Chapter 2

Nonlinear Structural
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
Chapter Overview Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• The following will be covered in this Chapter:
– General Background on Nonlinear Theory
– Setting Up Nonlinear Analyses
– Metal Plasticity
– Solving Nonlinear Models
– Reviewing Results

• The capabilities described in this section are generally

applicable to ANSYS Structural licenses and above.
– Exceptions will be noted accordingly

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
A. Background on Linear Analysis Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• In Chapter 4 of the Workbench – Simulation Intro course,
the assumptions and restrictions related to performing
linear static structural analysis were covered:
– The matrix equation solved for is Hooke’s Law:

 K  x   F  F
– Because [K] is assumed to be constant,
essentially only linear behavior is allowed K
– As shown on the figure on the right, if the
force doubles, the displacement (and stresses) x
are assumed to double in linear analysis
– In many real-world situations, however, this small-
displacement theory may not be valid. In these situations,
nonlinear analysis may be required.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Background on Nonlinear Analysis Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• There are three main sources of nonlinearities:
– Geometric nonlinearities: If a structure
experiences large deformations, its
changing geometric configuration can
cause nonlinear behavior.

– Material nonlinearities: A nonlinear stress-strain

relationship, such as metal plasticity shown on
the right, is another source of nonlinearities.

– Contact: Include effects of contact is a type

of “changing status” nonlinearity, where an
abrupt change in stiffness may occur when
bodies come into or out of contact with each
other.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Background on Nonlinear Analysis Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• In a nonlinear static analysis, the stiffness [K] is dependent
on the displacement {x}:

 K  x   x   F 
– The resulting force vs. displacement curve
may be nonlinear, as shown on the right, so
doubling the force does not necessarily
F
result in doubling of the displacements
and stresses
– A nonlinear analysis is an iterative solution
because this relationship between load (F)
and response (x) is not known beforehand
x
– No time-dependent effects are considered.

• It is important to remember these assumptions related to

performing nonlinear static analyses in Simulation.
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Newton-Raphson Method Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Nonlinear solutions require several iterations
– The actual relationship between load and
displacement (shown with a yellow dotted line) is not
known beforehand
– Consequently, a series of linear approximations with
corrections is performed. This is a simplified
explanation of the Newton-Raphson method (shown
as solid red lines)
• In the Newton-Raphson Method, the total Newton-Raphson Method
load Fa is applied in iteration 1. The result Fa
is x1. From the displacements, the internal 4
3
forces F1 can be calculated. If F a  F1, then
the system is not in equilibrium. Hence, 2
F1
a new stiffness matrix (slope of red line) is
calculated based on the current conditions. 1
The difference of Fa - F1 is the out-of-balance
or residual forces. The residual forces must
be ‘small’ enough for the solution to converge. x1 x
• This process is repeated until F a = Fi. In this example,
after iteration 4, the system achieves equilibrium and the
solution is said to be converged.
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solution Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• It is useful to understand how loads are managed
– Load steps are changes in general loading.
• Simulation usually solves all nonlinear models with one load step, but,
in the case of Pretension Bolt Loads, this is done in two load steps.
The bolt preload is applied first, then all other loads are applied next.
These load steps can be thought of as Fa and Fb.
– Substeps apply the loads in an incremental fashion
• Because of the complex response, it
may be necessary to apply the load Fb
incrementally. For example, Fa1 may be Fb2
near 50% of the Fa load. After the load Fb1
for Fa1 is converged, then the full Fa load
Fa
is applied. Fa has 2 substeps while Fb
has 3 substeps in this example Fa1

– Equilibrium iterations are the corrective

solutions to obtain a converged substep
xa xb
• In the example on right, the iterations between the dotted white lines
indicate equilibrium iterations.
Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Background on Nonlinear Analysis Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• In Simulation, the following types of nonlinear static structural
analyses are directly available via the GUI:
– Large deflection effects
– Nonlinear contact (I.e. frictionless, frictional, no separation)
– Metal plasticity (Bi-linear or Multi-linear Isotropic Hardening).

• Many more advanced nonlinear features are not available

directly in the Simulation interface.
• These items can be added with Command Objects
– Advanced Nonlinear material models (i.e. Creep, Hyperelasticity…)
– Nonlinear solution options, element formulations, and advanced
contact options
– Advanced time-history postprocessing

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
B. Nonlinear Analysis Setup Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• The procedure for nonlinear static analysis is very similar
to performing a linear static analysis, so not all steps will
be covered in detail. The steps in yellow italics include
options that are specific to nonlinear analyses.
– Attach Geometry
– Assign Material Properties (with metal plasticity, if applicable)
• This will be covered in detail in Section C
– Define Contact Options (if applicable)
– Define Mesh Controls (optional)
– Include Loads and Supports
– Request Results
– Set Nonlinear Solution Options
– Solve the Model
– Review Results

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Geometry (Solid Bodies) Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Solid bodies are supported for large-deflection analyses
with ANSYS Structural licenses and above.
– Advanced users can change the “Brick Integration Scheme”
from “Full” to “Reduced,” which may be useful for large-
deformation problems.

