Mechanical Beta Features

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Mechanical Beta Features

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Table of Contents
Beta Features Disclaimer ............................................................................................................................. vii
1. Activating Mechanical Beta Options ...................................................................................................... 1
2. Two-dimensional (2D) Acoustics Analyses .............................................................................................. 3
3. Using Degenerated Tetrahedral Elements .............................................................................................. 5
4. Substructure Generation Analyses ......................................................................................................... 7
4.1. Scoping Substructure Generation Analyses ....................................................................................... 7
4.2. Specifying Rotational Velocity in Substructure Generation Analyses ................................................. 11
5. Scoping Cracks to Multiple Bodies ........................................................................................................ 15
6. SMART Crack Enhancements ................................................................................................................ 21
7. Incorporating Contact Large Deflection ............................................................................................... 25
8. Optimized File Processing for External Model Systems ........................................................................ 27
9. External Model Browser ........................................................................................................................ 29
9.1. Displaying the External Model Browser ............................................................................................ 29
9.2. Working with LS-DYNA Keywords .................................................................................................... 31
9.3. Working with ABAQUS Keywords .................................................................................................... 32
10. Improving Harmonic Solutions using Split Frequencies .................................................................... 35
11. Coupled Field Analyses using Composite Materials ........................................................................... 41
12. Creating Spot Weld Groups ................................................................................................................. 43
13. Specifying Energy Convergence Criteria ............................................................................................ 55
14. Remote Boundary Conditions Applied to Rigid Bodies ...................................................................... 57
15. Creating Local Volume Min/Max Probes ............................................................................................. 59
16. Evaluate Gasket Line Pressure Result ................................................................................................ 61
17. Animating Results in Multiple Viewports ........................................................................................... 65
18. Specifying Video Dimensions for Exported Result Animations ......................................................... 67
19. Fetching an RSM Result ....................................................................................................................... 69
20. Explicit Dynamics Blast Analysis in Mechanical .................................................................................. 73
20.1. Domain Types for 2D Multi Material Euler Solver ............................................................................ 74
20.2. Guidance on Setting up a 1D Wedge Analysis in Mechanical .......................................................... 75
20.3. Using the Euler Remap ACT Extension ........................................................................................... 77
20.4. Limitations ................................................................................................................................... 79
21. Virtual Eulerian Surface Bodies .......................................................................................................... 81
21.1. Closed Single Connected Euler Surface Bodies ............................................................................... 82
21.1.1. Closed Single Connected Euler Surface Bodies with Holes or Openings ................................. 83
21.2. Single Connected Euler Surface Bodies with Filling Direction ......................................................... 83
21.3. Limitations ................................................................................................................................... 85
22. Command Objects for SPH Settings ................................................................................................... 87
23. Export Material Calibration Results as New or Updated Materials in Mechanical ............................. 89
24. TPA Workflow for FRF Calculator ......................................................................................................... 95

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List of Figures
20.1. Appropriate Geometry for a 1D Wedge Analysis ................................................................................... 76
21.1. Example of (a) Euler Surface with Holes and Openings, (b) Closing of Holes and Openings in Euler Surface,
and (c) Resulting Material Mapping into MME Euler Domain ....................................................................... 83
21.2. Example of (a) Euler Surface Body with Defined Filling Direction , (b) Location of Euler Surface Body in
MME Euler Domain, and (c) Resulting Material Mapping into MME Euler Domain .......................................... 85

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Beta Features Disclaimer
This is beta documentation for one or more beta software features.

• Beta features are considered unreleased and have not been fully tested nor fully validated. The
results are not guaranteed by Ansys, Inc. (Ansys) to be correct. You assume the risk of using beta
features.

• At its discretion, Ansys may release, change, or withdraw beta features in future revisions.

• Beta features are not subject to the Ansys Class 3 error reporting system. Ansys makes no com-
mitment to resolve defects reported against beta features; however, your feedback will help us
improve the quality of the product.

• Ansys does not guarantee that database and/or input files used with beta features will run suc-
cessfully from version to version of the software, nor with the final released version of the features.
You may need to modify the database and/or input files before running them on other versions.

• Documentation for beta features is called beta documentation, and it may not be written to the
same standard as documentation for released features. Beta documentation may not be complete
at the time of product release. At its discretion, Ansys may add, change, or delete beta document-
ation at any time.

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Chapter 1: Activating Mechanical Beta Options
To make beta options available:

From Workbench

1. On the Workbench Project page, from the Tools menu, Options and then selection of the option
Appearance.

2. Scroll down and activate the Beta Options check box.

3. Click OK.

4. Open or return to Mechanical.

From Mechanical

1. Open the Options dialog by selecting the File tab and then Options. You can also select the
Options icon beside the Quick Launch field on the title bar.

2. Open the Common Setting option and select the User Interface category.

3. Set the Show Beta Options preference to Yes.

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Chapter 2: Two-dimensional (2D) Acoustics Analyses
Using Beta Options (p. 1), you can perform a two-dimensional (2D) acoustics analysis.

• 2D Acoustics is supported in Coupled Field Analyses. Supported in the following analyses:

– Coupled Field Harmonic

– Coupled Field Modal

– Coupled Field Static

– Coupled Field Transient

• Supported with other physics and coupling such as:

– Structural Acoustics

– Acoustics with Piezoelectric Coupling

– Acoustics with Electrostatic force coupling

– Applicable Boundary Conditions are supported

– Applicable results are supported

Note:

Far Field results are not yet supported.

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Chapter 3: Using Degenerated Tetrahedral Elements
For structural and thermal analyses, the Degenerated Shape (Beta) property can be specified to have
the application use degenerated tetrahedral elements on geometry parts.

Application
1. Activate Beta Options (p. 1).

2. Select the Geometry object and set the Element Control property to Manual.

3. Select the desired body object and specify one of the following for the Degenerated Shape (Beta)
property:

• Program Controlled (default): The application selects the suitable element type.

• Yes: The solver will use linear order degenerated tetrahedral elements. For example, in the case
of a structural analysis the application would use SOLID185.

• No: The solver will use linear order tetrahedral elements. For example, in the case of a structural
analysis, the application would use SOLID285.

Note:

This property is only applicable for a solid geometry that:

• Is not generated from Pull objects.

• Is not a rigid body.

• Has a linear order tetrahedral mesh.

Supported Analysis Types

• Eigenvalue Buckling

• Harmonic Response

• Modal

• Static Structural

• Substructure Generation

• Steady-State Thermal

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Using Degenerated Tetrahedral Elements

• Transient Structural

• Transient Thermal

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Chapter 4: Substructure Generation Analyses
The following beta features are supported for the Substructure Generation analysis:
4.1. Scoping Substructure Generation Analyses
4.2. Specifying Rotational Velocity in Substructure Generation Analyses

4.1. Scoping Substructure Generation Analyses

By default, the Substructure Generation analysis creates one superelement for all active bodies. Now,
when the Beta Options (p. 1) feature is active, the Substructure Definition object provides scoping
properties that enable you to select desired geometry including body selection or body-based Named
Selections. See the example below.

And when you specify a Total Deformation result (the only supported result), the application automat-
ically scopes the result to the specified bodies.

Important:

When using this beta scoping capability, note the following limitations:

• Your Substructure Generation analysis will fail if you have a linked upstream Static
Structural analysis that includes either of the following loads scoped to bodies that
are not included on the scoping of the downstream Substructure Definition object:

– A Pressure load specified with the Define By property set to Normal To or

Vector.

Or...

– A Hydrostatic Pressure load specified with the Define By property is set to

Vector.

You can avoid this issue by applying an equivalent load for either of the above loads
using the Components option of the Define By property. Or you can use a Nodal
Pressure load instead of Pressure/Hydrostatic Pressure.

• In addition, Ansys recommends that you only include Contacts and Joints in the
model to avoid failures for substructure generation.

Example Scoping
Here is an example of a pre-stressed Substructure Generation analysis without beta options active.
All bodies are automatically scoped to the Substructure Definitions object.

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Substructure Generation Analyses

Once you activate the beta options, the ability to scope specific bodies becomes available.

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 Scoping Substructure Generation Analyses

You can then specify a desired body.

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Substructure Generation Analyses

And following the solution, you can export solved substructure for use in another analysis as an Imported
Condensed Part.

