Advanced

ANSYS Workbench
Techniques
Presented At
Midwest ANSYS User Group
Fall 2005 Meeting

By
Krishna S. Raichur
Belcan Engineering Group
Downers Grove, IL
What is Workbench?
• A unified working environment for:
– Importing CAD geometry
– Preparing models for analysis (DesignModeler)
– Performing FEA simulations (Simulation)
– Optimizing designs (DesignXplorer or DesignXplorer
VT)

ANSYS Workbench

DesignModeler Simulation DesignXplorer

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… What is Workbench?
• Other modules included in Workbench:
– Engineering Data – a material data repository
– FE Modeler – to read and write NASTRAN and
ABAQUS models
– CFX-Mesh – to prepare meshes for CFX-5
• For most ANSYS users, “Workbench” is usually
synonymous with the Simulation module of
Workbench.

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… What is Workbench?
• The Simulation module in WB is built around core
ANSYS technology.
– Not all ANSYS capabilities have been “exposed” yet in
Simulation, but it is certainly not a “lightweight”
version of ANSYS.
– By using Commands objects, you can access virtually
any ANSYS feature.
• This “advanced” use of Workbench is the focus of this
presentation.

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Why Use Workbench?
• There are many compelling reasons to use WB.
Here are the top five:
– Geometry Import
• Tremendous savings in time…
– CAD Associativity
• Easy to make geometry changes, update the simulation, and
compare to previous scenario…
– Automatic Contact Detection
• Hundreds of contact pairs are detected within seconds!

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… Why Use Workbench?
• Top 5 reasons (cont’d):
– Robust Meshing
• Can tolerate imperfect geometry
• Hex-dominant meshes
• Gap meshing tool for field analyses
– “They wrote a macro for it!”
• Bearing loads
• Compression-only support
• Force on area, moments on solids
• Etc.
• See also the Oct 2005 issue of PADT’s The Focus
publication.
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 Simulation Work Flow
Import • First step in learning the
Solve
Geometry use of commands in WB
is to understand the
Assign ds.dat overall work flow.
Materials File
• Pressing Solve button in
Review/Modify Simulation creates an
Batch Solution
Contact Regions APDL input file, ds.dat,
in the solver working
Mesh XML directory.
Controls Results File(s) – This is what enables the use
of commands.
Apply Review
Loads / BC’s Results
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The ds.dat File

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…The ds.dat File
• Contains preprocessing, solution, and postprocessing
commands.

Nodes
Elements

Materials
Contact Pairs

Loads
Solution
Postprocessing
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Commands Objects
• You can have your own commands
included in ds.dat by inserting
Commands objects in the tree outline.
• Geometry Branch
– You can insert Commands for each part.
– Useful if you want to:
• Change element type or keyoptions
• Change material properties
• Change real constants (such as to add data
for composites)

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… Commands Objects
• Contact Branch
– Insert Commands for each contact region.
– Useful if you want to change or add contact
options not yet exposed in Simulation
(Keyopt(7), for example).
• Mesh Branch
– No Commands allowed

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… Commands Objects
• Environment Branch
– Commands inserted here are placed just
above the SOLVE command in ds.dat.
– Useful if you want to:
• Apply tabular loads
• Add coupling or constraint equations
• Do analysis types not yet exposed in
Simulation (PSD, response spectrum, etc.)
• Change load step options – solution controls,
convergence criteria, etc.

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… Commands Objects
• Solution Branch
– Commands inserted here are placed
immediately after the /POST1 command.
– Useful if you want to:
• Postprocess analysis types not yet exposed in
Simulation (PSD, response spectrum, etc.)
• Add your own postprocessing, such as
unaveraged stress plots, path plots, and
surface operations

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… Commands Objects
• Input Arguments
– Up to 9 input arguments are
allowed on all Commands
objects.
– Values can be entered in the
Details region just like
other Workbench data.
– ARG1-ARG9 can also be
flagged for parametric
studies just like any other
Workbench input data.

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… Commands Objects
• Output Parameters
– For Commands objects at
the Solution level,
Workbench scans for
parameters with a user-
specified prefix (“my_” by
default) and reports their
values in the Details region.
– Can be flagged for
parametric studies just like
any other Workbench
output data.

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Named Selections
• The ds.dat file contains no solid model
data, only nodes and elements.
• Named Selections are useful to identify
entities when using commands.
• Example:
– To apply a tabular (non-uniform) pressure
load on the highlighted area, we give the
area a name (“InnerFace” in this
example).
– When Workbench creates ds.dat, it will
put all nodes on that area into a nodal
component called INNERFACE.
– The commands to apply the tabular load
can then use this nodal component.

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… Named Selections
• Named solid bodies (volumes), surface bodies
(shells), and line bodies (beams) are written to
ds.dat as element components.
• Named faces (areas), edges (lines), and vertices
(keypoints) are written as nodal components.
• By naming all entities required for command
processing, you can eliminate the need for solid
model data.

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Examples
Ex 1: Custom Postprocessing
• Requirement
– Under a series of given
loads, calculate the
diameter at “Spout_PtX”
and the gap between spout
and base.
• Solution
– First create named
selections to identify the
desired points.

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… Ex 1: Custom Postprocessing
• Solution (cont’d)
– In a Commands object
under Solution, use APDL
to retrieve displacements
and calculate the desired
data.
– By using the “my_” prefix,
the output parameters are
displayed in the Details
region, where they are
flagged for a parametric
study.

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Ex 2: Tabular Loading
• Requirement
– Apply a tapered pressure
load on the inner face of a
tube and verify with a
pressure plot in the
postprocessor.
• Solution
– First create a named
selection to identify the
area.

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… Ex 2: Tabular Loading
• Solution (cont’d)
– Use a Commands object in
the Environment branch to
create and apply a tabular
load.

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… Ex 2: Tabular Loading
• Solution (cont’d)
– Use a postprocessing
Commands object (Solution
branch) to plot element
pressures and store the plot
on a .png file.
• The requested plot shows
under the Commands
branch as “Post Output.”

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Ex 3: Random Vibrations (PSD)
• Requirement
– Do a PSD analysis in
Workbench.
• Solution
– Create a named selection of
supports (required later in
PSD analysis).
– Do a modal analysis
(required step for any
dynamic analysis).

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… Ex 3: Random Vibrations (PSD)
• Solution (cont’d)
– Insert a Commands object
under Enviroment to obtain
PSD solution.
– Notice the *ABBR
command at the end of the
PSD input.
• This disables the SOLVE
command in ds.dat, but
allows subsequent
postprocessing commands
to be executed.

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… Ex 3: Random Vibrations (PSD)
• Solution (cont’d)
– Insert postprocessing
commands in the Solution
branch to plot 1 stresses
and displacements from the
PSD analysis.
– The SET command at the
end allows subsequent
modal postprocessing to be
completed.

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Questions?