LAB 02 FEM LAB

KHWAJA FAREED UNIVERSITY OF

ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY

Department of Mechanical Engineering

MACHINE DESIGN AND CAD LAB

Submitted To: Engr. Adnan rasheed

Submitted By: Haid ishfaq

Roll No: Meen 211101022

Class/Section: Meen 6B

Lab report No: 2

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Lab Session 02
Simply supported beam with UDL
SHORT INTRO
To simulate a simply supported beam with a uniformly distributed load (UDL)
in Ansys, you would typically follow these steps:
Geometry: Create a 2D or 3D model of the beam in the Ansys DesignModeler or import it from
a CAD software.
Material Properties: Define the material properties in the Engineering Data section. This
includes Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and density.
Meshing: Generate a mesh for the beam. Ensure that the mesh is fine enough to capture the
stress variations accurately.
Boundary Conditions: Apply supports at the ends of the beam to simulate the simply supported
condition. Typically, this means allowing the beam to move vertically but not horizontally or
rotationally at the supports.
Loads: Apply a UDL across the length of the beam. This is done by selecting the face or edges
of the beam and specifying the magnitude of the load per unit length.
Solving: Run the simulation to solve for the displacements, stresses, and strains in the beam.
Results: Review the results to assess the maximum deflection, bending moment, shear force,
and stress distribution along the beam.

Basics of linear static analysis

The schematic setup for a linear static structural analysis is shown here

Figure 1

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For a linear static structural analysis, the global displacement vector {x} is solved for in the
matrix equation below:
Kx= F

Assumptions made for linear static structural analysis are:

• [K] , which is the global stiffness matrix, is constant
Linear elastic material behavior is assumed
Small deflection theory is used
• {F} , which is the global load vector, is statically applied
No time-varying forces are considered
No damping effects
It is important to remember these assumptions related to linear static analysis. Nonlinear static
and dynamic analyses are covered in other training course

Geometry
In structural analyses, all types of bodies supported by Mechanical may be used.
For surface bodies, thickness must be supplied in the “Details” view of the “Geometry” branch.
The cross-section and orientation of line bodies are defined within DesignModeler and are
imported into Mechanical automatically

Figure 2

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Mechanical allows a part’s stiffness behavior to be defined as rigid/flexible

A rigid body is not meshed with traditional finite elements. Rather it is represented using a
single mass element and is thus very efficient in terms of solution times.
Parts in an assembly that are included only to transfer loads can be designated as rigid to
reduce solution times and model sizes

Figure 3

Point Mass
A Point Mass can be added to a model’s Geometry branch to simulate parts of the structure not
explicitly modeled:
• Point mass is affected by “Acceleration,” “Standard Earth Gravity,” and “Rotational
Velocity”. No other loads affect a point mass.

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Figure 4

Material Properties
Young’s Modulus and Poisson’s Ratio are always required for linear static structural analyses
Density is required if any inertial loads are present.
• Thermal expansion coefficient is required if a temperature load is applied.
• Stress Limits are needed if a Stress Tool result is present.
• Fatigue Properties are needed if Fatigue Tool result is present.
Requires Fatigue Module add-on license.
As shown earlier material properties are assigned in the part details in Mechanical. The user
can chose from the dropdown list materials available to this project

Figure 5

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Analysis settings
The Analysis Settings details provide general control over the
solution process:
Step Controls:
• Specify the number of steps in an analysis and an end “time”
for each step.
Solver Controls:
• Two solvers available (default program chosen):
– Direct solver (Sparse solver in MAPDL).
– Iterative solver (PCG solver in MAPDL).
• Weak springs:
– Mechanical tries to anticipate under-constrained models

Figure 6

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The “Output Controls” section of the analysis settings configures what items are to be written
to the results file (defaults shown).
Output controls are intended to allow users to write efficient results files containing only the
desired information thereby limiting file
sizes.
The most general results quantities are written by default.Be sure to review the documentation
before starting an analysis to make sure the desired results will be written.
Note: the default configuration for output controls can be changed in
“Tools > Options > Analysis Settings and Solution

Figure 7

Loads
Loads and supports respond in terms of the degrees of freedom (DOF)
available for the elements used.
With solid geometry the DOF are X, Y and Z translations (for shells and beams
we add rotational DOF rotX, rotY and rotZ).
Boundary conditions, regardless of actual names, are always defined in terms
of these DOF.

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Figure 8(frictionless surface)

Boundary conditions can be scoped to geometry items or to nodes (depending

on load type).
Example: a “Frictionless Support” applied to the face of the block shown would
indicate that the Z degree of freedom is no longer free (all other DOF are free).

Figure 9
Most of loads and supports can be defined by components of by vector.
Loads and supports having a direction component can be defined in global or local coordinate
systems:
• In the Details view, change “Define By” to “Components”. Then, select the appropriate CS
from the pull-down menu.

