Modelling and Simulation

Lecturer: Le Van Lich

Department of Mechanics of Materials and Metal Forming
School of materials Science and Engineering
Engineering science paradigm: Multi-scale
view of materials
Introduction to modeling and Simulation

 The term modeling refers to the development of a

mathematical representation of a physical situation.

 On the other hand, simulation refers to the procedure

of solving the equations that resulted from model
development.
What is a model?

A model is an idealization. Its relationship to the real

problem is like that of the map of the London tube trains to
the real tube systems: a gross simplification, but one that
captures certain essentials.
What is a model?

 The map misrepresents distances and directions, but it

elegantly displays the connectivity.

 The quality or usefulness in a model is measured by its

ability to capture the governing physical features of the
problem.

 At worst, a model is a concise description of a body of

data. At best, it captures the essential physics of the
problem, it illuminates the principles that underline the key
observations, and it predicts behavior under conditions
which have not yet been studied.
What is a simulation?

 Simulation refers to the procedure of solving the

equations that resulted from model development.

 For example, numerically solve a set of differential

equations with different initial/boundary conditions
What is a simulation?

 Simulation refers to the procedure of solving the

equations that resulted from model development.

 For example, numerically solve a set of differential

equations with different initial/boundary conditions
Introduction to modeling and Simulation
Introduction to Finite Element Method

 In finite element method, the structure to be analyzed is

subdivided into a mesh of finite sized elements of simple
shape, and then the whole structure is solved with quite
easiness.
Introduction to Finite Element Method

 The rectangular panel in the rectangular body and

triangular panel in the circular plate are referred to an
‘element’.

 There’re one-, two- and three-dimensional elements.

 The accuracy of the solution depends upon the number

of the finite elements; the more there’re, the greater the
accuracy.
Introduction to Finite Element Method

 The points of attachment of the element to other parts

of the structure are called nodes..

 The displacement at any node due to the deformation

of structure is known as the nodal displacement..
Standard Elements

First order

Line Triangle/Quadrilateral Hexahedral Tetrahedral

( tri/quad) ( hex ) ( tet )

Second order

Line Triangle/Quadrilateral Hexahedral 10-noded Tetrahedral

Element selection criteria

Which element type should be used?

 Beams, plates or solids?

 Quadrilateral or triangle?
 Hexahedral, pentahedral or tetrahedral ?
 Higher or lower order?

The choice of the element type is strongly dependent

on the structure to be analyzed
 Beam Elements

1 - Dimensional elements

6 DOFS

First and second order

Cross section constant or varying along the element length

Transfers axial forces, torsional and bending moments

Neutral line can be moved away from the node (“Offset”)

Degrees of freedom may be released at the end of the elements

Assumes non-deforming cross section when deforming

Typical Beam Models

Trusses

Frames

Stiffeners
Examples of Beam Models
Shell Elements

 2 - Dimensional Elements

 5 DOFS (No “drilling” DOF)

 Thickness constant or varying across element

 Triangle and Quadrilateral basis shape

 First and second order

 Neutral line can be moved away from the nodes (“Offset”)

 Assumes constant thickness when deforming

 Typical Shell Models

Thin shells, Thin plane or curved

thinwalled metal sheets
pressure
vessels

Aircraft components

Automotive parts
Examples of shell models
Examples of shell models, 2
Solid Elements

 3 - Dimensional elements

 3 DOFS (no rotational DOFs)

 Tet and cube basic shapes

 First and second order

Typical Solid Models

Thick walled
pressure vessels

Thick plates
and consoles
Cast iron parts
and fittings
 Examples of Solid Models

Courtesy of Volvo Car

Special Elements

Concentrated
Mass
Spring Damper

Rigid / Interpolation
Gap
(Point-Point-Contact)
 Element Selection Guidelines

Choose the simplest element type

if you can make a shell model - do it

If you can make a beam model - do it

For structural analysis, don’t use first order tetra-elements.

