guess which lines are important. But once you have understood most commands you will see that log files are an indispensible
tool for quick and efficient modeling!
 Command at
Preprocessing commands the input line

Start Preprocessor Main Menu > Preprocessor /prep7

To get into the preprocessing part of ANSYS™. From here all
preprocessing commands are accepted.

Geometric Model Modeling

Create Keypoint Create > Keypoints K,NPT,X,Y,Z
You can use keypoints as a geometric basis of the model. You can > On Working Plane
create the model bottom-up, which means first the keypoints then the > In Active CS Defining Keypoints
> On Line
lines, areas, etc. Alternatively, you can create the model top-down, for in the input line is
example directly create a rectangle resulting in an automatic generation very efficient and
of lines and keypoints. Keypoints are helpful for every geometric therefore
operation in complex structures and also, for instance, to apply recommended!
concentrated loads and boundary conditions. They are defined by
coordinates and are numbered automatically or user defined.
Create Lines Create > Lines L,KPstart,KPend
> Straight Line
Create Arcs Create > Lines > Arcs
> Through 3 KPs
> By End KPs & Rad
> By Cent & Radius
> Full Circle
Create Arbitrary Create > Area > Arbitrary A,KP1,KP2,KP3,…
Creates an arbitrary polygonal area. > Through KPs
> By Lines
Create Rectangle Create > Area > Rectangle
> By 2 Corners
> By Centr & Cornr
> By Dimensions
Create Circle Create > Area > Circle
> Solid Circle
> Annulus
> Partial Annulus
 > By End Points
> By dimensions
Copy Objects Copy
Easy modeling of repeated geometric objects or geometries with > Keypoints
periodic properties. Offset depends on active coordinate system. > Lines
> Areas
Model Operations Operate –Booleans-
Boolean operations to merge geometric primitives or remove > Add
intersecting areas. > Subtract
> Divide
> Glue

Finite Element Structure

Define Element Type Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete ET,ETNr,Ename
Customize the list of required element types (beams, plates, shells,
etc.)
Provide Appropriate Constants for Individual Element Types Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete R,SetNr,Value1,…
For example the element thickness
Define Material Properties Material Props > Material Models
For example Young´s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, etc.
Assign Attributes Meshing > Mesh Attributes
Assign attributes (material properties, element types) to selected parts > Keypoints
of the model. To make the attributes visible select numbering. Note: By > Lines
> Areas
default, all the elements that are created with the mesh command,
obtain the “current” (i.e. last defined) attributes.
Mesh the Model Meshing > MeshTool
Create a finite element mesh for the model. Make sure to choose the
appropriate dimensionality, i.e. one-dimensional for lines (beams), two-
dimensional for areas (plates, shells), three-dimensional for volumes
(solid elements). Choose properties like element size, element shape,
etc. prior to meshing. Usually, using the Mesh Tool instead of the
individual commands in the mesh menu is recommendable!
MeshTool Element Attributes Define material number, element type, real constants,…
Smart Size Element size for ‘quick and dirty’ free meshing
Size Controls Specify mesh density via subdivision of lines (best to
obtain structured and compatible meshes) or element
lengths
Mesh Generate the mesh, either free (automatic) or mapped
(structured) with triangles or quads
Clear Clear the mesh. Has to be done for any changes in the
finite element structure!
Refine Mesh refinement in the area of chosen elements, lines,
keypoints, etc.
Close Leave the MeshTool
Couple Nodes Coupling / Ceqn > Coincident
The Meshes of all individual areas have to be compatible. If this is not Nodes
the case one possibility would be to couple nodes at the intersections of
individual mesh patches (areas) to connect these parts. Alternatively
you can connect the areas by Boolean operations.
Loads
Loads and also boundary conditions are in general applied to the finite
element model (i.e. after meshing). If the mesh is changed, all load data
is lost!
Displacement Boundary Conditions Loads > Define Loads > Apply >
Defines boundary conditions for lines, areas, keypoints or nodes. All Displacement
degrees of freedom (DOF) can be addressed separately, the prescribed > On Lines
> On Areas
displacement may be zero or non-zero. There is also a feature to
> On Keypoints
automatically generate symmetric and antisymmetric boundary > On Nodes
conditions (Caution: The program needs to ‘guess’ the symmetry plane
 from the given model because it does, of course, not know the real
structure. Always verify that that the generated boundary conditions are
correct).
Concentrated Loads and Moments Loads > Define Loads > Apply >
Force/Moment
> On Keypoints
> On Nodes
Pressure Loads Loads > Define Loads > Apply >
To apply pressure loads, i.e. loads that are perpendicular to the given Pressure
geometric entity > On Lines
> On Areas
> On Nodes
Delete Loads and Boundary Conditions Loads > Delete >
> All Load Data
> Displacement
> Force/Moment
> Pressure

