Creep Curve Fitting in MAPDL

ANSYS Mechanical Nonlinear Materials

1 © 2017 ANSYS, Inc. June 15, 2020

 A. Overview
The thirteen creep equations discussed in Module 02 relate creep strain or creep strain rate to stress,
temperature, and creep strain or time
• The creep equation used is dependent on available test data, and the creep phase you want to simulate.
• Conversely, one can select a given creep equation to fit to based on available test data and observed
creep behavior (primary, secondary, or both)

Curve-fitting tools are very useful to calculate the coefficients used in the creep equations from test data.
MAPDL provides curve-fitting routines for all thirteen creep equations.
• The test data should be prepared in a separate text file. This can then be read into the MAPDL creep
curve-fitting module

• Calculated and experimental data can then be plotted against each other to compare the fit of the curves

2 © 2017 ANSYS, Inc. June 15, 2020

 B. Preparing Test Data
Text file(s) containing test data should be prepared first:

− The file should contain columns that are space- or tab-delimited

− The header (first few lines of the file) should contain information on what variables are present. The
variable notation is below:
Abbreviation used in text data file
Time time
Equivalent Creep Strain creq
Equivalent Creep Strain Rate dcreq
Equivalent Stress seqv
Temperature temp

• For each column of data available, put a /#,var in the header to indicate which variable is associated
with which column

• If a variable is assumed to be constant, use /var,value in the header to indicate the value for that
variable

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 ... Preparing Test Data
For example, let’s assume that equivalent stress and temperature were held constant for a given creep test
with values of 4000 and 100, respectively.

Data for creep strain will be entered in /seqv,4000

column 1, and data for creep strain rate /temp,100
entered in column 2. /1,creq
/2,dcreq
The header information (first four lines) 0.00215869 0.000203055
would contain the information on 0.00406109 0.000181314
constant variables and column variables 0.00664691 0.000165303
0.0102068 0.000152217
The resulting text file is shown on the
0.0151416 0.000140946
right.
0.0220102 0.000130945
<…>

4 © 2017 ANSYS, Inc. June 15, 2020

 C. Procedure
To access the Creep Curve Fitting Module, first launch the
MAPDL application
• This can be done from the WORKBENCH Project Page by
highlighting “Mechanical APDL” in the Component
Systems Folder and dragging and dropping it onto the
Project Schematic Page

• Or from the Start Menu (independent of Workbench )

5 © 2017 ANSYS, Inc. June 15, 2020

 ... Procedure
If launching MAPDL from the WB Project Schematic, highlight “Analysis” and RMB=> Open Mechanical
APDL…

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 ... Procedure
Navigate to the Creep Curve-fitting tools in MAPDL:

− Main Menu > Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models
• Structural > Nonlinear > Inelastic > Rate Dependent > Creep > Curve Fitting

7 © 2017 ANSYS, Inc. June 15, 2020

 ... Procedure
After selecting the Creep Curve-Fitting module, specify the prepared text file containing the test data
− Use “Read From File” to specify the data file
− Use “Add DataSet” to enable reading multiple test data files
(for example, creep tests performed at multiple temperatures)

After selecting the

file, the contents
will be displayed
in the dialog box.
Select “Next” to
continue.
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 ... Procedure
Specify the creep law to curve-fit to

− The thirteen creep equations are categorized by primary and/or secondary creep. Recall that secondary
creep is characterized by a constant creep strain rate.

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 ... Procedure
− Each creep law has a different number of
coefficients C1-Ci. Since the curve-fitting
procedure is nonlinear, initializing the creep
coefficients is important to the curve-fitting
process

− Fixing specific coefficients is also possible

to aid in the curve-fitting routine. Some
coefficients can be initialized and fixed to
only allow other coefficients to be solved for.

− The ANSYS Structural Analysis Guide online help provides some detailed guidelines in curve-fitting for
various creep laws under “Material Curve Fitting > Tips for Curve-Fitting Creep Models.”

10 © 2017 ANSYS, Inc. June 15, 2020

 ... Procedure
− The error norm can be normalized or unnormalized. The normalized method is default and
gives all points equal weight.
• If many of the points are clustered about a certain range, the normalized method will emphasize that
range of creep strain (rate) values with the most data points.

• If the unnormalized option is used, the data points will fit the larger creep strain (rate) range better, as
the points with larger value have more weight.

 ( )
N
− iexperiment
2
Eunnormalized = trial
i
i =1

N
(itrial − iexperiment )
2

Enormalized =  (
i =1
experiment 2
)
i

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 ... Procedure
− Regression settings, which include the maximum number of iterations and the residual and coefficient
tolerances for convergence can be specified
− If temperature-dependency is present, this can be accounted directly in the creep equation (Arrhenius
term) or by requesting temperature-dependent coefficients to be solved for.
− After specification is complete, select the “Solve” button to perform the curve-fit. The message “Solution
is Completed” will indicate when the curve-fitting is finished, and the values can be plotted with the
“Plot” button

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 ... Procedure
Compare the plot of experimental and fitted data

− The x-axis will always be the first column of the test data, so the test data should be prepared accordingly
beforehand.

− All of the other variables (columns) will be plotted as the y-axis

− If the creep fitting is suitable, select “Save&Close”

The graph window is

The left column right-click sensitive,
indicates creep laws so various graph
curve-fitting was settings can be
performed on. To changed.
return to curve-fitting,
select this tree.

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 ... Procedure
When using “Save & Close,” the curve-fitting data is written into the MAPDL database for the selected
material property number.
− Once saved, the data can be reviewed from the Materials GUI dialogue box

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 ... Procedure
Please note that the curve-fitting information is available during the MAPDL session, but it is not saved with
the MAPDL database.

During the MAPDL session, the user can return and change curve-fitting parameters as many times as he/she
likes.

Be sure to keep the test data files if that information will be required later, as the test data is not saved in the
MAPDL database, either.

15 © 2017 ANSYS, Inc. June 15, 2020

 D. Curve-Fitting Tips
Some basic creep curve-fitting tips:

− If a creep law is chosen but a variable is not used, “fix” the coefficient to a value to make that term equal
to one

• For example, some creep laws contain the Arrhenius equation. If no temperature-dependent data exist,
fix that coefficient to zero (making the temperature term=1).

− For temperature-dependent data, users can

solve the Arrhenius term or request for
temperature-dependent coefficients

− Have an understanding of the range of values of the coefficients:

• Some coefficients have units, others may be unitless. The former will vary, depending on your choice of
units

• Some coefficients are multipliers and should have very tiny ranges. Unless these coefficients are
initialized correctly, the curve-fitting procedure may encounter problems.

16 © 2017 ANSYS, Inc. June 15, 2020