(But they are ok for thermal analysis)

 Example:
Deciding between 1D, 2D and 3D element models
 The Model

 We have the following model:

It consist of rectangular beams that
are 100 mm wide and 200 mm high
with thickness 5 mm. The longest
beams are 2000 mm and the total width of the
model is 1000 mm. The centerline of the crossing
bars are located 550 mm from each end.
 The beams are welded together, but the weld fillets
are to be neglected due to their small size
 The structure carries a load of 2000 kg evenly
distributed over the two cross bars
The problem

 We want to investigate the maximum overall

deflection and maximum stress
 As a guideline for meshing, we do not want
element aspect ratios greater than 5

Now lets do 1D, 2D and 3D calculations and see what

effort they take and what answers they yield!
Beam Model

Element size 100 mm

 Shell Model

Element size 33 mm
 Solid Model

Element size 25 mm
 Comparing the three analyses

1D 2D 3D
Number of nodes 60 9072 66015
Number of elements 60 3024 33003
DOF 336 44640 196317
Disk usage for solving 1 MB 195 MB 124 MB
Memory usage for solving 16 MB 21 MB 1530 MB

Modelling time 20 min 30 min 60 min

Solving time 2 sec 70 sec 2000 sec
Postprosessing time 15 min 2 min 1 min
Total time 35 min 33 min 94 min
Maximum deflection 0.0984 mm 0.143 mm 0.135 mm

The calculations were conducted using MSC.PATRAN V8.5,

MSC.NASTRAN V70.5. Hardware were HP Kayak 450 MHz, 256 MB RAM,
MS/NT 4.0.
 Comparing the three analysis

Beam Model
Minmal modelling effort, accurate calculation results
Does not calculate beam cross section deformation (which
happens in this case)
Postprocessing somewhat awkward and time consuming, could
present errors

Plate Model
Higher modelling effort, good calculation results
Must have control of what is “top“ and “bottom“ of elements

Solid Model
Highest modelling effort, good calculation results
Does not give any significant additional results compared to plate
model
Geometric Model
Geometry

The geometry defining the model in question can be:

 Imported into the FE program

 Created using the FE program
Geometry

 It is of greatest importance that small features not

important for the calculation of results the user is
looking for should be neglected

 A CAD MODEL is not the same as a CAE MODEL!!!

Coordinate Systems

 Different systems available

 Default is the global Cartesian system

Z Z Z
q

z z r
r
x Y Y Y
X X q X F
y

Cartesian Cylindrical Spherical

Discretization of the geometric model (Meshing)
Element Type

Before meshing the user must chose between different

element types:
 Beam, Shell or Solid
 First or second order
 Triangle or quadrilateral basis shape

When this is done, meshing of the structure can begin

Element Size

Before the mesh routine is activated, the user specifies

the element size. This can be done in a number of ways:

 Global element size

 Preferred number of elements along an edge
 Varying element length along an edge
 Allowed deviation from geometry
Automatic meshing routines

Unmeshed… and meshed geometry

Using meshing refinement

Examples of:
 Curvature based
mesh refinement
 Desired number of
elements along
edges - uniform
and varying
 Generation of Volume Structures from Meshed
2D-Geometry

Revolving shell mesh...

 Generation of Volume Structures from Meshed
2D-Geometry

Extruding shell mesh...

Guidelines for Element Size

 In areas with high stress variations a finer mesh is

needed
 To represent a circle properly the maximum angle
between nodes should not be more than 15
degrees
 When doing dynamic analysis, generate enough
nodes to represent deformation results (5 nodes
per half period)
Conclusions for Element Size

There are two basic facts:

 A higher number of smaller elements gives a higher
accuracy (within reasonable numbers)
 A higher number elements needs more CPU time to
compute

Neither of the two can be compromised, certainly not the

answer - and projects tends to have deadlines also…
The user needs to be competent using all the meshing
capabilities of the FE program to get a mesh that is good
enough but not too good!
Element quality

Each element has a predefined behaviour valid for

undistorted element shapes.

During meshing, elements are usually stretched or

twisted
to some degree.

Is our assumption really valid ??

We must see to this ourselves, during each calculation!

Let´s take a look at a few examples...

