Introduction to MotionView & MotionSolve

Course Exercises Including Simple Mechanics, Flexible Bodies, and Basic Vehicles
Technical Support
Altair provides comprehensive software support via web FAQs, tutorials, training classes, telephone,
and e-mail. The Altair web site is a valuable online companion to Altair software. Visit
www.altairhyperworks.com for tips and tricks, training course schedules, training/tutorial videos, and
other useful information.

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Altair training courses provide a hands-on introduction to our products, focusing on overall
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not know who your account manager is, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and your account
manager will contact you.

Telephone and e-mail

To contact an Altair support representative, reference the following table or the information available
on the HyperWorks website:

http://www.altairhyperworks.com/ClientCenterHWSupportProduct.aspx

Location Telephone e-mail

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 Chapter 1: Introduction to MotionView Exercises

Chapter 1

Introduction to MotionView
Exercises

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 Chapter 1: Introduction to MotionView Exercises

Exercise 1a: HyperWorks Desktop Overview

The purpose of this exercise is to familiarize users with the HyperView, HyperGraph,
and MotionView interfaces. User actions will include opening and saving a HyperWorks
Desktop session, switching between HyperWorks clients, manipulation of the appearance
and orientation of animations and plots, creating and modifying HyperWorks Desktop
windows, opening and saving a model in MotionView, navigating using the Project Browser,
and selecting and modifying MotionView entities.

Problem Setup
You should copy the files: car.g, cockpit.g, diffeq_integ.tpl, iihs2.avi,
indy.g, indy.gra, indy.req, indy_full_new.mvw, road.g,
SingleCylinderEngine_model.mdl, soliton.mdl, tires.g

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Step 1: Opening a Session File

1. Start HyperView by going through the Start menu or launching through the scripts
directory.
2. Click File > Open > Session from the main menu.
3. Navigate to and select the file indy_full_new.mvw.
4. Click Open.

Tip: This session file includes a six window page layout; two animation windows and
remaining are plot windows with results being read from ADAMS *.gra and *.req files.
5. If a Message Log file appears, you may review it or click Close.

Step 2: View Menu Options

1. Click inside the animation window in the bottom row (car animation).

2. Start the animation by clicking the Start/Pause Animation icon on the toolbar.
3. Click View > Panels from the Menu Bar.
This removes the panel and expands the page to fill the MotionView session window.
Use the Animation Tool Bar at the bottom of window control the animation.

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Animation Tool Bar

4. To speed up or slow down the animation, increase frames per sec by scrolling cursor
from min to max i.e. left to right.

5. To view each frame separately, stop the animation by clicking the Start/Pause

Animation icon .

6. Click the Right arrow, , to advance each frame or the Left arrow, , to reverse
each frame.
7. Manually animate the model moving the slide bar (left/right) on the Animation tool bar.

Step 3: Page and Window Control

Tip: The HyperWorks Page Controls toolbar contains options to control page and window
layouts. A Page contains one or more windows that make up the page, and each Window
can contain a different HyperWorks client (i.e., MotionView, HyperView, HyperGraph, etc.).

1. Expand and then reduce any window using the Expand/Reduce Window icon
from the Page Controls toolbar.
2. Windows can be swapped in a layout by simply dragging and dropping in the Session
Browser.

-- Or --

Use the Swap Windows option on the Page Controls toolbar .

3. From the HyperWorks Page Control Toolbar click the small arrow next to the Page

Layout icon and specify a four window layout . What happens?

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4. Switch the four window layout back to six window layout. What happens?

Step 4: Mouse Options for HyperView

1. Select one of the HyperView animation windows to make it the active window.
Tip: The blue outline around the window will indicate it is the active window. Example is
shown below:

Active Window

2. Select Preferences > Options…

Tip: In MotionView, similar settings are found under the menu Tools > Options…
3. Review the Mouse options (adjust if desired). Note that the buttons used by the mouse
for the operations are highlighted in the top row of the dialog.

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Mouse Options
Some of the most commonly used mouse controls are the following:
(Hold and drag) Rotates the model about a point.
Arc Ball (Quick Click) redefines the center of rotation to a node or the
screen center.

(Hold and Drag) To zoom in on selected regions of the model.

Circle Zoom Use the middle-mouse button to return to previous view.
(Quick Click) auto fits the model to the graphics area.

Repositions the model in relation to the center of the window. The

Pick Center point picked becomes center of the window, indicated by a small
square symbol. Model is rearranged with respect to this point.

Translate Repositions a model by dragging the mouse.

4. To zoom in on a portion of a graphics area:

• Move the cursor into the graphics area of the HyperView window.
• Press CTRL+ MIDDLE -MOUSE BUTTON, and circle an area of the model to zoom in on.
-- Or --

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• Click the Zoom In/Zoom Out icon from the HyperWorks 3D View Controls
toolbar – shown below. Left/right click the mouse for zooming in/out.

5. To auto fit graphics:

• Move the cursor into the graphics area of the HyperView window.
• Use a quick click while pressing the CTRL+ MIDDLE-MOUSE BUTTON.
• This acts as an auto fit.
-- Or --

• Click the Zoom In/Zoom Out icon from the HyperWorks 3D View Controls
toolbar. Left/right click the mouse for zooming in/out.
6. To translate the graphics:
• Move the cursor into the animation window.
• Press CTRL+ RIGHT-MOUSE BUTTON and slide the mouse in the direction that you want
to translate the model in the window.
Tip: The mouse settings made using the Options utility are applicable at the session level;
e.g. settings made for HyperGraph are also applicable to HyperView.

Step 5: Using the Mouse Options in the Plot Window

Circle Zoom
1. Click on a plot window.
2. To zoom in on a portion of a plot:
• Move the cursor into the plot area of the window.
• Press the Ctrl key and the middle-mouse button and circle an area of the plot to
zoom in on.
-- Or --

• Click the Zoom In/Zoom Out icon from the HyperWorks 3D View
Controls toolbar. Left/right click the mouse for zooming in/out.
Translate – Repositions a plot
3. To translate a plot:
• Select CTRL+ RIGHT-MOUSE BUTTON, and move the cursor into the Plot window.

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• The plot moves across the window in increments, equal to the current tic spacing.
-- Or --

• Left/Right click any of the Plot Translation Arrows, located on the

view controls of HyperGraph window.

Step 6: Using the View Controls

Tip: In this step, you will use the 3D view control toolbar to rotate, translate, and zoom in
and out of your animations – shown to the right. Many of these operations also apply to
plots.
1. Select one of the animation windows.

2. Use the vertical arrow button with left/right mouse clicks to rotate the model about
the horizontal axis.
a. Each left mouse-click rotates model up, each right mouse-click rotates model
down the by 90 degrees.

3. Use the horizontal arrow button with left/right mouse clicks to rotate the model
about the vertical axis.

4. Use the curved arrow keys with left/right mouse clicks to rotate the model about
the axis perpendicular to the plane of the screen.

Step 7: Opening a MotionView Model File (.mdl)

Tip: The HyperWorks Page Controls toolbar contains options to control page and window
layouts.

1. Click Add Page once to add a new page to the session.

2. In the Client toolbar (under the Graphics Window) set the client to MotionView as
shown in the image.

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Note that you can confirm that this page is created by viewing the pages in the Session
Tab of the Browser:

3. Click the Open Model icon on the Standard toolbar.

Or
From the File menu select Open > Model.
4. From the Open Model dialog, locate and select the model definition file
SingleCylinderEngine_model.mdl, located in the model files directory:

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Tip: MDL stands for “Model Definition Language”. MDL is an ASCII programmable
language for modeling in MotionView.
5. Click Open.
The single cylinder engine model is displayed in the graphics window.

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6. In the Browser area, select the Project tab.

Tip: This lists all of the entities in the model. Navigation in the Project Browser is
accomplished by selecting the Expand /Collapse or with the up, down, left, and right
arrow keys. Please browse through the model entities using the above mentioned methods.

7. Expand the Misc folder in Project Browser by left-clicking on the next to Misc, and
do the same for Forms:

8. Click on Units form to review its properties. Note the units below.

Step 8: Selecting and modifying a motion.

1. Left click the Motion icon on the Constraint toolbar to change the graphical
selection to a motion entity.
2. Move the cursor in the graphics area with left mouse button held down to identify the
motion CrankShaft Rotation and release the mouse button to select it.

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Tip: This Motion icon is called an “Implicit Graphic”. Implicit graphics are displayed for all
applicable entities, allowing you to visualize their location and orientation. See the
MotionView User’s Guide for details about controlling the visualization of implicit graphics.
3. From the Motions panel, click on the Properties tab.
4. Enter 10 in the Value field. This in units of angle/time, which in our case is radians per
second, since these were the angular and time units we noted earlier.
Tip: This modifies the crank shaft rotational velocity to 10rad/sec.

Step 9: Saving a MotionView model

1. From the File menu, select Save As > Model.
The Save As Model dialog is displayed.

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Tip: You can also click the Save Model icon on the Standard toolbar to the save
the file in working directory with the existing name. If the model is new, you will be
prompted to input the name of the model
2. Specify the File name: as SingleCylinderEngine_model_10rad_per_sec.mdl.
3. Click Save.

Step 10: Running a MotionSolve simulation from MotionView.

1. Select the icon to get to the run simulation panel.

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2. Press the button next to Save and run current model and enter
SingleCylinderEngine_model_10rad_per_sec.xml in the filename dialog box.
This name will usually be the same as the root name of the MotionView model (.mdl).

3. Select to close the Save As dialog box.

4. Make sure the analysis options are the same as those in the image below:

5. Select to run the MotionSolve simulation.

A solver window should launch and MotionSolve will generate the equations of motion
and solve them, producing results that can be plotted and animated.

6. Select Close to close the HyperWorks Solver View window.

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Step 11: Post-Processing with the HyperView and HyperGraph clients

1. Click on the Add Page icon from Page Controls toolbar.

A new page is added with MotionView as the client.
Tip: Please note that the Add Page option adds a page with the current client
(MotionView in this case).
2. From the Select application drop-down menu, select HyperView to change the current
window to HyperView.

3. From the Load Model panel, click on the Select file icon next to Load model.

4. Browse to your working directory and select the animation results file
SingleCylinderEngine_model_10rad_per_sec.h3d.

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5. Click Apply to load the results.

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6. From the Animation toolbar, click the Start/Pause Animation button to animate
the results.
7. Rotate, pan, and zoom the model using the mouse controls for better visualization and
understanding of the results.

8. Click the Start/Pause Animation button to stop the animation.

Step 12: Post-Processing Simulation Results with HyperGraph

1. From the Page Controls toolbar, click the arrow next to the Page Window Layout

button and select the two window layout from the pop-up menu.
2. Click in the Graphics Area of the second window in order to make it the active window.
3. Use the Select application drop-down menu to change the application from HyperView

to HyperGraph 2D .
Tip: Please note that the Client selector displays the icon of the current client (HyperView
in this case).

4. Click the Build Plots icon, , on the Curves toolbar.

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5. From the Build Plots panel, click the Open File icon, , next to Data file.

The Open Data File dialog displays.

6. Browse to your working directory and select the MotionSolve results file
SingleCylinderEngine_model_10rad_per_sec.abf.

7. Click Open.
8. Plot the angular velocities of the crank shaft:
• For X Type, select Time (should already be selected by default)
• For Y Type, select Marker Velocity.

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• For Y Request, select REQ/70000002.

• For Y Component, select Wx.

9. Click Apply and observe Wx = 10 rad/sec.

10. From the Animation toolbar, click the Start/Pause Animation button to animate
the results.
Tip: Note that these same steps can be performed with the Plot and Animate buttons
on the Run panel, but these functions will be covered in later chapters.

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 Chapter 2: Free Body Creation, Simulation, & Plotting Exercises

Chapter 2

Free Body Creation, Simulation,

& Plotting Exercises

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Chapter 2: Free Body Creation, Simulation, & Plotting Exercises

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 Chapter 2: Free Body Creation, Simulation, & Plotting Exercises

Exercise 2a: Creating a Free Body

This exercise is the first part of building a four-bar mechanism that users will build
step by step while learning various aspects of MotionView. The model users complete in this
exercise will be reused in the next exercise. The resulting four-bar linkage that is created in
these series of exercises is used as the basis for building an automobile trunk mechanism.
Users will learn to build rigid bodies, simulate via the Run Panel, and perform basic post-
processing using HyperGraph 2D.

Problem Setup
There are no files required to begin this exercise.