Figure 10

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Figure 11

Meshing
What is Mesh Generation
Meshing is often used in software-based simulation for Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). It can significantly impact the accuracy of the
simulation and the resources required to perform the simulation.

The meaning of meshing–or mesh generation–is: defining continuous geometric shapes (such
as 3D models) using 1D, 2DThe meaning of meshing–or mesh generation–is: defining
continuous geometric shapes (such as 3D models) using 1D, 2D, and 3D shapes (mesh
faces). The finer the mesh, the more accurately the 3D model will be defined.

Though meshes can be created manually, most meshing today is performed using software,
with minimal human input. and 3D shapes (mesh faces).

The finer the mesh, the more accurately the 3D model will be defined.

Though meshes can be created manually, most meshing today is performed using software,
with minimal human input.

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Figure 12
What Are the Different Types
There are two basic ways of creating a mesh: structured and unstructured.
In structured meshing, the mesh is prepared as a regular lattice with implied connectivity
between elements. In unstructured meshing, elements can be connected to each other in
irregular patterns, allowing users to capture more complex shapes.

Importance of Meshing in CFD and FEA

Meshing is one of the most important aspects of getting accurate results

from FEA/FEM and CFD simulations. Usually, results become more accurate as the mesh
becomes smaller and denser. However, a trade-off of that is that simulations become larger and
solve times become longer. Engineers typically perform convergence studies to determine the
optimal balance of accuracy and the simulation resources available. One way to achieve this is
by restricting high mesh density to areas of the model in the load path and areas of interest.

Geometric shapes that experience large concentrated stress, such as fillet radii, also require
denser meshes to assess stress accurately.

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Areas that are placed further away from stress concentrations or load paths can be meshed with
larger and less dense elements. The goal is to create meshes that accurately represent the
geometric shape without wasting simulation resources. As such, meshes are typically denser
(finer elements) in areas important for calculations

Figure 13(Optimizing meshes)

How to Generate Accurate, Lightweight Meshes for Simulations

Reduce user input, meet solver expectations, and optimize CAE workflows with Spatial’s 3D
Precise Mesh.

• Generate quality surface meshing (within the prescribed parameters) with very little
input.
• Ensure high-quality surface meshing of CAD models with simulation-dedicated
options.
• Finetune the size, shape, order, and quality of meshes.
• Generate high-quality tetrahedral mesh, hybrid, and hexahedral 3D meshes.
• Enable high quality and automatic boundary layer generation.Produce conformal 3D
and full hex meshes.

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Project*
First Saved Thursday, March 14, 2024
Last Saved Thursday, March 14, 2024
Product Version 2021 R2
Save Project Before Solution No
Save Project After Solution No

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Contents
• Units

• Model (A4)
o Geometry
▪ Solid
o Materials
o Coordinate Systems
o Mesh
o Static Structural (A5)
▪ Analysis Settings
▪ Loads
▪ Solution (A6)
▪ Solution Information
▪ Total Deformation

• Material Data
o Structural Steel

Units
TABLE 1
Unit System Metric (mm, kg, N, s, mV, mA) Degrees rad/s Celsius
Angle Degrees
Rotational Velocity rad/s
Temperature Celsius

Model (A4)
Geometry

TABLE 2
Model (A4) > Geometry
Object Name Geometry
State Fully Defined
Definition
C:\Users\UAE\Desktop\Simply Supported
Source
Beam_files\dp0\SYS\DM\SYS.agdb
Type DesignModeler
Length Unit Meters
Element Control Program Controlled
Display Style Body Color
Bounding Box
Length X 50. mm

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Length Y 50. mm
Length Z 1500. mm
Properties
Volume 3.75e+006 mm³
Mass 29.438 kg
Scale Factor Value 1.
Statistics

Bodies 1
Active Bodies 1
Nodes 4240
Elements 675
Mesh Metric None
Update Options
Assign Default Material No
Basic Geometry Options
Parameters Independent
Parameter Key
Attributes Yes
Attribute Key
Named Selections Yes
Named Selection Key
Material Properties Yes
Advanced Geometry Options
Use Associativity Yes
Coordinate Systems Yes
Coordinate System Key
Reader Mode Saves Updated No
File
Use Instances Yes
Smart CAD Update Yes
Compare Parts On Update No
Analysis Type 3-D
Import Facet Quality Source
Clean Bodies On Import No
Stitch Surfaces On Import None
Decompose Disjoint Geometry Yes
Enclosure and Symmetry
Yes
Processing

TABLE 3
Model (A4) > Geometry > Parts
Object Name Solid
State Meshed
Graphics Properties