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 Specifying Rotational Velocity in Substructure Generation Analyses

4.2. Specifying Rotational Velocity in Substructure Generation Analyses

When the Beta Options (p. 1) are active, the Substructure Generation analysis supports the Rotational
Velocity loading condition.

Requirements
The following setting are required for the analysis to support the Rotational Velocity load:

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Substructure Generation Analyses

• The Coriolis Effect property of the Rotordynamics Controls category of the Analysis Settings
object must be set to On.

• The Generate Damping Matrix property of the Substructure Definition object must be set to
Program Controlled (default) or Yes.

• The analysis supports only one Rotational Velocity object.

• The application automatically sends the Rotational Velocity as the first load vector. The Load
Vector Assignment category properties of the Details pane are read-only with default settings.
The Load Vector Assignment property is set to Program Controlled and the Load Vector
Number property is set to 1.

• If a prestress environment is present, you must set the Load Control property of the Pre-Stress
object to Delete All for the generation pass.

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 Specifying Rotational Velocity in Substructure Generation Analyses

Use Pass Support for Modal Analyses

For a Modal analysis that specifies Condensed Geometry, you use an Imported Condensed Part created
from a Substructure Generation analysis that included Rotational Velocity, by setting the Coriolis
Effect property to On. The application then processes the Rotational Velocity during the Use Pass.

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Chapter 5: Scoping Cracks to Multiple Bodies
When Beta Options (p. 1) are active, the application provides the ability to scope analytical cracks to
multiple bodies. You can specify the crack across multiple bodies as well as at the interface of multiple
bodies. This includes all analytical cracks except the Semi-Elliptical Crack.

This scoping capability not only enables you to extract fracture parameters from the crack, but you can
also study crack growth by associating the crack to a SMART Crack Growth object.

Requirements
Note the following requirements for scoping cracks to multiple bodies:

• All of the bodies to be used in the multi-body scoping of the crack must be included in a Mater-
ial Assignment object so that each has the same material identifier.

• All bodies must be from a single multi-body part with shared faces.

Examples of Multi-Body Scoping

The following illustration present an analysis of a three body part that has an Elliptical Crack and a Ring
Crack specified.

This is the fracture mesh for the specified Elliptical Crack and a Ring Crack.

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Scoping Cracks to Multiple Bodies

Here is an example of a ring crack defined at the intersection of three bodies.

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This example displays the carious crack fronts and crack top and bottom faces across the multiple
bodies for both cracks.

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Scoping Cracks to Multiple Bodies

Finally, here is a fracture result for a ring crack scoped to multiple bodies.

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Chapter 6: SMART Crack Enhancements
SMART Crack Growth supports Beta (p. 1) properties for the following Details pane categories

• Options for Crack Growth (p. 21)

• Remeshing Controls (p. 23)

Options for Crack Growth

The Crack Growth Options category offers several beta properties. Their availability depends on the
values of other properties, primarily, the Crack Growth Option property, which includes the options
Fatigue and Static.

Crack Growth Option Set to Fatigue

In order to display the beta properties using the Fatigue setting, you also need to set the Min In-
crement of Crack Extension property to Manual. This setting displays the following dependent
beta properties:

• Min Increment Value Treatment (Beta): Specify how to treat the value. Options include
Absolute (default) and Multiplier.

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SMART Crack Enhancements

• Min Multiplier Value (Beta): This property displays when the above property is set to Mul-
tiplier. The specified value is treated as a multiplier of the reference element size at the crack
front (determined by the application). This property can be parameterized.

• Min Increment Control (Beta): Options include Default (0) and One. When you set the
property to Default (0), the application internally sets the crack increments which are less
than the value specified by the Min Increment Value property to a value set for Min Incre-
ment Value. When you set the property to One, the application sets the crack increments
which are less than the Min Increment Value property to zero.

In addition, when you set the Max Increment of Crack Extension property to Manual, the following
additional dependent properties display:

• Max Increment Value Treatment (Beta): Specify how the value must be treated. Options
include Absolute (default) and Multiplier.

• Max Multiplier Value (Beta): This property displays when the above property is set to
Multiplier. The specified value is treated as a multiplier of the reference element size at the
crack front (determined by the application). This property can be parameterized.

Crack Growth Option Set to Static

When you set the Crack Growth Option property to Static, the following properties display:

• Min Increment of Crack Extension (Beta): This property specifies the minimum crack exten-
sion increment value. The options include Program Controlled (default) and Manual. The
Program Controlled option uses the default minimum increment value. When you set the
property to Manual, the following additional properties display:

– Min Increment Value Treatment (Beta): Specify how the value must be treated.
Options include Absolute (default) and Multiplier. Based on the setting of this
property, one of the following properties displays:

Min Increment Value (Beta): Displays when the Min Increment Value Treatment
property is set to Absolute. The specified value is treated as an absolute minimum
increment value. This property can be parameterized. The default value is 0.
Min Multiplier Value (Beta): Displays when the Min Increment Value Treatment
property is set to Multiplier. The specified value is treated as a multiplier of the
reference element size at the crack front (determined by the application). This
property can be parameterized.

– Minimum Increment Control (Beta): Options include Default (0) and One. When
you set the property to Default (0), the application sets the crack increments to less
than the value specified by the Min Increment Value property. When you set the
property to One, the application sets the crack increments of the Min Increment
Value property to zero.

• Max Increment of Crack Extension (Beta): This property specifies the maximum crack ex-
tension increment value. The options include Program Controlled (default) and Manual.
The Program Controlled option uses the default maximum increment value. When you set
the property to Manual, the following additional property displays:

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 – Max Increment Value Treatment (Beta): Specify how the value must be treated.
Options include Absolute (default) and Multiplier. Based on the setting of this
property, one of the following properties displays:

Max Increment Value (Beta): Displays when the Max Increment Value Treatment
property is set to Absolute. The specified value is treated as an absolute maximum
increment value. This property can be parameterized. The default value is 0.
Max Multiplier Value (Beta): Displays when the Max Increment Value Treatment
property is set to Multiplier. The specified value is treated as a multiplier of the
reference element size at the crack front (determined by the application). This
property can be parameterized.

Remeshing Controls
As illustrated, the Remeshing Controls category offers the following beta properties:

Property Description
Element Size The default setting is 0.0 or you can specify a double value.
For Crack
Front (Beta)
Local Region Options include None (default) and Named Selection. When you select Named Selection,
(Beta) the following additional properties display:

• Named Selection (Beta): Use this property to select a desired Named Selection
from the drop-down menu.

• Element Size For Local Region: The default setting is 0.0 or you can specify a
double value.

Increment Options include None (default), Solution Time, Accumulated Max Crack Extension,
Multiplier and Number of Remeshing Steps. When you select any option other than None, the
(Beta) following additional properties display:

• Max Multiplier (Beta): Enter a value greater than 0.

• Start Value (Beta): Enter a value greater than or equal to 0.

• End Value (Beta): Enter a value greater than 0.

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Chapter 7: Incorporating Contact Large Deflection
For large deflection analyses that include a Contact Tool under the Connections folder, this feature
makes sure that the application incorporates large deflection at both the connection and analysis levels
of your simulation.

Note:

As needed, see the Activate Beta Options (p. 1) section to make the feature available.

Insert a Contact Tool from a Connections folder. As shown, the Details category Contact Tool Settings,
and the beta property, Large Deflection, become visible. Options for this property include No (default)
and Yes.

When the Large Deflection property in the Solver Controls of the Analysis Settings is set to Yes when
this property is also set to Yes, the application uses the same program controlled defaults for contacts
results under Contact Tool as the overall analysis (based on the Solver Controls).

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Chapter 8: Optimized File Processing for External
Model Systems
A beta option (p. 1) is available that enables you to enhance how the application organizes and pro-
cesses data imported from External Data systems using the following beta option. This feature improves
performance when importing Abaqus, LS-DYNA, and Mechanical APDL files.

Note:

This feature does not currently support all source file commands. Some commands may be
skipped.

Activate Beta Key and Option

To make the feature available, you must activate two beta options.

1. On the Workbench Project page, select the Tools menu and then Options. Select the Appear-
ance category, scroll down the dialog, select Beta Options, and select OK. You need to select
Beta Options and then close the dialog for the next option to become available.

