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- by Dharmit A. Thakore
Finite Element Analysis with
Open Source Software
Second Edition
Finite Element Analysis with
Open Source Software
Second Edition
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief
quotations in a review. You may store the pdf on your computer and backups. You may print one copy of this
book for your own personal use.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the author’s experience, knowledge and
opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.
To
My wife,
Our beloved son
&
Open Source Software
About the Author
Dharmit Thakore is the Director of Moonish Enterprises Pty Ltd at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He
practices as a Mechanical / Piping Engineer in Queensland. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Birla
Vishwakarma Mahavidhyalaya, Vallabh Vidhyanagar, Gujarat, India which was affiliated with Sardar Patel
University. He started his engineering career as a young Graduate in Larsen & Toubro – Sargent & Lundy,
Vadodara. He came to Australia for further studies and settled here. He received his Registered Professional
Engineer in Queensland (RPEQ) recognition early in his career and subsequently obtained his Chartered
Professional Engineer (CPEng) as a Mechanical / Piping Engineer.
Dharmit has broad interests, which include finite element analysis, design, optimization and Open Source
software. He is a member of ASME, Engineers Australia and Board of Professional Engineers in Queensland.
Table of Contents
Forewordxiii
What motivated me to write this bookxiii
This book is written forxiii
This book is not written forxiv
What software would you need to follow throughxiv
What are the steps in Finite Element Analysisxv
Study Casesxvii
Case 1: Getting to know Salome-Mecaxvii
Case 2: Editing command (.comm) filexvii
Case 3: 1D Finite Element Analysisxviii
Case 4: 2D Frame Finite Element Analysisxviii
Case 5: Axi-symmetric Finite Element Analysisxviii
Case 6: 2D Shell Finite Element Analysisxviii
Case 7: Basic 3D Finite Element Analysisxviii
Case 8: 3D Finite Element Analysis with Hexahedral Linear Meshxix
Case 9: 3D Finite Element Analysis with Hexahedral Quadratic Meshxix
Case 10: Finite Element Analysis of a Pseudo Assemblyxix
Case 11: Finite Element Analysis of a 3D Assemblyxix
Getting to know Salome-Meca1
Step 1: Purpose of the FE Analysis / Description of the problem2
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis2
Step 3: Model Geometry3
Step 4: Meshing Geometry8
Step 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Salome-Meca Linear Static Analysis Wizard12
Step 10: Run the analysis16
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results18
Summary31
PS – Using Efficient to generate command (.comm) file32
Chapternotes36
Editing command (.comm) file39
Step 1: Purpose of the FE Analysis / Description of the problem40
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis40
Step 3: Model Geometry41
Step 4: Meshing Geometry43
Step 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Salome-Meca Linear Static Analysis Wizard45
Step 8 and 9 again: Manual editing of command (.comm) file47
Step 10: Running the analysis52
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results53
Summary55
PS – Using Efficient to generate command (.comm) file56
Chapter notes60
1D Finite Element Analysis61
Step 1: Purpose of the FE Analysis / Description of the problem62
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis63
Step 3: Model Geometry64
Step 4: Meshing Geometry67
Step 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Creating command (.comm) file with Eficas70
Step 10: Run the analysis82
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results84
Result85
Summary85
PS – Using Efficient to generate command (.comm) file86
Chapter notes91
2D Frame Finite Element Analysis93
Step 1: Purpose of the FE Analysis / Description of the problem94
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis94
Step 3: Model Geometry95
Step 4: Meshing Geometry99
Step 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Creating command (.comm) file by using a template102
Step 10: Run the analysis105
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results106
Summary107
PS – Using Efficient to generate command (.comm) file108
Chapter notes113
Axi-Symmetric Finite Element analysis115
Step 1: Purpose of the FE Analysis / Description of the problem116
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis116
Step 3: Model Geometry117
Step 4: Meshing of Geometry120
Step 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Salome-Meca Linear Static Analysis Wizard128
Step 10: Running the analysis130
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results131
Summary143
PS – Using Efficient to generate command (.comm) file144
Chapter notes148
2D Shell Finite Element analysis149
Step 1: Purpose of the FE Analysis / Description of the problem150
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis150
Step 3: Model Geometry151
Step 4: Meshing Geometry153
Step 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Writing command (.comm) file by hand156
Step 10: Run the analysis161
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results163
Result167
Summary167
PS – Using Efficient to generate command (.comm) file168
Chapter notes173
Basic 3D Finite Element Analysis175
Step 1: Purpose of the FE Analysis / Description of the problem176
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis176
Step 3: Model Geometry177
