Many product designs require the simulation of structural assemblies, which includes predicting the deformation and stress of the assembly where multiple parts come into contact or are connected. Parts of an assembly may be connected using a variety of assembly conditions including interference fits, bolted connections, and welds, or parts may otherwise come into contact under structural loads. With the release of ANSYS 16.2, we have included a number of new capabilities in ANSYS AIM that allow you to quickly evaluate the structural behaviors of assemblies to ensure product performance and reliability.
Easy-to-use Assembly Analysis
AIM 16.2 includes a guided workflow that makes it easy to evaluate structural assemblies with both linear and nonlinear contact for a variety of assembly conditions. By simply following the workflow defined by the Structural template, you can easily define the model setup and desired simulation results. As part of the Structural template, AIM automatically identifies parts in contact based on a geometric tolerance, which can be adjusted for the entire assembly or individual sub-assemblies. This capability streamlines the setup of defining contact for complex geometry as shown below by the automatically defined contact of a clutch housing and frame assembly:
Automatic contact detection for a clutch housing and frame assembly; the Contact group view allows for quick, graphical verification of individual contact surfaces.
Robust Contact Modeling and Solution
Along with the fast setup of assembly contact, we included many new, cool solver features in AIM 16.2 that make it easy to obtain accurate contact results for assemblies. AIM includes robust nonlinear contact using advanced solver technology with automatic solution control, which automatically selects appropriate solver settings to enhance convergence, and automatically determines if a large-deflection solution is required. Of course, you can control the solver settings manually. But, the automatic solution control allows you to get an accurate, converged, nonlinear solution without spending time adjusting solver settings. This is illustrated below by the piston and connecting rod model solved using automatic, nonlinear solution control:
Quarter symmetry model of a piston and connecting rod assembly; nonlinear solution obtained using AIM’s automatic, nonlinear solution control; contact pressure on connecting pin shown.
We also included support for a variety of contact conditions to enable simulation of real structural assembly behavior. Options for contact conditions include frictionless, frictional, rough, bonded and no-separation contact, along with the ability to combine contact and structural joints to accurately predict assembly behavior. ANSYS AIM 16.2 also includes options for initial interface treatments to adjust parts that may not be in a state of initial contact due to geometric tolerances or faceting of the mesh. Adjusting parts to be in a “just touching” state of initial contact is very helpful to ensure solution stability for assemblies with nonlinear contact.
We also made it simple to evaluate the effects of interference or press fits by allowing the specification of a contact surface offset. So, if you have an interference fit to simulate, like the train wheel and axle shown below, you can easily specify a contact surface offset to investigate the deformation and stress for different interference fit values without modifying the underlying CAD geometry. Post-processing contact results is also a breeze as contours of the contact pressure, frictional stress, sliding distance, etc. are easily created for for all contacts or individual contact surfaces.
Quarter symmetry model of an interference fit between a train wheel and axle; contact surface offset used to model interference fit; equivalent stress from interference fit shown.
Quarter symmetry model of an interference fit between a train wheel and axle; frictional stress from interference fit shown.
Interested in Learning More?
ANSYS AIM makes it easy to include structural analysis of assemblies as a regular part of your product design process, saving both time and product development costs. You can learn more about the features of ANSYS AIM, and watch a number of demonstration videos, by visiting our website ANSYS AIM Features.
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