2. Open the Tools > Options dialog again and select the Mechanical category. Scroll down the
dialog and select the following option:

3. Select OK. The application prompts you to restart the application to activate the feature. Do
this now.

Enable optimized file processing, including additional log file data (if logging is enabled)

Log File
An associated property is available for this beta feature: Enable creation of log file %TEMP% directory,
as shown in the above image. When you enable this option, the application automatically creates a
detailed log file for each command imported into Mechanical as well as any errors that occur.

Limitations
Note the following:

• For Abaqus, only free format files are supported.

• The No Grouping option of the Body Grouping property (Model cell of Mechanical System >
Mesh Conversion Options) is not supported.

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Chapter 9: External Model Browser
The External Model Browser (Beta) tool enables you to view the processed and unprocessed keywords
for LS-DYNA or ABAQUS input files that you import into Mechanical using an External Model system
from Workbench or the Add Model Import option in Mechanical. From the browser tree, you can select
individual keywords and perform actions such as previewing the properties associated with the selected
keyword, adding the keyword to the current analysis (LS-DYNA), or adding a Python snippet (ABAQUS).

Important:

This documentation assumes that you know how to import the above file types. See the
steps to import mesh files from either Workbench or Mechanical in the Attach Geometry/Mesh
section of the Mechanical User’s Guide.

Go to a section topic:
9.1. Displaying the External Model Browser
9.2. Working with LS-DYNA Keywords
9.3. Working with ABAQUS Keywords

9.1. Displaying the External Model Browser

Once you have turned on Beta Options (p. 1) and imported your file, you display the External Model
Browser (Beta) by selecting the:

• Import Summary object and then select the External Model Browser (Beta) option at the bottom
of the page.

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External Model Browser

Import Summary Worksheet

• External Model Browser (Beta) option on the Environment Context toolbar.

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 Working with LS-DYNA Keywords

Environment Context Toolbar

Here is an example of the browser for a LS-DYNA input file.

Note:

• You can load any input file (LS-DYNA or ABAQUS) using the Browse button for visualization
purposes. However, to perform actions like adding keywords to the current analysis, the
input file must have been imported using an External Model system from Workbench or
the Add Model Import option in Mechanical.

• If a top-level node is selected, the options to insert keywords or command snippet apply
to every keyword under the selected node.

9.2. Working with LS-DYNA Keywords

When importing an LS-DYNA input file, only the unprocessed keywords are shown. You have the option
to add the keyword to the current analysis (or create an LS-DYNA analysis if there isn't one).

To add an unprocessed keyword to the project tree, right-click the keyword and select Add to Analysis.
If there is no LS-DYNA analysis in the project, one is added to the project the first time you try to add
a keyword. The keyword is added using the properties associated with it. Right-click a keyword and
select Properties to see the properties associated with that keyword.

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External Model Browser

9.3. Working with ABAQUS Keywords

When importing an ABAQUS file, the External Model Browser will show both processed and unprocessed
keywords. You have the option to generate a Python snippet (Solver Commands object) for any
keywords using the Add Solver Command Snippet option.

To add a keyword to the project, right-click the keyword and select Add Solver Command Snippet. If
there is no analysis in the project, a Static Structural analysis is added to the project. The snippet is
added to the Solver Commands object using the properties associated with the selected keyword. A
new Solver Commands object is created under the current analysis to write these snippets if one
doesn't exist already.

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 Working with ABAQUS Keywords

Additional Options
If the Display Information box is checked, additional information is displayed for the keywords. This
is especially useful to discern between multiple instances of the same keyword.

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External Model Browser

Right-click a keyword and select Properties to see the properties associated with that keyword.

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Chapter 10: Improving Harmonic Solutions using Split
Frequencies
When you activate Beta Options (p. 1) for a solved pure acoustic Coupled Field Harmonic, pure
acoustic Harmonic Acoustics, or a Harmonic Response analysis that has the Solution Method property
set to Krylov, the Analysis Settings object provides a new context (right-click) menu option: Split Fre-
quency Range (Beta). This option enables you to achieve a more accurate solution, however, it requires
additional processing time and also creates additional frequency points.

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Improving Harmonic Solutions using Split Frequencies

Go to a section topic:

• Background (p. 36)

• Required Settings (p. 37)

• Application Example (p. 37)

Background
When using the Krylov solution method, the application builds a Krylov Subspace at the middle frequency
of a given range (by default). Therefore, when you evaluate a Krylov Residual Norm Frequency Re-

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sponse result, the result values will be less accurate at frequency points that are farther away from the
Krylov Subspace frequency. That is, the wider the frequency range, the less accurate the result becomes.

To improve accuracy, the Split Frequency Range (Beta) option requires that you specify a frequency
range of not more than 1000 Hz.

Required Settings
In order to make the Split Frequency Range (Beta) option available, you must first specify the following
Analysis Settings properties:

1. Set the Multiple Steps property of the Step Controls category is set to No.

2. Set the Solution Method property is set to Krylov.

3. Set the User Defined Frequencies property is set to On.

4. Specify frequency values in the User Defined Frequencies Steps table in the Tabular Data
window. You must specify a range greater than 1000 Hz.

Application Example
Consider the following example set up:

The user defined frequency range is 2900 Hz. That is, 3000 Hz – 100 Hz..

As illustrated below, once you select the Split Frequency Range (Beta) option, the application will
automatically change the following Analysis Settings:

1. The Multiple Steps property is set to Yes.

2. The Multiple Step Type property is set to Load Step.

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Improving Harmonic Solutions using Split Frequencies

3. The Number of Steps property is set to the upper bound of the user defined frequency range
divided by 1000 (which is optimal frequency range). In this case, (3000-100)/1000 which is 3.

4. The Step Frequency Range Minimum and Step Frequency Range Maximum properties will
range for only 1000 Hz and their corresponding user defined frequencies. In this example:

• 1st Load Step: The Range Minimum = 100 Hz and the Range Maximum = 1100 Hz. The
User Defined Frequencies = 100,500,800 Hz.

• 2nd Load Step: The Range Minimum = 1200 Hz and the Range Maximum = 2200 Hz.
User Defined Frequencies = 1200,1500,1700 Hz.

• 3rd Load Step: The Range Minimum = 2500 Hz and the Range Maximum: 3500 Hz. User
Defined Frequencies = 2500 and 3000 Hz.

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5.

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Chapter 11: Coupled Field Analyses using Composite
Materials
Now, when you have Beta Options activated, you can link Ansys Composite PrepPost (ACP) systems
to a Coupled Field analysis. See the Basic Workflow section of the ACP User's Guide for the steps to
configure this analysis combination.

Note:

The composite body imported into Mechanical needs to correspond to a Physics Region
that is specified as structural only (Structural property set to Yes).

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Chapter 12: Creating Spot Weld Groups
Prerequisites
This documentation assumes that you understand the concept and use of the application’s existing
Spot Weld feature. The Weld Group (Beta) feature is like the existing Spot Weld control, but has a few
notable differences, including:

• The Spot Weld feature requires a Spot Weld for each weld. The Weld Group (Beta) groups numer-
ous spot welds by the parts/bodies they connect.

• The Spot Weld feature constructs "mesh dependent welds." The Weld Group (Beta) provides an
option to construct the welds as mesh dependent or as mesh independent (as discussed in the
Understanding Mesh Dependent and Mesh Independent Definitions topic).

• The Spot Weld feature requires that you define the spot welds in SpaceClaim or DesignModeler.
Or, that you at least create the spot weld vertices to be used (before entering Mechanical). There
is no current method to create a Spot Weld in Mechanical.

• Currently, you cannot import spot welds defined in SpaceClaim or DesignModeler into Mechan-
ical as a group, however, there is an existing script that imports point locations.

• Activate Beta Options (p. 1) to turn on the feature.

Overview
The Weld Group connection feature (folder) enables you to manage a group of spot welds that connect
multiple surface body parts. This folder provides properties to either import predefined spot welds or
to manually create individual spot welds. An example of an imported group of spot welds is illustrated
below. Once imported, the application automatically creates Weld Connection objects. The data for
the Weld Connection object is displayed in the Details pane. The data for each spot weld is displayed
in the Weld Connection Worksheet. Data includes the source and target bodies of the weld and prop-
erties relating to the set of welds in the Details view and an identifier and a coordinate location for
each spot weld in the Worksheet.

