ELEATION’s ANSYS Basic to Professional

Training Program

Session 50: Theory of Explicit Dynamic

Analysis
 Recap…..!!!!
In Session 49 : We Have Learned
 How to perform Fatigue Analysis in ANSYS Software.
In Session 50 : We will learn
 Time Dependent vs Time Independent Analysis
 Implicit vs Explicit Problem
 When to use Explicit FEM
 Analysis Setting
 Solution Information
Time-dependent vs. Time-independent Analysis
For all nonlinear and non-static analyses, incremental load (also known as displacement steps)
are needed. In more simplistic terminology, this means we need to break down the
physics/time relationship to solve a mathematical problem. To do this, we form two groups:
either time-dependent or time-independent problems. To solve these problems, we commonly
use ‘implicit’ and/or ‘explicit’ methods.

We refer to problems as ‘time-dependent’ when the effects of acceleration are pronounced

and cannot be neglected. For example, in a drop test, the highest force occurs within the first
few milliseconds as the item decelerates to a halt. In this case, the effect of such a deceleration
must be accounted for.
Example: Impact Test, Crash Test etc

In contrast, when loads are slowly applied onto a structure or surface (i.e., when a monitor is
placed onto a table) the loading can be considered ‘quasi-static’ or ‘time-independent’. This is
because the loading time is slow enough that the acceleration effects are negligible.
Example: Sitting on a chair, Tensile Test on a Universal Testing Machine etc
Implicit vs. Explicit Problems
Explicit analyses aim to solve for acceleration (or otherwise {x´´}). In most cases, the mass
matrix is considered as “lumped” and thus a diagonal matrix. Inversion of a diagonal matrix is
straightforward and includes inversion of the terms on the diagonal only. Once the
accelerations are calculated at the nth step, the velocity at n+1/2 step and displacement at
n+1 step are calculated accordingly. In these calculations, the scheme is not unconditionally
stable and thus smaller time steps are required. To be more precise, the time step in an
explicit finite element analysis must be less than the Courant time step (i.e., the time taken by
a sound wave to travel across an element) while implicit analyses have no such limitations.

One method of solving for the unknowns {x} is through matrix inversion (or equivalent
processes). This is known as an implicit analysis. When the problem is nonlinear, the solution
is obtained in a number of steps and the solution for the current step is based on the solution
from the previous step. For large models, inverting the matrix is highly expensive and will
require advanced iterative solvers (over standard direct solvers). Sometimes, this is also
known as the backward Euler integration scheme. These solutions are unconditionally stable
and facilitate larger time steps. Despite this advantage, the implicit methods can be extremely
time-consuming when solving dynamic and nonlinear problems.
When to Use Explicit FEM?
Explicit analysis offers a faster solution in events where there is a dynamic equilibrium
or otherwise:
Sum of all forces = mass x acceleration
The explicit method should be used when the strain rates/velocity is over 10
units/second or 10 m/s respectively. These events can be best exampled by extreme
scenarios such as an automotive crash, ballistic event, or even meteor impact. In
these cases, the material models do not only need to account for the variation of
stress with strain but also the strain rate. On this scale, the strain rates play a
particularly important contribution.
ANALYSIS SETTINGS:

Analysis settings plays a major role in defining the correct problem statement, while the user
should be well aware of the inputs available in the settings.

Below are a few important options:

TYPE:

Efficiency Low Velocity High Velocity Quasi-Static Drop Test

Setting for Recommended Recommended Recommended Recommended
minimum run setting for low setting for low setting for quasi- for free falling or
time (also deformation/velo deformation/velo static simulations objects
minimum city simulations city simulations accelerating due
robustness and (<100m/s) (<100m/s) to gravity
accuracy in some
cases)
ANALYSIS SETTINGS:
STEP CONTROLS:
Field Description
Resume From Cycle Allows you to select the cycle (time increment for explicit integration) from which
to start the solution upon selecting Solve. A cycle of zero (default setting) indicates
the solution will clear any previous progress and start from time zero. A non-zero
cycle, on the other hand, allows you to revisit a previous solution and extend it
further in time. A solution obtained from a non-zero cycle is considered to have
been "resumed" or "restarted".
Note that the list will only contain non-zero selections if a solve was previously
executed and restart files have been generated.
When resuming an analysis, changes to analysis settings will be respected where
possible. For example, you may wish to resume an analysis with an extended
termination time. Changes to any other features in the model (geometry
suppression, connections, loads, and so on) will prevent restarts from taking place.

Maximum Number of The maximum number of cycles allowed during the analysis. The analysis will stop
Cycles once the specified value is reached. Enter a large number to have the analysis run
to the defined End Time.
End Time (Required input) The maximum length of time (starting from zero seconds) to be
simulated by the explicit analysis. You should enter a reasonable estimate to cover
the phenomena of interest.
Field Description
Maximum Energy Energy conservation is a measure of the quality of an explicit dynamics analysis.
Error Large deviations from energy conservation usually imply a less than optimal model
definition. This parameter allows you to automatically stop the solution if the
deviation from energy conservation becomes unacceptable. Enter a fraction of the
total system energy (measured at the Reference Energy Cycle) for which you want
the analysis to stop. For example, the default value of 0.1 will cause the analysis to
stop if the energy error exceeds 10% of the energy at the reference cycle.

Reference Energy The cycle at which you want the solver to calculate the reference energy, against
Cycle which it will calculate the energy error. Usually this will be the start cycle (cycle =
0). You may need to increase this value if the model has zero energy at cycle = 0
(for example if you have no initial velocity defined).
Initial Time Step Enter an initial time step you want to use, or use the Program Controlled default. If
left on Program Controlled, the time step will be automatically set to ½ the
computed element stability time step. The Program Controlled setting is
recommended.
Field Description
Minimum Time Step Enter the minimum time step allowed in the analysis, or use the Program
Controlled default. If the time step drops below this value the analysis will stop. If
set to Program Controlled, the value will be chosen as 1/10th the initial time step.

Maximum Time Step Enter the maximum time step allowed in the analysis, or use the Program
Controlled default. The solver will use the minimum of this value or the computed
stability time step during the solve. The Program Controlled setting is
recommended.
Time Step Safety It is not wise to run at the stability limit, so a safety factor is applied to the
Factor computed stability time step. The default value of 0.9 should work for most
analyses.
 Solution Information explained:

Solution Output:
• Energy Conservation: shows plots of total energy, reference energy, work done, and
energy error.
• Momentum Summary: shows plots of X, Y and Z momentum and X, Y and Z impulse for
the model.
• Energy summary: shows plots of internal energy, kinetic energy, hourglass energy and
contact energy.
• Solver Output (default): Displays the solution output file (text) from the appropriate
solver (for example, the Mechanical APDL application, AUTODYN). This option is valuable
to users who are accustomed to reviewing this type of output for diagnostics on the
execution of their solver of choice.
Thank you for attending Session 50
In session 51, we are going to cover:

 How to perform Explicit Dynamic Analysis - ANSYS

For any queries/doubts, feel free to contact us via:

query@eleation.com

www.eleation.com