Step 4: Meshing Geometry179
Step 8 and 9 again: Manual editing of command (.comm) file184
Step 10: Run the analysis185
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results186
Step 4 again: Meshing Geometry188
Step 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 again: Salome-Meca Linear Static Analysis Wizard 189
Step 11 again: Post Processing of the Results190
Summary190
PS – Using Efficient to generate command (.comm) file191
Chapter notes194
3D Finite Element Analysis with Hexahedral Linear Mesh195
Step1: Description of the problem196
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis196
Step 3: Model Geometry197
Step 4: Meshing Geometry201
Step 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Salome-Meca Linear Static Analysis Wizard204
Step 10: Run the analysis208
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results209
Summary215
PS – Using Efficient to generate command (.comm) file216
3D Finite Element Analysis with Hexahedral Quadratic Mesh221
Step1: Description of the problem222
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis222
Step 3: Model Geometry223
Step 4: Meshing Geometry240
Step 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Efficient Wizard246
Step 10: Run the analysis261
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results262
Summary267
Chapter notes268
Finite Element Analysis of Pseudo Assembly269
Step 1: Description of the problem270
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis270
Step 3: Model Geometry271
Step 4: Meshing Geometry277
Step 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Efficient Wizard to generate command (.comm) file280
Step 10: Run the analysis284
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results285
Summary289
Chapter notes290
Finite Element Analysis of 3D Assembly291
Step 1: Description of the problem292
Step 2: Input values for the FE analysis292
Step 3: Model Geometry293
Step 4: Meshing Geometry299
Step 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: Creating command (.comm) file by using a template302
Step 10: Run the analysis306
Step 11: Post Processing of the Results312
Summary315
PS – Using Efficient to generate command (.comm) file316
Chapter notes324
What will be covered in Volume 2a
Parametric Modelling in Salome for Geometry and Mesh generationa
Editing and Generating Mesh in Salome’s Mesh Modulea
Combining element types in a single FE Analysisa
Non Linear Material Analysisa
Sliding Contact instead of Glueda
Modal Analysisb
Thermal Analysisb
Volume 2 Book Promotion - 35% Offb
Appendix Ac
Other sources of informationc
Appendix Bd
Installing Software required for this bookd
Ubuntu 12.04 Configurationd
Salome-Meca 2013.2 installationf
Efficient Installh
Foreword
Foreword
During my university life, I had taken Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) as my
elective subjects. As a young university student, I was fascinated by the power of computers and the help that
they provide to obtain results that are easy to understand for a complex simulation. Going from Drawing boards,
pencils and erasers to CAD with everything on the computer, having multiple revisions of the same drawing and
the powerful undo and redo functionality were one of the journeys that I will never forget.
At that time, our university was having education version of AutoCAD® (I won’t tell the version of AutoCAD as
that will reveal my age ) for drafting and Solid Edge® for Finite Element Analysis. The only problem was that
outside university we were on our own. We even didn’t have student versions of those software to use at home.
I wrote this book so that someone can pick up this book, start using Salome and Code Aster straight away without
hunting for resources on what to do next. I wanted the learning curve to be relatively easy. So I designed this book
such that the users do a few exercises, following the step by step guide in this book, feel confident in the procedure
and then are able to use the Open Source software the way they want. I wrote this book for the reason that the
tutorials on the internet and the videos on websites are scattered and unlinked. I want to help someone to have all
the information in one single place, in an easy to follow manner, which will enable them to learn the fundamentals
of the software in a fun and easy format.
If you are having trouble understanding where to start with Salome and Code Aster, this book is written for you.
If you are having troubles understanding the computer translated Code Aster User Documents (which are rich in
information), this book is written for you. If you want easy reference to 75% of FEA problems that are encountered
by engineers in day to day life and want to do that by Open Source Software, this book is written for you.
This book is for those who don’t want to waste their time in finding tutorials online and trying to make logical and
sequential sense. This book starts with a very basic introduction of what to do to perform FE Analysis, and then,
with each new Chapter, it introduces new concepts in an easy to understand format. If you want to learn how to
do FE Analysis with Open Source software in a week’s time, than this book is for you.
— xiii —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
If you are the developers of Salome and Code Aster, then I doubt this book will be of any help to you, but if you are
developers of only Salome or only Code Aster, and want to know what is happening on the other side of the fence,
then this book might be of use to you.