When you select a Weld Connection object, the application highlights the corresponding spot welds
for the given connection in the Geometry window, as illustrated below.

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Creating Spot Weld Groups

In addition, the Source body displays in red, the Target body displays in blue, and an orange ball displays
each spot weld. Selecting a row in the Weld Connection Worksheet highlights the individual spot welds
in green.

Understanding Mesh Dependent and Mesh Independent Definitions

The spot welds are assigned a type, either Mesh Dependent or Mesh Independent (default). These settings
are specified by the Weld Type property using the Weld Connection objects. The Weld Type, along with
the setting for Stiffness Behavior determines how the spot welds will be modeled when generating the
mesh.

In the following example, you can see:

• The weld element is modeled the same for mesh dependent and mesh independent weld types.
Using the Stiffness Behavior property, you specify the element as a Flexible (beam), Stiff Beam
or Rigid (beta).

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• For each mesh dependent weld, nodes are inserted during mesh process so that the weld element
connects directly to the shell mesh on the Source and Target bodies. That is, each node of the
weld element is shared with the shell elements.

• For mesh independent welds, the shell mesh and weld elements are generated independently,
and the weld element nodes are not shared with the shell mesh. The Connection Behavior
property controls how the nodes of the weld elements are tied to the shell mesh. Options for
this property include Deformable and Rigid. The connection between the weld elements and
the shells is displayed as a yellow spider web.

MESH DEPENDENT MESH INDEPENDENT

Simply put, for mesh dependent welds, the nodes of the spot weld elements are directly connected to
the shell mesh. For mesh independent welds, the spot weld elements are connected to the shell mesh
either through contact or rigid connections based on property settings.

Spot Weld File Format

Prior to importing your spot weld file, you must ensure that the file you use follows the conventions
used by Dyna or Primer, as shown in this example:

As illustrated, the spot weld files have the following properties:

• Asci file where text is separated by spaces (*.csv type format)

• Each line represents a spot weld, and:

– The first entry should be “SPOTWELD.”

– The second entry is the id of the weld.

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Creating Spot Weld Groups

– The third entry is the X position of the weld.

– The fourth entry is the Y position of the weld.

– The fifth entry the Z position of the weld.

– Part identifiers are optional. If part ids are desired, the 6th entry should specify “PARTS” and
then the seventh to nineth entries indicate the parts of the weld.

• If parts are used the part ID in the weld file need to be encoded in the names of the bodies. For
example, if the weld file contains part IDs (54325,54625,54525), the body names would need to
appear as follows, where the body names include the part IDs at the end of the body name.

Weld Thickness
Only two thickness (2T) and three thickness (3T) welds are supported:

Importing Weld Connections

To import Weld Group Connections:

1. Highlight the Connections object and then select the Weld Group option from the Connect group
of the Connections Context tab to insert a Weld Group object. An example of the object’s Details
is show here. Many properties have default values.

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2. Specify highlighted properties. Properties include:

• Material

• Weld Radius

• Length Units

3. Select the entry field of the Weld File Path property and the arrow menu display option. A dialog
opens.

4. Navigate to and select the file you wish to import from the Open dialog.

5. Right-click the Weld Group object and select the Import Spot Welds.

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Creating Spot Weld Groups

6. Select each Weld Connection object and review all property definitions as well as the data provided
in the Weld Connection window. Perform corrections as needed.

Manually Creating Weld Group Connections

To create Weld Connections manually:

1. Highlight the Connections object and then select the Weld Group option from the Connect group
of the Connections Context tab to insert a Weld Group object. An example of the object’s Details
is show here. Many properties have default values.

2. Set the Method property to Manual.

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3. Specify highlighted properties. Properties include:

• Material

• Weld Radius

• Length Units

4. Right-click the Weld Group object and select Insert > Weld Connection.

5. Specify the desired surface bodies for the Source and Target properties.

6. Modify object properties as needed.

7. When inserted, the Weld Connection window displays automatically. The Hit Point Coordinate option,
highlighted below, is active by default. This option enables you to set a coordinate location. As show
in the next step, the option displays the exterior coordinates of the model as the cursor is moved
across the model.

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Creating Spot Weld Groups

8. Coordinate labels appear where you place the cursor. Select the locations for your spot weld, right-
click, and select the option Create Spot Weld using Hit Point. The data table automatically populates
each coordinates each time a spot weld is specified.

This feature is functional on faces only. It is not functional on edges or line bodies.

9. Continue creating sport welds as desired.

Weld Group Object Properties

The properties of the Weld Group folder specify values for all Weld Connection child objects.

Category Property/Options/Descriptions
Definition Method: Specify to import spot weld from a text file or to create them manually.
Options include File Input (default) and Manual.

Stiffness Behavior: Depending upon the Weld Type setting, select a (element)
stiffness behavior, including:

• Flexible (default)

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Category Property/Options/Descriptions
• Stiff beams

• Rigid (beta)

Material: Specify desired material for all (child object) weld connections.

Weld Radius: When the Stiffness Behavior is set to Flexible or Stiff Beam, beam
elements are created during mesh generation. The beams automatically receive a
circular cross section defined for them where the radius is set by this property. In
other words, this Weld Radius is the circular radius representing the weld.

Connection Behavior: This property displays when the Weld Type property is set
to Mesh Independent. The Connection Behavior (for the yellow lines) is defined
as either:

• Deformable (default)

• Rigid

Snap To Edge Tolerance: This property displays when the Weld Type property
is set to Mesh Dependent. The application uses this tolerance (+/-) value during
the meshing process to place or “snap” a weld point to a boundary (edge) as
opposed to placing the weld point on a face that is close to the boundary (closer
than defined tolerance). This helps makes sure that small edges are not created.

Suppressed: Options include Yes or No (default). This property enables you to

remove (and re-include) the object from analysis processes.
Advanced Shell Thickness Effect: This property enables you to include the thickness of the
surface body during contact calculations. Instead of contact being detected on the
face of the surface body, contact will be detected at a distance that is half the
thickness from the face.

Penetration Tolerance: Specify a desired Penetration Tolerance value.

Angle Tolerance: This property enables you to specify a tolerance (+/-) value that
the desired/ideal orthogonal angle of each spot weld may deviate. The default
value is 30°.
Statistics Connections: Total number of Weld Connection objects included in group.

Weld Points: Total number of spot weld connections included in group.

Weld Connection Object Properties

The properties of the Weld Connection object specify values for the associated grouping of spot welds.

Category Property/Options/Descriptions
Scope Source: Display/select the source side surface body for the weld connection. This
geometry can be manually selected or automatically generated.

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Creating Spot Weld Groups

Category Property/Options/Descriptions
Target: Display/select the target side surface body for the weld connection. This
element can be manually set or automatically generated.
Definition Method: Specify to import spot weld from a text file or to create them manually.
Options include File Input (default) and Manual.

Stiffness Behavior: Depending upon the Weld Type setting, select a (element)
stiffness behavior, including:

• Flexible (default)

• Stiff beams

• Rigid (beta)

Material: Specify desired material for all (child object) weld connections.

Weld Radius: When the Stiffness Behavior is set to Flexible or Stiff Beam, beam
elements are created during mesh generation. The beams automatically receive a
circular cross section defined for them where the radius is set by this property. In
other words, this Weld Radius is the circular radius representing the weld.

Connection Behavior: This property displays when the Weld Type property is set
to Mesh Independent. The Connection Behavior (for the yellow lines) is defined
as either:

• Deformable (default)

• Rigid

Snap To Edge Tolerance: This property displays when the Weld Type property
is set to Mesh Dependent. The application uses this tolerance (+/-) value during
the meshing process to place or “snap” a weld point to a boundary (edge) as
opposed to placing the weld point on a face that is close to the boundary (closer
than defined tolerance). This helps makes sure that small edges are not created.

Suppressed: Options include Yes or No (default). This property enables you to

remove (and re-include) the object from analysis processes.
Advanced Shell Thickness Effect: This property enables you to include the thickness of the
surface body during contact calculations. Instead of contact being detected on the
face of the surface body, contact will be detected at a distance that is half the
thickness from the face.