ANSYS License Availability

DesignSpace Entra
DesignSpace
Professional
Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
x
x
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Geometry (Line/Surface Bodies) Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• ANSYS Professional licenses and above support large-
deformation analyses with surface or line bodies.
– Note that ANSYS Professional does not support a combination
of line and surface bodies. ANSYS Structural and above must
be used in these cases.

ANSYS License Availability

DesignSpace Entra
DesignSpace
Professional
Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
x
x
x
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Solid Body Contact Options Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• All of the contact options available in linear static analyses
are also available for nonlinear, large-deflection analyses in
ANSYS Structural licenses and above:
Contact Geometry Solid Body Face Solid Body Edge Surface Body Face Surface Body Edge
Solid Body Face All types Bonded, No Separation Bonded, No Separation Bonded only
All formulations All formulations All formulations MPC formulation
Symmetry respected Asymmetric only Symmetry respected Asymmetric only
Solid Body Edge Bonded, No Separation Bonded, No Separation Bonded only
All formulations All formulations MPC formulation
Asymmetric only Asymmetric only Asymmetric only
Surface Body Face Bonded, No Separation Bonded only
All formulations MPC formulation
Symmetry respected Asymmetric only
Surface Body Edge Bonded only
MPC formulation
Asymmetric only

• In general, face-to-face contact for solid bodies is the only

type of contact which supports advanced nonlinear options
– Most other contact involving surface bodies or solid edges
support bonded (and no separation) contact only
ANSYS License Availability
DesignSpace Entra
DesignSpace /
Professional
Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
/
x
x
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Meshing Controls Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Meshing considerations are usually the same in nonlinear
analyses. However, if large strains are expected, the shape
checking option may be changed to “Aggressive”
– For large-deflection analyses, if elements may undergo some
change in shape, this may reduce the fidelity of the solution
– By using “Aggressive” shape checking, Simulation will ensure
that the element quality is much better prior to solution in
order to anticipate distortion of the element in the course of a
large-strain analysis.
• The quality of the “Standard” shape checking is suitable for linear
analyses, so it does not need to be changed in linear analyses
– With “aggressive” shape checking set,
some mesh failures may be more likely.
See Ch. 3 from the Workbench Simulation -
Intro course for some ways to detect and
ANSYS License
remedy mesh failures.
Availability
DesignSpace Entra /
DesignSpace /
Professional
Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
/
x
x
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Loads and Supports Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Most loads and supports used in linear analyses may also
be used in large-deflection analyses
– Thermal-stress analyses are supported for large-deflection
analyses.
• See Chapter 6 of the Workbench – Simulation Intro course on
details of performing thermal analyses
• ANSYS Structural licenses do not support any thermal loads
– Recall that ANSYS Professional does not support large-
deflection analyses for solid bodies

• Two unique items for loads and supports in large-deflection

analyses will be covered next
– Orientation of loads for large-deflection
– Pretension Bolt Load

ANSYS License Availability

DesignSpace Entra
DesignSpace
Professional
Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
/
/
x
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Load Orientation Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• It is important to note the orientation of loads and its effect
on the structure in large-deflection analyses:
Direction Before Direction After
Load Deflection Deflection

Acceleration
(constant direction)

Force, Moment,
Bolt Load
(constant direction)

Pressure
(always normal to
surface)

ANSYS License Availability

DesignSpace Entra
DesignSpace
Professional
Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
x
x
x
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Pretension Bolt Load Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• A Pretension Bolt Load is available in ANSYS Structural
– Pretension Bolt Load is applied on a single cylindrical surface
• Each load must be applied to only one set of cylindrical surface(s)
• For multiple loads, add separate Pretension Bolt Loads branches
– Usually, a preload value is input in the Details view
• If the torque is known, this can be converted to a preload force
• If known, an initial adjustment can be directly applied
– Internally, preloads are applied in two steps
• The preload value is applied first, which shortens the grip length
• The grip length is then fixed, and any other loads are then applied