In short, if you are advanced user and after reading the Table of Content you can say to yourself that “the information
covered in this book is something that I already know”, this book is not for you.
This book is also not written for someone who does not know what Finite Element Analysis is. FE Analysis, as a
fundamental, should be known to the user of this book.
1. Ubuntu 12.04
Please note that if you install a software that is of higher version than that mentioned above, the screenshots may
differ, but the fundamental concepts remain the same.
— xiv —
What are the steps in Finite Element Analysis
Generally the stiffness of the object is known due to the fact that we would have its shape and material properties
as a given. If not, Either we would be optimising its shape by finding stresses generated in the object due to applied
loads (e.g. objective of the study can be “optimise web thickness of gussets or optimise thickness of a pressure
vessel Nozzle saddle”), or we would be checking which material is most suitable for the given object (e.g. objective
of the study can be “Can Aluminium alloy be used to reduce the weight of the object?”). So stiffness “k” would be
fixed for the given analysis based on shape and material selected.
The next step is boundary conditions. Any given object has to be sufficiently supported in the real world and FEA
will emulate these supports, either there is a fixed support (e.g. bolted or welded joint), sliding support (e.g. shaft
in hub or pipe shoe on structural steel). By applying these boundary conditions of supports, we are providing /
fixing values of displacement. Then there would be forces applied to the object, either by gravity (self-weight) or
by pressure applied on a surface or force applied on the object. By adding these boundary conditions of loads, we
are providing / fixing values of force / load.
After all of the above is given to Code Aster (FE analysis software of choice for this book), it tries to solve the equation
which will be in matrix form with the given input values of displacement and forces and obtain displacement for
the entire object. These displacements (Strains) are converted to Stresses (Stress = Strain multiplied by Young’s
Modulus of the material, for elastic case) and are displayed as a coloured model or exported as a table.
— xv —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
In the coming chapters of this book, we will be using above philosophy to carry out Finite Element Analysis of 1D,
2D, 3D models of the objects and obtain Displacements, Forces and Stresses. Interpretation of results will be left
to the reader.
— xvi —
Study Cases
Study Cases
Real world examples are used in this book to describe each Study cases. Not only will this make it interesting, it
will give users a better understanding of how theory translates to practical analysis or what to do when rubber
meets the road.
To make this more interesting a small role play is introduced in this book (at the start of the chapters) in which
the main character “Esha” is a fresh out of University young Engineer who joined a Design firm and was given
responsibility to carry out FE Analysis of calculations that were traditionally performed by either hand calculations
or the Rule of thumb method was used.
A supervisor “John” is appointed to mentor Esha. John is passionate about the use of Open Source software
and knows the power they possess. To break the ice, John shows Esha the use of Salome-Meca by giving a very
small example of a 1m cube with pressure of 1MPa applied on top face and in another example he shows stresses
generated in a cantilever beam with gravity load applied.
After showing how easy it is to conduct FE Analysis with Salome-Meca, John shows Esha what the fundamental
steps to perform Stress Analysis are and how to replicate them in Salome-Meca and Code Aster.
John asks Esha to conduct FE Analysis of real world examples that will help her in building her capabilities and
confidence.
With every new example new concepts will be discussed and explained in an easy to follow format.
A step by step procedure will be discussed that will take you on a journey from where you are right now to
knowing Salome-Meca better. You will understand concepts of different modules of Salome-Meca viz. Geometry,
Mesh, Aster, Post-Pro etc. You will see how to make a simple geometry and make it ready for Meshing. You will
create the mesh (if you are following with the book) out of the Geometry. You will understand the Wizard that
Salome-Meca has and how to enter required parameters. After the analysis is complete, you will review the results
that are given by default, visualise them and try to make sense out of them. Then you will add a new analysis to
the same study and see how you can have multiple load cases for the same geometry.
You will understand how to use Salome-Meca Wizard to generate the default command (.comm) file. How to edit
this file manually and then conduct the FE Analysis.
— xvii —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
John will discuss what should be taken care of in 1D analysis as well as the use of Aster module, which has more
power than the Wizard. You will also learn how to use Eficas to generate command (.comm) file.
John shows how to model a 2D frame, how to mesh it and finally how to perform FE analysis using Salome-Meca’s
Aster module. You will also learn how to add a Rectangular Hollow Section (RHS) to the study and how to obtain
results in Text file along with in MED file.