Penetration Tolerance: Specify a desired Penetration Tolerance value.

Angle Tolerance: This property enables you to specify a tolerance (+/-) value that
the desired/ideal orthogonal angle of each spot weld may deviate. The default
value is 30°.

Snap To Edge Tolerance: This property displays when the Weld Type property
is set to Mesh Dependent. The application uses this tolerance (+/-) value during
the meshing process to place or “snap” a weld point to a boundary (edge) as

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Category Property/Options/Descriptions
opposed to placing the weld point on a face that is close to the boundary (closer
than defined tolerance). This helps makes sure that small edges are not created.
Statistics Weld Points: Total number of spot weld connections for the object.

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Chapter 13: Specifying Energy Convergence Criteria
For Static Structural and Transient Structural analyses, Mechanical includes a beta feature that enables
you to specify an Energy Convergence criteria property. This new property is available in the Nonlinear
Controls category of the Analysis Settings object. When you include this criterion, the solver requires
fewer iterations to achieve a moderately accurate solution as compared to the Force Convergence
criterion. Property options include:

• Remove (default)

• Program Controlled

• On

When set to On, the following additional properties become available:

• Value: Default value is Calculated By Solver which is equal to an entry of zero (0).

• Tolerance: Default value is 0.5%.

• Minimum Reference: Default value is 1 J.

See the Nonlinear Controls for Steady-State, Static, and Transient Analyses section of the Mechanical
User’s Guide for descriptions of the these properties.

Note:

Like most convergence criteria, all convergence plots include designations where any bisec-
tions, converged substeps, converged steps, or remesh points occur.

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Chapter 14: Remote Boundary Conditions Applied to
Rigid Bodies
When you scope a Remote Force, Remote Displacement, or a Moment, to a face of a body whose
Stiffness Behavior property is set to Rigid, the application applies the boundary condition to the
centroid of the scoped face. This scenario can lead to an unwanted moment created about the centroid
of the rigid body.

You can address this using the Apply to Rigid Body Pilot Node (Beta) property that is available for
these remote boundary conditions. Property options include No (default) and Yes. When set to Yes,
the application applies the remote boundary condition to the pilot node that is located at the centroid
of the rigid body. Therefore, you must change the scoping of the boundary condition to target body
when setting this property to Yes.

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Chapter 15: Creating Local Volume Min/Max Probes
Mechanical includes a beta feature that enables you to display probe labels for the minimum and
maximum result values of all active parts. The application currently includes a feature that enables you
to display min/max probe labels for the results on exterior faces of the model.

Note:

As needed, see the Activate Beta Options (p. 1) section to make the feature available.

Select an evaluated result object, right-click in the Geometry window, and then select one of the fol-
lowing options:

• Create Local Volume Max Probes (Beta): Display probe labels for the largest (Max) result values
within the local range for all active parts.

• Create Local Volume Min Probes (Beta): Display probe labels for the smallest (Min) result values
within the local range for all active parts.

These options support results on the entirety of active parts. Any local min/max value contained in an
active part is detected.

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Chapter 16: Evaluate Gasket Line Pressure Result
When Beta Options (p. 1) are active, you can now create a Gasket Line Pressure result. This result
creates line pressure values for a normalized sealing load acting on a gasket, per unit length. This enables
you to detect fluid leaks across the area of the gasket. This result maps the forces to an ordered array
of points along an imaginary curve at the center line of the gasket. This curve is then presented in
graphical and tabular form.

This result requires a corresponding scoping beta feature: a Construction Geometry Path specified as
an Offset. This path creates multiple quasi parallel curves that you apply to the gasket surface.

Using the defined offset path, that includes user-defined discretization points as well as sub-paths, you
can integrate pressures and determine loading along an imaginary center line of the gasket surface.

Once you evaluate a Gasket Line Pressure result, the application presents the force loads along the
center line as well as the pressures detected along each sub-path.

You can use the Chart feature to compare multiple gasket line pressure results.

Define an Offset Path

In order to create an Offset Path, you must have a circular geometry.

1. Using the Construction Geometry option, Path, specify the Path Type property as Offset.

2. Define the geometries of the path:

a. Under the Reference category of the Details pane, select a desired edge to define the Ref-
erence Geometry property.

b. Under the Offset Guide category of the Details pane, select the interior edge of the body
to define the Offset Geometry property.

3. The application automatically creates sub-paths in between the selected edges using the values of
the Discretization Points (the default setting is 47) and Number of Subpaths (the default setting
is 3) properties. You can change these values as desired.

Define Gasket Line Pressure Result

In order to solve this result, you need to first define loading along the center line of the gasket body.
This can be done by creating a beam and scoping the beam to a Bolt Pretension load.

Specify the result:

1. From the Solution object, open the Gasket drop-down menu and select Gasket Line Pressure
(Beta).

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Evaluate Gasket Line Pressure Result

2. Set the Scoping Method property to Path.

3. Set the Path property to the offset path created above. Make sure that the Geometry property
displays a single body that contains the offset path.

4. Verify a meaningful Display Time property setting. It should not be set to zero.

5. Solve the analysis.

Evaluate Result Values

Here is an example of a Gasket Line Pressure result. Note the available values. The Line Pressure
column displays the force created along the center line and each Value columns present the pressure
values along each sub-path. The Graphics pane displays the force values at each discretization point.

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Chapter 17: Animating Results in Multiple Viewports
If you are using a Windows system that supports OpenGL 4.3, and the Beta Option is turned on, you
can animate (multiple) results in multiple Viewports. The Viewports feature enables you to split the
Geometry window into multiple windows, up to four, and select independent result objects in each
window.

Note:

The results you select must support Accelerated Animation.

Note:

As needed, see the Activate Beta Options (p. 1) section to make the feature available.

Once you have displayed your evaluated results in multiple viewports, select the Multi-Viewport An-
imation option on the Animation toolbar to begin the animation.

Here is an example of the feature in use.

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Animating Results in Multiple Viewports

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Chapter 18: Specifying Video Dimensions for
Exported Result Animations
Currently, when you are exporting the animation of a result as a video file, there is a beta feature that
enables you to specify the dimensions (Width and Height) of the exported file.

Note:

As needed, see the Activate Beta Options (p. 1) section to make the feature available.

Application
1. Once you activate Beta Options in Workbench, open Mechanical and display the Options dialog
by selecting the toggle option on the ribbon or selecting Options from the File tab. This feature
(Show Preferences Dialog) is available under the Graphics category, as illustrated bellow. Set the
property to Yes.

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Specifying Video Dimensions for Exported Result Animations

2. Select your solved result object from the Outline and then select the Export Video File option ( )
in the Graph window.

3. The following dialog displays and enables you to specify a desired graphics resolution. The illustration
below displays the application default values. Specify Video Width and Video Height values or accept
the default settings.

4. Click OK. A Save As dialog appears. Save the video file to a desired location.

Property Descriptions
Options

• Show Preferences Dialog: Setting this option to Yes tells the application to display the
Video to File Preferences window, with default values, when you select the Export Video File
option of the Graph window.

• Preference Export Resolution: This option makes the Graphics Resolution options either
active or inactive when the Video to File Preferences window displays. Activation can be
changed on the Video to File Preferences window by clearing the Current Graphics Display
option.

• Video Width/Video Height: Specify the width and height of the resolution in pixels. The
values you define in the Options dialog (shown above) become the default values for the
Video to File Preferences window.

Video to File Preferences

• Current Graphics Display: When selected, the application uses the values specified in the Graph
window. When unselected, you can specify the Video Width and Video Height manually. This
option enables you to change the Options setting – setting the Preference Export Resolution
option described above to No.

• Show Preferences Dialog: This option turns the of the same name described above to Yes or
No.

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Chapter 19: Fetching an RSM Result
Summary
Currently, when you are 1) performing a multistep solution, 2) using the Mechanical APDL Solver, 3)
using the Remote Solve Manager (RSM), there is a beta option that enables you to retrieve load step-
based results during the solution process.

Once you have properly configured your remote resource using the RSM Configuration Application,
enabled the Remote Post feature, queued your solution in Mechanical (and waited for it to start), the
Solution object provides the context (right-click) menu option: Fetch Remote Results (illustrated below).
This option enables you to display result content for the most recently completed load step while the
solution is running.