ANSYS License Availability

DesignSpace Entra
DesignSpace
Professional
Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
x
x
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Pretension Bolt Load Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• A Pretension Bolt Load is useful to account for the effect of
the preload in bolts, which is caused by their tightening
– The loss of preload and the effect the preload has on contact
regions can be included in this manner, enabling for more
complex simulation of real-world assemblies.
• Contact options for parts connected with fasteners should be set
separately in the Contact branch. The Pretension Bolt Load only
controls the load on the cylindrical surface representing the bolt.
– The adjustment or preload is applied in two steps.
• In real life, if the fastener is tightened, its grip length changes.
• Simulation mimics this the same way by first applying only the
preload or adjustment. If the preload is defined, the adjustment
(shortening of the grip length) is calculated. The given or
calculated adjustment shortens the grip length of the bolt.
• All other external loads are then applied in the second load step,
once the grip length is shortened.
ANSYS License Availability
DesignSpace Entra
DesignSpace
Professional
Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
x
x
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Pretension Bolt Load Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• In large-deflection analyses, the orientation of the
Pretension Bolt Load is not updated
– The Pretension Bolt Load should not be applied on any part
that undergoes large rotation

• The Pretension Bolt Load is applied in the center of the

solid body containing the cylindrical surface
– Verify the mesh, and ensure that no constraints or bonded
contact is present near the center of the ‘bolt’ solid body.
Otherwise, the preload may be overconstrained.

• The Adjustment and Working Load can be reviewed

– After the solution, in the Details view, the
adjustment caused by the preload is shown.
Also, the working load is provided, so the user
can determine how much preload was lost.
ANSYS License Availability
DesignSpace Entra
DesignSpace
The Adjustment and Working Load information is also
Professional
Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
x
x
available in the Worksheet tab of the Environment branch
Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
C. Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

What is plasticity?
• When a ductile material experiences stresses beyond the
elastic limit, it will yield, acquiring large permanent
deformations.
– Plasticity refers to the material response beyond yield.
– Plastic response is important for metal forming operations.
– Plasticity is also important as an energy-absorbing mechanism
for structures in service.
• Materials that fail with little plastic deformation are said to be brittle.
• Ductile response is safer in many respects than is brittle response.

• This section will review some basics of plasticity by defining

certain terminology.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Elasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

Review of Elasticity:
• Before proceeding to a discussion on plasticity, it may be
useful to review elasticity of metals.
– In elastic response, if the induced stresses are below the
material’s yield strength, the material can fully recover its
original shape upon unloading.
– From a standpoint of metals, this behavior is due to the
stretching but not breaking of chemical bonds between atoms.
Because elasticity is due to this stretching of atomic bonds, it
is fully recoverable. Moreover, these elastic strains tend to be
small.
– Elastic behavior of metals is most commonly described by the
stress-strain relationship of Hooke’s Law:

  E
Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

Review of Plasticity:
• Plastic deformation results from slip between planes of
atoms due to shear stresses (deviatoric stresses). This
dislocation motion is essentially atoms in the crystal
structure rearranging themselves to have new neighbors
– results in unrecoverable strains or permanent deformation
after load is removed.
– slipping does not generally result in any volumetric strains
(condition of incompressibility), unlike elasticity

Yield Strength y

Unloading

Elastic Plastic 

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Rate-Independent Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

Rate-Independent Plasticity:
• If the material response is not dependent on the rate of
loading or deformation, the material is said to be rate-
independent.
– Most metals exhibit rate-independent behavior at low
temperatures (< 1/4 or 1/3 melting temperature) and low strain
rates.

Engineering vs. True Stress-Strain:

• While engineering stress-strain can be used for small-strain
analyses, true stress-strain must be used for plasticity, as
they are more representative measures of the state of the
material.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… True Stress and Strain Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

Engineering vs. True Stress-Strain (cont’d):
• If presented with engineering stress-strain data, one can
convert these values to true stress-strain with the following
approximations:
– Up until twice the strain at which yielding occurs:

   eng    eng
– Up until the point at which necking occurs:
   eng 1   eng    ln 1   eng 
Note that, only for stress conversion, the following is assumed:
• Material is incompressible (acceptable approximation for large strains)
• Stress distribution across cross-section of specimen is assumed to be
uniform.
– Beyond necking:
• There is no conversion equation relating engineering to true stress-strain at
necking. The instantaneous cross-section must be measured.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Yield Criterion (Yield Point) Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

Yield Criterion:
• The yield criteria is used to relate multiaxial stress state with
the uniaxial case.
– Tensile testing on specimens provide uniaxial data, which can
easily be plotted on one-dimensional stress-strain curves, such
as those presented earlier in this section.
– The actual structure usually exhibits multiaxial stress state.
The yield criterion provides a scalar invariant measure of the
stress state of the material which can be compared with the
uniaxial case.