How to generate 2D geometry for Axi-symmetric model of a Pressure Vessel. John will ask Esha to demonstrate
that the stresses generated in the hemispherical head is half that of a cylindrical shell by analysing a Pressure Vessel
shell and head junction using Axisymmetric model. If you are following along you will get a hands on idea of the
way Axi-symmetric analysis works and how Salome-Meca Wizard takes care of the minor details of the analysis.
You will also learn how to create a Quadrangle 2D mesh and how to insert Sub-mesh.
This will be another FE analysis that Esha is asked to do. Esha has to replicate the same 1D Pipe Guide results
by using Plate / Shell elements in Salome Meca. Esha will have some problems of understanding where to get
information for the analysis, but with careful guidance given by John, she will be able to successfully perform this
analysis and demonstrate results to John. You will learn how to visualise maximum and minimum stresses in a
shell.
Here, additional concepts of “How to apply Force on a Surface” is described. Also described is the difference
between 1D, Shell and 3D analysis results. When Esha gets results in her 3D analysis that are inconsistent with
— xviii —
Study Cases
previously carried out 1D and shell analysis, John explains her the difference in results. You will learn what
h-refinement is and also get a hands on experience of the time it takes to compute when the number of elements
are increased.
In this analysis a Pressure Vessel and Nozzle junction is analysed with Hexahedral mesh elements that are Quadratic
in nature. A force of 10kN will be applied on the face of the nozzle and the stresses and deflection will be obtained
from the analysis.
You will learn how to partition a geometry to make it suitable for hexahedral meshing. You will also learn how to
perform Boolean operations on the Geometry and how to translate and rotate geometries. Some of the advanced
types of Boundary Conditions will be discussed in this chapter.
In this case, John describes a way to conduct 3D FE Analysis for Pipe Guide Weld Assembly which has only 1 mesh
but the user can visualise stresses for individual Assembly Parts.
This analysis will be focused on stresses in individual parts and how they interact with each other at their Contact
surfaces. How to create a Geometry and mesh it to make it ready for Assembly analysis. How to generate the
command (.comm) file for an Assembly analysis. You will also learn how to use ASTK, a GUI for Aster for this
analysis.
After describing all the types of analysis that John and Esha are going to have a look at, John showed Esha her
desk where she will be working as an intern. This computer was not a hi-fi top of the notch computer but a 3 years
— xix —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
old computer which had seen better days. It has Ubuntu 12.04 preinstalled on it with Salome-Meca and Efficient
pre-loaded. John explained that FE analysis will work on moderately powerful computers which are 64 bit, have
around 2 to 4 GB Ram and a graphics processor.
Appendix B provides information on download and installation of Salome-Meca 2013.2 and Efficient.
— xx —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
Chapter 1
—1—
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
Pressure Applied on Top face: 1MPa and 10MPa (As two separate load cases)
—2—
Getting to know Salome-Meca
Following steps are to be taken after you have started you Ubuntu OS.
# Description Figure
1 When Ubuntu starts, it looks like figure below
As can be seen when Salome-Meca is installed, you get an icon on the Desktop.
One is to open terminal and go to the folder where Salome-Meca is installed and then type
3
./runAppli
—3—
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
The first line has common Menus like File, Edit, View, Tools, Window and Help.
The second line has tools like New, Open, Save, Close, Copy and Paste
5
Next to Paste button is the drop down for SALOME Module Selection. Different modules available in
Salome-Meca are Geometry, Mesh, Post-Pro, YACS, JobManager, Aster, Eficas, OpenTURNS, Homard
and ParaVis.
All of the Modules are also shown as buttons next to the drop down
Click “New”
—4—
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
Hover over the toolbar (shown below) and when you pause for a second over a button, it will display the
9 name of the button.
Select 5th Button from the left in the tool bar (Fit All) and the Entire box will fit to screen.
—5—
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
Make sure that Box_1 is selected in the
Object Browser
Click “Apply”.
—6—
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
As John saved the file, Esha was intrigued by the ease with which simple geometries can be done in Salome-Meca.
John explained that the next step is to Mesh this Geometry.
—7—
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
Following steps assumes that you have completed Geometry Creation steps as per previous Section and have saved
the file to a meaningful location with a meaningful name.
# Description Figure
In Salome-Meca main toolbar, Click the
down arrow where it says Geometry and
Select Mesh.
—8—
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
—9—
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
Nothing happens to the 3D model. So
where is the mesh?
