Tutorial of Pro/MECHANICA

Objectives

Familiarizing Pro/MECHANICA Structure Menus Learning the Process of FEA Using Pro/M

Pro/M user interface, windows, menus, mouse buttons Formation of A FEA Model: 1. Specification of part material 2. Specification of constraints 3. Specification of load conditions Mesh Generation FEA Analysis and Result Analysis Post-processing and Plotting Result Interpretation.

Introduction Pro/MECHANICA is a powerful linear finite element analysis (FEA) package developed for design engineers. This tutorial serves as an introduction to the three main functions provided by Pro/MECHANICA. These are: structural analysis; design parameter sensitivity analysis; and design optimization.

Pro/MECHANICA can work either as an independently FEA package, or as an integrated part of Pro/Engineering. This tutorial will outline its use in conjunction with Pro/E. The example part used in this tutorial will the same "base" part that we have used in the previous Pro/Engineer tutorial, as shown in Figure B (a). Assuming this part is part of a fixture for a milling machine. The part is tightened to the table of the mill through the center step hole using a bolt through the T slot. A block is pushed in horizontally to hold the part with the left arm of the dent. The left dent arm is then going to bear the holding force. The task of FEA is to calculate the maximum stress, verify the structural integrity, identify the week area and design the part with a minimum volume (weight) while satisfying the strength and deformation requirements. The FEA of the part is carried through the following process, illustrated in Figure A and discussed in the following.

Figure A Pro/M Process [4]

(a) Design Model

(b) Geometric Model for FEA

(c) FEA Model Figure B Pro/E Models 2

Preparation of the Model 1. Copy the BASE.PRT, as shown in Figure B (a), to a new file for finite element analysis. Start Pro2001. Choose File -> Open, select BASE.PRT, then File -> Save As, enter the new name as BASE_FEM.PRT. Choose File -> Erase, Current to clear the window, then File -> Open, select BASE_FEM.PRT. 2. Create a groove at the intersection of the two plane surfaces When the base part is used as a fixture, the sharp corner will produce high stress concentration. A groove is usually created to reduce stress concentration. Given the previous experience in Pro/Engineer, you can create the feature without referring to the following description. Choose FEAT -> Create, FEAT CLASS -> Solid, SOLID -> Cut, SOLID OPTS -> Extrude, Solid, Done, ATTRIBUTES -> One Side, Done. SETUP SKPLN -> Setup New, SETUP PLANE -> Plane, GET SELECT -> Pick, click DTM3, DIRECTION -> Okay, SKET VIEW -> Right, SETUP PLANE -> Plane, GET SELECT -> Pick, left click DTM1. Choose Sketcher -> Sketch, draw the square around the left dent corner of the base, align the four vertexes to the edges of the base part, respectively. Then dimension the part as shown in Figure 1. Modify the half-diagonal length of the square to be 0.1. For simplicity, this dimension will be called necking size later in this tutorial.
0.1 DTM1

45o DTM2

Figure 1 Cross-section of the groove 3. Delete unnecessary features A finite element analysis process divides part geometry into many small elements. A complex part model requires extensive computational effort. In this analysis, we assume the bottom surface of the part is completely fixed to the table, and only the left inner surface of the dent arm bears the holding load. The step hole and the right portion of the part have no influence to the analysis. For simplicity, these portions of the part are erased. A simplified geometric model is thus produced as shown in Figure B (b). To remove the right part of the fixture model, we need to redefine the protrusion feature. 3

4. Redefine the protrusion feature Choose PART -> Feature, FEAT -> Redefine, pick up the protrusion feature. In the PROTRUSION: Extrude window, select Section, Define. Choose SAME/NEW -> Same Ref twice to accept the previous 2-D setup. In the sketch view, delete the right half part, align the two right corner points to DTM1, and re-dimension the part as shown in Figure 2. Choose SKETCHER -> Regenerate, FEAT -> OK.

Figure 2 The Redefined Base Part

Start Pro/MECHANICA 1. Go to the Pro/E Pull-down Menu Application, select MECHANICA 2. Go to the Pro/MECHANICA Screen Menu MECHANICA, select Structure The system will first confirm the user with the default unit system of the program by displaying an information window, and then ask the user to specify the material of the part. The constraints and loads will be applied onto the simplified geometric model of the dent as illustrated in Figure B (c). The Pro/MECHANICA windows and the Screen Menus are illustrated in Figure C.