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Step 1: Launch MotionView

1. Start MotionView by going through the start menu or launching through the scripts
directory.
2. Review the baseline model in the Project Browser.

Tip: Notice some items are created automatically, like the forms for Gravity and Units, the
Global reference frame, the Ground body, and the Global X, Y, and Z vectors, all of which
are references which help to build models. [kg mm N s] is the default units set. Gravity is
set to the negative Z-direction by default.

Step 2: Create a Rigid Body

The first thing to create is a simple rigid body, which will fall under the influence of gravity.

1. Right click on the Body icon to open the Add Body or Body Pair dialog.

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2. Enter Free Body into the Label field. This is the name that will appear in the Project
Browser.
3. Enter b_free_body into the Variable field. The variable is a unique name that the
MotionView internal database uses to keep track of each entity.
Tip: Note that underscores are used for the Variable field, since spaces are not allowed
here. Also note that it is possible to have one or more entities with the same label, but
not the same variable name.

4. Click OK to create the body.

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Tip: A body that has 6 DOFs, 3 translational, 3 rotational is created and added to the
Project Browser. The Body panel now allows you to enter information about the body.

5. Enter 1 in the Mass field.

6. Enter 1111 in the lxx, lyy, and lzz fields.
Tip: The mass and inertia values are not important yet, so these are just dummy values for
the purposes of this tutorial.
7. Click CM Coordinates to open the tab on the panel.

8. Click the Use center of mass coordinate system to activate the option.
9. Click the Point selector under Origin with the Left Mouse Button (LMB).

Tip: After clicking the Point selector, the border becomes Cyan indicating the selector is
active.

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10. Select the Global Origin point. There are two ways to do this – practice doing both:
a. The first method uses a dialog box to select the entity.
i. Click Point again with the LMB to open the Select a Point dialog.
ii. Click Global Origin in the right column to select the point.

iii. Click OK to complete the selection.

b. The second method selects the entity in the Graphics Area.
i. Click Point with the LMB to activate the collector.
ii. Hold Left Mouse Button and move over the coordinate system in the
lower left of the Graphics Area.
The label of the coordinate system will appear.

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iii. Release the mouse button to select the point while the name appears.
Tip: Either method can be used to select the point. The panel should now contain the
Global Origin point, as shown below:

Step 3: Simulation Setup Using the Run Panel

1. Click the Run icon to open the Run Simulation panel.

2. Click next to the Save and run current model option from the Main tab to browse
for the location to save the file. Enter free_body into the Name field and click Save.
3. Enter 1 for End time:.
4. Click Run to start the run.

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The HyperWorks Solver View window will appear to run the simulation.
5. Select the Close button on the HyperWorks Solver View window and the Message
Log when the simulation is completed.

Step 4: Plotting the Results

The free body is expected to fall though space – let’s plot the results to confirm the behavior.
1. Click the Plot button on the main tab in the Run panel

A second window with the HyperGraph plotting client appears with the correct file,
free_body.abf, loaded into session. Note that this is HyperGraph window becomes
the active window (blue outline around window).
2. Click Body for Y Type:
Since no outputs were created by you yet, the only output available is the default
information that is contained within the Y Type: Body.
3. Click Part/30102 Free Body for the Y Request:.
4. Click the Z coordinate as the Y Component.
5. Click Apply to show the plot of the Z-displacement of the free body.
Tip: These results of type Body are with respect to the local body reference frame (also
known as the body coordinate system). This will be described in more detail in a later
chapter.

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6. Click the MotionView window to activate it.

7. Select File > Save As > Model, and save the model as chapter2_completed.mdl.

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 Chapter 3: Points, Expressions, & Geometry Exercises

Chapter 3

Points, Expressions, & Geometry

Exercises

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Chapter 3: Points, Expressions, & Geometry Exercises

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 Chapter 3: Points, Expressions, & Geometry Exercises

Exercise 3a: Creating Points and Graphic Primitives

In this chapter, you will build on the free body model you created in the previous exercise. Here,
you will create points and geometry, and then simulate and animate the results.

Problem Setup
You should copy the file: chapter3_exercise_start.mdl or use the completed model
from the previous exercise.

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Step 1: Open the model in MotionView

Either:
• reuse your model from the previous exercise, or
• open the file Chapter3_exercise_start.mdl model file, which should start you
at the same point.

Step 2: Add Points

Points are added to the model using the Add Points icon.

1. Right-click on the Points icon to bring up the Add Point or PointPair dialog box.

Two points need to be added to create a cylinder.

2. Click Apply to create Point 0 and leave the dialog open.
Tip: Point 0 is created at {0,0,0}, which is the default location.
3. Click OK to create Point 1.

4. Using the Point panel Properties tab, enter 10 for X, 0 for Y, and 10 for Z under
Coordinates:.

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5. Click the Fit Model icon in the Standard Views toolbar to show all entities on the
screen within the display.

Step 3: Create Graphics

1. Right click the Add Graphic icon to bring up the Add Graphic or Graphic Pair
dialog.
2. Select Cylinder from the menu.

3. Click OK to accept the default name and label and show the Graphics panel.

Tip: The first change to the default setup is to select the body that the graphic is
connected to.
4. Click the Body collector under Parent: to activate it.

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5. Select Free Body for the Parent.

Tip: The collector will automatically move to the next thing to be selected, a Point to use
for the Origin.
6. With Point highlighted under Origin, select one of the points just created.

7. Notice that the Point collector under Direction becomes active.

8. Select the other point for Direction.

Tip: The cylinder will be created with default radius of 10.

9. Click the Properties tab to open it and change the radius of the cylinder. Enter 1 for
Radius 1.

Tip: Radius 2 will automatically change to match it if it is parameterized to match Radius

1. Parameterized fields are easily identifiable within MotionView by their blue
background.

10. Click the Fit Model icon to show the cylinder. It should look similar to the image
below.

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Step 4: Locate the Center-of-mass (CM) of Body at the Center of the Cylinder
using graphic properties
Tip: The center-of-mass (CM) of the body was previously defined at the global origin using
Points, which is at the end of the cylinder. Because the graphic is meant to illustrate the
physical part, the CM must be moved.

1. Click the Graphic Attributes icon to open the panel.

2. Select the cylinder in the graphics area.

3. Click Transparent in the Opaque: section to make the cylinder transparent.

It is now easier to view the points and the body.

4. Left click and select the cylinder in the graphics area to open the Body panel of
Free Body.
5. Select the Get Properties from associated Graphic(s) check box from the Properties
tab of Body panel.

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Tip: This will update body with mass, CG and inertia values calculated from graphics
associated with body i.e. Cylinder graphic created in previous step.

Step 5: Run the Simulation

1. Click to open the Run panel.

2. Click the Run button to run the simulation and overwrite the previous results.

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3. Click on the Close buttons to close the HyperWorks Solver View and Message Log
dialog boxes when the simulation completes.

Step 6: Post-Process the Results

1. When the run has completed, click Animate to bring up HyperView in an adjacent
window.
Tip: The body is now visible by its attached graphic. In the previous exercise, the body
could not be visibly shown because there were no graphics associated with the body.

2. Click Start/Pause Animation to animate the model. The body falls as shown in
the graphic. The plot also synchronizes with the model – a hollow box follows the
simulation time point in the plot showing where the animation is at with respect to the
plot.

3. Click Start/Pause Animation to stop the animation.

4. Reset the animation to the start (time = 0.0) so you can see the cylinder graphic.

5. In the HyperView (animation) window, click the Tracking Systems icon to open
the Tracking panel.
6. Click Add to add a tracking system.

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7. Change the Track: option from Node to Component:

8. Click the cylinder in the graphics area.

9. Click Start/Pause Animation to animate the model. The tracking system will
cause the objective viewer to move along with the selected component(s), making the
animation seem as if the cylinder is not moving.
10. Select the MotionView window to activate it.
11. Select File > Save As > Model, and save the model as chapter3_completed.

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 Chapter 4: Initial Conditions, Markers, & Outputs Exercises

Chapter 4

Initial Conditions, Markers, &

Outputs Exercises

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Exercise 4a: Initial Conditions, Markers, and

Outputs
In this chapter, you will adapt the free body model you created in the previous
exercise to create initial conditions for the model and set output requests for the results.

Problem Setup
You should copy the file: chapter4_exercise_start.mdl or use the completed model
from the previous exercise.

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Step 1: Open the model file chapter4_exercise_start.mdl or reuse an

existing model
Tip: You may need to recreate plots that are lost from the prior chapter if you open the mdl
file as opposed to starting from the existing exercise already open.

Step 2: Set the Initial Velocity of the Body

1. Click on the Bodies button and then click on the Free Body under the Bodies
folder within the Project Browser.
2. Click the Initial Conditions tab to open it.
3. Click the Vz checkbox under Translational velocity to activate the option.
4. Enter 1000 in the Vz field.

This will give the body an initial upward motion.

Step 3: Create an Output Request

1. Right-click on the Add Output icon to open the Add Output dialog.
2. Click OK to make a default output request.
3. Select Displacement as the output type.

4. Set the type of displacement to be Entity.

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5. Click the Body selector to activate it.

6. Select the Free Body.
Tip: The choice of reference marker by default is the Global Frame.

7. Select Both for the drop down.

Tip: Many of the entities in MotionView/MotionSolve require markers to define them, which
will include an “I” marker on one body, and a “J” marker on the other body. For example,
measuring the displacement between two bodies, between the I marker and the J marker.
This drop-down specifies whether the output measurement should be of the I marker (on the
body), J marker (the marker we are measuring with respect to), or Both (two outputs
reported).

Step 4: Activate the Body Coordinate System

1. Click the MotionView window to activate it.
2. Click Free Body in the Project Browser to open the Body panel.
3. Click the Body Coordsys tab to open it.

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4. Click the Use body coordinate system checkbox to activate the option.
5. Click the Point selector under Origin to activate it.
6. Select Point 2 as the Origin.

Step 5: Run the Analysis

1. Click to open the Run panel.

1. Click Run to run the analysis through the solver.

Step 6: Post-Process the Results

1. Click the HyperGraph (plotting) window to make it active.
Tip: If you have restarted your MotionView session, you may not have a HyperGraph
window. In this case, click the Plot button in the Run panel to re-create the HyperGraph
Window and add your current results.
2. Click Apply to load the latest results into HyperGraph.
This allows the output just created to be used.
3. Click Close on the message window.
4. Click Marker Displacement for Y Type.

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5. Click REQ/70000000 Output 0- (on Free Body) for the Y Request.

6. Click DZ for Y Component.
7. Click Apply to graph this on top of the original results.
You can see that the body has an initial upward motion before gravity finally reversed
the direction and it falls through space.

Step 7: Save the model as chapter4_completed.mdl

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 Chapter 5: Joints & Motions Exercises

Chapter 5

Joints & Motions Exercises

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 Chapter 5: Joints & Motions Exercises

Exercise 5a: Making a Pendulum from the Free Body

Model
In this exercise, you will add a revolute joint to the free body in the last exercise to
create a simple pendulum. You will also add a motion to the revolute joint to create and
simulate a kinematic model.

Problem Setup
You should copy the file: chapter5_exercise_start.mdl or use the completed model
from the previous exercise.

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Step 1: Do one of the following:

• Reuse your model from the previous exercise (recommended), or
• Open the file chapter5_exercise_start.mdl model file, which should start you
at the same point.

Step 2: Create a Joint

1. Right-click the Add Joint icon to open the Add Joint or JointPair dialog.
2. Select Revolute Joint from the menu to create a joint that removes all 3
translational DOFS and 2 rotational DOFs from the body.

3. Click OK to create the joint and open the panel.

This joint must be connected to two bodies.
4. Click the Body 1 collector to activate it.
5. Select Free Body for Body 1.

The Body 2 collector automatically becomes active.

6. Select Ground Body for Body 2.

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7. This joint should also be connected at a particular location and orientation, select Point
0 for the Origin.

The implicit graphic that is created for the joint shows the axis of rotation as the local Z
axis which at the moment is coincident with Global Z.

8. To change the axis of orientation for our pendulum, click the menu below Alignment
axis and select Vector.

9. Select the Global Y axis as the axis of rotation for the pendulum.

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This panel will create the joint and markers on the two bodies.