— 10 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
“It is this easy” said John and then clicked on Save Button before going any further. Then John went on and said
that “In the next section, we will discuss how to build information for a Linear Static FE analysis by using Salome-
Meca Wizard”.
— 11 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 12 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
— 13 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
Click “Save”
— 14 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
“This concludes the Pre-Processing stage of FE Analysis” said John while he clicked on the Save button. He added,
“Salome-Meca wizards make it very easy to conduct a basic analysis“. Esha noted that it only took them 10 minutes
to reach to this stage and most of John’s time was taken up to explain her how to use the Wizard. If John had to do
this analysis by himself, he would have reached this stage in no time. John said, “Next, we will discuss how to run
a Linear Static FE analysis by using Salome-Meca’s Aster module.”
— 15 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 16 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
John clicked on the save button and said, “As we can see that a Post-Pro node has been added to the Object Browser
tree, Processing has completed and that results are ready for us to be evaluated”. “Depending on the Type of
Analysis, it can take a few minutes as it happened now or it can take several hours” said John. “Next we will see
some of the ways we can visualize the results in Post Processing Module of Salome-Meca.
— 17 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 18 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
— 19 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 20 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
— 21 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
Notice that at the bottom of the window, a graph of Deflection with minimum and maximum
6 deflections is shown.
— 22 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
— 23 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
Right Click on “Def.Shape:1”
and select “Show Only” and
only the Deformed shape will be
visible.
Play around with the Scale Factor in the “Deformed Shape” Tab and see the deformation change.
— 24 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
RESU____SIEQ_NOEU is the
Result (RESU) of the Stress
(SI__) Equivalent (__EQ) or
Equivalent Stresses at Nodes
(NOEU).
Click “Ok”
— 25 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 26 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
— 27 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
RESU____SIGM_NOEU is
the Result (RESU) of the Stress
(SIGM) or SIGMa at Nodes
(NOEU). Six stresses Sx, Sy, Sz,
Sxy, Sxz, Syz
Now let’s see how we can run a second analysis in the same .hdf file by adding a new FE Analysis in Aster Module.
— 28 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
Click the down arrow where
it says “Post_Pro” and Select
“Aster”.
Click “Next”.
Click “Save”
Click “Finish”
— 29 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
5 To find out the Deflection and Stresses for this analysis, repeat steps 2 to 16 shown previously.
“Well that’s the complete FE Analysis of a Carbon Steel Cube. The analysis I just showed you is very helpful to
understand the steps required in Finite Element Analysis. It might not have any practical use though”, said John.
John saved the entire Analysis and closed Salome-Meca. “Now I understand the fundamental steps of how to
perform FE Analysis in Salome-Meca but there are quite a few questions that come to my mind” said Esha. John
was happy to see that Esha had questions to ask as he now knew that she was paying attention.
“What if I want to carry out Self Weight analysis, or apply Force instead of Pressure? How do we do that in Salome-
Meca?” asked Esha. “That is what I am going to show you next but before I do that lets recap of what we did right
now” said John.
— 30 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
Summary
Esha listed out the steps that they followed to perform the analysis out loud
1. We Started Salome-Meca and entered Geometry Module and created a New Study.
2. We created a Primitive Cube and named the top and bottom face which we used in FE Analysis.
4. Then we entered Aster Module and created a new Analysis by using Linear Static Analysis Wizard.
5. We entered required information, saved the command (.comm) file and completed the Wizard.
6. We Ran the analysis and as everything went well, we were presented with Post-Pro Module Option.
7. We entered Post-Pro Module and saw Deflected Shape of the Model, VonMises Stresses and Tresca Stresses.
8. We built another analysis in the same study file and completed analysis by visualising results in Post-Pro
module
“Very good” said John, “but don’t forget that even before you start the analysis make sure you have all the input and
output parameters for your study that has been discussed with the client”.
— 31 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 32 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
— 33 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
In Boundary Condition(s)
Tab, Enter the information
for restricting face “Fixed” in
5 All directions as shown in the
figure.
Click on “Add”
Click “Add”
— 34 —
Getting to know Salome-Meca
# Description Figure
— 35 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
Chapternotes
1 In CaeLinux 2011 these entities were not generated by default but in Salome-Meca 2013.2 they are.
2 Click Second button on the figure shown in Step 11 (looks like a mouse) which will help you to zoom, pan and rotate
the geometry. Alternatively you can perform these operation by Holding down Ctrl key and using Left, Middle or
Right mouse buttons respectively.
