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Buckling

Introduction
This tutorial was created using ANSYS 7.0 to solve a simple buckling problem.
It is recommended that you complete the NonLinear Tutorial prior to beginning th
is tutorial
Buckling loads are critical loads where certain types of structures become unsta
ble. Each load has an associated
buckled mode shape; this is the shape that the structure assumes in a buckled co
ndition. There are two primary
means to perform a buckling analysis:
1. Eigenvalue
Eigenvalue buckling analysis predicts the theoretical buckling strength of an id
eal elastic structure. It
computes the structural eigenvalues for the given system loading and constraints
. This is known as
classical Euler buckling analysis. Buckling loads for several configurations are
readily available from
tabulated solutions. However, in real-life, structural imperfections and nonline
arities prevent most real-
world structures from reaching their eigenvalue predicted buckling strength; ie.
it over-predicts the
expected buckling loads. This method is not recommended for accurate, real-world
buckling prediction
analysis.
2. Nonlinear
Nonlinear buckling analysis is more accurate than eigenvalue analysis because it
employs non-linear,
large-deflection, static analysis to predict buckling loads. Its mode of operati
on is very simple: it
gradually increases the applied load until a load level is found whereby the str
ucture becomes unstable
(ie. suddenly a very small increase in the load will cause very large deflection
s). The true non-linear
nature of this analysis thus permits the modeling of geometric imperfections, lo
ad perterbations, material
nonlinearities and gaps. For this type of analysis, note that small off-axis loa
ds are necessary to initiate
the desired buckling mode.
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This tutorial will use a steel beam with a 10 mm X 10 mm cross section, rigidly
constrained at the bottom. The
required load to cause buckling, applied at the top-center of the beam, will be
calculated.
Eigenvalue Buckling Analysis
Preprocessing: Defining the Problem
1. Open preprocessor menu
/PREP7
2. Give example a Title
Utility Menu > File > Change Title ...
/title,Eigen-Value Buckling Analysis
3. Define Keypoints
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > In Active CS ...
K,#,X,Y
We are going to define 2 Keypoints for this beam as given in the following table
:
Keypoints Coordinates (x,y)
1 (0,0)
2 (0,100)
4. Create Lines
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Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Lines > Lines > In Active Coord
L,1,2
Create a line joining Keypoints 1 and 2
5. Define the Type of Element
Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete...
For this problem we will use the BEAM3 (Beam 2D elastic) element. This element h
as 3 degrees of
freedom (translation along the X and Y axes, and rotation about the Z axis).
6. Define Real Constants
Preprocessor > Real Constants... > Add...
In the 'Real Constants for BEAM3' window, enter the following geometric properti
es:
i. Cross-sectional area AREA: 100
ii. Area moment of inertia IZZ: 833.333
iii. Total Beam Height HEIGHT: 10
This defines a beam with a height of 10 mm and a width of 10 mm.
7. Define Element Material Properties
Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Elastic
> Isotropic
In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for steel:
i. Young's modulus EX: 200000
ii. Poisson's Ratio PRXY: 0.3
8. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > ManualSize > Lines > All Lines...
For this example we will specify an element edge length of 10 mm (10 element div
isions along the
line).
9. Mesh the frame
Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Lines > click 'Pick All'
LMESH,ALL
Solution Phase: Assigning Loads and Solving
1. Define Analysis Type
Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Static
ANTYPE,0
2. Activate prestress effects
To perform an eigenvalue buckling analysis, prestress effects must be activated.
You must first ensure that you are looking at the unabridged solution menu so th
at you can select
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Analysis Options in the Analysis Type submenu. The last option in the solution m
enu will either
be 'Unabridged menu' (which means you are currently looking at the abridged vers
ion) or 'Abriged
Menu' (which means you are looking at the unabridged menu). If you are looking a
t the abridged
menu, select the unabridged version.

Select Solution > Analysis Type > Analysis Options

In the following window, change the [SSTIF][PSTRES] item to 'Prestress ON', whic
h ensures the
stress stiffness matrix is calculated. This is required in eigenvalue buckling a
nalysis.
3. Apply Constraints
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Keypoints
Fix Keypoint 1 (ie all DOF constrained).

4. Apply Loads
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Keypoints
The eignenvalue solver uses a unit force to determine the necessary buckling loa
d. Applying a load
other than 1 will scale the answer by a factor of the load.
Apply a vertical (FY) point load of -1 N to the top of the beam (keypoint 2).

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The applied loads and constraints should now appear as shown in the figure below
.