• A common yield criterion is the von Mises yield criterion

(also known as the octahedral shear stress or distortion
energy criterion). The von Mises equivalent stress is
defined as:

o 
1
2
 
 x   y  2   y   z  2   z   x  2  6  xy2   yz2   xz2  Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Mises Yield Criterion Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• If plotted in principal stress space, the von Mises yield
surface is a cylinder.
Inside the yield surface, as noted earlier, behavior is elastic. Note that the
multiaxial stress state can exist anywhere inside of the cylinder. At the edge of
the cylinder (circle), yielding will occur. No stress state can exist outside of
the cylinder. Instead, hardening rules will describe how the cylinder changes
with respect to yielding.

1 

Plastic
y

Elastic 

2 Principal Stress Space

3 Uniaxial Stress-Strain

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Hardening Rules Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

Hardening Rules:
• The hardening rule describes how the yield surface
changes (size, center,shape) as the result of plastic
deformation.
• The hardening rule determines when the material will yield
again if the loading is continued or reversed.
– This is in contrast to elastic-perfectly-plastic materials which
exhibit no hardening -- i.e., the yield surface remains fixed.

Plastic

Yield Surface after Loading

Elastic
Initial Yield Surface
Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Isotropic Hardening Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

Isotropic Hardening:
• Isotropic hardening states that the yield surface expands
uniformly during plastic flow. The term ‘isotropic’ refers to
the uniform dilatation of the yield surface and is different
from an ‘isotropic’ yield criterion (i.e., material orientation).

1 

Subsequent
Yield Surface '

y
'

Initial Yield
Surface 

2 3

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Isotropic Hardening Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Plotting the stress-strain curve enables an understanding
of what occurs during a loading and reverse loading cycle:

 Note that the subsequent

’ yield in compression is
y equal to the highest stress
attained during the tensile
phase.
2 ’

Isotropic hardening is often
used for large strain or
proportional loading
simulations. It is usually
not applicable cyclic
loading.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Stress-Strain Curve Representation Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

Curve shapes
• Two different type of stress-strain curve representations
are possible:

 

 

Bilinear Multilinear

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Summary of Plasticity in Simulation Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• In Simulation, metal plasticity can be included as part of the
model. The following points should be remembered:
– Metal plasticity deals with elastic and inelastic (permanent)
deformation. Inelastic or plastic deformation occurs when the
stress is higher than the yield strength. There will always be
some recoverable strain (elastic strain) upon unloading.
– A stress-strain curve is based on scalar data, usually from a
uniaxial test. A system may undergo a multiaxial stress state, so
Simulation uses the Mises yield criterion to relate a multiaxial
stress state with scalar test data. In this situation, true stress vs.
strain data should be supplied.
– After yielding occurs, the yield point may increase due to strain
hardening. This changes the yield surface, and the way in which
it evolves in Simulation is determined by isotropic hardening
assumption.
– The stress-strain curve can be represented by a bilinear or
multilinear curve.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Material Properties Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Linear elastic material properties must be supplied
– The same requirements exist for linear static structural
analyses, namely that Young’s Modulus and Poisson’s Ratio
must be defined as a minimum.

• Metal plasticity is available as a nonlinear material model.

This will be discussed next.
– Other nonlinear constitutive models may be added with the
Preprocessing Command Builder
– However, note that only ANSYS Structural licenses and above
support nonlinear material laws.
• ANSYS Professional supports large-deflection analyses of surface
or line bodies, but it does not support any material nonlinearities

ANSYS License Availability

DesignSpace Entra
DesignSpace
Professional
Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
x
x
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• To add metal plasticity, first navigate to the specific part or
parts under the geometry branch. In the Details window,
highlight the material you wish to modify

ANSYS License Availability

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Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Right side of the Engineering Data application shows the
currently defined properties. Choose “Add/Remove
Properties” to continue.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Select either “Bilinear” or “Multilinear Isotropic Hardening”
under “Nonlinear > Plasticity”.
– Multilinear representation usually provides a more accurate
description of stress-strain curve than Bilinear.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• To enter or modify the plasticity definition click either chart
icons for the property.

Chart Icons

• To return to the general material property display use the

“Close Curve” icon.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Bilinear Stress-Strain Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• The Bilinear Stress-Strain requires two input values:
– The “Yield Strength” and “Tangent Modulus” is input in the
Details view.

The yield strength is the value at

which plastic straining occurs.
The tangent modulus is the slope
of the stress-strain curve after
yielding.
As the name implies, the “Bilinear
Stress-Strain” provides a simple
representation of metal plasticity

ANSYS License Availability

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Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Multilinear Stress-Strain Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• The Multilinear Stress-Strain allows stress-strain input:
– Right-click on the spreadsheet to add rows
– Input as many Strain and Stress values as needed
– The stress-strain plot will be displayed dynamically

The origin (0,0) should be the first

point. Also, ensure that the second
point has the same slope as the
Young’s modulus.
Simulation assumes perfect plasticity
(zero slope) beyond the defined
stress-strain values.