3 If the mouse button is still selected, you won’t be able to select the face. If you are using Ctrl key with mouse buttons,
you don’t have to click this mouse button again.
— 36 —
— 37 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
Notes:
— 38 —
Editing command (.comm) file
Chapter 2
— 39 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
— 40 —
Editing command (.comm) file
# Description Figure
— 41 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
Now we need to create a Face
group of the face which will be
used in FE Analysis to fix the
Geometry.
“Save the file with a meaningful name. Next we will Mesh it”, said John.
— 42 —
Editing command (.comm) file
# Description Figure
— 43 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
John clicked on the Save button and asked Esha “Are you ready for the next Step?”
— 44 —
Editing command (.comm) file
Esha said that the next step is to use Salome-Meca Linear Static Wizard to create a command (.comm) file which
will hold information about the analysis that we are going to do. Then Esha paused and said, “But as Salome-Meca
Linear Static Wizard does not have Gravity load case, you are going to show me how to edit the command (.comm)
file by hand.”
“You know the steps further, so I am going to hurry and do it myself and explain them in short”, said John.
# Description Figure
Click on Aster Module and Make sure that Mesh_1 is still selected in the Object Browser. In Salome-Meca
main toolbar, Click Aster -> Wizards -> Linear Elastic, and a window will popup.
Enter 2.1e5 for Young’s Modulus and 0.3 for Poisson’s Ratio. Click “Next”
— 45 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
“This completes the steps to generate a study and save the command (.comm) file as we did earlier for the cube”
said John. Now we want to edit the command (.comm) file, remove Pressure term and add Gravity load to it.
— 46 —
Editing command (.comm) file
# Description Figure
— 47 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 48 —
Editing command (.comm) file
# Description Figure
Add “RHO=7.8E-9,” as
4 highlighted in the adjacent
figure. Density units are in
tonne / cubic millimetre.2
— 49 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 50 —
Editing command (.comm) file
# Description Figure
So what did we do here? “PESANTEUR” literally means “GRAVITY” in French. Translate it and see for
yourself.
7 So we are writing a code that says that we want to add Gravity Load to the study. The amount of load to be
applied is 9800 mm/square second,3 and that it should have a direction of Negative Z (-Z) which is shown
by a vector (0,0,-1) => (X=0, Y=0, Z=-1).4
John saved the file “Gravity.comm” and said that the next step is to run this analysis.
— 51 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
Open Salome-Meca again and check that “Case2.hdf ” file is Open. Make sure that “Aster” module is
selected.
1 Right Click the “linear-static” branch in Object Browser and click on “Run”.
A new window will pop up and as you know numbers will be flying around the screen.
If everything goes well you will be able to see “Post-Pro” appear in Object Browser.
— 52 —
Editing command (.comm) file
# Description Figure
Esha opened the “RESU____DEPL” branch and added the “Deformed shape”.
To make the deformation more prominent, she changed the Scale Factor to “100” as shown in adjacent
figure and Clicked “OK”.
For this Deformed shape, she enabled “Show Only” and changed the Representation to “Surface”
— 53 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
Then she opened “RESU____SIEQ_NOEU” branch and added “Scalar Map” with the Mode as “VMIS”
2
For this VonMises stresses, she enabled “Show Only” and changed the Representation to “Surface”
John said that at this stage don’t worry if the results of the analysis are not what you would get from the Manual
Calculations. The sole purpose of this Analysis was to show you how to manually edit the command (.comm) file
and add Gravity load.
After Esha stopped fiddling with the Post Processing Module, she told John that when he started showing her how
to do FE Analysis with Wizards in Salome-Meca, she was not sure if it could be flexible and powerful but after the
second example she has more confidence in what she is learning and hopes that all of her queries will be solved.
John told Esha that they have barely scratched the surface of what lies ahead of them. Salome-Meca is very
powerful tool if the user knows how to use it.
— 54 —
Editing command (.comm) file
Summary
Esha summarised her learning
1. How to manually edit the command (.comm) file to change default Linear Static Wizard information.
John said that now it was time for a coffee break as they were doing this for more than an hour.
— 55 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 56 —
Editing command (.comm) file
# Description Figure
— 57 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
In Boundary Condition(s)
Tab, Enter the information
for restricting face “Fix” in
5 All directions as shown in the
figure.