Element Distortion

Using too coarse a mesh will result in the mesher making

distorted elements in order to try to stay within parent
geometry
Element Distortion

Transitioning from large to small elements usually leads

to distorted elements.
Examples below shows an ambiguous and an
acceptable transition.
Types of Element Distortions
Guidelines for Element Distortions
Example:
Influence of Mesh on calculation of results
The Model

• Investigate the spring stiffness

of this spring

• Use several element sizes,

both first and second order

• Observe that when element

size increases, they become
2 mm
both distorted and do not
follow the geometry
First order elements

3 mm 0.5 mm
Second order elements

5 mm 0.75 mm
 Convergence Results

60 • We need many first

50
order elements to
Spring stiffness [N/mm]

converge in structural
40
analysis
• Second order elements
1. Order
30
2. Order

20
seem powerful
10
• First order elements
are also less capable
0
5 4,5 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,75 0,5
of following geometric
Element size [mm] curves
Conclusions

We have learnt that:

• The calculation of results is dependent on both
shape and number of elements in model
• Too coarse a mesh, too distorted a mesh, or even
a fine but distorted mesh - will yield wrong answer!

The user must, for each calculation, ensure:

• Adequate element shapes
• Adequate element numbers

There are no universal rules of thumb for the above,

it is based on user experience
Defining Model Loads
Definition of Loads

The loads are the reasons why we do calculations on the

models. We want to calculate the response on the
model due to the loads

The loads can be in terms of:

 Force
 Displacement
 Pressure
 Temperature
 Heat flux
 etc etc
Definition of Loads

 Loads can be applied to points , surfaces or bodies

 They can be constant, or time dependent

F F
F

t t
t
Defining Model Constraints
Constraints

 By constraining our model we model the

interface of the model to the rest of the world
 Constraints can be given to both displacements
and rotations
 If the model is not constrained, it will yield
numerical problems (“singularities”) during
solving, as shown below

Unstable Stable
Constraints

 Fixed Connection

X
Transfers vertical and
No displacement horizontal forces and
or rotation possible moments
Constraints

 Pinned connection
Constraints
Constraints, Example

Pinned constraints can be done in two ways:

A B
Inner edge given Rigid Elements
displacement R=0 made from inner
referenced to a edge to center
cylindrical point. This point
coordinate is given displacement
system in the Ux, Uy, Uz,
center Rx, Ry = 0
Defining Materials
Material Model Selection

 Isotropic

 Orthotropic (also "Composite"- plates/shells)

 Anisotropic

 Hyperelastic

 Manual data import

 User-modifiable material libraries

Linear Material Assumptions

Conditions in the range of validity

s Theory of Elasticity of linear static calculations:
E (Hooke’s Law)
 Linear stress-strain-curve
e (Hooke’s Law) (Valid as long as the
F resulting stresses are below yield)

 Displacements are very small

u
compared to the size of the part or its
thickness

F=ku  The principal of superposition is valid !

sx = E e x
+ =
Linear Material Properties

 Young‘s modulus, E

 Shear modulus, G E
G
2  (1  ν)
 Poisson ratio, n
 Relationship between axial and transverse
strain:
Non-linear Materials

s K
Outside the range of validity of linear
static calculations:
 Nonlinear geometric effects (stability,
Eo
large displacements)
e  Nonlinear material behaviour
(elasticity and/or plasticity)
 Time- and temperature-dependent
material behaviour (creep)
 Contact with/without friction
 The principle of superposition is no
longer valid !

+ 
Defining Element Properties
Properties

In addition to the element shapes extra information is

needed in order to describe the model completely.

The extra information needed is dependent on element

type, but almost always material is an example of a
property that needs to be input

The extra element information is input as element

properties
Beam Element Properties

Beam elements needs to input:

 Material
 Cross sectional Area (A) - transfers axial forces
 Moments of Inertia (I) - transfers bending and
shear
 Torsional Moment of Inertia (J) - transfers
torsional forces
Shell Element Properties

Shell Element needs to input:

 Material
 Thickness
Solid Element Properties

Solid elements needs to input:

 Material
Conducting the analysis
Checking the model

Before the analysis is run, the model should be

checked. A few items might be good to verify:

 Check for coincident nodes and/or elements

 Check the element quality
 Check the mass or volume of the model
 ???
Types of Analysis

Linear Static Analysis

 Calculation of stresses
 Calculation of deformations

”Linear” means that the calculated results are linear

proportional to the applied loads.

”Static” means that the loading is not time dependent

or the time dependence is negligible.
Types of Analysis

Normal Mode Analysis

 Calculation of the Eigenvalues

Eigenvalues are frequencies at which the structure would
start to oscillate if a periodic loading would be applied.
 Calculation of the Eigenmodes
Eigenmodes are the deformed shape of the structure at
a certain eigenfrequency.