Material Selection Menu Unit Confirmation Menu

Pro/M Menus

Figure C Pro/MECHANICA Windows and Menus

Structure Analysis of the Base Part 3. Building the finite element model To prepare a finite element model is to specify the properties of the product, the loading condition, and the constraints. (1) Specify the material Choose MEC STRUCT -> Model, STRC MODEL -> Material. Materials in Library are shown in the window. Choose Steel. One can see the properties of steel shown in the window. ASSIGN -> Part, GET SELECT -> Pick, click the part BASE_FEM -> Don Sel. Then press Close. (2) Specify the constraints Choose STRC MODEL -> Constraints, CONSTRAINTS -> New, CONSTRAINT TYPES -> Surface, GET SELECT -> Query Sel, click the area of the bottom surface, even though is hidden on the screen. If a wrong surface is selected, choose Next until the bottom surface is highlighted, then press Accept or click the middle mouse button. Choose GET SELECT -> Don Sel. In the pop up window, make sure all six degrees of freedom for the bottom surface are fixed, and accept the name Constrainset1 then Accept. A description can be added for record. One should then be able to see a symbol of constraint as shown in Figure 3. (3) Specify the load condition Choose STRC MODEL -> Loads, LOADS -> New, LOAD TYPES -> Surface, GET SELECT -> Pick, pick up the left inner surface, GET SELECT ->Done Sel. In the pop up window, accept the name Loadset1, the options Total Load, Uniform, Components, enter force FX 5000. The description is optional. Then press Accept, choose STRC MODEL -> Done/Return. The finished finite element model is shown in Figure 3. 4. Pre-processing/Mesh generation The finite element method divides a finite element model to small elements. These small elements form a mesh of the model. The mesh generation is called pre-processing for finite element method. Different mesh generation scheme may result in considerately different analysis results. Pro/MECHANICA, when integrated in Pro/Engineer, can automatically generate finite element mesh. In advanced application of Pro/MECHANICA, one can specify important regions on the model, in which more detailed mesh can be generated. In the integrated mode of Pro/MECHANICA, the generated mesh is invisible to users.

Figure 3 The Finite Element Model of Part BASE_FEM

5. Performing analysis Choose MEC STRUCT -> Analyses, Create. In the Analyses window, accept New Analyses type Static and select New. In the Static Analysis Definition window, Accept the name as Analysis1 Constraintset1, Loadset1, Convergence Method Single-pass Adaptive, deselect Rotations and Reactions for output, then press OK. The single-pass convergence allows a rough analysis result can be quickly obtained. This helps an engineer check the finite element model, the mesh scheme, and prepare for a more accurate analysis. In the Analyses window, choose Close. Choose MEC STRUCT -> Run, in the Run window, select Analysis1 (Standard/Static), then choose Start, select Yes to the error detection, then choose Summary. One can see a pop up summary window that records the process of analysis. Once the analysis is done, press Done. The analysis process takes about 1.5 minutes on a Pentium III 500 MHz workstation. 6. Post-processing/Results Choose MEC STRUCT -> Results, Select Yes to save the current mode. In the Untitled pop up window, Insert Result Window, accept the name Window1, then select Analysis1, Accept. In the pop up window, select Displacement as the quantity, accept Magnitude, choose Fringe for the display, then select Deformed, and choose Accept and Show. In the result window, one can use Ctrl + middle mouse button to rotate the object to an appropriate position for a better view. 7. Final analysis From the quick analysis, the model is tested correct and the obtained result is meaningful, then one can start the final analysis to obtain a more accurate result. Create a new analysis called Analysis2, repeat the same process as in Step 5 and 6, choose Multi-pass Adaptive as the convergence method, and accept all the other default settings. Run the analysis. This process takes about 1.5 minutes on a Pentium III 500 MHz workstation.

8. Post-processing (1) Displacement/Stress analysis result Following the same procedure described in Step 6, one can create a displacement window and a stress window and show the two windows at the same time as in Figure 4. (2) Convergence Plot The analysis method used in Pro/MECHANICA is called the p-element method. This method uses high order elements and gradually increases the order of elements based on the same mesh until the process converges. The best convergence criterion is the structure strain energy. The maximum Von Mises stress of the structure is a value based on local information and thus may generate singular value (freak value). To generate the plots for the strain energy, choose Results, generate a new window, and select anlys2. In the Quantity option, choose Measure, and select strain_energy from the list. Accept the rest options. Follow the same procedure to create another window, choose Measure, and select max_stress_vm from the list. Show the two created windows at the same time, one will get the plots as in Figure 5. The plots indicate the strain energy well converges after six iterations while the maximum Von Mises stress is unstable. (3) Plotting the results Choose File -> Print in Result window, select Output format ->Microsoft Print Manager, choose the right Printer name and reselect output to File then choose OK.
Displacement Mag Max +1.6534E-06 Min +0.0000E+00 Deformed Original Model Max Disp +1.6534E-06 Scale 3.0241E+05 Load: load1 Stress Von Mises (Maximum) Avg. Max +1.2940E+04 Avg. Min +1.9579E+01 Deformed Original Model Max Disp +1.6534E-06 Scale 3.0241E+05 Load: load1