ANSYS License Availability

DesignSpace Entra
DesignSpace
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Structural
Mechanica l/Multiphysics
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x
Februar
 Workshop 2A
Large Deflection with Metal
Plasticity
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
D. Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Goal
– Compare and contrast results using small deflection, large deflection and large
deflection with metal plasticity on a model with identical loads and boundary
conditions.

• Model Description
3D large deflection of spring plate
– Spring plate
– Ductile steel

Loads and Boundary Conditions:

– Fixed support
– 3 Mpa Pressure load at opposite end

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

Steps to Follow:
• Start an ANSYS Workbench session. Browse for and open “Spring_ws01.wbdb”
project file.
– This project contains a Design Modeler (DM) geometry file “Spring_ws01.agdb” and a
Simulation (S) file “Spring_ws01.dsdb”.

• Highlight the the Model, Small Deflection-Linear Mat’l (Spring_ws01.dsdb) file and
open a Simulation Session.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Review the contents of the model

Highlight geometry “Solid” branch and

examine the Details of “Solid ”Window
(lower left corner of screen). Note we
will start with a structure steel and
Nonlinear Material Effects off.

The boundary conditions and load

(3Mpa Pressure) have already been
defined.

Highlight the “Solution” branch.

Note: We accept the default settings,
including Large Deflection “Off”

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Add a Solution Information Folder to the
Solution Branch

• Run the Solution

– Solution, RMB SOLVE

• After solution run is complete, open the

Solution Information folder and scroll to
near the bottom of the output. As
expected, this solves in one iteration.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Review the displacement and stress results from this first run.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Highlight the “Small Deflection- Linear
Mat’l” Branch at the top of the Project
Tree, and duplicate this Branch with
RMB=> Duplicate.
• Change the new branch name to “Large
Deflection - Linear Mat’l”
• Highlight Solution Branch and turn Large
Deflection “ON”
– The Project tree should look as shown in
figure to the right.

• Execute a Solve on this new Solution…

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• After solution run is complete, open the Solution Information folder and scroll to near
the bottom of the output. Note the solution still solves in one substep, but 9 iterations
were made on the stiffness matrix during the run to account for large deflection effects.

• Change Solution Output to Force Convergence to review the Newton-Raphson History.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Review the large deflection analysis displacement and stress results and compare with the
first run. Note: Total Deformation is larger, but max equivalent stress is actually slightly
lower and in a different location then the linear run.

• Extra Credit: To better understand the differences, try post processing x and y deflections
and equivalent strains separately for both runs. Note the dramatic increase in the y
deflections especially and the different distributions of strain energies.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Highlight the “Large Deflection- Linear Mat’l”
Branch and duplicate this Branch with
RMB=> Duplicate.
• Change the new branch name to “Large
Deflection-NonLinear Mat’l”
• Add metal plasticity:
– Highlight Geometry “Solid” branch
– Activate Nonlinear material effects (YES)
– RMB on Structural Steel
– Select Edit Structural Steel…

• Select “Add/Remove Properties”

• Activate Bilinear Isotropic Hardening

Plasticity
– [OK]
Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Click on the ICON to the right of Bilinear Isotropic Hardening

• Define Yield Strength of 250Mpa and a Tangent Modulus of 10000Mpa.

• Select “Close Curve”

• Return to project tree

and execute a solve on
this latest Solution
Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• This last solution run can take up to two minutes depending on machine.
– Review the Solution Convergence History as before.
– It now takes 42 iterations in eight substeps, including two bisections.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Review the displacement and stress results and compare with the large deflection run.
Note: Total Deformation is considerably larger and stresses come down due to the
dramatic loss of stiffness as part goes plastic.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Workshop 2A – Metal Plasticity Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Add Equivalent Plastic Strain to the solution branch for a better picture of where most
of the yielding occurs.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
E. Solving Nonlinear Models Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• The solution options for nonlinear analyses are the same
for linear analyses. However, for large-deflection problems,
the user has an additional option of turning on “Large
Deflection”
– Use of the Large Deflection option accounts for changes in the
geometry during the course of the analysis.
– ANSYS Professional only supports large-deflection analyses
for surface or line bodies.
– The Newton-Raphson method is employed in nonlinear
solutions (see next slides)

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Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solution Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Simulation automates nonlinear solutions by automatically
determining the number of load steps, substeps, and
equilibrium iterations
– In this way, the user does not have to worry about these
settings. However, as will be shown later, it is very useful to
understand these concepts in dealing with nonlinear solutions
– During the course of the analysis, if Simulation has trouble
converging, it will bisect the solution.
• This means that Simulation will apply the load in smaller
increments (more substeps). This usually helps for difficult
problems since the response will be easier to converge if a smaller
load is applied. The final, total load will be solved for in the end.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solution Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