Step 3: Run the Check Model Utility

Tip: The Check Model utility (available from Tools > Check Model) allows users to check
the total estimated remaining degrees-of-freedom (DOF) within the model. It computes the
Gruebler count, which is:

Estimated DOF = 6*n – c

Where:
n = number of movable bodies (i.e., not ground!)
c = number of constraint equations

This utility is currently not sophisticated enough to identify/find redundant constraints, such
as identical joints on top of each other, in order to get an accurate answer for those cases.
For cases without redundant constraints, however, it will provide an accurate count. It may
also be useful for cases where you know the number of DOF for the model, and the count
shows a different number, which means that the mechanism needs to be modified.
1. Click Tools > Options to open the options dialog.

2. Click Check Model in the left column.

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3. Activate all the checkboxes in the Check Model section.

4. Click OK to close the Options dialog.

5. Click Tools > Check Model to open the Check Model dialog.

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6. Click DOF tab to open it.

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Tip: Notice that the degrees-of-freedom removed by the joint is 5. The total estimated
degrees-of-freedom remaining is 1.
7. Click OK to close the dialog.
8. Click Close to close the Message Log.

Step 4: Run the Analysis

1. Click to open the Run panel.

2. Enter simple_pendulum.xml in the Save as field.
3. Enter 5 in the End time field.
4. Check the Sim type: option to make sure it is set to Transient simulation.
5. Click on Run.

6. Review the output from MotionSolve in the HyperWorks Solver View window, check to
see how many DOFs remain in the model. MotionSolve will remove redundant

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constraints, if found, and will accurately compute the number of DOF for the model.
Near the top it shows the total number of independent coordinates as 1, which means
that MotionSolve will use a dynamic analysis to compute the time-evolution of this
mechanical system.

Step 5: Post-Process the Results

1. Click the Add Page icon to add a page to the session.

2. Select HyperView as the client for the new page.

3. Click the Open Model icon.

4. In the panel, load the simple_pendulum.h3d file from the results and click Apply.

5. Click to start the animation.

Tip: The pendulum should spin due to the initial velocity imposed on the body. Use the
Animation Speed slider to slow the playback speed.

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6. After reviewing, click to pause the animation.

Step 6: Add a Motion

Tip: The previous model had one degree of freedom, which means it was a dynamic model.
Next, let’s try to set this up as a kinematic model in which there are no remaining DOF’s.
The motion in this case will be proscribed by the constraints. For this, we use a motion. A
motion is similar to a joint in that it is a constraint that affects DOF’s, however, motions are
dependent on time.

1. Click the Previous Page icon to return to the MotionView page.

2. Right click on the Motions icon to open the Add Motion or MotionPair dialog.

3. Click OK to create the motion and open the panel.

4. Click the Joint collector to activate it.

Tip: Motions must be connected to joints. This kind of motion can be applied to a revolute,
cylindrical, or translational joint. If this doesn’t apply, you can choose Define motion: to
use markers, which will allow a more general definition of the motion.
5. Select the Joint 0 joint.

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Tip: MotionView allows us to set the motion to apply to displacement, velocity, or

acceleration as a rotational motion.
6. Select Displacement from the Property menu.

7. Click the Properties tab to set the magnitude.

8. Select Expression as the Define by:.

9. Enter `sin(2*pi*time)` as the value for the expression.

Tip: Note the use of back quotes (`) around the expression – these
are required. Back quotes can be found in the upper left corner of the
keyboard. Single or double quotes will not work.

Step 7: Run the Check Model Macro

1. Run the Model Check and review the constrained DOFs.
Tip: Running a model check again reveals all DOFs constrained, providing a kinematic
model.

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2. Click OK to close the Model Check window.

3. Click Close to close the message log.

Step 8: Re-run the Analysis in MotionSolve

Tip: Review the solver file in the window. You should be able to confirm that the number of
DOF = 0.

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Step 9: Deactivate the Motion and Initial Velocity

1. Right click on Motion 0 in the Project Browser.
2. Click Deactivate to deactivate the motion in the analysis.
3. Select Free Body in the Project Browser.
4. Click Initial conditions to open the tab.
5. Uncheck Vz to deactivate the velocity.

Step 10: Set the Initial Condition for the Revolute Joint
1. Select Joint 0 in the Project Browser.
2. Open the Initial Conditions tab for the revolute joint.
Tip: Here, we are able to set initial conditions for the displacement and velocity of the joint.
Since this is a revolute joint, only rotation settings are available. If there are conflicting initial
conditions within the model, the order of precedence for initial conditions is:
1. Motion
2. Joint
3. Body
3. Click Rotation to activate the option.
4. Enter 10 for the Velocity.

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Tip: The units for rotations in MotionSolve are in radians, so these velocity units are
radians/second.

Step 11: Re-run the analysis with the new settings

Step 12: Post-Process the Results

1. Select the Animate button in the Run panel.
2. You should already have the same results loaded in HyperView. Select Refresh to
update the animation results.

3. Animate the results display.

Tip: The animation shows the pendulum driven from its initial velocity, spinning about its
axis of revolution.

Step 13: Save the model as simple_pendulum.mdl

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Chapter 7

Redundant Constraints & Joint

Primitives Exercises

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Exercise 7a: Creating a Four-Bar Linkage

In this exercise, you will reuse the simple pendulum model created in the previous
chapter to add two more bodies and three more joints to create a four-bar mechanism. In
the process of creating this, you will also investigate redundant constraints and modify your
model to remove them. You will also use a MOTION() function to measure the torque from
a motion driving the model and plot this.

Problem Setup
You should copy the file: chapter7_exercise_start.mdl or use the completed model
from the previous exercise.

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Step 1: Do one of the following:

• reuse your model from the previous exercise (recommended, or
• open the file chapter7_exercise_start.mdl model file, which should start you
at the same point.

Step 2: Rename Points 0 and 1

1. Right-click on Point 0 in the Project Browser.
2. Select Rename from the menu.
3. Enter Point A as the new name and press Enter.
4. Similarly, rename Point 1 to Point C.

Step 3: Create Points and Edit the Coordinate Values

1. Create three new points: Point B, Point E and Point F using the Add Point dialog
box.
2. Open the Point panel.
3. Select Point A in the Project Browser.
4. Edit the Coordinates with the values in the table below.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for Points C, E, and F.
Edit the points to the following X Y Z values:
Point
X Y Z
Label Variable

Point A p_0 921 580 1124

Point B p_2 918 580 1114

Point C p_1 915 580 1104

Point E p_3 878 580 1108

Point F p_4 878 580 1118

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Step 4: Create Additional Points using the Create Points Along a Vector Macro
1. Click Macros > Create Points > Along a Vector to open the panel.

2. Click Point/Node for Select first point:.

3. Select Point C for the first point.
4. Select Point E for the second point.

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5. Click Create Points to create the new point.

6. Rename the new point Point 3.
7. Repeat steps 1 – 5 to create a second point between Point E and Point F, renaming
this point Point 4.
8. Open the Points panel and click on Point 4 in the Project Browser.
Tip: Note that the coordinates are listed in blue, indicating that the points created by the
macro are calculated parameterically.

Step 5: Create Two Bodies

1. Create two bodies named Body 0 and Body 1 using the Add Body dialog.
2. Click Body 0 in the Project Browser.
3. Enter 1 for Mass and 1111 for the Inertia properties lxx, lyy, lzz.
4. Click CM Coordinates to open the tab.
5. Click Use center of mass coordinate system to activate the option.
6. Select Point 3 for the Origin.
7. Set up Body 1 with similar mass and inertia properties using Point 4 for the CM
Origin.

Step 6: Create Geometry for the Bodies

1. Right-click to open the Add Cylinder or CylinderPair dialog.

2. Click Apply to create a cylinder named Graphic 1.
3. Click OK to create a cylinder named Graphic 2.
4. Click Graphic 1 in the Project Browser.
5. Click Connectivity in the Graphic panel to open the tab.
6. Select Body 0 for the Parent.
7. Select Point C for the Origin.
8. Select Point E for the Direction.

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9. Click the Properties tab to open it.

10. Enter 2 in the Radius 1 field.
11. Select Graphic 2 in the Project Browser
12. Repeat steps 4 – 10 using the following settings:
• Parent: Body 1
• Origin: Point E
• Direction: Point F

13. Change the radius of Graphic 0 to 2.

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Step 7: Save this model as four_bar_bodies.mdl.

It is a good idea to save your model periodically in case you have a problem and need to
revert to an older version.

Step 8: Create Three Revolute Joints

1. Right-click to open the Add Joints dialog.

2. Set the joint type to Revolute.
3. Click Apply twice to create two new joints.
4. Click OK to create a third joint.
5. Click Joint 1 in the Project Browser.
6. Click Connectivity in the panel to open the tab.
7. Select Free Body for Body 1.
8. Select Body 0 for Body 2.
9. Select Point C for Origin.
10. Change the Alignment axis to Vector.
11. Select Global Y as the vector.

12. Make the graphics transparent to better see the joint.

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13. Repeat steps 4 – 9 to edit Joint 2 and Joint 3 as shown below:

a. Joint 2
i. Joint Panel Body 1: Body 0
ii. Joint Panel Body 2: Body 1
iii. Origin: Point E
iv. Alignment axis: Global Y
b. Joint 3
i. Joint Panel Body 1: Body 1
ii. Joint Panel Body 2: Ground Body
iii. Origin: Point F
iv. Alignment axis: Global Y

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Step 9: Create a Motion for Joint 3

1. Open the Add Motion dialog.

2. Click OK to create Motion 1.
3. Click the Connectivity tab.
4. Select Joint 3 for Joint.

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5. Click Properties to open the tab.

6. Select Expression for Define by.
7. Enter the expression `1*time`
Tip: Remember to use back quotes (`) around expressions when entering them in the
expression editor – these are required. Single or double quotes will not work.
Tip: The units for rotations in MotionSolve are in radians, so these velocity units are
radians/second.

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Step 10: Run Model Check

Tip: The estimated DOF for the model is now at -3. The motion created redundant
constraints on the model. Each Revolute joint covers 5 degrees of freedom. So 4 joints * 5
dof = 20 dof. Plus there is 1 degree of freedom from a motion. Since there was 18 original
degrees of freedom, that leaves -3 for the estimated degrees of freedom.
Moreover, since we know this model should have zero DOF, this means there are redundant
constraints in the model.

Step 11: Run the Model as four_bar.xml

Tip: In MotionSolve, reviewing the log file shows a warning for Row Deficiency Detected.
This is a warning about redundant or over constrained modeling.

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Tip: The message indicates that there are three redundant constraints, and provides the
ID’s (e.g., JOINT/301004), which you can use to track down the redundant constraints.
Note that there can be multiple ways to eliminate redundant constraints, so you can possibly
remove redundant constraints by modifying a joint that is not listed by MotionSolve here.
Tip: Before continuing on with the exercise, go back to your model and consider how to
remove the 3 redundant constraints. Consider the joint DOF tables found in the MotionView
Joint Panel documentation for assistance.
Tip: To get help, you can open the Joints Panel and enter the F1 key, or browse to the
HyperWorks Help location: Help > HyperWorks Desktop > MotionView > MotionView
Panels > Joints Panel

Step 12: Animate the Results in HyperView

Step 13: Remove the redundant constraints

In order to remove the over constraint, the middle revolute joints can be replaced with an
inline joint. How else could you remove the redundant constraints? (There is more than
one answer).
1. Click Joint 2 in the Project Browser.
2. Select Inline Joint from the menu.

Tip: How does the inline jprim fix the redundant constraints in this model?
The inline joint removes 2 translational DOF by constraining two markers (bodies) to move

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along a line relative to each other (i.e., 1 DOF along the axis that defines this JPRIM).
In this model, since each link in the system is already constrained to planar motion by the
revolute joints, the inline jprim is only needed to keep a point on the ends of two links in the
same location.
3. Select Axis in the menu for the unresolved point.
4. Select Vector to change the selector.
5. Select Global Y for the axis.

Tip: The inline joint will add 3 DOFs back into the model while keeping our system
constrained in the same manner as before.

Step 14: Run Check Model

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Step15: Run the Model to Check for Errors

Tip: Check for errors in the MotionSolve window.

Notice there are no errors in the model and kinematic analysis is run.

Step 16: Create an Output for the Model

For every kinematic solution, MotionSolve also performs an inverse dynamic simulation to
recover the torque and force values on each joint.

1. Right click to open the Add Outputs dialog.

2. Click OK to create Output 1.
3. Select Expressions from the menu.

4. Click the F2 field.

5. Click to open the Expression Builder.

6. Delete the existing expression in the Expression: text box.
7. Click the Force tab.
8. Click Motion from the list of options.

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9. Set the cursor between the first set of braces.

10. Click the Properties tab.
11. Expand the Motions folder.
12. Expand Motion 1.
13. Select idstring from the list of options.