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Visible Yes
Transparency 1
Definition
Suppressed No
Stiffness Behavior Flexible
Coordinate System Default Coordinate System
Reference Temperature By Environment
Treatment None
Material
Assignment Structural Steel
Nonlinear Effects Yes
Thermal Strain Effects Yes
Bounding Box
Length X 50. mm
Length Y 50. mm
Length Z 1500. mm

Properties
Volume 3.75e+006 mm³
Mass 29.438 kg
Centroid X 25. mm
Centroid Y 25. mm
Centroid Z 750. mm
Moment of Inertia Ip1 5.5257e+006 kg·mm²
Moment of Inertia Ip2 5.5257e+006 kg·mm²
Moment of Inertia Ip3 12266 kg·mm²
Statistics
Nodes 4240
Elements 675
Mesh Metric None

TABLE 4
Model (A4) > Materials
Object Name Materials
State Fully Defined
Statistics
Materials 1
Material Assignments 0

Coordinate Systems

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TABLE 5
Model (A4) > Coordinate Systems > Coordinate System
Object Name Global Coordinate System
State Fully Defined
Definition
Type Cartesian
Mesh Coordinate System ID 0.
Origin
Origin X 0. mm
Origin Y 0. mm
Origin Z 0. mm
Directional Vectors
X Axis Data [ 1. 0. 0. ]
Y Axis Data [ 0. 1. 0. ]
Z Axis Data [ 0. 0. 1. ]

TABLE 6
Model (A4) > Mesh
Object Name Mesh

State Solved
Display
Display Style Use Geometry Setting
Defaults
Physics Preference Mechanical
Element Order Program Controlled
Element Size 20.0 mm

Sizing
Use Adaptive Sizing Yes
Resolution Default (2)
Mesh Defeaturing Yes
Defeature Size Default
Transition Fast
Span Angle Center Coarse
Initial Size Seed Assembly
Bounding Box Diagonal 1501.7 mm
Average Surface Area 50833 mm²
Minimum Edge Length 50.0 mm
Quality
Check Mesh Quality Yes, Errors
Error Limits Aggressive Mechanical
Target Quality Default (0.050000)

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Smoothing Medium
Mesh Metric None
Inflation
Use Automatic Inflation None
Inflation Option Smooth Transition
Transition Ratio 0.272
Maximum Layers 5
Growth Rate 1.2
Inflation Algorithm Pre
View Advanced Options No
Advanced
Number of CPUs for Parallel Part Meshing Program Controlled
Straight Sided Elements No
Rigid Body Behavior Dimensionally Reduced
Triangle Surface Mesher Program Controlled
Topology Checking Yes
Pinch Tolerance Please Define
Generate Pinch on Refresh No
Statistics
Nodes 4240
Elements 675

FIGURE 1
Model (A4) > Mesh > Figure

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Static Structural (A5)

TABLE 7
Model (A4) > Analysis
Object Name Static Structural (A5)
State Solved
Definition
Physics Type Structural
Analysis Type Static Structural
Solver Target Mechanical APDL
Options
Environment Temperature 22. °C
Generate Input Only No

TABLE 8
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Analysis Settings
Object Name Analysis Settings

State Fully Defined

Step Controls
Number Of Steps 1.
Current Step Number 1.
Step End Time 1. s
Auto Time Stepping Program Controlled
Solver Controls
Solver Type Program Controlled
Weak Springs Off

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Solver Pivot Checking Program Controlled

Large Deflection Off
Inertia Relief Off
Quasi-Static Solution Off
Rotordynamics Controls
Coriolis Effect Off

Restart Controls
Generate Restart Points Program Controlled
Retain Files After Full Solve No
Combine Restart Files Program Controlled
Nonlinear Controls
Newton-Raphson Option Program Controlled
Force Convergence Program Controlled
Moment Convergence Program Controlled
Displacement Convergence Program Controlled
Rotation Convergence Program Controlled
Line Search Program Controlled
Stabilization Program Controlled
Advanced
Inverse Option No
Contact Split (DMP) Off
Output Controls
Stress Yes
Surface Stress No
Back Stress No
Strain Yes
Contact Data Yes
Nonlinear Data No
Nodal Forces No
Volume and Energy Yes
Euler Angles Yes
General Miscellaneous No
Contact Miscellaneous No
Store Results At All Time Points
Result File Compression Program Controlled
Analysis Data Management
C:\Users\UAE\Desktop\Simply Supported
Solver Files Directory
Beam_files\dp0\SYS\MECH\
Future Analysis None
Scratch Solver Files
Directory
Save MAPDL db No
Contact Summary Program Controlled
Delete Unneeded Files Yes
Nonlinear Solution No