– The number of load steps is usually set to 1
• If Pretension Bolt Loads are present, there will be 2 load steps
• For thermal-stress analyses, the thermal analysis is performed first
as a separate analysis. Hence, this part is not considered a load
step since it is a different type of analysis.
– The initial number of substeps is usually set to 1
• If frictional contact with a Friction Coefficient  0.2 is present, this
results in 5 initial substeps
– The max number of equilibrium iterations is usually around 20
• The type of contact will dictate the maximum number of equilibrium
iterations
• If a substep cannot be converged within the specified number of
equilibrium iterations, Simulation will bisect the solution. It will
apply half of the current load and run equilibrium iterations again
to converge. Usually, this is repeated until 10% of the load is
applied. If the solution still does not converge, Simulation will stop
and produce an error message.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solution Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Auto Time Stepping specifications can be changed within
Simulation in the Details of Solution Window:
– Change Auto Time Stepping from “Program Controlled” to “On”
– Manually define the initial, minimum and maximum values.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solution Output Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Nonlinear solution output from the ANSYS solver
is requested with the “Solution Information” branch
– When requested, the “Solution Information” branch
may be used to display Solver Output or Force
Convergence progress, among a number of other
options from the pull-down menu
– The “Update Interval” allows users to specify (in seconds)
how frequency this output is updated
– The “Solver Output” and “Force Convergence” provide details
on the nonlinear solution progress.

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Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solver Output Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Nonlinear solutions, especially those dealing with
frictionless or frictional contact, can be difficult to solve
• During the solution, it is useful to become familiar with
reading the ANSYS solver output
– In the “Solution Information” branch, informative messages
about the solution, solver, and contact settings are usually
printed first when solution is initiated
• It may be useful to browse through the contact information (sample
below) to ensure that initial gaps or initial penetration is not very
large. If an initial gap is automatically closed, this will also be
printed in the output.

In this example, the initial penetration 7e-5 may be very small compared
to the dimensions of the model, so it can be ignored. These small values
of penetration or gaps may be caused by the mesh discretization.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solver Output Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

– As the nonlinear solution progresses, the equilibrium iteration
information is shown (sample below)
• Note that for each equilibrium iteration, the residual forces (FORCE
CONVERGENCE VALUE) must be lower than the CRITERION
• Ideally, the residual or out-of-balance forces should be zero for a
system to be in equilibrium. However, because of machine
precision and practical concerns, Simulation determines a value
small enough to result in negligible error. This value is the
CRITERION, and the FORCE CONVERGENCE VALUE must be
smaller than the CRITERION for the substep to be converged.
• In the example below, after 3 equilibrium iterations, the residual
forces are lower than the criterion, so the solution is converged.
• Informative messages (such as convergence or bisection) are
noted with “>>>” and “<<<“ in the output.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solver Output Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• By understanding how to read the solution output, potential
problems can be detected early on
– In the contact output below, there are notes of initial
penetration and initial gaps.
• One should always verify automatically-generated contact regions
• The improper specification of contact may cause convergence
difficulties, so reading the contact output would be helpful in
determining if any contact region is problematic
• Initial penetration/gaps are reported in active length units

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solver Output Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

– During the equilibrium iterations, reviewing the pattern of the
residual forces will help determine if a solution is diverging
• In the example below, the residual forces (FORCE CONVERGENCE
VALUE) initially decreases but then starts to increase dramatically.
In this situation, the user can abort the solution and check his/her
model to see what caused the high residual forces. Otherwise,
Simulation may continue for several more iterations (and even
bisect the solution) until it diverges, which would take longer.
• Some causes of high residual forces include excessively large
loading (verify units), high contact stiffness (especially for thin,
bending-dominated behavior), or high friction coefficient values.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solver Output Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

– Warning and error messages will also be printed in the output
• When contact status changes abruptly, this is just a warning
indicating that the contact elements enter or exit the ‘pinball
region’ drastically. This may be due to parts sliding or separating
drastically if the load is too high. Simulation may automatically
bisect the solution, if necessary.
• Element distortion messages are usually severe problems due to
excessive loading or over-constraints. Bisection of the load is
automatically performed, but sometimes corrective measures may
need to be taken to fix the problem.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Force Convergence Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• The Solver Output option shows detailed text information.
If “Solution Output” is changed to “Force Convergence,”
the force convergence behavior is shown graphically:
Graphical Output

Text Output

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Force Convergence Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• The Force Convergence view shows what the force
criterion and residual forces (“force convergence”) are.
When the residual forces are less than the criterion, the
substep is assumed to be converged.