+1.47E-06

+1.15E+04

+1.29E-06

+1.01E+04

+1.10E-06

+8.63E+03

+9.19E-07

+7.20E+03

+7.35E-07

+5.76E+03

+5.51E-07

+4.33E+03

+3.67E-07

+2.89E+03

+1.84E-07

+1.46E+03

Figure 4 Stress and Displacement Analysis Result of Part BASE_FEM

max_stress_vm P-Pass Load: load1

strain_energy P-Pass Load: load1

14 m a x _ s t r e s s _ v m X 1 E + 0 0 3 s t r a i n _ e n e r g y X 1 E 0 0 3

2.6

2.4

12

2.2

10

2.0

1.8

1.6

1.4

4 1

1.2 1

P Loop Pass

P Loop Pass

Figure 5 Convergence Plots for Strain Energy and Maximum Von Mises Stress

Parameter Sensitivity Study Pro/MECHANICA also can help a designer to study the parameter sensitivity to a certain criterion. In this example, wed study the sensitivity of the necking size to the maximum Von Mises stress and maximum displacement. 1. Defining design parameter Choose MECHANICA -> Dsgn Controls, DSGN CONTROL -> Design Parameters, choose Create in the dialog window, accept dimension as the parameter type, choose Select, GET SELECT -> Pick, click the part, dimensions will show up on the screen, then pick the necking size dimension (0.1 is the current value). The symbolic name of the dimension will then appear in the dialog window (in this tutorial, its name is d44, as shown in Figure 6). Enter the minimum value as 0.08, maximum 0.15. Choose Accept, Done. 2. Defining a design study Choose MECHANICA -> Structure, MEC STRUCT -> DesignStudies, Create, accept the name as study1. Choose the type as Global Sensitivity, choose Analysis1 (Static). Select the design parameter. Choose the Number of Interval as 10. (Note: A smaller number will lead to shorter time.) Make sure the Repeat P-loop Convergence is deselected to shorten the process time. Choose Accept, Done.

3. Performing the study Choose MEC STRUCT -> Run, select study1 (Global Sensitivity), choose Start, Yes to error detection, then choose Summary. If 10 is chosen as the Number of Intervals, the study will take about 22 minutes on a Pentium III 500 MHz workstation.
max_disp_x Design Var Load: load1 max_stress_vm Design Var Load: load1

M e a s u r e m a x _ d i s p _ x X 1 E 0 0 6

-1.02

9700

-1.04

M e a s u r e m a x _ s t r e s s _ v m

9650

-1.06

9600

-1.08

9550

-1.10

9500

-1.12 0.08

0.09

0.10

0.11

0.12 d44

0.13

0.14

0.15

9450 0.08

0.09

0.10

0.11

0.12 d44

0.13

0.14

0.15

Figure 6 The Sensitivities of the Necking Dimension to the Maximum Displacement along X Direction and Maximum Von Mises Stress

4. Results Refer to Step 6 in the structure analysis part, choose Measure for the Quantity option, select max_stress_vm, select the necking size dimension for the Location option, and accept the other default values. Choose Accept. Follow the same procedure, and create another window for max_displ_x. Show the results as in Figure 6. One can see as the necking size increases, the maximum displacement increases along the X direction, while the maximum Von Mises stress achieves the lowest when the necking size equals to 0.14. Thus a designer can choose 0.14 as the ideal value for the necking size if to lower the maximum Von Mises stress is the only concern.

Design Optimization For the base part functioning as a fixture, the goal of the design optimization is to minimize the total mass, which usually associates with the cost. As a fixture, the part has to sustain certain load and the maximum deformation has to be controlled.

