Ansys Lab Manual Exp 1
Ansys Lab Manual Exp 1
Ansys Lab Manual Exp 1
Problem Description
Determine the nodal deflections, reaction forces, and stress for the truss system shown below.
Note that Young's Modulus, E, is 200GPa while the cross sectional area, A, is 3250mm2 for all
of the elements.
Objective :
Determine Nodal Deflections, stress and Reaction forces
Software used
ANSYS 12.1
2. Enter Keypoints
o define 7 keypoints for the simplified structure as given in the following table
coordinate
keypoint
x y
1 0 0
2 1800 3118
3 3600 0
4 5400 3118
5 7200 0
6 9000 3118
1
7 10800 0
From the Preprocessor Menu, select: Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete. Click on the
'Add...' button. For this example, we will use the 2D spar element Select the element
shown and click 'OK'. You should see 'Type 1 LINK1' in the 'Element Types' window.
Click on 'Close' in the 'Element Types' dialog box.
Utility Menu select File > Save as.... Select the name and location where you want to save your
file.
2
Solution Phase: Assigning Loads and Solving
1. Apply Constraints
o In the Solution menu, select Define Loads > Apply > Structural >
Displacement > On Keypoints
o Select the left end of the bridge (Keypoint 1) by clicking on it in the Graphics
Window and click on 'OK' in the 'Apply U,ROT on KPs' window. This location is
fixed which means that all translational and rotational degrees of freedom (DOFs)
are constrained. Therefore, select 'All DOF' by clicking on it and enter '0' in the
Value field and click 'OK'.
o Using the same method, apply the roller connection to the right end (UY
constrained). Note that more than one DOF constraint can be selected at a time in
the "Apply U,ROT on KPs" window
2. Apply Loads
As shown in the diagram, there are four downward loads of 280kN, 210kN, 280kN, and
360kN at keypoints 1, 3, 5, and 7 respectively.
o Select Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > on Keypoints.
o Select the first Keypoint (left end of the truss) and click 'OK' in the 'Apply F/M on
KPs' window.
o Select FY in the 'Direction of force/mom'. This indicate that we will be applying
the load in the 'y' direction
o Enter a value of -280000 in the 'Force/moment value' box and click 'OK'. Note
that we are using units of N here, this is consistent with the previous values input.
o The force will appear in the graphics window as a red arrow.
o Apply the remaining loads in the same manner.
3. Solving the System
o In the 'Solution' menu select Solve > Current LS. This indicates that we desire
the solution under the current Load Step (LS).
o The above windows will appear. Ensure that your solution options are the same as
shown above and click 'OK'.
o Once the solution is done the following window will pop up. Click 'Close' and
close the /STATUS Command Window..
1. Hand Calculations
We will first calculate the forces and stress in element 1 (as labeled in the problem
description).
3
2. Results Using ANSYS
Reaction Forces
Deformation
o In the General Postproc menu, select Plot Results > Deformed Shape. The
following window will appear.
o Select 'Def + undef edge' and click 'OK' to view both the deformed and the
undeformed object.
o Observe the value of the maximum deflection in the upper left hand corner
(DMX=7.409). One should also observe that the constrained degrees of freedom
appear to have a deflection of 0 (as expected!)
Deflection
o From the 'General Postproc' menu select Plot results > Contour Plot > Nodal
Solution. The following window will appear.
o Select 'DOF solution' and 'USUM' as shown in the above window. Leave the other
selections as the default values. Click 'OK'.
Axial Stress
For line elements (ie links, beams, spars, and pipes) you will often need to use the
Element Table to gain access to derived data (ie stresses, strains). From the General
Postprocessor menu select Element Table > Define Table