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Fetching an RSM Result

Compatibility Requirements
Review the following compatibility requirements for the use of this feature. The Remote Post system:

• Requires enabling the beta key and feature flag prior to starting a solution (see next section).

• Will only work on cluster setups that support the IBM Platform MPI for inter-node communication.

• Does not encrypt or authenticate internal data connections. May not be appropriate for use on
unsecured networks.

• Selects a random port when initiating a connection between the server and Mechanical. Network
firewalls that block certain ports may interfere with functionality.

• Does not support Probes or Toolbox results.

Activate Beta Key and Option

Activate this feature from the Command Prompt. At the command prompt, type RunWB2.exe and
include the '-k Mechanical.RemotePostRSM' argument. This turns on the feature flag and opens
the Workbench application.

On the Workbench Project page, select the Tools menu and then Options. Select the Appearance
category, scroll down the dialog, select Beta Options, and select OK.

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Chapter 20: Explicit Dynamics Blast Analysis in
Mechanical
An initial prototype exposing the Autodyn blast analysis functionality in the Explicit Dynamics analysis
system is available through the EXD Euler Enhancements beta feature flag. To set this flag in Workbench,
open the Tools → Options dialog. Check the box next to the option in the Mechanical tab.

The functionality exposed under this beta feature for release 2024 R2 is as follows:

• Two different domain types for 2D Euler analyses:

– 1D wedge domain for performing a 1D blast

– 2D grid domain

• Exposure of the Detonation Point in 2D

• Output of data files (with file extension .fil) of the results of a 2D axisymmetric MME analysis to
be used for remapping into a 3D MME analysis

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Explicit Dynamics Blast Analysis in Mechanical

• Remapping from a 2D data file (extension .fil) into a 3D MME analysis in Mechanical exposed via
an ACT extension

20.1. Domain Types for 2D Multi Material Euler Solver

The 2D Multi Material Euler (MME) solver from the Ansys Autodyn solver has been exposed in the
Mechanical interface. Two domain types can be created:

• A wedge for performing 1D blast analyses

• A grid (box) for performing 2D MME analyses

The domain type is determined by the Euler Domain Controls in the analysis settings.

If the Domain Type is set to Wedge, the virtual MME domain created is a 1D wedge. For how to set
up a 1D wedge analysis, see Guidance on Setting up a 1D Wedge Analysis in Mechanical (p. 75).

If the Domain Type is set to Grid, the default virtual MME behaviour is activated: the virtual MME domain
created is a box and the controls work the same as for 3D virtual Euler MME domains with full Euler-
Lagrange coupling turned on in the Explicit Dynamics solver.

The option to output data files containing the information needed to remap the results from a 2D
axisymmetric MME domain into a subsequent analysis has been added to the Output Controls. The
option is Output Remap File and can be set to Off, On or Program Controlled. If set to Off, no data
files will be produced. If set to On, data files will be produced containing the data from any 2D MME
domains, at the same frequency as the results files. If set to Program Controlled, the data files will be
produced if there is a virtual MME domain of type Wedge, but will not be produced if there is no virtual
MME domain or if there is a virtual domain of type Grid.

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 Guidance on Setting up a 1D Wedge Analysis in Mechanical

The file name of the data files is of the form remap_{cycle}.fil, where {cycle} is the cycle number
at which the data file was produced. The data files can be used to initialize an 3D MME analysis in
Mechanical using the provided ACT extension (see Using the Euler Remap ACT Extension (p. 77)). They
are also of the correct file format to be used to fill Multi Material Euler and Euler Ideal Gas parts in the
Autodyn Component System.

20.2. Guidance on Setting up a 1D Wedge Analysis in Mechanical

First create an Explicit Dynamics system in the Workbench Project Schematic. Open the Properties for
the Geometry cell and set the Analysis Type under Advanced Geometry Options to 2D, and create
or import an appropriate geometry. For simple 1D wedge analyses consisting of a sphere of explosive
surrounded by the ambient material, a sample geometry has been provided with in
%AWP_ROOT212%\aisol \Samples\AUTODYN. To use the sample geometry, import the file
1D_wedge_geometry_for_blast.agdb. To change the radius of the explosive material, or the
blast radius, modify the parameters ExplosiveMaterialRadius or BlastRadius in DesignModeler.

If you need to create your own geometry, it is important to understand that the geometry of the virtual
MME wedge domain that will be created in the Explicit Dynamics solver. This is because the created
bodies designed to fill this virtual MME domain must cover the virtual MME domain completely (else
there will be void regions).

The wedge domain created in the solver will begin at the global origin and will run along the axis of
symmetry (see the following note (p. 75)). The wedge has an angle of 10 degrees. The bodies with
Reference Frame set to Eulerian (Virtual) must cover this region in space. An example of an appropriate
geometry is shown in Figure 20.1: Appropriate Geometry for a 1D Wedge Analysis (p. 76).

Note:

For users familiar with the Autodyn user interface, in Autodyn 2D axisymmetric models, the
axis of symmetry lies along the global X-axis. This is contrary to 2D axisymmetric models in
Mechanical, where the axis of symmetry lies along the global Y-axis. Therefore, all Explicit
Dynamics 2D axisymmetric models created in Mechanical must be set up assuming the axis
of symmetry is along the global Y-axis. This is appropriately handled in the Explicit Dynamics
solver by performing a coordinate transformation so that the axis of symmetry is mapped
onto the global X-axis.

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Explicit Dynamics Blast Analysis in Mechanical

Figure 20.1: Appropriate Geometry for a 1D Wedge Analysis

The geometry that makes up the wedge consists of two bodies: one to model the explosive (the smaller
green colored body), and the other to model the ambient material in which the explosion is taking
place (the larger brown colored body). Be sure that these two bodies do not overlap; otherwise the fill
into the Eulerian domain may not be as expected. The coordinate system displayed is the Global Co-
ordinate System. Note how the wedge is aligned with the global Y axis, and that the two bodies together
effectively form a sector of a circle centered at the global origin with a 10 degree angle at the center
of the sector. The shape shown here will also be the shape of the MME domain.

Once the geometry has been created or imported, the remainder of the model can be set up in Mech-
anical.

1. For a 1D wedge analysis, the 2D Behavior of the Geometry must be set to axisymmetric. The bodies
need to have the Reference Frame set to Eulerian (Virtual).

2. You should delete all objects under the Connections folder, including Contact Regions and Body
Interaction objects, since the analysis will be purely Eulerian.

3. Generate the mesh. The default mesh settings should be sufficient.

4. Insert a Detonation Point at X = 0, Y = 0.

5. Set the Analysis Settings:

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 Using the Euler Remap ACT Extension

• Step Controls:

– Time Step Safety Factor = 0.6666.

• Solver Controls:

– Detonation Burn Type = Program Controlled (for 2D analyses, this defaults to Direct) or Direct.

• Euler Domain Controls:

– Domain Type = Wedge.

– Minimum Y Coordinate = 0. M.

– Y Dimension - set to blast radius.

– Total Cells - set the total number of cells along the wedge. The resulting cell size will be the
Y Dimension divided by the Total Cells. Note that the more cells, the more accurate the simula-
tion, but the longer the run-time. It is recommended that the cell size is such that there are at
least 10 cells across the radius of the explosive material.

Note:

No grading of the mesh has been exposed at release 2024 R2. This is being considered
for a future release.

• Output Controls:

– Output Remap File – Set this to Program Controlled or On to trigger the output of data files
(.fil file format) to be used to remap the solution into a 3D analysis. The frequency of the
data files produced is the same frequency as the result file output. The files produced are named
remap_{cycle}.fil, where cycle is the cycle number that the data file is produced.

You can set Output Remap Files to On for other Eulerian domain types as long as the 2D Be-
havior is set to Axisymmetric; otherwise no remap files will be output (Program Controlled
regulates this behavior as well).

If there are no Euler domains present in the model, setting Output Remap Files to On is ignored
(a warning message is generated).

Prior to using any generated data files for remapping, you should inspect the results in order to ensure
that the blast wave has not reached the extents of the wedge at the cycle where the results will be
transferred during the remapping. This can be done by inserting User Defined results for variables such
as PRESSURE or INT_ENERGYALL, or by adding Pressure or Energy trackers.