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14. Click Add.

15. Delete the other brackets as shown in the image.

16. Enter 0,7,0 following the comma.

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The first 0 represents the jflag and in this case the forces and moments are reported to
the I marker. The 7 returns the torque component around the Y axis. The second 0
implies the Global Reference Frame.
The expression should appear as `MOTION({mot_1.idstring},0,7,0)`. Ensure
the backquotes are present.

17. Check Evaluated to make sure the expression works and does not report an error.
18. Click OK to complete the expression.
The panel should appear as in the image.

Step 17: Run the Model

Step 18: Post Process in HyperGraph 2D

1. Activate the HyperGraph window.
Next, you will remove the curves in the current plot.
2. Select the two existing curves in the Plot Browser.
3. Right click and select Delete.
4. Click Yes in the message window to confirm the deletion.

5. Click to open the Build Plots panel.

6. Use Open File to load the *.abf file into the Data file: area and click Apply to load
in the new results.
7. Build a plot of the following:
Y-Type: Expressions
Y Request: Output 2

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Y Component: F2

8. Click Apply to create the plot.

9. Click the Statistics icon to open the Statistics panel.

The statistics panel creates a statistical summary of the model and review the maximum
torque values in the model.

10. Click to open the Statistics window.

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This shows the maximum torque for the analysis. For this example the maximum torque
needed is 1.141E+002.

Step 19: Save the model as four_bar_motion.mdl.

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Chapter 8

Forces & Torques Exercises

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Exercise 8a: Adding Torques to the Four-Bar

Mechanism
In this exercise, the four-bar mechanism created in the previous exercise will be
updated with torques.

Problem Setup
You should copy the file: chapter8_exercise_start.mdl or use the completed model
from the previous exercise.

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Step 1: Do one of the following:

• Reuse your model from the previous exercise, or
• Open the file chapter8_exercise_start.mdl model file, which should start you
at the same point.

Step 2: Disable the Motions and Initial Conditions

1. Right click on Motion 1 in the Project Browser.
2. Select Deactivate from the menu.
3. Click on Joint 0 in the Project Browser to bring up the Joints panel.
4. In the Initial Conditions tab, deselect the Rotation checkbox to remove the initial
condition from the joint.

Step 3: Create a Driving Force and Run the Model

1. In the Forces panel, create a new force named Driving Torque.
2. In the Forces panel, set the Force option to Action reaction.
3. Set the Properties option to Rotational.
4. Set Action force on to Body 1 and Reaction force on to Ground Body.
5. Choose Point F for Apply force at and select Global Frame as the Local ref
frame.

6. Click the Rot Properties tab to open it.

7. Enter a value of 150 for Ty as shown below.

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Step 4: Save this model as four_bar_torque.mdl.

Step 5: Run the Analysis

Step 6: View the Animation in HyperView

Tip: Ensure that the small bar completes a full rotation.

Step 7: Create a BISTOP function to limit the motion

1. Create a new force named BISTOP Torque using the Add Force dialog box
2. Click OK to complete the creation of the force.
3. Change the properties so that the new force is a Rotational force of the Action
reaction type.
4. Set the Action Force On and Reaction Force On selectors to Free Body and Ground
Body, respectively and set Point A as the location that the force is to be applied.

5. Click on Rot Properties to enter the subpanel.

6. Change the selection under Ty from Linear to Expression.
7. Click in the Expression field for Ty to activate it.

8. Click the Expression Builder button to enter the Expression Builder.

9. In the Expression Builder window, click the General tab.

10. Click BISTOP to add the BISTOP function to the Ty expression.

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Tip: The function will be added to the expression and the cursor will advance to the first
variable spot within the function. For more information about the BISTOP function,
please see the HyperWorks Help entries for BISTOP under RADIOSS, MotionSolve, and
OptiStruct.
The first argument in the BISTOP function is the Z-angle of Joint 0 with respect to the
Ground Body.
11. Click the Motion tab to find the AZ function.
12. Click AZ to add it to the BISTOP function with a set of curly brackets inside of it as
shown below.

Tip: The AZ function needs two arguments here: the marker of the body whose angular
displacement should be measured, and the marker to measure against.
13. With the cursor between the curly brackets { } for the AZ function, click on the
Properties tab and expand and select the following in the model tree:
Joints > Joint 0 >Marker I > idstring

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14. Click Add to place the information for that marker between the curly brackets in the AZ
function.

Tip: The AZ function will measure the Z-angular displacement of Joint 0, which is the
first argument needed for the BISTOP function.
15. Following the first close bracket for the AZ function, add a comma and a second set of
brackets and place the cursor between them as shown.

16. With the cursor between the new set of brackets, browse to the following element in the
Properties tab and add it to the expression.
Joints > Joint 0 > Marker J > idstring
17. Click Add to add to the function.

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18. Move the cursor between the first and second commas in the BISTOP function to
prepare the editor to enter the next term.
Tip: The second term in the BISTOP function is the derivative of the first term.
19. Click the Motion tab.
20. Select the WZ function to add it as the basis for the second term.

Tip: The WZ function needs two arguments here: the marker of the body whose
angular velocity should be measured, and the marker to measure against.
21. With the cursor between the curly brackets { } for the WZ function, click the Properties
tab.
22. Expand and select the following tree and element:
Joints > Joint 0 >Marker I > idstring
23. Click Add to add the id string for the I marker for Joint 0 to the WZ function as shown
below.

Tip: The WZ function will measure the Z-angular velocity of Joint 0 with respect to
ground, which is the second argument needed for the BISTOP function.
24. Following the first close bracket for the WZ function, add a comma and a second set of
brackets and place the cursor between them as shown.

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25. With the cursor between the new set of brackets, browse to the following element in the
Properties tab and add it to the expression.
Joints > Joint 0 > Marker J > idstring

Tip: The third argument in the BISTOP function is the lower bound of the allowable
deflection before the resisting torque starts to be applied, entered in radians.
26. For an angle of -10 degrees, enter -10*PI/180 between the next set of commas.

Tip: The fourth argument in the BISTOP function is the upper bound of the allowable
deflection before the resisting torque starts to be applied, also entered in radians.
27. For an angle of 10 degrees, enter 10*PI/180.

Tip: The fifth argument for the BISTOP is the Stiffness Value.
28. Enter a value of 1e4 in the next set of commas.

Tip: The sixth argument is the exponent of the deformation characteristic.

29. Enter a value of 2 in the next set of commas.

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Tip: The seventh argument is the max damping coefficient.

30. Enter a value of 100 between the next set of commas.

Tip: The last argument is the penetration at which full damping is applied. In this
example the measurement is millimeters.
31. Enter 0.1 after the last comma.

32. Click Evaluated to ensure the BISTOP function is populated with correct values.
33. Click OK to complete the function.
Tip: If you have trouble getting the correct expression, you can copy/paste this
expression:
`BISTOP(AZ({j_0.joint_i.idstring},{j_0.joint_j.idstring}),WZ({j_0.jo
int_i.idstring},{j_0.joint_j.idstring}),-
10*PI/180,10*PI/180,1e4,2,100,0.1)`

Step 8: Save the Model as four_bar_bistop.mdl

Step 9: Run the Analysis

Step 10: Animate the Results in HyperView

Tip: You should notice that the driving torque moves the mechanism until it hits the limit
of the BISTOP torque, which then cause the mechanism to bounce back.

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Step 11: Create an Output Measure for the BISTOP Function

Create a new output to measure the torque applied by the BISTOP function called Bistop
torque output.
1. Add a new output named BISTOP_Torque_Output and open the expression builder
for the F2 output.
2. Click Force to open the tab.
3. Click the VTORQ button to add it to the expression.

Tip: First the ID of the body must be added.

4. Click the Properties tab to open it.
5. With the cursor between the new set of brackets, browse to the following element in the
Properties tab and add it to the expression.

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Forces > BISTOP Torque > idstring

6. Click Add to add the string.

Tip: The next argument is the jflag, which means that forces or moments are reported
for I or J.
7. Replace the second set of braces in the function with 0 to report the I component as the
jflag.

Tip: Next is the comp argument for the torque.

8. Replace the third set of braces in the function with 7 to measure the torque on the y-
axis.

Tip: The final argument is for the reference frame.

9. In the place of the final set of braces, enter 0 to set the global frame.

10. Click Evaluated to check the function.

11. Click OK to complete the function.

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Step 12: Run the Analysis in MotionSolve

Step 13: Plot the Torque Output from the results *.abf file in HyperGraph 2D
Y Type: Expressions
Y Request: BISTOP_Torque_Output
Y Component: F2
Tip: The curve should look like the following:

Tip: Animate the model in HyperView as well to view the correlation of the plot with the
animation.

Step 14: Compare a Dynamic Simulation to a Kinematic Simulation

Lastly, compare this dynamic simulation with a kinematic variant of the same model.
Tip: What you have been performing thus far in this tutorial is a dynamic simulation, which
means the forces affect the motion of the mechanism. This is why the torque based on
the BISTOP function will limit the motion of this joint. If however, a kinematic model is run
by a driving motion, this BISTOP torque will no longer stop this motion, since the motion is
now prescribed exactly, and the solver must follow the motion (motions are constraints).
1. In the MotionView window, deactivate the Driving torque and activate Motion 1

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This recreates a kinematic system from our model.

Step 15: Run the Analysis in MotionSolve

Step 16: Animate the Results of the Kinematic Model

Tip: Notice that the joint with the motion keeps moving the mechanism, regardless of
the BISTOP torque. This is how kinematic models behave - the motion driving the
mechanism must be followed. The forces and torques in the constraints will increase
due to the BISTOP torque, but this does not change the overall motion of the
mechanism.
If your model does not behave how you expect, check that the initial conditions of the
bodies and the joints have been deactivated and/or set back to zero.

Step 17: Save the Model as four_bar_bistop.mdl

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Chapter 9

CAD, Curves, & Collision

Detection Exercises

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Exercise 9a: Creating a Four-bar Trunk Lid

Mechanism
In the following tutorial, you will build up a trunk lid mechanism:

Problem Setup
You should copy the files: chapter9_exercise_start.mdl,
motion_curve.csv, trunk.hm, trunklid.hm

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Step 1: Do one of the following:

• Reuse your model from the previous exercise, or
• Open the Model chapter9_exercise_start.mdl ,which should start you at the
same point.

Step 2: Create 3 New Points

1. Add three points with the names: Point G, Point H, and Point I.
2. Enter the following values into the Points panel for the points:
Name X Y Z
Point G 830 580 1080
Point H 790 580 1088
Point I 825 580 1109

Step 3: Create Graphics for the New Points

1. Create new cylinder graphics that all are fixed on Body 1 from points E to G, G to H and
H to I with a radius of 2.0.
The model should appear as in the image below.

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Step 4: Move the CM of Body 1 from Point 4 to Point G.

1. Select Body 1 in the Project Browser.
2. Click the CM Coordinates tab.
3. Select Point G for the Origin.

Step 5: Deactivate the Torques

1. Right click BISTOP_Torque and click Deactivate to deactivate the torque if it is not
already deactivated, since we won’t be using it anymore.
2. Right click Driving_Torque and click Deactivate to deactivate the torque if it is not
already deactivated, since we won’t be using it anymore.

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Step 6: Specify a motion for the mechanism

The input for this model will be in the form of a Motion. Motion can be specified as Linear,
Expression, Curve, or Spline 3D. In this step, a Curve will be used to specify Motion.
1. From the Project Browser, right-click on Model and select Add > Reference Entity >
Curve from the context menu.
OR
Right click on the Curves icon, on the toolbar.
The Add Curve dialog appears.
2. Specify a label and variable name for the new curve, or simply accept the defaults.
3. Click OK.
The Curves panel is displayed. The new curve is highlighted in the model tree.

4. With 2D Cartesian option and x radio-button selected, click the file browser icon, .
The Select a file dialog is displayed.

5. Open the file motion_curve.csv located in <Working Directory>

\Model_Files\9a_TRUNK_LID
6. Leave Type as Unknown, Request as Block 1 and Component as Column 1.
7. Select the y radio-button.
8. Leave Type as Unknown and Request as Block 1. Under Component, select
Column 2.
9. Click on the Show Curve… button to preview the curve. If it does not look like this, go
back and confirm the last few steps.

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10. Select Motion 1 from the Project Browser.

The Motion panel is displayed.

11. From the Properties tab, select Curve by clicking on the downward arrow next to
Expression.
12. Double click the Curve button.
13. The Select a Curve dialog is displayed.

