Finite Element Analysis

S313070001W

2014 5

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Final Course Report
(Andrs Gonzlez)
College of electrical and mechanical engineering
Introduction
The software ANSYS is a powerful tool for solving complex mechanical systems,
from simple static analysis to advanced vibration calculus. It allows to model systems or
solids in a simplified representation, define physical properties, different types of elements
such as springs, solids, dampers, shells, etc. Simulation characteristics like meshing, forces,
displacement constraints, moments can be defined according to the needs.
The problem solved for this report consists of a hollow rectangular column, thickness
0.06 meters, under a pressure of 1E9 Pa. The shell material has a Young Modulus of 2E11 Pa
and a Poisson ratio of 0.3. The dimensions of the column are described in Figure 1. The
bottom of the column is completely fixed.
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0
1
0
1
0

Figure 1. Dimensions of the hollow rectangular column
For the solution of this problem it was assumed that the column has no top and bottom
cover, this noticed from the given drawing. The density was not given in the problem; anyway
it was not assumed neither because it is not needed for the solution.

Modeling
Jobname and title
The first step to solve the given problem was to open the software ANSYS and define
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a jobname. The chosen name was report4. Then define a title, Final report.
Element type
Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete > Add > Structural Mass > Shell >
Elastic 4node 63 > OK
This type was chosen because the figure is a polygon of 4 sides and only needs a node on each
corner.
Real Constants
Preprocessor > Real Constants > Add/Edit/Delete > Add > OK
In the Shell thickness at node I box, the thickness of the material (0.06 m) was input. Then
clicked OK to close.
Material Properties
Preprocessor > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Elastic > Isotropic
In this window the real material properties were defined. In the EX box, the Youngs
modulus of 2E1 Pa was introduced. In the PRXY box, the Poissons ratio 0,3 was introduced.
Modeling
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > In Active CS
In this step, the following keypoints were created:
Keypoint X Y Z
1 0 0 0
2 0 10 0
3 10 10 0
4 10 0 0
5 0 0 20
Figure 2. Keypoints
Creating lines
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Lines > Lines > Straight Line
Straight lines were created between keypoints 1-2, 2-3, 3-4 and 4-1. This four lines
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form the square that is the base of the column. Then, a straight line was created between
keypoints 1 and 5; this line was used later as a guide for extruding the square to create the
column.
Extrusion
Preprocessor > Modeling > Operate > Extrude > Lines > Along Lines
In this step, the 4 lines of the square were chosen as the lines to extrude, then the line 5
(between keypoints 1-5) was selected as the guide. Then, the hollow column was formed.
Meshing
Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh Tool
In Size Controls > Global > Set > No. of element divisions, the value used was 20.
In Mesh > Areas, the options Quad and Mapped were selected. Then, clicking on the
Mesh button, the four side areas of the column were selected and the mesh was done.
Displacement constraining
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Lines
The problem states that the bottom of the column is fully constrained; so the base lines
(1-4) were selected. Then, in the Apply U,ROT on Lines window, the All DOF option
was selected, with a Displacement value of 0 (zero).
Applying loads
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Pressure > On Lines
A pressure of 1E9 Pa is applied on the top of the column. Since there is no area on the
top face of the model, the lines 6, 9, 11 and 13 were selected. In the Apply PRES on lines
window, the constant value was introduced.
Solution
Solution > Solve > Current LS
This final step solved the analysis.
Viewing results
General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape > Def + undeformed
This plots the model after the application of the pressure, plus the shade of the
undeformed shape.
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General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu
In the window that pops up, the von Mises stress data is selected to be plotted. Since
the column is made of a uniform material, the applied pressure is uniform along the top border
and the column is symmetrical, the von Mises stress can show if the stress in the sides of the
column is also uniform.

Results
The first result obtained from this analysis is the displacement, or the deformation in
the Z-axis (along the direction of the force). The figure 3 shows the shape of the column
before and after the application of the pressure. The values can be plotted in a table, to know
the deformation at any node of the model. It is not included because of the size of the table.

Figure 3. Column before and after the load.
The deformation is a vector, composed of the deformation components in each axis.
This vector can also be plotted, shown in figure 4, to compare the symmetry of the
deformation on each face of the column.
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Figure 4. Displacement vector sum.

The last graph plotted, shown in figure 5, is the distribution of stress in the column;
the selected model was von Mises. The graph shows that, as expected since the column is
made of uniform material and symmetrical geometry, the stresses are distributed
symmetrically. It also shows that the lower corners are the places where the biggest stress
concentration takes place.
A table with the stress values can be plotted, but is not included because of its size.

Figure 5. Von Mises stress on the column.


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Conclusions and suggestions
The given problem for this report is a simple axial load analysis. The graphs show
symmetry in stress distribution and slow changes in its distribution along Z-axis. These results
let conclude that the selected meshing size is enough for this specific problem. The behavior
of the stress distribution was the expected.
For this specific problem, it can be suggested to use a bigger meshing size. This could
help make the calculations faster and should not affect the results. However, this should not be
done if it is not necessary.