Additional useful features

include the fact that
converged substeps and
loadsteps are also indicated
on the chart with a green and
blue dotted line, respectively.
For this model, because
Pretension Bolt Loads are
present, it is a two-load step
analysis. “Time” is the same
as load step number in this
case. The current “time” is
1.2, so it is 20% complete
with the second load step.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Results Tracker Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Besides monitoring the out-of-balance forces, a
Results Tracker is available from the “Solution
Information” branch
– The Results Tracker enables users to monitor
deformation at a vertex and/or contact region
information during the solution.
– For “Results Tracker > Deformation,” select a
vertex of interest and specify whether x, y, or z
deformation is to be monitored.
– For “Results Tracker > Contact,” a pull-down
menu enables users to select a contact region.
Then, the quantity to track (such as number of
contacting elements) can be displayed.

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 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Results Tracker Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• After the Results Tracker items are requested and solution
initiated, users may “track” the deformation or contact
results during the course of the solution.

In this example, the number of

contacting elements is
monitored for a particular
contact region. As is apparent
in the graph on right, between
Time=1.4 and 1.7, the number of
contacting elements jumps from
zero to 29. Since “Time” is a
“placeholder” in a nonlinear
static analysis, this means that,
after the first load step
(Time=1.0), between 40% and
70% of the load, contact is
established.

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Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Nonlinear Solution Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• It is the user’s responsibility to determine whether or not
large deformation effects are significant and need to be
considered.
– Simulation has some basic checks after the solution, where if
the deformation is large compared to the overall geometry
size, the warning below will appear:

– This, however, occurs for obvious, exaggerated cases. It does

not mean that if the warning does not appear in a linear
analysis that large deformation effects may not be significant.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Newton-Raphson Residuals Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• As emphasized earlier, the Newton-Raphson method
employs multiple iterations until force equilibrium is
achieved. For debugging purposes, it may be useful to
request the Newton-Raphson Residuals (i.e., residual
forces) to see what locations have high residuals which
may be the cause of force equilibrium not being satisfied.
– In the “Solution Information” details view, enter the number of
equilibrium iterations to retrieve Newton-Raphson Residuals.
For example, if “3” is entered, the residual forces from the last
three iterations will be returned if the solution is aborted or
does not converge.

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 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Newton-Raphson Residuals Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

– After solution is stopped or fails to converge, residuals will be
available under the “Solution Information” branch, as shown
below.

If a solution fails to converge

or is aborted by the user, the
requested number of
residuals will be available.
By looking at the residuals,
one can example at which
locations out-of-balance
forces are high. This helps
users identify possible
problematic locations, so
that corrective action may be
taken.

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 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
F. Reviewing Results Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Requesting and reviewing results are similar to linear static
structural analyses
– In large deformation problems, one usually should view the
deformation with “Actual” scaling from the Result toolbar
– Any of the structural results may be requested, such as
Equivalent Stress, shown below

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x Model shown is from a sample Unigraphics assembly. Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Reviewing Results - Equivalent Plastic Strain Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• If plasticity is defined, equivalent plastic strain can be
requested as output (example shown below)
– Total equivalent strain is the sum of equivalent elastic and
equivalent plastic strain. Total equivalent strain is used to
correlate to the stress-strain curve.

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Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
… Reviewing Results Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Animations of nonlinear solutions linearly increase from
zero to the final value
– The actual load history is not accounted for in the animation
– If Pretension Bolt Loads are present, only the second load
step (externally applied loads after adjustment) is animated, as
shown in the example below

This model has Pretension Bolt Loads

applied on the three bolts.
Although the solution consisted of two
load steps simulating the assembly
and loading processes, only the final
result is animated.
This final result is animated in a linear
fashion from zero to the final value.
The actual load history is not contained
in the animation (i.e., if multiple
substeps were solved for, they are not
included in the animation)

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Februar
 Workshop 2B

Bolt Pretension with Contact

Nonlinear Structural Analysis
G. Workshop 2B – Goals Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Goal:
– In this workshop our goal is to investigate the behavior of the pipe
clamp assembly (Pipe_clamp.x_t) shown here. Specifically we wish to
determine the crushing stress and deformation in a copper pipe
section when the bolt in the clamp is torqued down.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Assumptions Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• We will assume the material used for the pipe is a copper alloy
while all other parts are steel.
• It is assumed the clamp is torqued to 1000 N when placed in
service.
• We’ll assume the coefficient of friction between the clamp and
pipe is 0.4. The other contact regions will be treated as either
bonded or no separation as shown in the accompanying figures.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B - Start Page Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• From the launcher start Simulation.
• Choose “Geometry > From File . . . “
and browse to the file
“Pipe_clamp.x_t”.