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14. From the model tree, select the curve that you created earlier. Click OK.
Tip: This method of using a curve to specify the properties of a Motion can be used for
specifying properties of other entities like Force, Spring Damper, Bushing, etc. The Motion
Panel should now look like the following:

15. Select File > Save As > Model and save the model as fourbar_curve_motion.mdl.

Step 7: Rename the bodies

1. Right-click on the body Free Body in the Project Browser, and rename it to Follower.
2. Right-click on the body Body 0 in the Project Browser, and rename it to Coupler.
3. Right-click on the body Body 1 in the Project Browser, and rename it to Input.

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Step 8: Create outputs

You can create outputs on bodies, points, joints and markers. You can also directly request
force, bushing, and spring-damper entity outputs. Another way to create outputs is to create
math expressions dependent on any of the above mentioned entities.
In this step, you will:
• Add a displacement output between two bodies using the default entities.
• Add another output to record the displacement of a particular point G on the input
link relative to the global frame based on Expressions.
1. From the Project Browser, right-click on Model and select Add > General MDL Entity
> Output from the context menu.
OR

Right-click on the Outputs icon, on the Model-Constraint toolbar.

The Add an Output dialog is displayed.
2. Specify a label and variable name for the new output, or simply accept the defaults.
3. Click OK.
4. To create a Displacement output between two points on two bodies:
For Body 1 and Body 2, select Input and Ground Body, respectively.
For Pt on Body 1 and Pt on Body 2, select Point I and the Global Origin point,
respectively.
Record the displacement on Both points, one relative to the other.

5. Next, add an output to calculate the X displacement between the markers at the Global

Origin and the CM point of input link. Right click the Outputs icon, on the toolbar.
6. Accept the default label and variable name.
7. Click OK.
8. From the drop-down menu, select Expressions.

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9. First click in the F2 field. This activates the fx button. Click on the fx button.

The Expression Builder dialog is displayed:

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10. From the Motion tab, select DX.

11. Place the cursor inside the brackets after DX.
12. From the Properties tab, expand the following trees: Bodies/Ground Body/cm
13. Select idstring.
14. Click Add.
15. Add a comma to separate the next expression and add curly brackets for the next
expression.

16. From the Properties tab, expand the following trees: Bodies/Input/Marker CM.
17. Select idstring.
18. Click Apply.
19. Edit the expression in the window to match the expression below:
`DX({B_Ground.cm.idstring},{b_1.cm.idstring})`
20. Click OK.
Tip: The b_1 in the above expression is the variable name of the input link. If your input
link has a different variable name then that should be used in the above expression instead
of b_1. The back quotes in the expression are used so that the MDL math parser evaluates
the expression.

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21. To check for errors, go to the Tools menu and select Check Model.
Any errors in your model topology are listed in the Message Log.

Step 9: Add external graphics and convert a HyperMesh file to an H3D file.
MotionView has a conversion utility that allows you to generate detailed graphics for an MDL
model using HyperMesh, Catia, IGES, STL, VDAFS, ProE, or Unigraphics source files.
MotionView uses HyperMesh to perform the conversion.

In this step, you will use this conversion utility to convert a HyperMesh file of a car trunk lid
into the H3D format.
1. In the File menu, select Import > Geometry.
The Import CAD or FE dialog box appears.
2. Select import option as Import CAD or Finite Element Model Only.
3. From the Input File option menu, select HyperMesh.
4. Click the file browser next to Input File and select trunklid.hm as your source file.
5. Click the file browser next to Output Graphic File option menu, type my_trunklid

6. Click OK.
The Import CAD or FE utility runs HyperMesh in the background to translate the
HyperMesh file into an H3D file and gives a message saying Import was a Success.

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7. Click Close when the message box is displayed.

8. Select graphic g_mytrunklid from the entity filter and click the Connectivity Tab.
9. Double Click the Body button and add the graphic to the body Input by selecting the
body from the model tree.

10. Use steps 1 through 8 to import the trunk.hm file as trunk.h3d into MotionView and
add the graphic to the Ground Body.

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11. Double Click the Body button and add the graphic to the body Ground by selecting the
body from the model tree

12. Select File > Save as > Model, and save the model as fourbar_model.mdl

Step 10: Set the model for a simulation time of 4 seconds, with a step size of
0.01 seconds and solve with MotionSolve as trunk_test.xml
Tip: MotionSolve can be used to perform kinematic, static, quasi-static, and dynamic
analyses of multi-body mechanical systems. It is completely integrated with MotionView.
The input file for MotionSolve is an XML file called MotionSolve XML. This file is written by
MotionView.
Tip: MotionSolve can solve kinematic and dynamic problems as part of the Transient
simulation. The solver checks the model for its total DOF. For systems with zero DOF,
MotionSolve performs kinematic simulation. For systems with degrees of freedom greater
than or equal to one, MotionSolve performs dynamic simulation.
Tip: You can use the Export MDL Snapshot check box to save a MDL file of the model
with the same name as the XML file.

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Step 11: View animation and plot results on the same page
Tip: Create a 3-page layout with animation results in one window and a plot of the Marker
Displacement of REQ/700000004 Output 3 DM (Magnitude) vs Time in the
other window.

Step 12: Edit the Entity Attributes in HyperView During Animation

In this step, you will edit the graphic entity attributes.

1. Click the HyperView window that contains the animation, and click Expand/Reduce

Window button to expand the animation window to the complete graphics area.

2. Click the Entity Attributes icon, , on the toolbar.

The Entity Attributes panel is displayed.

3. Click the arrow to the right of the Entity option menu to expand it.

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Tip: The list contains the following entity types: Components, Systems, and Assembly
Hierarchy. Components represent graphics that are assigned to the MBD Bodies,
Systems represent the Markers in the model and the Assembly Hierarchy shows the
complete model tree.
4. Change the color of the entire model:
• Select Assembly Hierarchy from the Entity option menu.
• Select All from the list of buttons next to the entity list tree (AlI, None, Flip, and
Displayed).
• Select a color from the color palette under the Colors section.
5. To change the entire model to wireframe:
• Click All from the list of buttons next to the entity list tree.

• Click the Wireframe icon, , beside Shaded.

6. To make the entire model transparent and shaded:
• Click All from the list of buttons next to the entity list tree.

• Click the Shaded icon, .

• Click the Transparent icon, .

7. Use the On/Off buttons to turn the entities on or off.
8. Use the On/Off buttons next to ID: to display and hide the entity IDs.

Step 13:Activate the Collision Detection Toolbar

Tip: HyperView allows you to view and detect collisions between the graphic objects of the
current animation model during simulations.
1. Select Tools tool bar from View >Toolbars > HyperView > Tools to display collision
detection toolbar.

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Step 14: Use Collision Detection tools on the model

1. Click the Collision Detection button, on the toolbar.

The Collision Detection panel is displayed.

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2. Click the Add button in the leftmost column under Collision Sets to add a new collision
set.
Tip: The Selection option allows you choose entities in different ways. In this case, the
default is to pick to Components .

3. Pick the Trunk by clicking on it in the Graphics window.

4. Click the Add to Group A button.
5. Pick the car body by clicking on it in the Graphics window.
6. Click the Add to Group B button.
You should see the graphics added to the Groups, as shown in the image below.

7. Under the Proximity section, click Enable Proximity checking and specify 1 as the
Minimum Distance for the proximity check.
8. Under the Show result by: section select Elements by clicking on the radio button next
to it.

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9. Click Apply.

10. Click the Start/Pause Animation icon to start the animation.

The animation begins.
Whichever areas of the trunklid collide with the trunk (car body), the colliding elements
turn red.
The color yellow indicates proximity. When neither proximity nor collision is detected, the
bodies retain their natural colors.

11. Try these additional steps:

• Try to view the Element and Component results alternately by clicking on the radio
buttons in the Show Results by: section.
• Click on Summary below to get a text summary of the penetration.

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Step 14: Opening a plot file

1. Click the Expand/Reduce Window button to reduce the HyperView window to its
original size.
2. Click the HyperGraph2D window on the screen and expand it to the full graphics area

using the Expand/Reduce Window button .

3. Click the New Plot option button on the top toolbar and clear the window.

4. Click the Build Plots icon on the lower toolbar.

5. Click the Open File icon on the Build Plots panel.

6. Select the file trunk_test.plt.
7. Click Open.
This file contains several channels of output.
8. Confirm that Time is selected under X Type:
9. For Y Type: click on Displacement to select it.
The Y Request text box displays the data available in the file.

10. Click the Y Request expansion button to view the Y Request list.

11. Press CTRL button on the keyboard and select REQ/70000004 Displacement –(on
Input) and REQ/70000005 Displacement –(on Ground Body).
12. Click OK.
13. Select the X Component:
14. Click Apply.
Two curves are plotted in the plot window, each with its own line type and color. The
legend identifying the curves is located in the upper right hand corner of the plot.

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Chapter 10

Higher Pair Constraints

Exercises

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Exercise 10a: Curve-to-Curve Constraint for

Cam/Follower
This exercise models a roller type cam-follower mechanism with the help of a CVCV
constraint.
A CVCV (curve-to-curve) joint is a higher pair constraint. The constraint consists of a planar
curve on one body rolling and sliding on a planar curve on a second body. This constraint
can act as a substitute to contact modeling in many cases where the contact occurs in a
plane and little to no lift-off of the two bodies in contact occurs. One such case is the cam-
follower system, in which the follower is in the form of a roller. Instead of modeling the
contact between the cam and the follower, we can specify a CVCV constraint between their
profiles.

A cam roller mechanism

Problem Setup
You should copy the files: cam_follower_constraint_start.mdl,
CamProfile.csv, CamProfile.h3d

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Step 1: Open cam_follower_constraint_start.mdl

Step 2: Create the Curves

Tip: The curves that we will use here are the curves that define the profile of the cam and
the roller, and will be used by the CVCV constraint. The data for the cam profile curve has
been provided in csv (comma separated values) format. Since the roller profile is circular - it
can be defined using mathematical expressions.

Cam Profile
1. From the Project Browser right-click on Model and select Add > Reference Entity >
Curve (or right-click the Curves icon on the Model-Reference toolbar).
The Add Curve dialog is displayed.

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2. For Label, enter CamProfile and click OK.

3. From the Properties tab, use the first drop-down menu to change the curve from 2D
Cartesian to 3D Cartesian.
Tip: We need to define the curve in 3 dimensional Cartesian coordinates to define the
CVCV constraint.
4. From the Properties tab, click on the x radio button.

5. Click on the file browser icon and select CamProfile.csv. Click Open.
6. From the Properties tab, use the fourth drop-down menu to set the curve type to
Closed curve.
7. Choose the properties of the curve as shown in the figure below

Tip: Note that you will be selecting different column numbers of data in the file for the x,
y and z properties.
8. From the Properties tab, click on the y radio button.
9. Choose the properties of the curve as shown in the figure below:

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10. From the Properties tab, click on the z radio button.

11. Choose the properties of the curve as shown in the figure below:

Follower Profile
12. Right-click on Curves in the Project Browser and select Add Curve to define another
curve.
The Add Curve dialog is displayed.

13. For Label, enter FollowerRollerProfile and click OK.

14. From the Properties tab, use the first drop-down menu to change the curve from 2D
Cartesian to 3D Cartesian.
15. From the Properties tab, click on the x radio button.
16. Select Math from the second drop-down menu on the left.

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17. Enter `{ 5*sin(2*PI*(0:1:0.01)) }` in the Expression Builder.

Tip: Note the curly braces that enclose the equation. The expression 0:1:0.01 will create an
array of points from 0 to 1 in increments of 0.01, i.e. 0,0.01, 0.02……,0.99,1.0
18. From the Properties tab, click on the y radio button.
19. Select Math from the second drop-down menu on the left.
20. Enter ‘{ 5*cos(2*PI*(0:1:0.01)) }’ in the Expression Builder.
21. From the Properties tab, click on the z radio button.
22. Select Math from the second drop-down menu at the left.
23. Enter { 0.0*(0:1:0.01) } in the expression builder.
24. From the Properties tab, use the fourth drop-down menu to change the curve from
Open Curve to Closed Curve.
Tip: You now have both of the curves defined that are required for the CVCV constraint.