Click on “Add”
Click “Add”
— 58 —
Editing command (.comm) file
# Description Figure
— 59 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
Chapter notes
1 Or any other type of load that requires density of the material, like doing FE analysis of a rotational body.
3 Remember our units are mm, second, tonne, Newton, Mega Pascals etc.
4 Same results can be achieved by the value of -9800 and vector of (0,0,1)
— 60 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
Chapter 3
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Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
He explained Esha that we will reproduce this manual calculation result by FE Analysis. In this instance a simple
1 Dimensional linear static FE analysis with Beam elements will be performed.
— 62 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
— 63 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 64 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
— 65 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
6 Save this file and give it a proper name. I have used “Case3.hdf ”
— 66 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
— 67 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 68 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
“This concludes creation of the Mesh for the FE Analysis”, said John. Next we will create a command (.comm) file
that will give instructions to Aster about the Analysis.
— 69 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
“For this analysis I will show you the use of Eficas and then you can decide if you want to use it for future analysis
or create the command (.comm) file manually”, said John.
# Description Figure
In Salome-Meca select “Eficas” module to enable it.
1 Eficas has not been ported to English yet so everything you will be doing from now on will have French
language, including Tool Tips.
In the Main Tool Bar, Click on Eficas
-> Eficas pour Code Aster.
2 2. Open a file
3. Save a file
4. Copy
5. Paste
6. Delete
7. Cut
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1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
— 71 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
After the file is saved, the Eficas window looks like that shown below. In the left column it shows the
file name “Case3.comm” in Red colour. This means that this file is not complete. When the file will be
complete, i.e. when it will have all parameters defined like Start, End, Material definition, Mesh definition,
Load and Boundary condition defined, it will become Green. At this stage Eficas is ready for Input from
the user.
The second Column shows all the commands that are available in Code-Aster and these are sorted
Alphabetically. They can be sorted based on groups but in this instance we will stick to Alphabetic sorting.
Information that needs to be entered in command (.comm) file are called Concepts in Code_Aster and we
need to add following Concepts
2. Material Definition
5 3. What type of Mesh file to read3
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1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
In the second Column scroll down to “DEBUT”, Click it and then Click on “Valider”5 Button at the bottom.
When you do that, DEBUT gets added to the comm file and it has Green button which means that no extra
6
information is required to be entered.
Two Tabs “Ajouter Mot-Clef ” (Add Keyword) and “Nouvelle Commande” (New Command) are shown.
Next we need to define Material to be
used in the study.
— 73 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 74 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
— 75 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 76 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
Then we need to define the type of
Modelling.
MATER = CS.
— 77 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 78 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
— 79 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 80 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
— 81 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
Click Aster -> Add study case.
— 82 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
“Save this study and next we will have a look at the Results”, said John.
— 83 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
First John enabled Deformed Shape for DEFI, showing the Deflection of the Free end of Guide.
Open Branch “Result__DEPL._” and Right Click on “0, -”. From the Pop up menu Select “Deformed
1 Shape”. Leave everything default and Click “OK”.
As can be seen from the figure below, the Maximum deflection of the Right side edge is 1.29017 and based
on our Units, it is 1.29017mm
Then John enabled Stress in SIPO_NOEU. This has many results embedded in it, but the one we are
interested in is SMFY (Stress due to bending Moment MY).
As the beam is longitudinal to Global X axis, and so fortunately for us, Local and Global X, Y and Z
2
direction for this beam are the same16.
As can be seen from the figure below, the Maximum stress generated at the Fixed point (left side) is -180
and based on our Units, it is -180MPa.
— 84 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
Result
Esha quickly made a Table to show the difference between Hand Calculated values and that obtained by FE Analysis.
John explained that the difference in Deflection is mainly due to rounding error and also due to density of Mesh.
If Esha wants, she can perform the analysis again with increased Segments in the Mesh and compare results.
Summary
John asked Esha what she had learnt in this Case Study. Esha summarised her learnings
— 85 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 86 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
— 87 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
Click “Add”
Click on “Add”
— 88 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
# Description Figure
Click “Add”
— 89 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
# Description Figure
— 90 —
1D Finite Element Analysis
Chapter notes
1 Stable version is version 11.x
2 You can also have “PORSUIT” which means a continuation from previous file.
4 Code_Aster results can be exported as a Text file with particular result or in a MED file, here we will save the result in
MED file.
5 If you do not understand what the word means, try to translate from French to English and most of the time you will
be able to understand it.