• When Workbench Simulation starts,

close the Template menu by clicking
the ‘X’ in the corner of the window.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Preprocessing Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Change the working unit system to metric mm.
1. “Units > Metric (mm, kg, MPa, C, s)”

1.

• Insert the material “Copper Alloy” from the material library.

2. Highlight the “Part 2” in the geometry branch (pipe).
3. Click in the “Material” field and “Import…”.

2.
3.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Preprocessing Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

4. Select “Copper Alloy” material.

4. Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Preprocessing Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

5. Expand the “Contact” branch and use the shift
key to highlight all contact definitions.

6. In the details window change the Formulation

to “Augmented Lagrange.
5.

6.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Preprocessing Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

7. Highlight the first contact branch. This is the
definition for the pipe to clamp contact.

7.

8. In the detail for the definition change the Type to

“Frictional”.
9. Enter a value for “Friction Coefficient” of 0.4.

8.
9.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Preprocessing Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

10. Highlight the second contact branch. This is
the definition for the bolt shaft to clamp hole
contact.

10.
11. From the details window change the Type to
“No Separation”.

• The remaining 2 contact regions will be

modeled using the default bonded type of
11.
contact.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Preprocessing Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Create a local coordinate system along the
pipe’s axis. Note, we will use the local
coordinate system for post processing 12.
later.
12. Highlight the Model branch. 13.
13. “RMB > Insert > Coordinate Systems”.

• Notice the result is a new branch

“Coordinate Systems” appears in the tree.
Also, the “Global Coordinate System” is
automatically placed in the branch.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Preprocessing Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• With the Coordinate system branch highlighted:
14. Select the inside surface of the cylinder.
15. “RMB > Insert > Coordinate System”.

14.
15.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Preprocessing Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

16. From the detail for the new coordinate system
change “Type” to “Cylindrical”. 16.
17. “Click to Change” in the “Z Direction” field to
change the system’s orientation.
17.
18. Select the inner surface of the pipe.
19. “Apply” in the detail window.

18.
19.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B - Environment Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

20. Highlight the Environment branch.
21. Select one of the end surfaces of the pipe.
20.
22. RMB > Insert > Fixed Support.

21.

22.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B - Environment Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

23. Select the cylindrical face of the bolt
part.
23.

24. “RMB > Insert > “Bolt”

25. In the detail for the pretension bolt load
enter a “Preload” value of 1000.

25.
Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Solution Setup Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

26. Highlight the solution branch.

27. RMB > Insert > Stress > Equivalent (von Mises).

26.

28. RMB > Insert > Deformation > Total.

27.

28.
Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Solution Setup Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

29. Switch to “Body” select mode.
29.
30. Select the pipe part.

30.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Solution Setup Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

31. “RMB > Insert > Deformation > Directional”.

31.

32. From the detail for the “Directional Deformation” change to

“Coordinate System”.

32.

• Note we allowed the default name “Coordinate System” to be used

when the local system was created. We could easily change the name
to a more meaningful one.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Solution Setup Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

33. Switch to face select mode. 33.

34. Highlight the outer surface of the pipe.

35. “RMB > Insert > Contact Tool > “Pressure”.
• Repeat steps 34 and 35 inserting contact 34.
“Frictional Stress”.

• Solve
Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B – Solution Notes Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• The solution for this workshop will take several minutes or more
depending on the available hardware.
• The use of frictional contact triggers a nonlinear solution requiring
equilibrium iterations. The solution progress can be viewed by
inserting the “Solution Information” object.

• The use of the pretension bolt load also causes 2 solutions to be run.
The first applies the pretension load and locks it down. The second
applies any remaining loads.
Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B - Results Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Recall that the solution triggered the use of “Weak Spring”
stabilization. To insure that the weak springs are not the result of
rigid body motion, highlight the Environment branch and inspect
the weak spring reaction forces.
• Here we can see that the reaction in the weak springs is of the
order e-5, a negligible value.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B - Results Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Highlighting and plotting the “Total Deformation” for the assembly
shows the plot is not particularly useful for our goal (investigation
of pipe’s behavior).
• The “scoped” result we placed in the solution branch will be more
instructive.

Februar
 Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B - Results Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Highlight and plot the result “Directional Deformation”.
• In this case the result is scoped only to the pipe section. Also,
since we employed a local cylindrical system at the pipe axis,
the X direction here is displayed in the radial sense.

Februar
Nonlinear Structural Analysis
. . . Workshop 2B - Results Training Manual

ANSYS Workbench – Simulation

• Similarly, the behavior of the contact region can be view by
highlighting the contact result objects. Again the use of scoped
results allows a more intuitive plot of the quantity displayed.

Februar