Step 3: Create Markers required for the definition of the CVCV joint
Now, we will define markers required for the definition of the CVCV joint. We need two
markers, one associated with the cam and the other associated with the follower roller.
1. From the Project Browser right-click on Model and select Add > Reference Entity >
Marker (or right-click the Markers icon on the Model-Reference toolbar).
2. For Label, enter CamMarker and click OK.
3. From the Properties tab, double-click on Body.
The Select a Body dialog is displayed.
4. Choose Cam and click OK.
5. From the Properties tab, click on Point.
The Select a Point dialog is displayed.
6. Choose PivotPoint and click OK.
7. Accept the defaults for axes orientation.
8. Right-click on the Markers folder in the Project Browser and select Add Marker to
define a second marker.
The Add Marker or MarkerPair dialog is displayed.
9. For Label, enter FollowerMarker and click OK.
10. From the Properties tab, double-click on Body.
The Select a Body dialog is displayed.
11. Choose FollowerRoller and click OK.
12. From the Properties tab, click on Point.

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The Select a Point dialog is displayed.

13. Choose FollowerRevJoint and click OK.
14. Accept the defaults for axes orientation.

Step 4: Creating the CVCV Joint

Now, you will create the curve-to-curve (CVCV) joint that constrains the motion of the cam to
the follower.
1. From the Project Browser right-click on Model and select Add > Constraint >
Advanced Joint (or right-click the Advanced Joints icon on the Model-Constraint
toolbar).
The Add AdvJoint dialog is displayed.

2. For Label, enter CVCV.

3. Choose CurveToCurveJoint from the drop-down menu and click OK.
4. From the Connectivity tab, double-click on Curve 1.
The Select a Curve dialog is displayed.
5. Choose CamProfile and click OK.
6. From the Connectivity tab, double-click on Curve 2.
The Select a Curve dialog is displayed.
7. Choose FollowerRollerProfile and click OK.
8. From the Connectivity tab, double-click on Ref Marker 1.
The Select a Marker dialog is displayed.

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9. Choose CamMarker and click OK.

10. Again from the Connectivity tab, double-click on Ref Marker 2.
The Select a Marker dialog is displayed.
11. Choose FollowerMarker and click OK.
The panel should now look like the following:

Step 5: Specify the cam motion

Now that you have defined the model topology and constraints, you will drive the model by
adding a motion to the cam revolute joint.
1. Click the Project Browser right-click on Model and select Add > Constraint > Motion

(or right-click the Motions icon on the Model-Constraint toolbar).

The Add Motion or MotionPair dialog is displayed.
2. For Label, enter CamMotion and click OK.
3. From the Connectivity tab, double-click on Joint. Choose CamPivot and click OK.
This will apply the motion to this revolute joint. The default type is a displacement
motion.
4. From the Properties tab, change the Define by: option from Linear to Expression.
5. In the Expression field, specify the property as `10*TIME`.
Tip: Don’t forget the back quotes (upper left corner of keyboard) to enclose the expression.

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Step 6: Specify Gravity within the model

Since our shaft is along the Y-axis, we want the gravity to be in the negative Y direction. To
specify this:
1. In the Project Browser, select Model > Misc > Forms > Gravity and specify the
following values in the panel:
• X 0
• Y -9810
• Z 0

Step 7: Specify the Output Requests

We would like to monitor the reaction on CVCV joint since it can help us verify the
correctness of our results. This will be discussed in detail towards the end of the tutorial
where we will also discuss lift-offs.
1. From the Project Browser right-click on Model and select Add > General MDL Entity
> Output (or right-click the Outputs icon on the Model-General toolbar).
The Add Output dialog is displayed.
2. For Label, enter CVCV Reaction and click OK.
3. From the Properties tab, choose Expressions from the drop-down menu.
4. Click in the F2 expression box.

5. Click on the button.

The Expression Builder dialog is displayed.
Tip: The CVCV (id, jflag, comp, ref_marker) function returns the reaction on the CVCV joint:
• id ID of the CVCV joint
• jflag 0 gives reaction on the I-marker and 1 on J-marker
• comp component of the reaction
• ref_marker reference marker (0 implies Global Frame)
Tip: Note that for our CVCV joint, the I-marker will be on the first body (Cam), and the J-
marker will be on the second body (FollowerRoller), per the panel below:

6. Populate the expression as `CVCV({aj_0.idstring},1,2,0)`

Note that by selecting the J-flag as “1”, we are measuring the forces on the
FollowerRoller by the CVCV joint.

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7. Click OK in Expression Builder to accept the expression. This creates an expression

that measures the reaction force of the X component due to the CVCV constraint.
8. Repeat the process for F3, F4, F6, F7, F8 by changing the third parameter to 3, 4, 6, 7,
and 8 accordingly, in order to measure the other components of force and torque on the
FollowerRoller from the CVCV joint.

Step 8: Run the model in MotionSolve

We have the model defined completely, and it is now ready to run.
1. In the Run panel, specify the values as shown below for End time and Print interval:

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2. Click the Simulation Settings button to open the dialog.

3. Click the Transient tab to open it and change the settings,
4. Change the DAE index to 1, as show below:

Tip: DAE Index 1 adds systems velocities to the error control, which will generally compute
a more accurate answer for the same integration tolerance setting as index 3. See the
statement Param_Transient in the MotionSolve Reference Guide for more information.
5. Choose the Save and run current model radio button.

6. Click on the browser icon next to Save As and specify cam_follower_constraint.

7. Click Save to choose this name for the panel.
8. To run the model, click Run.
The solver is invoked and should run without errors. Review the solver log file for any
warnings and errors.

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Step 9: View the results as an animation and plot the output

1. Once the solver has finished its job, the Animate button will be active. Click on
Animate to launch a HyperView window that automatically loads in this last simulation.

The icon can be used to start the animation, and the icon can be used to
stop/pause the animation.

You will also inspect the displacement profile of the follower in this mechanism. For this,
we will plot the Y position of the center of mass of the follower.

2. Use the Page Layout drop-down menu on the Page Controls toolbar to select
the three-window layout .
3. Highlight the lower right window and use the Select application drop-down menu to
change the application to HyperGraph 2D .

4. Click the Build Plots icon on the Curves toolbar.

5. Click on the browser icon and load the cam_follower_constraint.abf file.

6. Make selections for the plot as shown below:

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Note that by using the automatically generated outputsof type Body, you are plotting
the Y-displacement profile of the local body reference frame of the follower, rather than
the center-of-mass.
Tip: To get the center of mass location, do either of the following:
• Modify the body property Body Coordsys to choose the center of mass location for
the bodies of interest to plot
• Create an Output of type Displacement for the bodies of interest; these outputs will
be found under the type Expressions.
7. Click Apply.
The profile for the Y-displacement of the follower should look like the one shown below:

Tip: On the discussion on ‘lift-off’:

In a real, physical system, the dynamics may cause the follower to lose contact with the cam
- this is called ‘lift-off’. In such cases, modeling the system using a CVCV joint will give
incorrect results. This is because the CVCV joint constrains the follower point to be always
on the curve. For such cases where you want to see the curves separate, force-based
rather than constraint based modeling should be used (e.g., defining a contact between the
cam and the follower). However a CVCV constraint usually provides superior speed and
robustness when applicable, since it is less computationally expensive and usually provides
smoother motion/forces than a contact-based model. Given this scenario, the following
modeling steps are recommended:

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1. Model the system that has contact using a CVCV joint where applicable.
2. Monitor the CVCV joint reaction. If the reaction on the follower is a ‘pulling’ reaction, it
means that 'lift-off' would have occurred and one needs to go for a contact model.
Tip: Now, let’s check if our CVCV model would otherwise lift off if the constraint did not
prevent it. For this, we need to plot the reaction profile on the follower roller. Since the
follower is moving along the Y-axis, any negative reaction along the Y-axis is a ‘pulling’
reaction. So, let’s plot the Y-reaction on the follower roller. For this:

3. Add a new page to the session by clicking on the Add Page icon .

4. Choose HyperGraph 2D and click on Build Plots .

5. Click on the browser icon and load the cam_follower_constraint.abf file.

6. Make selections for the plot as shown below:

We are plotting the Y profile of the CVCV reaction on the follower roller.
7. Click Apply.
The profile should look like the one shown below:

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Tip: You should see that the Y component of the CVCV reaction on the follower is always
positive, and hence it is never a ‘pulling’ reaction. Thus, the CVCV model is good enough to
model the dynamics since there is no expected lift-off.

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Chapter 11

Contact Simulation Exercises

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Exercise 11a: Ball Bearing Example

This step will import a Parasolid geometry of a ball bearing with outer races, inner races
rim and balls. While importing you can specify the mesh options needed for a contact
simulation.

Problem Setup
You should copy the files: ball_bearing.x_t, ball_bearing_all_contacts.mdl

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Step 1: Import CAD Geometry

1. Start a new MotionView session.

2. Click on Import Geometry .

3. In the Import CAD or FE dialog that appears, ensure that the toggle Import CAD or Finite
Element Model with Mass and Inertias is selected.
4. Select Parasolid as the input file format from the pull down menu next to Input File:

5. Click and select the Parasolid input file ball_bearing.x_t

The Output Graphic File information is automatically populated with the suffix
_graphic.h3d appended to the Input File name.

6. Under Meshing Options for Surface Data, check on the option Control mesh
coarseness for contacts
7. Click OK
Tip: Selecting Control mesh coarseness for contacts ensures that the graphics is meshed
with uniform mesh, which is one of the requirements for a robust contact simulation. A
coarseness level of 4 or 5 is generally a good value.
MotionView invokes Hypermesh in the background that
• Imports the CAD
• Applies a mesh on the solid’s surfaces
• Calculates Volume, center of mass, mass and inertia
Once Hypermesh process is complete, Import CAD dialog appears that contains the table of
components that would be imported as bodies with calculated volume and mass. Unit
information for the input file can be specified here under Unit Type Options, so that the
translation can handle the length conversion appropriately. Length in Parasolid is always
stored in meters, so in this case the “Input file length” drop down menu is inactive. The table
also facilitates changing the density for the component, which changes the mass of the body.

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Tip: Density cannot be changed once the import is complete

8. Click OK
9. Clear the Message Log that confirms the success of the translation.
Tip: The CAD is imported and is visible in the graphics area. Review the model by navigating
through the Bodies list in the Project Browser. The model consists of an outer race, an inner
race, 6 balls and a rim to hold the balls in place.

10. Save the model as ball_bearing_contact.mdl

Step 2: Review mesh and create joints

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1. Click on Graphics Entity Attributes in General Actions toolbar

2. In the model tree shown in the left most pane in the panel, select Model system and
click on Mesh Lines
The graphic mesh for all components is fine enough for contact simulation.

3. Click on Feature Lines or Edge Lines to display graphics without mesh

4. Create Joints as per details given in the table below

Label Variable Type Body 1 Body 2 Origin Alignment

Axis

Fix Outer j_fix_out_race Fixed Joint, Outer Ground Outer N/A

Race single Race Body Race CG

Rim Joint j_rim Revolute Rim Ground Rim CG Global X

Joint, Body (Vector)
single

Step 3: Define Contacts

You’ll add contacts individually between:

• Inner Race and the balls

• Outer Race and the balls
• Rim and the balls.
Creating contact between Inner Race and Ball 1 is illustrated here.

1. Right click on Contact in Force Entity toolbar

2. Provide Label as Ball 1 to Inner Race, Variable as con_ball1_inner
3. Make sure RigidToRigidContact is selected and click OK

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Tip: An Output entity is created automatically for each contact entity to measure the contact
force.
4. Select Ball 1 as Body I and Inner Race as Body J

Tip: All underlying graphics within each body is automatically selected in the table below
5. Check on the Highlight contact side to visualize the side of expected contact. The
color of graphics involved in this contact entity turns red in the graphic area as indicated
by the label below the option

6. Turn off the Highlight contact side option.

7. Observe the grayed out section No mesh errors. This pair of graphic doesn’t have any
mesh errors.
Tip: MotionView automatically tries to orient all the mesh elements’ surface normal
along one direction during import of CAD geometry. In case the contact side is not as
desired for any of the graphics, toggle the Material Inside option for that graphic.

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Tip: If the graphic mesh is faulty with open edges (i.e the mesh connectivity does not form a
closed volume) or T - Connections, this section would be active as Highlight mesh errors.
Checking it on would highlight the edges that are open or form T-connection
8. Click on Properties tab and review values in the Normal Force sub tab. Use default
method Impact and associated default properties.

9. Click on Friction Force sub-tab and verify that friction is Disabled. We’ll change this
setting once all contacts are defined using Contact Properties Editor

10. Click on Advanced tab. Review the options here. These options are not needed for this
exercise.
Tip: The Advanced tab offers more options to control simulation when contact is first detected.
This functionality is useful in case of models with intermittent contacts to provide more accurate
results.