Solution Commands
Start Solution Part Main Menu > Solution /Solu
Now only solution commands are accepted at the input line.
Control the Solution Procedure Analysis Type > Sol´n Control
Several solution options, mostly for non-linear computations
Solve Problem Solve > Current LS
Solves the current finite element system of equations (applying iterative
incremental schemes in the case of non-linear problems). Be sure to
select everything prior to solving!
Postprocessing Commands
Start Postprocessor Main Menu > General Postproc /Post1
Now only postprocessing commands are accepted at the input line
Generate result plots Plot Results
After a successful computation you can create various plots of the > Deformed Shape
results like deformations, stresses, etc. You can choose between nodal > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu
> Contour Plot > Element Solu
solutions mostly used for deformation results and element solutions,
> -Vector Plot- Predefined
usually for stress plots. To change appearance of plots use plotctrls.
Generate List of Results List Results
All data can also be listed as numbers, e.g. nodal values for the
displacements etc.
Work with sections / Path operations Path Operations
To display results at user defined sections, for example to perform > Define Path > By Nodes
equilibrium checks, paths have to be defined. Along these paths all data > On Working Pl
> By Location
can be plotted and listed. It is also possible to do certain computations,
> Delete Path
for example to obtain a moment out of stress values and coordinates > Plot Paths
(i.e. the excentriticity). Note: All path data will be lost when leaving > Recall Path
POST1 (but you can store the data in a file). > Map onto Path
To visualize a stress distribution on a path: > Plot Path Item > On Graph
- define a path > Plot Path Item > On Geometry
- map the corresponding values onto the path by defining a name and > Plot Path Item > List Path
Items
the specified value, e.g. stress in x-direction (SX). Mind the option of
> Various Calculations
average results over the element! > Archive Path >Store/Retrieve
- plot the corresponding path items either on the geometry (adjust the
scale factor!) or on a special graph (which allows more items in one
plot).
- The following procedure is an example to obtain a moment for an
equlibrium check: map the stresses on the path; do multiply this item
with the geometry distance (e.g. YG) and give it a new item-name;
do integrate this new item over the geometry; the result is shown in
the output window (DOS-Box).
Note: The number of intersections, defined in the specifications at the
 beginning, control the accuracy of the plot and the subsequent
computations (like integration).
Work with Element Tables Element Table
To visualize certain element results it is necessary to define element > Define Table
tables. They can be plotted, listed, sorted, etc. It is possible to select > Plot Elem Table
> List Elem Table
certain elements.
> Find Maximum/Find Minimum
Utility Menu

File File controls, handling of job name.

Write DB Log File Creates a text file (ascii) with all commands of the whole history of the current session. It is sensible to save
your work up to a certain stage once in a while (can be used later like an ‘undo’ option).
Read Input from Read commands out of text file (see above).
List > Log File View the current Log File.

Selecting parts of the finite element model. All subsequently issued commands refer exclusively to the current
Select selection. By default (at the beginning of your project) everything is selected.
Entities Select individual entities of the model (nodes, elements, lines, areas keypoints) either graphically (By Num/Pick)
or with the help of certain properties (e.g. coordinates).
Everything Selects everything. Has to be done each time before starting a computation!

Provides the possibility to list every kind of information like working-files, program-status, geometrical data, finite
List element data, etc.

Plot To plot all individual objects. Useful during modeling to organize the screen.
Multi-Plots To obtain a general replot.

PlotCtrls Controls all plot options. As there is a huge number of options, only the most important are listed below.
Pan, Zoom, Rotate Opens a window for easy controlling of zoom, viewing angle, etc. To view the entire model click Fit
Numbering As all objects and attributes are numbered it is sometimes useful to plot the numbers. Especially for element
attributes with different materials or real constants.
Symbols Useful to display boundary conditions and forces (also as arrows instead of face outlines)
Style > Contours >
It is possible to change the number of contours to control the quality of the plot.
Uniform Contours
Animate > Deformed Nice tool to animate your computation and see what happens (non-linear problems).
Results
Redirect Plots Export into other graphic standards. Redirect to screen to switch it back.
Capture Image For screenshots to compare different plots.
MultiWindow Layout More than one window.

WorkPlane Work Plane controls

Display Working
Shows working plane triad.
Plane
WP Settings Tool to control working plane as grid, activate ‘snapping’, etc.
Change Active CS to Changes coordinate system to cartesian, cylindrical or spherical for all modeling commands (lines,
keypoints,…). During preprocessing the status is shown in the title of the graphics window.

Parameters are used as variables. For example a load can be defined as a variable F and then set to different
Parameters values. Useful in general, needed for optimization problems.
Scalar Parameters Tool to define, set and check all parameters.