Eigenfrequency analysis is used to determine the behavior of parts

due to dynamic loading.

If there is an eigenfrequency of the part close to the frequency

of the loading resonance effects may result and the loadings
may be substantially enlarged.
Types of Analysis

Stability and Buckling Analysis

 Calculation of Critical Stability and Buckling Loads

Load factor at which the structure fails by instability(buckling).
 Calculation of Stability and Buckling Shapes
Shape of the buckled structure at the point of critical loading.

In a linear static analysis it is assumed that the structure is

in stable equilibrium and will return to its original shape.

A structure will be unstable (buckling) if for a certain

load combination the deformation increases without
increasing the loading.
Finding the answer..

• After the model is created in the preprocessor, the problem is

sent to the solver

• The solver calculates the answer to the problem, and this can be
viewed and interpreted in the postprocessor
Postprocessing Calculation Results
Postprocessing of Results

Postprocessing can be done as:

 Plot of Deformed Structure

 Contour Plots
 Animated Display of Deformations and Contours
 X-Y Plots
 Result Listings
Results for Beam Elements

Beam elements has no geometrical extensions other than length

When postprocessing stresses the user must select at which
point the stresses shall be shown, such as top left, bottom right
and so on.

zele yele
m m

xele
m
 Results for Shell Elements

When shell elements are used in plots, the

results are displayes for ”top”, ”bottom” or
”middle” of the elements.
Looking at the shells from the other side by
rotating the model will yield the same plot.
The user must selcet which position results shall
be presented at, and verify what is the element
top by checking the element normal vector.
Shown are the stresses in the Y-direction. They
should be tensile on the positive z-side and
compressive on the negative z-side of the model.
Results for Solid Elements

Solid elements require no special postprocessing attention from the user.

 Different presentations of same calculation

1. 2. 1. Continuous spectrum
2. Discrete spectrum
3. Element fill
4. Real results

3. 4.
Checking the answer

 Check the stress gradient. If high stress gradients

are present, it might be wise to refine the mesh
locally and re-run the analysis

 A re-run analysis with a finer mesh that yields the

same answer is indicative of a converged answer
Special Modelling Techniques
Special Modeling Techniques

Symmetry

 Cases for which the geometry and the

constraints of a structure are identical with
respect to one or more axes or planes
 Symmetry constraints are a function of the
orientation of the coordinate axis
 Use of Symmetry may be restricted for some
types of analysis. (Normally not applied for
stability or dynamic analysis)
Exploiting half symmetry
Exploiting Axis-symmetry

This CAD model… could have this CAE model!

Guidelines for deciding the analysis model
Analysis models

 Analysis assumptions should be based on

knowledge and experience

 Always verify the plausibility of the results before

you make design decisions depending on them
 Definition of the Problem

 What is the most efficient analysis method

to get the desired results?

2-D simulation 3-D simulation and modeling

- Plane Stress - Simulation with elastic beams
- Plane Strain - Use of symmetry
- Axis-symmetric - Plate or solid models
 How to get a better understanding of the model

 Try small realistic examples where analytical solutions

exist to test the behaviour of unknown element types
and unknown solution types.
 Divide the complete structure into substructures to better
understand the behavior of the model.
 Apply load combinations separately to understand their
individual influence and combine them again later for
sensitivity studies
 Vary the constraints/boundary conditions and do
separate analyses when the situation is not well
understood and unclear.
Model Verification

 Simple test calculations done by hand for comparison

 Pre-estimate the behaviour of the part and try to interpret

possible deviations from the expected results

 Always use your engineering common sense !

(Are the orders of magnitude of the results correct?
Does the deformation look plausible?, etc.)

 Compare with prototypes

 Example:
Choosing calculation model
How to decide the analysis model

This is the
new
International
Space Station,
modeled in
the CAD
system
Unigraphics
Beam Model

Example of possible Beam Model:

Analysis of Solar
Array Truss
Structure
Shell Model

Example of Shell model:

Analysis of crew
compartment module
Solid Model

Example of Solid model:

Analysis of lifting lug
Thanks for your attention!