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Tip: When either of the options, Find precise contact event or Change simulation max
step size in Advanced tab is activated, a Sensor_Event statement is created in the solver
deck to sense the contact event. The use of Find precise contact event causes the solver to
go back to the previous step and proceed with a new maximum step size = Current Max step
size * Max step size scale factor. Change simulation max step size changes the Max step
size with the given New max step size from that point forward.
11. Repeat the same process for all other remaining contact pairs as given in the table
below.
Contact Label Variable I Body J Body

Ball 1 – Inner Race con_ball1_inner Ball 1

Ball 2 – Inner Race con_ball2_inner Ball 2
Ball 3 – Inner Race con_ball3_inner Ball 3 Inner Race
Ball 4 – Inner Race con_ball4_inner Ball 4
Ball 5 – Inner Race con_ball5_inner Ball 5
Ball 6 – Inner Race con_ball6_inner Ball 6
Ball 1 – Outer Race con_ball1_outer Ball 1
Ball 2 – Outer Race con_ball2_outer Ball 2
Ball 3 – Outer Race con_ball3_outer Ball 3 Outer Race
Ball 4 – Outer Race con_ball4_outer Ball 4
Ball 5 – Outer Race con_ball5_outer Ball 5
Ball 6 – Outer Race con_ball6_outer Ball 6
Ball 1 – Rim con_ball1_rim Ball 1
Ball 2 – Rim con_ball2_rim Ball 2
Ball 3 – Rim con_ball3_rim Ball 3
Rim
Ball 4 – Rim con_ball4_rim Ball 4
Ball 5 – Rim con_ball5_rim Ball 5
Ball 6 – Rim con_ball6_rim Ball 6
Tip: [To save time with the exercise, ball_bearing_all_contacts.mdl has been provided that contains
all contact definitions and brings the model up to this stage]

12. We’ll now change the Friction settings for all contacts together using the Contacts
Properties Editor.
a. Click on the Contact Properties Editor in Other Macros toolbar
b. Select all contacts in the list at the left (by selecting the first one and dragging all
the way to the last one.)
c. Turn off check boxes Edit Normal Force and Edit Event Control under
Normal Force and Contact event control section respectively
d. Select Dynamic Only under Friction Force section

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e. Click OK
f. Go to any of the Contact entity panel, Properties tab – Friction Force sub-tab
and ensure that the Friction properties are changed as desired.
13. Save the model.

Step 4: Specify motion to inner race and solve the model

1. Specify Motion
a. Right click on Motion toolbar to add a motion
b. Specify Label as Inner Race Motion and Variable as mot_in_race
c. Click OK
d. Set Define Motion as Using Markers
e. Select Rotation about X axis of Marker 2 in the next drop down
f. For Marker 1 double click on the collector to bring up the Model tree and select
Bodies > Inner Race-Marker CM

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g. For Marker 2, similarly select Outer Race-Marker CM

h. Go to Properties tab, Define by Expression

i. In Expression: enter `360D*TIME`
2. Solve
a. Click on Run Solver in General Actions toolbar to bring up the Run panel
b. Click on Simulation Settings… button to bring up the Simulation Settings
dialog
c. Go to Transient tab. Change Maximum step size to 0.001
d. Close the dialog
e. Provide a name to XML file
f. Click Run to run a 5 second simulation.
g. Observe the Message Log or the HWSolver window for any error or warning
messages.
h. Once the simulation run is complete, MotionSolve will record a Contact
summary table near of the end of the .log file. Review this to look up the
maximum penetration depth and maximum force of the contacts during the
simulation. Below is an example:

Contact Graphics
----------------

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90001 "Ball 6" "Model-Ball 6"

90002 "Ball 5" "Model-Ball 5"
90003 "Ball 4" "Model-Ball 4"
90007 "Inner Race" "Model-Inner Race"
90008 "Outer Race" "Model-Outer Race"

Contact Overview TOP 5 (sorted by MAX_PD)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CONTACT I_GRAPHIC J_GRAPHIC MAX_PD (TIME) MAX_FORCE (TIME)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
301010 90003 90008 3.614E-01 (1.597E-02) 1.031E+02 (1.597E-02)
301012 90001 90008 3.588E-01 (4.113E+00) 8.695E+01 (4.113E+00)
301004 90003 90007 3.533E-01 (1.609E-02) 9.719E+01 (1.609E-02)
301006 90001 90007 3.119E-01 (4.112E+00) 6.560E+01 (4.112E+00)
301011 90002 90008 3.034E-01 (4.303E+00) 6.307E+01 (4.303E+00)

Contact Overview TOP 5 (sorted by MAX_FORCE)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
CONTACT I_GRAPHIC J_GRAPHIC MAX_PD (TIME) MAX_FORCE (TIME)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
301010 90003 90008 3.614E-01 (1.597E-02) 1.031E+02 (1.597E-02)
301004 90003 90007 3.533E-01 (1.609E-02) 9.719E+01 (1.609E-02)
301012 90001 90008 3.588E-01 (4.113E+00) 8.695E+01 (4.113E+00)
301005 90002 90007 2.952E-01 (4.304E+00) 6.688E+01 (4.304E+00)
301006 90001 90007 3.119E-01 (4.112E+00) 6.560E+01 (4.112E+00)

Step 6: Post-processing results

MotionView provides an automated report to post process some most commonly analyzed
contact results.
1. Go to Analysis menu > View Reports
2. In the View Reports dialog that appears select the entry Contact Report
ball_bearing_contact mm/dd/yy time and click OK

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Tip: For models having contacts, MotionView includes a Report entry in the View Reports
dialog automatically for every Run. Using this report adds 4 pages to the session.

• Contact Overview
• Penetration Depth Animation
• Contact force Animation
• Contact Force plots
The 1st page of the report, Contact Overview, is a static page that gives a snapshot of the
areas that come in contact for the entire time range. The contour that is seen is of penetration
depth of the mesh elements. Note: If you don’t see the model in HyperView, please use the
“Fit model” button in the HyperWorks Desktop tool bar at the top of the page to see the model –
The icon looks like a magnifying glass.

3. For a better view, use Transparent Elements and Feature Lines

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4. Click Next Page on the Standard toolbar to go to the 2nd report page which shows animation of
the penetration depth
5. Go to Animation Controls
6. Change the Animate End setting to the end of simulation either using button or dragging the
slider to the end if it is not already

7. Click on Start/Pause Animation to start the animation

8. Note: You may choose to isolate specific components and use tracking feature if
required to analyze the result better. For e.g. in the following steps, Ball 1 results are
viewed
9. Under the Components folder in the Results Browser, right-click on component Ball
1.
10. Select Isolate from the context menu.

11. Click on Tracking Systems

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12. In the “Tracking” panel, please change the value in the “Track:” drop down menu form “node” to
“component”
13. Select Ball1 component from the graphics area

14. Click Next Page on the Standard toolbar to go to the 3rd page of the report, which has
animation of the contact forces.
15. Change display to Transparent Elements and Feature Lines
16. Click on Vector in the Results toolbar to bring up the Vector panel
17. Bring up the Display tab and change the Size scaling to By Magnitude and enter a
value 50 (or as appropriate to visualize the force vectors)

18. Click on Start/Pause Animation to start or pause the animation

Tip: The current force vector plot shows forces on each of element of the I Body graphics in
contact.
19. To view the force vector by regions in contact,
a. Go to the results browser, select all Components whose name start with
Contact Graphic
b. In the property editor below check off Visibility

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c. Activate the component Contact Region Output which is deactivated by default

by either clicking on its icon or checking ON Visibility in property editor below

Tip: Contact Region Output shows force vectors in contact regions which is region wise
aggregate of several elements in contact.
d. You may want to adjust the Size scaling of the vectors in the Display tab.
e. Go to the Plot tab and check ON Values

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20. Click Next Page on the Standard toolbar to go to the 4th page of the report, which has a
HyperGraph window with plots for all the contact forces.

Tip: This page plots the magnitude of all contact force on I Bodies.
You may be interested in seeing force plot on a particular body. For e.g. to view contact force
magnitude between Ball 1 and Inner Race
a. Select all curves in the Plot Browser except REQ/70000027 Force - Ball 1 -
Inner Race- (on Ball 1)
b. Check off Visibility

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The Results from Contact simulation has other results that can be animated or plotted.

• Contact Force – Normal

• Contact Force – Tangential
• Contact Penetration Velocity
• Contact Point Slip Velocity
21. Save your work into a session file

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Exercise 11b: 2D Rigid-to-Rigid Contact Simulation

Example
This exercise will guide you through the new 2D rigid body contact capabilities in
MotionSolve which can be used when contact occurs in a plane. In this exercise, we will model
a roller type cam-follower mechanism with the help of 2D rigid to rigid contact as there are no
out-of-plane contact forces that are expected.

Problem Setup
You should copy the files: Cam_Follower_Input.mdl, CamProfile.h3d,
Cam_Fixed.csv & Cam_Variable.csv

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Step 1: Review the partially setup model by running the existing simulation

Step 2: Create Curve Entity and Curve Graphics for FollowerRoller

1. Right-click on the Model entry in the Project browser and select Add > Reference
Entity > Curve from the context-sensitive menu. Enter Roller_Curve for the Label
and crv_roller for the Variable as shown below, and click OK to create the curve.

2. In the curve’s Properties tab, change the curve coordinate type to 3D Cartesian and
the closure type to Closed Curve.

3. From the Properties tab, click on the x radio button. Select Math from the second drop-
down menu on the left. Enter 5*SIN(2*PI*(0:1:0.01)) in the Expression Builder
and hit Enter on the keyboard.
4. Similarly enter 5*COS(2*PI*(0:1:0.01)) and 0.0*(0:1:0.01) as Math
expressions for y and z coordinates of the curve respectively. The expressions should
evaluate in each entry of the panel and should look as shown in the image below:

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5. Now add a Reference Entity > Graphic to the Model with Label Roller_Curve and
Variable gcrv_roller of type Curve.

6. Set the Body to FollowerRoller, the Point to FollowerRevJoint, the Curve to

Roller_Curve, and leave the rest of the settings as default.

Tip: The curve graphics should now be visible in the graphics area at the roller location.

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7. Deactivate the original cylinder graphic used for the roller, FollowerRoller.

Step 3: Create Curve Entity and Curve Graphics for the Fixed Portion of the Cam
1. Create a new curve entity of Label Cam_Fixed_Curve and Variable crv_cam_fix
with settings 3D Cartesian and Open Curve.

Tip: The curve for this portion must be open because more than one curve portion is
required to complete the total curve.

2. With the x type set to File, select the Cam_Fixed.csv file from the model files
directory.
3. Once MotionView has parsed the file, set the Request to Block 1 and the
Component to Column 1.
4. Select the y radio button and change its Component to Column 2. Select the z radio
button and set its Component to Column 3.

Tip: This functionality allows users to select a single file representing the curve and easily
parse that file to recreate the curve in MotionView.

5. Create a new Reference Entity > Graphic labeled Cam_Fixed_Curve (with variable
gcrv_cam_fix) of type Curve that references the Body Cam, the Origin Point
Global Origin, and the Curve Cam_Fixed_Curve.

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Step 4: Use the Parametric Points tool to generate the Points, Curve Entity, and
Curve Graphics for the Variable Portion of the Cam
1. From the Macros menu, select Create Points > Using Coordinates. The Parametric
Points creation dialog appears.

2. Use the File Open button to load the file Cam_Variable.csv. The points from
the csv file are parsed into the tool.
3. Click OK to have MotionView generate these points and add them into the model.

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4. Deactivate the Cam graphic.

5. In the Macros menu, select Create Curve from Points/Nodes.
6. For the Body this curve will reference, select the Cam. Set the Labels: setting to
Cam_Variable_Curve.
7. Double-click the Point/Node selector and select Point 0 from the point list.
8. Similarly, select Point 1 through Point 9 so that all of the points created from the
csv file are in the curve list.

9. Click Create to create the new curve.

Step 5: Merge the variable and fixed curves to create a usable closed curve for
the cam
1. Create a new curve with Label Cam_Curve, Variable crv_cam, coordinate type 3D
Cartesian, and closure type Closed Curve.
2. Set the x to Math and enter the expression {CAT(crv_cam_fix.x, crv_0.x)}.

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Tip: This concatenates (CAT) the x-coordinates of the fixed portion of the cam curve
(crv_cam_fix) to the variable portion (crv_0).