5. Solve the System

Solution > Solve > Current LS
SOLVE
6.
Exit the Solution processor
Close the solution menu and click FINISH at the bottom of the Main Menu.
FINISH
Normally at this point you enter the postprocessing phase. However, with a buckl
ing analysis you must
re-enter the solution phase and specify the buckling analysis. Be sure to close
the solution menu and reenter
it or the buckling analysis may not function properly.
7. Define Analysis Type
Solution > Analysis Type > New Analysis > Eigen Buckling
ANTYPE,1
8. Specify Buckling Analysis Options
Select Solution > Analysis Type > Analysis Options
Complete the window which appears, as shown below. Select 'Block Lanczos' as an
extraction
method and extract 1 mode. The 'Block Lanczos' method is used for large symmetri
c eigenvalue
problems and uses the sparse matrix solver. The 'Subspace' method could also be
used, however it
tends to converge slower as it is a more robust solver. In more complex analyses
the Block Lanczos
method may not be adequate and the Subspace method would have to be used.
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9. Solve the System

Solution > Solve > Current LS
SOLVE
10.
Exit the Solution processor
Close the solution menu and click FINISH at the bottom of the Main Menu.
FINISH
Again it is necessary to exit and re-enter the solution phase. This time, howeve
r, is for an expansion pass.
An expansion pass is necessary if you want to review the buckled mode shape(s).
11. Expand the solution
Select Solution > Analysis Type > Expansion Pass... and ensure that it is on. Yo
u may have to
select the 'Unabridged Menu' again to make this option visible.
Select Solution > Load Step Opts > ExpansionPass > Single Expand > Expand Modes
...
Complete the following window as shown to expand the first mode
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12. Solve the System
Solution > Solve > Current LS
SOLVE
Postprocessing: Viewing the Results
1. View the Buckling Load
To display the minimum load required to buckle the beam select General Postproc
> List Results
> Detailed Summary. The value listed under 'TIME/FREQ' is the load (41,123), whi
ch is in
Newtons for this example. If more than one mode was selected in the steps above,
the
corresponding loads would be listed here as well.
/POST1
SET,LIST

2. Display the Mode Shape

Select General Postproc > Read Results > Last Set to bring up the data for the l
ast mode
calculated.
Select General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape
Command File Mode of Solution
The above example was solved using a mixture of the Graphical User Interface (or
GUI) and the command
language interface of ANSYS. This problem has also been solved using the ANSYS c
ommand language
interface that you may want to browse. Open the file and save it to your compute
r. Now go to 'File > Read
input from...' and select the file.
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Non-Linear Buckling Analysis
Ensure that you have completed the NonLinear Tutorial prior to beginning this po
rtion of the tutorial
Preprocessing: Defining the Problem
1. Open preprocessor menu
/PREP7
2. Give example a Title
Utility Menu > File > Change Title ...
/TITLE, Nonlinear Buckling Analysis
3. Create Keypoints
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Keypoints > In Active CS
K,#,X,Y
We are going to define 2 keypoints (the beam vertices) for this structure to cre
ate a beam with a
length of 100 millimeters:
Keypoint Coordinates (x,y)
1 (0,0)
2 (0,100)
4. Define Lines
Preprocessor > Modeling > Create > Lines > Lines > Straight Line
Create a line between Keypoint 1 and Keypoint 2.
L,1,2
5. Define Element Types
Preprocessor > Element Type > Add/Edit/Delete...
For this problem we will use the BEAM3 (Beam 2D elastic) element. This element h
as 3 degrees of
freedom (translation along the X and Y axis's, and rotation about the Z axis). W
ith only 3 degrees
of freedom, the BEAM3 element can only be used in 2D analysis.
6. Define Real Constants
Preprocessor > Real Constants... > Add...
In the 'Real Constants for BEAM3' window, enter the following geometric properti
es:
i. Cross-sectional area AREA: 100
ii. Area Moment of Inertia IZZ: 833.333
iii. Total beam height HEIGHT: 10
This defines an element with a solid rectangular cross section 10 x 10 millimete
rs.
7. Define Element Material Properties
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Preprocessor > Material Props > Material Models > Structural > Linear > Elastic
> Isotropic
In the window that appears, enter the following geometric properties for steel:
i. Young's modulus EX: 200e3
ii. Poisson's Ratio PRXY: 0.3
8. Define Mesh Size
Preprocessor > Meshing > Size Cntrls > Lines > All Lines...
For this example we will specify an element edge length of 1 mm (100 element div
isions along the
line).
ESIZE,1
9. Mesh the frame
Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh > Lines > click 'Pick All'
LMESH,ALL
Solution: Assigning Loads and Solving
1. Define Analysis Type
Solution > New Analysis > Static
ANTYPE,0
2. Set Solution Controls
Select Solution > Analysis Type > Sol'n Control...
The following image will appear:

Ensure the following selections are made under the 'Basic' tab (as shown above)
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A.
Ensure Large Static Displacements are permitted (this will include the effects o
f large
deflection in the results)
B.
Ensure Automatic time stepping is on. Automatic time stepping allows ANSYS to de
termine
appropriate sizes to break the load steps into. Decreasing the step size usually
ensures better
accuracy, however, this takes time. The Automatic Time Step feature will determi
ne an
appropriate balance. This feature also activates the ANSYS bisection feature whi
ch will
allow recovery if convergence fails.
C.
Enter 20 as the number of substeps. This will set the initial substep to 1/20 th
of the total
load.
D.
Enter a maximum number of substeps of 1000. This stops the program if the soluti
on does
not converge after 1000 steps.
E.
Enter a minimum number of substeps of 1.
F. Ensure all solution items are writen to a results file.
Ensure the following selection is made under the 'Nonlinear' tab (as shown below
)
A.
Ensure Line Search is 'On'. This option is used to help the Newton-Raphson solve
r converge.
B.
Ensure Maximum Number of Iterations is set to 1000
NOTE
There are several options which have not been changed from their default values.
For more
information about these commands, type help followed by the command into the com
mand line.
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3. Apply Constraints
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Displacement > On Keypoints
Fix Keypoint 1 (ie all DOFs constrained).
4. Apply Loads
Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Structural > Force/Moment > On Keypoints
Place a -50,000 N load in the FY direction on the top of the beam (Keypoint 2).
Also apply a -250
N load in the FX direction on Keypoint 2. This horizontal load will persuade the
beam to buckle at
the minimum buckling load.
The model should now look like the window shown below.

5. Solve the System

Solution > Solve > Current LS
SOLVE
The following will appear on your screen for NonLinear Analyses
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This shows the convergence of the solution.

General Postprocessing: Viewing the Results
1. View the deformed shape
To view the element in 2D rather than a line: Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style >
Size and Shape
and turn 'Display of element' ON (as shown below).
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General Postproc > Plot Results > Deformed Shape... > Def + undeformed
PLDISP,1
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View the deflection contour plot

General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu... > DOF solution, U
Y
PLNSOL,U,Y,0,1

Other results can be obtained as shown in previous linear static analyses.

Time History Postprocessing: Viewing the Results
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As shown, you can obtain the results (such as deflection, stress and bending mom
ent diagrams) the same way
you did in previous examples using the General Postprocessor. However, you may w
ish to view time history
results such as the deflection of the object over time.
1. Define Variables
Select: Main Menu > TimeHist Postpro. The following window should open automatic
ally.
If it does not open automatically, select Main Menu > TimeHist Postpro > Variabl
e Viewer

Click the add button

in the upper left corner of the window to add a variable.

Double-click Nodal Solution > DOF Solution > Y-Component of displacement (as sho
wn
below) and click OK. Pick the uppermost node on the beam and click OK in the 'No
de for Data'
window.
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To add another variable, click the add button again. This time select Reaction F
orces > Structural
Forces > Y-Component of Force. Pick the lowermost node on the beam and click OK.

On the Time History Variable window, click the circle in the 'X-Axis' column for
FY_3. This will
make the reaction force the x-variable. The Time History Variables window should
now look like
this:
2. Graph Results over Time
Click on UY_2 in the Time History Variables window.
Click the graphing button
in the Time History Variables window.
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The labels on the plot are not updated by ANSYS, so you must change them manuall
y. Select
Utility Menu > Plot Ctrls > Style > Graphs > Modify Axes and re-label the X and
Y-axis
appropriately.
The plot shows how the beam became unstable and buckled with a load of approxima
tely 40,000 N,
the point where a large deflection occured due to a small increase in force. Thi
s is slightly less than
the eigen-value solution of 41,123 N, which was expected due to non-linear geome
try issues
discussed above.
Command File Mode of Solution
The above example was solved using a mixture of the Graphical User Interface (or
GUI) and the command
language interface of ANSYS. This problem has also been solved using the ANSYS c
ommand language
interface that you may want to browse. Open the file and save it to your compute
r. Now go to 'File > Read
input from...' and select the file.
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