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Solver Units Active System

Solver Unit System nmm

TABLE 9
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Loads
Object Name Fixed Support Displacement Force
State Fully Defined
Scope
Scoping Method Geometry Selection
Geometry 1 Edge 1 Face
Definition
Type Fixed Support Displacement Force
Suppressed No
Define By Components Vector

Coordinate System Global Coordinate System

X Component 0. mm (ramped)
Y Component 0. mm (ramped)
Z Component Free
Applied By Surface Effect
Magnitude 5000. N (ramped)
Direction Defined

FIGURE 2
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Fixed Support > Figure

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FIGURE 3
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Displacement

FIGURE 4
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Displacement > Figure

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FIGURE 5
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Force

FIGURE 6
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Force > Figure

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Solution (A6)

TABLE 10
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Solution
Object Name Solution (A6)
State Solved
Adaptive Mesh Refinement
Max Refinement Loops 1.
Refinement Depth 2.
Information
Status Done
MAPDL Elapsed Time 9. s
MAPDL Memory Used 90. MB
MAPDL Result File Size 1.1875 MB
Post Processing
Beam Section Results No
On Demand Stress/Strain No

TABLE 11
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Solution (A6) > Solution Information
Object Name Solution Information
State Solved
Solution Information
Solution Output Solver Output
Newton-Raphson Residuals 0
Identify Element Violations 0
Update Interval 2.5 s

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Display Points All

FE Connection Visibility
Activate Visibility Yes
Display All FE Connectors
Draw Connections Attached To All Nodes

Line Color Connection Type

Visible on Results No
Line Thickness Single
Display Type Lines

TABLE 12
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Solution (A6) > Results
Object Name Total Deformation

State Solved
Scope
Scoping Method Geometry Selection
Geometry All Bodies
Definition
Type Total Deformation
By Time
Display Time Last
Calculate Time History Yes
Identifier
Suppressed No
Results
Minimum 0. mm
Maximum 3.8535 mm
Average 2.4621 mm
Minimum Occurs On Solid
Maximum Occurs On Solid
Information
Time 1. s
Load Step 1
Substep 1
Iteration Number 1

FIGURE 7
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Solution (A6) > Total Deformation

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TABLE 13
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Solution (A6) > Total Deformation
Time [s] Minimum [mm] Maximum [mm] Average [mm]
1. 0. 3.8535 2.4621

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FIGURE 8
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Solution (A6) > Total Deformation > Figure

Material Data
Structural Steel

TABLE 14
Structural Steel > Constants
Density 7.85e-006 kg mm^-3
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion 1.2e-005 C^-1
Specific Heat 4.34e+005 mJ kg^-1 C^-1
Thermal Conductivity 6.05e-002 W mm^-1 C^-1
Resistivity 1.7e-004 ohm mm

TABLE 15
Structural Steel > Color
Red Green Blue
132 139 179

TABLE 16
Structural Steel > Compressive Ultimate Strength
Compressive Ultimate Strength MPa
0

TABLE 17
Structural Steel > Compressive Yield Strength

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Compressive Yield Strength MPa

250

TABLE 18
Structural Steel > Tensile Yield Strength
Tensile Yield Strength MPa

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250

TABLE 19
Structural Steel > Tensile Ultimate Strength
Tensile Ultimate Strength MPa
460

TABLE 20
Structural Steel > Isotropic Secant Coefficient of Thermal Expansion
Zero-Thermal-Strain Reference Temperature C
22

TABLE 21
Structural Steel > S-N Curve
Alternating Stress MPa Cycles Mean Stress MPa
3999 10 0
2827 20 0
1896 50 0
1413 100 0
1069 200 0
441 2000 0
262 10000 0
214 20000 0
138 1.e+005 0
114 2.e+005 0
86.2 1.e+006 0

TABLE 22
Structural Steel > Strain-Life Parameters
Cyclic Strain
Strength Strength Ductility Ductility Cyclic Strength
Hardening
Coefficient MPa Exponent Coefficient Exponent Coefficient MPa
Exponent
920 -0.106 0.213 -0.47 1000 0.2

TABLE 23
Structural Steel > Isotropic Elasticity
Young's Modulus MPa Poisson's Ratio Bulk Modulus MPa Shear Modulus MPa Temperature C
1.1e+005 0.3 91667 42308

TABLE 24
Structural Steel > Isotropic Relative Permeability
Relative Permeability
10000

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Theoretical solution

Moment of Inertia:
𝑏4
𝐼=
12
(0.05)4
=
12
= 5.2083 × 10−7

Total Deformation:
5𝑤𝑙 4
384𝐸𝐼
5 × 5000 × (1.5)4
384 × (1.1 × 1011 ) × (5.2083 × 10−7 )

= 5.7528 × 10−3 × 1000

= 5.7528 𝑚𝑚

Percentage error:
3.8481 − 5.7528
× 100
5.7528
= 33%

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