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1. Defining design parameters and parameter relations

Figure 7 Symbolic Names of Dimensions

To simplify the problem, we want to limit the number of parameters. Choose pull down menu Applications -> Standard. The Pro/MECHANICA working environment is switched to the Pro/Engineer modeling mode. Choose PART -> Relations, RELATIONS -> Switch Dim, GET SELECT -> Pick, click on the part. Dimensions with symbolic names will show up. Then choose RELATIONS -> Add, type the following relations (varies according to the name of your dimensions, see Figure 7): D0=0.5*D48 D6=D0 D1=D0 D49=D1 and then press Enter key to finish. Choose RELATIONS -> Sort Rel, MODEL REL -> Done, PART -> Regenerate. We define the dimension d48 as the control dimension as shown in Figure 7, other dimensions will change accordingly as constrained by the relations. Then we add d48 to the design control parameter list. Choose MECHANICA -> Dsgn Controls, DSGN CONTROL -> Design Parameters, choose Create in the dialog window, accept dimension as the parameter type, choose Select, GET SELECT -> Pick, click the part, dimensions will show up on the screen, then pick d48 (2.5 is the current value). The symbolic name of the dimension will then appear in the dialog window. Enter the minimum value as 1 and maximum 3. Choose Accept, Done. 2. Defining a design study Thus far, we have defined two design parameters. The first is the necking dimension, d44, which is defined in the sensitivity study; the second is d48 as shown in Figure 7. The following step is to define a design study to specify the design optimization goal and constraints.

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Choose MEC STRUCT -> DesignStudies, Create, accept the name Study2. In the Design Study Definition window, select Type as Optimization. Select Goal as Minimize, Measure: total_mass. Select Limits on Measures, Create, make two constraints: max_disp_x > -1.2e-6 and max_stress_vm < 30000. Select Analysis1, loadset1, and the two design parameters. The range of design parameters is from the minimum to maximum. The initial value for d48 is chosen as 2.5 for an initial guess; the initial value of the necking dimension is chosen as the minimum, 0.08. Accept the default Optim Convergence 1% and Max Iterations 20. Select Repeat P-Loop Convergence for a more accurate solution. Then choose Accept, Done. 3. Performing the design optimization Choose MEC STRUCT -> Run, select Study2 (Optimization), then choose Start, Yes to the error detection, choose Summary. One can monitor the optimization process. If no error exists, the optimization process will take about 15 minutes on a Pentium III 500 MHz workstation. The optimal design is at d44 = 0.096 inch and d48 = 1 inch. The maximum Von Mises stress is 1e4 psi, which is far less than the constraint value 3e4 psi. The maximum displacement along X direction is 1.256e-6 in. The total mass is 6.87 lbm. 4. Results plotting One can generate the plots as shown in Figure 8 as before for the optimal design. To generate the plots in Figure 9, use Measure, and choose total_mass and stain_energy, respectively, and accept the other options. The convergence plots tells us the history of optimization. The optimization takes three passes to converge. As the total mass keeps decreasing, the strain energy increases. At the pass three, the increase in strain energy is negligible and the optimization converges. One can print out the plots by Choosing File -> Print in Result window, select Output format ->Microsoft Print Manager, choose the right Printer name and reselect output to File then choose OK.
Displacement Mag Max +1.2559E-06 Min +0.0000E+00 Deformed Optimize d Model Max Disp +1.2559 E-06 Scale 3.3157E+05 Load: load1 Stress Von Mises (Maximum) Avg. Max +1.0046E+04 Avg. Min +2.5986E+01 Deformed Optimized Model Max Disp +1.2559E-06 Scale 3.3157E+05 Load: load1

+1.12E-06

+8.93E+03

+9.77E-07

+7.82E+03

+8.37E-07

+6.71E+03

+6.98E-07

+5.59E+03

+5.58E-07

+4.48E+03

+4.19E-07

+3.37E+03

+2.79E-07

+2.25E+03

+1.40E-07

+1.14E+03

Figure 8 The Maximum Displacement and Stress Plots for the Optimal Design

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30 s t r a i n _ e n e r g y X 1 E 0 0 3

2.1

25

2.0

t o t a l _ m a s s

20

1.9

15

1.8

10

1.7

5 0

1.6 1 Optimization Pass 2 3 0 1 Optimization Pass 2 3

Figure 9 The Total Mass and Strain Energy Convergence Plots in the Optimization

References 1. Parametric Technology Corp, Pro/MECHANICA Using Structure with Pro/ENGINEER, Release 20.0. DOC-U0108-EN-200, 1999. 2. Kurowski, P. M., When Good Engineers Deliver Bad FEA, Machine Design, November 9, 1995, pp. 61-66. 3. Kurowski, P. M., Avoiding Pitfalls in FEA, Machine Design, November 7, 1994, pp. 7886. 4. Toogood, R., Pro/MECHANICA Structure Tutorial Release 20, 2nd Edition, SDC Publications, 1999. 5. Parametric Technology Corp, Pro/MECHANICA On-line Help, Release 2001, 2001.

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