20.3. Using the Euler Remap ACT Extension

The Euler Remap ACT Extension included with the standard Ansys installation provides a means to
remap results produced in a 1D wedge blast analysis into a 3D analysis containing an Euler Multi Mater-
ial virtual domain in an Explicit Dynamics analysis in Mechanical. The extension can only be used when
the EXD Euler Enhancements beta feature flag is switched on.

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Explicit Dynamics Blast Analysis in Mechanical

The EulerRemap extension must be loaded before it can be used. Select Extensions → Manage Exten-
sions... in Workbench and select the check box next to the extension to load it. Then add a 3D Explicit
Dynamics system to the project and create or import your geometry, and define the materials used in
Engineering Data. Once the extension is loaded and the materials and geometry have been fully defined,
the extension is ready to be used in Mechanical.

Note:

The extension will currently only work for 3D analyses.

To remap the data from a data file (.fil file), set up the analysis so that a virtual Euler domain will be
created. Then right-click the Explicit Dynamics system in the Project and insert an EulerRemap object.
The EulerRemap object has the following fields:

• Remap FileName – Choose the data file to use for the remapping. The data file could be from a 2D
MME analysis performed in an Explicit Dynamics system, or from an analysis performed in an Autodyn
component system.

• Remap Center X/Y/Z-Coordinate – Enter the coordinates in the 3D analysis where the origin of the
2D analysis should be mapped.

• Symmetry Axis Direction – Choose which axis in the 3D model aligns to the axis of symmetry from
the 2D axisymmetric analysis.

• Ignore Missing Materials?

– Yes – Any materials that are in the data file that do not exists in the 3D model (in other words,
they are not defined under the Materials object in Mechanical and they are also not assigned to a
body) will not be remapped.

– No – If there are any materials in the data file that do not exist in the 3D model (in other words,
they are not defined under the Materials object in Mechanical and they are not assigned to a body),
the 3D model will issue an error message and will not run.

• Generate parts for missing materials?

– Yes – If any materials defined under the Materials object in the 3D analysis are not assigned to a
body in Mechanical, the extension will automatically create a construction geometry part for that
material. See the notes (p. 79) on automatically generated parts.

– No – Do not automatically generate parts for missing materials. See the notes (p. 79) on automat-
ically generated parts.

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 Limitations

Notes on Automatically Generated Parts

When Generate parts for missing materials? is set to Yes, construction geometry parts are created
for existing materials in the project that are not assigned to a body. This ensures that these materials
can be successfully remapped into the 3D model, allowing them to be post-processed in the 3D model
in Mechanical. The autogenerated parts are created when you click Solve. Each part created is a cube
located at the remap center. The dimensions of the cube are chosen such that the part should have no
impact on the results of the analysis.

The parts are created using Construction Geometry Solids and are given a name of the format AutoGen-
erated_DummyBody_{material_name}, where {material_name} is the name of the material for which the
dummy part is created. The parts created from the construction geometry solid are set to Eulerian
(Virtual). Additionally, a Named Selection for each dummy part is created to assist with the scoping of
results to these parts for Post Processing.

20.4. Limitations
• EulerRemap object limitations:

– Only one EulerRemap object is permitted per analysis

– The object can be used in 3D analyses only

• Any objects generated by the EulerRemap object at solve time (for instance auto generated parts)
do not get deleted when you use Clear Generated Data.

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Chapter 21: Virtual Eulerian Surface Bodies
An initial prototype, which exposes the use of (Virtual) Eulerian surface bodies in the Explicit Dynamics
analysis system, is available through the Euler Enhancements beta feature flag. To set up this flag in
Workbench, follow these steps:

1. Open the Tools > Options dialog.

2. Check the box next to the option in the Mechanical tab.

• Two different (Virtual) Eulerian surface body options are supported for mapping material and
initial conditions into 3D Euler:

– Volume filling of the Eulerian domain, using closed single connected surface bodies

– Directional filling of the Eulerian domain, using surface bodies with a defined filling direc-
tion

Mapping of Surface Bodies with Euler Reference Frame to Virtual Euler Domain

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Virtual Eulerian Surface Bodies

• The standard mesh, which is generated on surface bodies marked with Eulerian (virtual) reference
frame, is only used to represent the geometry of the surface body during initialization of the model
for the solver. The material and initial conditions defined on surface bodies, which are marked as an
Eulerian reference frame, are mapped to the Euler domain. The mesh associated with the original
surface body is then deleted, prior to the solve. A unique material is created for each surface body
that is mapped into the Euler domain for post processing.

• If multiple solid and surface bodies marked as Eulerian overlap, the body higher in the Outline view
will take precedence. Therefore, the material assigned to the region of overlap will correspond with
the material assigned to the first Eulerian body.

21.1. Closed Single Connected Euler Surface Bodies

The domain of the 3D Multi Material Euler (MME) solver can be filled with material and initial conditions
using a closed single connected surface body. The interior of the closed surface body inside the Eulerian
domain will be filled with the material and initial conditions of that surface body.

A surface body is defined as a 3D (virtual) Euler body, when the Reference Frame of that surface body
is switched in the Geometry setting from Lagrange to Eulerian (Virtual).

Not only does this definition trigger the creation of the virtual MME domain, but the interior volume
of the closed surface body is used to fill the virtual MME domain with the material and initial condition
assigned to it.

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 Single Connected Euler Surface Bodies with Filling Direction

The surface must be single connected. This means that the surface consists of faces which only
connect a maximum of two faces along their edges, and no T-joints or multiple joints are allowed.

Note:

The thickness of the Eulerian surface body is not taken into account to compute the internal
filling volume. However, it needs to have a non-zero thickness value assigned.

21.1.1. Closed Single Connected Euler Surface Bodies with Holes or Openings
The closed single connected surface, that is used to map material and initial conditions into the MME
domain, may contain holes or openings. The mapping algorithm will generate a completely closed
Euler surface body by closing the holes and openings with triangular elements. The triangular elements
are generated from the nodes along the edge of a hole or opening and a central node in the middle
of the hole or opening, that has the average x-, y-, and z-coordinate of all nodes along the edges of
the hole or opening.

Figure 21.1: Example of (a) Euler Surface with Holes and Openings, (b) Closing of Holes and
Openings in Euler Surface, and (c) Resulting Material Mapping into MME Euler Domain

21.2. Single Connected Euler Surface Bodies with Filling Direction

The domain of the 3D Multi Material Euler (MME) solver can be filled with material and initial conditions
using a single connected surface body in combination with a filling direction. The filling direction is
defined by the direction of the z-axis of a local coordinate system, which is scoped to the Eulerian filling
surface. To be used as a filling coordinate system, the origin of the local coordinate system should not
coincide with the origin of the global coordinate system.

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Virtual Eulerian Surface Bodies

The extruded volume of the Euler surface body in the z-direction of the selected local coordinate system
inside the 3D Multi Material Euler (MME) domain will be filled with the material and initial conditions
of the surface body.

The extruded volume will extend to the boundary planes of the 3D Multi Material Euler (MME) domain.

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 Limitations

Figure 21.2: Example of (a) Euler Surface Body with Defined Filling Direction , (b) Location of
Euler Surface Body in MME Euler Domain, and (c) Resulting Material Mapping into MME Euler
Domain

21.3. Limitations
• The following are some Euler surface body limitations:

– Eulerian surface bodies are used in 3D analyses only.

– Eulerian surface bodies are deleted after mapping of the material and initial conditions to the Euler
MME domain, and are not available for structural analysis.

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Chapter 22: Command Objects for SPH Settings
These beta command objects are available as an option to control the solution settings for the SPH
solver in Explicit Dynamics analyses. Although the default options are usually sufficient for many applic-
ations, these command objects may be used to overcome any numerical problems exhibited by an
analysis, such as tensile instability. For further information, see Command Objects in Explicit Dynamics.

To access the command objects, turn on Beta in the Workbench options.