6 In defining material there are other parameters that can be defined as well, viz. Density, Thermal Conductivity etc., but
as this is an Elastic Static Analysis only two properties are required.
7 More than one material can be defined and added to the study. To define another material just add DEFI_MATERIAU
again and give it a different name.
8 The reason we need to define Mesh group is to convert it to Node group in the next step
9 As we will add Force and Fix boundary condition on the Nodes we need to define them before we use them
10 If you are having a model that has a 1D element, a sheet metal and a 3D model, you can define different types of
modelling for each different type of element here. Instead of TOUT = OUI in AFFE, you need to select each GROUP_
MA and give it a different MODELISATION.
11 Different types of Modelisation for Beams can be done viz “POU_D_E” etc
12 As we only have a 1D representation of the beam, we need to explicitly tell the dimensions of the beam to Code_Aster
13 Beams and Shells have 6 degrees of freedom. Three in Translation and Three in Rotation.
14 Instead of specifying what we want, we can ask Code_Aster to add all results that it calculated in the MED file. This
will be shown in 3D case of Pipe Guide.
15 To start with, you can leave default of 128MB memory but soon, for bigger analysis, Code_Aster will complain of
having insufficient memory and stop running, so it is good to give around quarter or half of the total memory of the
computer.
16 Local Co-ordinates for Beams are really interesting and worth investing time in. Local x axis always runs in the
longitudinal direction of the beam. Local y axis is perpendicular to local x axis and if local x axis is not parallel to
Global Y axis, then local y axis it is parallel to Global Y axis and local z axis is perpendicular to both.
— 91 —
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
Notes:
— 92 —
What will be covered in Volume 2
After several months, John caught up with Esha to find out how she was feeling regarding the use of Open Source
Software for Finite Element Analysis. Esha was very excited to tell John all about her experiences while they met
for coffee. Then Esha told John that every now and then a different type of FE Analysis comes to her for which she
is not ready yet. She has to pass them to her other colleagues as she is not feeling confident and she is feeling a bit
lost. As usual John was listening to her words carefully and asked her if he could help. Esha was waiting for John
to say that and she listed the analysis which she felt were a bit tough for her to do.
—a—
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
Modal Analysis
Sometimes in her career, Esha had come across a FE problem where she needed to find the Natural frequencies of
a given shape of the object. Esha asked John, if it was possible in Code Aster to find out the Natural frequencies of
the object by performing Modal Analysis?
Thermal Analysis
Esha remembered that once she was asked if there was a way to perform Thermal analysis in Code_Aster. As
Esha didn’t know, she had to again pass it along to her colleague. Is there a way to conduct Thermal Analysis in
Code_Aster?
These were some of the example problems that she had the opportunity to do but was not able to due to her limited
knowledge. There were some more problems that she wanted to discuss with John but first she wanted to know if
her existing problems can be solved.
John told Esha that both Salome and Code_Aster were capable of conducting the analysis she asked for and much
more.
—b—
Appendix A
Appendix A
—c—
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
Appendix B
—d—
Appendix B
—e—
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
http://www.code-aster.org/V2/spip.php?article303
—f—
Appendix B
Once Salome-Meca installation is complete, a desktop icon will be created which can be double clicked to start
Salome-Meca 2013.2
Have fun.
If you have any trouble installing the software, consult Code_Aster Forums on
http://www.code-aster.org/forum2/viewforum.php?id=26
—g—
Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software
Efficient Install
Efficient is developed in Java and to run it in Ubuntu, you will need OpenJDK Java 7 runtime.
https://apps.ubuntu.com/cat/applications/precise/openjdk-7-jre/
—h—
Appendix B
On the right hand side of the website latest version of Efficient software can be downloaded. Click on
“Download v0.1.0” and a Java Jar file named “Efficient_v0-1-0.jar” will be downloaded on your computer. Copy
it to a proper location.
To run Efficient, Right Click on “Efficient_v0-1-0.jar” and Select “Open With OpenJDK Java 7 Runtime”
—i—
Finite Element Analysis with
Open Source Software
Second Edition
By
Dharmit Thakore
CPEng, RPEQ, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Features:
1. Step by Step procedure to conduct Finite Element Analysis
2. Screen shots to help users visualise the procedure and understand efficiently
3. Real world examples used in the book to make users confident of their knowledge and the power of
Open Source software being used in real world
4. Each chapter introduces a new concept of conducting FE Analysis so that the user is not bombarded
with too much information in one Chapter.