SPHSETTINGS,DENSITYCALC,CONTINUITYEQ Calculate the density using the continuity

equation (Default)
SPHSETTINGS,DENSITYCALC,KERNELSUM Calculate the density using a kernel sum
SPHSETTINGS,SMOOTHINGLENGTH,CONSTANT Use a constant smoothing length (Default)
SPHSETTINGS,SMOOTHINGLENGTH,VARIABLE Use a variable smoothing length
SPHSETTINGS,SMOOTHINGFUNCTION,CUBICSPLINE Use the cubic B-spline as the weighting
function (Default)
SPHSETTINGS,SMOOTHINGFUNCTION,QUINTICSPLINE Use a quintic spline as the weighting
function
SPHSETTINGS,VISCOSITYOPTION,SPHWITHSHEARCORRECTION Use the Monaghan type artificial viscosity
(Default)
SPHSETTINGS,VISCOSITYOPTION,STANDARD Use the Neumann and Richtmyer artificial
viscosity

Density Calculation
Two alternative methods for calculating density have been implemented—the continuity equation is
the default method. Calculating the density by kernel sum is activated using the beta command object
shown in the table above. The default option is the most common found in the literature, and it works
well for a wide range of applications. However, under certain circumstances, inconsistencies in the SPH
equations may result in negative densities and numerical issues. In such cases, the density calculation
by kernel sum may overcome such problems.

Variable Smoothing
The accuracy and robustness of the SPH processor depends on the quality (in particular, the number)
of the local neighboring particles. In expansive flow of material, the distance between SPH particles
increases. If this distance exceeds twice the smoothing length of the particles, the two particles will no
longer interact. This loss of interaction may be unphysical and is commonly described as 'numerical
fracture'.

In an attempt to reduce the problem of numerical fracture, an option to add a variable smoothing
length has been included as a beta functionality, which can be activated by a command object. When

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Command Objects for SPH Settings

activated, as particles separate and their density decreases, their smoothing length increases so that
interaction with neighboring particles is maintained.

Since changes in the smoothing length result from changes in density, the variable smoothing option
works well for isotropic flows. However, for many continuum dynamics applications, anisotropic flow
is observed. For example, in plastic flow of metals, the volume (hence density) is almost constant while
the deformations are grossly anisotropic. The current implementation of variable smoothing does not
work well in such situations and numerical fracture is often unavoidable.

SPH Artificial Viscosity

There are two types of artificial viscosity available for the SPH solver. The default option is the Monaghan-
type artificial viscosity, which is described in Damping Controls. This is the recommended formulation
to use. The Neumann and Richtmyer form of artificial viscosity is the second option. Refer to the table
above to use the respective command objects.

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Chapter 23: Export Material Calibration Results as
New or Updated Materials in Mechanical
A beta feature allows you to save material calibration results as new materials when you run the Ansys
Material Calibration App from within Mechanical.

Use the Ansys Material Calibration App to calibrate your test data against a material model. You can
then export the results directly into your model as a new material, merge properties that were recorded
under different temperatures, or replace the properties of an existing material with calibration results.
This skips the step of accessing the Engineering Data workspace to add or update a material in your
model.

Note:

As needed, see the Activate Beta Options (p. 1) section to make the feature available.

Export Material Calibration Results as New or Updated Materials

To calibrate a material from within Mechanical and export the results:

1. Click the Material Calibration App icon on the Materials context menu or right-
click the Materials object and select Material Calibration App from the menu.

The application launches in a separate browser window as shown below.

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Export Material Calibration Results as New or Updated Materials in Mechanical

2. Follow the steps in the ANSYS Material Calibration Guide (Standalone) to load your test data into
the Material Calibration application and calibrate the data against a material model.

3. When the calibration is finished, click the Export icon . The Export settings window displays
as shown below. The names of the calibrated material models are shown under Models.

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4. Select the material model(s) to export and click OK.

Warning:

The Ansys Material Calibration App and Mechanical do not check whether exported
calibration results contain mutually exclusive (or redundant) material models. Assigning
a material with mutually exclusive material models can cause the solution to fail. This
is especially a problem if you select multiple hyperelastic material models when you
are exporting material calibration results.

To avoid this problem, review the selected material models before you export them.
Only export valid combinations of material models to the same material. See Valid Ma-
terial Model Combinations for a list.

5. Choose how to export the results of your material calibration:

• To save the calibration results as a new material, follow the steps in Save Exported Material Cal-
ibration Results as a New Material (p. 92).

• To merge the calibration results with the properties of an existing material, follow the steps in
Merge Material Calibration Results (p. 92).

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Export Material Calibration Results as New or Updated Materials in Mechanical

• To replace the properties of an existing material with the calibration results, follow the steps in
Overwrite Target Material with Material Calibration Results (p. 93).

After the export process finishes, you can assign the new or updated material to objects in your model.

Save Exported Material Calibration Results as a New Material

Use Create New Material to export material calibration results as a new material:

1. In the Export settings window, select Create New Material from the Materials drop-down menu.

2. Enter the name of the new material in the Material Name field.

3. Click OK.

The exported calibration results are saved as a new material. It is listed under the Materials object in
the Outline pane of the model. You can view the properties of the new material in the Engineering
Data Material View window.

Merge Material Calibration Results

Some materials exhibit different properties under different physical conditions. For example, the prop-
erties of a material can vary according to temperature. To model these materials, measure their properties
under different physical conditions and use the Ansys Material Calibration App to compute material
properties from the test results. Use Merge to combine the exported properties with those of the target
material. This stores the material properties that you calibrated for the different physical conditions
under test.

How Merge Affects the Properties of the Target Material

• You can merge multiple exported material models with the target material.

• If you select a material model that is not contained in the target material, the Material Calibration
application appends the calibration results to the target material. (This applies regardless of temper-
ature.)

• If you select a material model that is contained in the target material and was calibrated at the same
temperature, the Material Calibration application overwrites the target material model's properties
with the exported calibration results.

• If you select a material model that is contained in the target material but was calibrated at a different
temperature, the Material Calibration application appends the exported calibration results to the
target material.

Merging Exported Material Calibration Results

To merge material calibration results with the properties of an existing material:

1. In the Export settings window, select the name of the material from the Materials drop-down
menu.

2. Select Merge from the Import Options drop-down menu.

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The exported calibration results are merged with the properties of the selected material as described
earlier in this section. You can view the merged material properties in the Engineering Data Material
View window.

Overwrite Target Material with Material Calibration Results

Use Overwrite to completely replace the properties of an existing material with the exported material
calibration results.

1. In the Export settings window, select the name of the target material from the Materials drop-
down menu.

2. Select Overwrite from the Import Options drop-down menu.

All of the properties of the target material are replaced by the exported calibration results. You can
view the updated properties of the material in the Engineering Data Material View window.

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Chapter 24: TPA Workflow for FRF Calculator
Summary
A Transfer Path Analysis (TPA) workflow is available from the FRF Calculator in the NVH Toolkit, offering
functions and properties as described below.

The following options are available under the FRF Calculator Details.

Start TPA Workflow

Binary property to start the TPA workflow.

Component Type

Binary property to select Active/Passive. Exposed if the Start TPA Workflow property is enabled.

Input Degrees of Freedom

Input the preferred DOFs as a comma-separated string of text (such as fx,fy,fz,mx,my,mz).

This option is only available when using the Start TPA Workflow option with the Component Type
set to Active.

Nodes Definition

If Start TPA Workflow is set to Yes, Nodes Definition will be set read-only to Named Selections.
When the Component Type is set to Active, the Input Nodes and Grouped Named Selection
Connectivity Nodes properties will be shown. When the Component Type is set to Passive, the
Output Nodes and Grouped Named Selection Connectivity Nodes properties will be shown.

Grouped Named Selection Connectivity Nodes

Group of Nodal Named Selections that defines the Connectivity Nodes of the FRF Worksheet. Only
one Named Selection is allowed.

If the Start TPA Workflow property is selected, once the FRF Worksheet table is filled, all the columns
will be read-only except for the Name column. If you have selected an Active component, Output
Node and Output DOF change to Connectivity Node and Connectivity DOF respectively. If you have
selected a Passive component, Input Node and Input DOF change to Connectivity Node and Con-
nectivity DOF.

Additionally, If you have selected the Start TPA Workflow property, you can only export displacement
data from the FRF Plotter to an h5 file, which will be the input for the TPA Calculator.

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