3. Set the y to Math and enter the expression {CAT(crv_cam_fix.y, crv_0.y)}.

4. Set the z to Math and enter the expression {CAT(crv_cam_fix.z, crv_0.z)}.
5. Deactivate the graphics for curves Cam_Fixed_Curve and Cam_Variable_Curve.
6. Create a new graphic Cam_Curve with variable gcrv_cam with Body Cam and Curve
Cam_Curve.
7. After verifying that the curve looks correct, reset the Parent: type for the curve graphic
to Marker and select CamMarker. Verify that the Curve is still set to Cam_Curve.
Tip: Using a marker for this curve simplifies the relationship between the body, curve, and
associated marker.

Step 6: Set up rigid 2D curve-to-curve contact using the part curves

1. Right-click on the Add Contacts button to bring up the Add Contact dialog. Use
the Label 2D Contact 0, the default variable name, and set the Type to 2D Rigid
to Rigid Contact.

2. Set Body I to Cam and Body J to FollowerRoller.

Tip: Note that MotionView automatically parses the Model for curves associated with
these entities and automatically selects them.

3. Under the Cam entry, deselect the open curves Cam_Fixed_Curve and
Cam_Variable_Curve.
4. Check the box Highlight contact side to review which sides of the curves will be
considered in contact with each other.

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Tip: If the graphics show that the interior of any one of the two curves is used for the
contact, then the contact side must be flipped.
5. Click Flip Contact Side for each curve that must be adjusted to correct the contact
definition.
Tip: In the above example, both contacts need to be flipped so that the contact sides
highlighted are opposing each other.

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6. In the Advanced tab, activate Find Precise Contact Event and Change Simulation
Max Step Size Options with default values.

Step 7: Save and run the model in MotionSolve

Step 8: Review the results by animating in HyperView and reviewing the log file
for the maximum contact force

Step 9: Create a plot in HyperGraph 2D of the Y-component of the FollowerShaft

body

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Optional: Update the cam variable point locations to produce a different cam
contact curve and investigate the effect on the maximum contact force and
follower shaft displacement

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Chapter 12

Flexible Bodies Exercises

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Exercise 12a: Creating and Simulating Flexible Lower

Control Arm (LCA)
This exercise will:
• Introduce flexible body generation techniques available in MotionView and OptiStruct.
• Introduce the FlexPrep utility for flex body generation.
• Run a series of quasi-static analysis using the flexible body in a suspension model.
• (Optional) Use various techniques available in OptiStruct to reduce the size of the flex
body h3d file.

Problem Setup
You should copy the files: sla_flex_snapshot.mdl

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Step 1: Launch FlexPrep to Generate a Flexible Body

FlexPrep takes a baseline bulk data file and your inputs to do two things:
• Generate an OptiStruct input deck with the “_prp.fem” file suffix and extension.
• Call OptiStruct to run the job and create a flexible body h3d file.
1. Start a new MotionView session.
2. From the FlexTools menu select FlexPrep as shown below.

3. Select the Optistruct Flexbody Generation toggle in the upper left.

4. From the pull down menu select the Create OptiStruct prp (preparation) file and
generate the h3d flexbody option.
5. Select the input bulk data file sla_flex_left.fem.
6. For the Save the *.h3d file as field, enter the name of the output H3D file as
sla_flex_left.h3d in the same directory as the previous bulk data file.
7. For the Component Mode Synthesis Type, select Craig-Bampton to perform Craig-
Bampton component mode synthesis.
8. In the Specify Interface Node List field, enter 4887+4888+4890.
Tip: The interface nodes are the nodes where constraints or forces are applied in the MBD
analysis.
In this case, two of the nodes are located at the two corners of the control arm, while the
third node is located at its center. Generally, the user will need to identify the interface
nodes ids in a FEA pre-processor like HyperMesh.
Tip: Plus (+) symbol is used as a separator between two node id’s. The colon operator (:)
specifies a range of node ids. For example, typing 1100:1105 to specify all node ids from
1100 to 1105 are interface nodes.

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9. For the Cutoff Type and value, select Highest Mode # and enter a value of 15. This value
determines the number of fixed interface (Craig-Bampton) or free-free eigen (Craig-Chang)
modes to calculate for the CMS analysis. More modes provides higher accuracy at the
expensive of performance and flexbody filesize.
Tip: As an alternative, the user can specify in the drop-down menu to calculate all the fixed
interface or free-free eigen modes below a certain frequency.

Step 2: Create RBE2 Spiders

Tip: RBE2 elements rigidly connect an independent FEA node to one or more dependent
nodes. Most often for MBD flexible bodies, the RBE2 elements are “rigid spiders” that have the
independent node at the center of a hole and the dependent nodes along the circumference
modeling bolts or other connection hardware. The independent node of the rigid spider
becomes an interface node of the flexible body that allows the body to connect to other
elements like joints or forces in the MBD model.
1. Launch HyperMesh by selecting the Create RBE2 Spiders button in the FlexBodyPrep
dialog box.
2. After HyperMesh starts select the OptiStruct Radio button in the User Profiles dialog box.
Tip: If the User Profiles dialog box does not appear, you can set or confirm the profile via the
menu selection Preferences > User Profiles
3. In the Browser section, navigate to the Utility menu on the left and click on User page.
(usually near the bottom of the Utility Browser). The User page displays three buttons (Step
1 to Step 3) as shown in the figure below.

Tip: If the Utility tab does not appear, you can activate this via the menu selection View 
Utility Menu

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4. Select the Step1: Info button which will open a dialog box that explains the procedure to
create RBE2 spiders.
5. Zoom into the area of the lower ball joint location as shown in the image – The controls to
zoom and position the model are similar to those in MotionView.

6. Click the Step 2: Superspider button to create an RBE2 spider.

7. Select a single node on the periphery of the hole and click proceed.
The script will create a RBE2 Spider automatically as shown in image.

Step 3: Ensure the interface nodes are independent

Tip: The center nodes of the rigid spiders are the interface nodes for the flexible body. These
nodes must be independent and a common mistake is having a RBE3 element which
generally has a dependent center node rather than a RBE2 element with an independent
center node. This tutorial will show the user how find RBE3 elements and change them to a
RBE2 element.
In some cases the RBE3 may provide a better solution for compliance at the interface area.
The use of RBE3 elements is beyond the scope of this introduction; please consult with

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OptiStruct documentation and technical support if the need arises to use an RBE3 element at
an interface node.
1. While still in HyperMesh, select the Tool page on the right side of the panel, and select the
mask panel.

2. Left mouse click the elems collector, and choose by config selection.
3. Left mouse click the config = button, and click the rbe3 elements.
4. Click the select entities button.
5. Click the elems entity collector, then reverse the elements selected.
6. Click mask to hide all the elements that are not a RBE3 element.
7. Click return to exit the panel.

8. Select the Isometric view icon in the Standard Views toolbar to show the RBE3
elements in the model. The RBE3 element is the rigid spider at the front inner connection
point for the LCA.

9. Click the 1D page to open it, and select the config edit panel.

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10. Click the elems entity collector, and click displayed to select all of the elements.
11. Left mouse click the new config = panel, select rigidlink as the element.
12. Click the switch button so the RBE3 elements at the interface nodes become RBE2
elements.
Tip: Only RBE3 spiders that are interface node need to be changed, so the user might
need to use a different selection method to change the RBE3 spiders when some are not
used for interface nodes.
13. Click return to exit the panel.
14. Zoom into the rigid spider.
15. Click the rigids panel to open it.
16. Click the review button
17. Select the RBE2 element in the graphics window with the left mouse button. The
dependency of the rigid spider is shown in the graphics window. Manipulate the view so the
center node of the spider is shown and notice the “I” next to the node indicating it is an
independent node.

18. Press F5 to open the Mask panel; select unmask all to show all the masked entities.

19. Click in the HyperWorks Standard Views toolbar. Your model should look similar to
the image below.

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Step 4: Return to the FlexPrep utility and run OptiStruct.

1. Return to the Utility tab and click the Step3: Save and Close button.
This will bring up the Save As dialog box.
2. Save the file as SLA_flex_left.fem which will save the modified file and automatically
create an interface node at the center of the rigid spider created in the previous step in the
FlexPrep dialog box.
Tip: Explicitly specify the .fem extension while saving the file.
3. Click on Additional Options button to bring up the Additional Options dialog
4. Click the checkbox next to Perform Stress Recovery and Perform Strain Recovery to
activate them.
With this option set, the FlexPrep includes relevant cards in the OptiStruct input deck to
calculate the modal stresses and strain.
5. Under Specify Units in the Bulk Data File, select the following:
Mass Units Kilogram
Length Millimeter
Force Newton
Time Second

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6. Verify that the FlexPrep dialog has the values shown in the image.
Tip: The modified fem file and new interface node ID are automatically updated in the
FlexPrep dialog box.

7. Click OK in the FlexPrep dialog box to launch OptiStruct to create the flexible body file
(.h3d).
An OptiStruct window provides messages from OptiStruct regarding the CMS run. Check
for any error messages in the OptiStruct window when the simulation has been completed.

Step 5: View the Model and Verify the Results

In this step, you will verify your work in the previous steps by viewing the flexible control arm in
HyperView.
1. From the client selector toolbar, select the HyperView client.

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2. Click the Open Model icon top open the Load model and results panel.

3. Click the Load model file browser and select the H3D flex file you just created with
FlexPrep, sla_flex_left.h3d.
The flexible arm model and its modal results are contained in the H3D flex file you created
using the FlexPrep tool. Since the modal results are also contained in the same H3D file,
MotionView automatically updates the Load results file field with the same filename.
4. Click Apply in the Load model and results panel to load the model.

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5. Click the Select animation mode arrow to open the list of options.

6. Select Set Transient Animation Mode to set the animation mode.

7. Click on Start/Pause Animation button . HyperView sequentially animates the flexible

control arm through all of its mode shapes. The mode number and its frequency are
displayed at the top-right of the window. This allows you to quickly scan all of the modes
and look for any mode shapes that may look poor or suspect.

8. Stop the cycling of modes by clicking the Start/Pause Animation button.

9. Click the Select animation mode arrow and from the list of options select the Set Modal

Animation Mode icon, which will animate one mode at a time.

10. To animate a particular mode shape, go to the Results Browser and select the mode 7
from the drop down menu as shown in the figure to the right.

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11. Click the Start/Pause Animation button to animate the selected mode.

12. Click the Contour icon to contour the deformations on the flexible body.
13. From the Result type pull down menu select Displacement (v) and Mag as shown in the
figure below.

14. Click Apply to display the contours and the legend in the Graphic Area.
You are now done reviewing the flexbody in HyperView.

Step 6: Use FlexPrep to mirror the flexible body

In this step, you will create a right hand side lower control arm (lca) by mirroring the left lca.
1. Switch to MotionView using the client selector toolbar.
2. From the Main Menu select FlexTools > FlexPrep to open the FlexBodyPrep dialog.
3. In the FlexBodyPrep dialog, select the Translation of Flexible Bodies radio button.
4. Open the drop down next to Translation of Flexbody files and select Mirror existing h3d
flexbody

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5. Click the Open file icon next to the Specify the original h3d file field.
6. Navigate to your working directory and open the sla_flex_left.h3d file created in the previous
steps.

7. Click the Open file icon next to the Specify the mirrored h3d file field.
8. Navigate to your working directory and enter sla_flex_right.h3d in the dialog box.
9. Click the Save button.
10. Select “MIRROR_XZ” from the drop-down list next to Select the plane for the mirror
image.

11. Click OK to create the mirror image h3d flexible body file on the right hand side of the
vehicle.

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Step 7: Replace rigid bodies with flexbodies and solve in MotionSolve

1. The previous steps created the flexible body h3d files sla_flex_left.h3d and
sla_flex_right.h3d. This step will integrate these flex bodies into a MBD model.
2. From the MotionView window menu bar select Model and Assembly Wizard… as shown in
the figure to the right.

3. Use the criteria from the table to assemble a Front-end half vehicle model. Under the
Primary Systems, make sure to select Frnt. SLA susp (1 pc LCA) – the flexible bodies
created work specifically with this model.

Wizard Panel Your selection should be…

Model Type Front-end of the vehicle

Driveline Configuration Defaults

Primary Systems Frnt SLA Susp (1 pc LCA) and Defaults for the rest

Steering Subsystems Defaults

Springs, Dampers, and Stabars Defaults

Jounce/Rebound Bumbers Defaults

Label and Varname Defaults

Attachment Wizard Compliant = Yes

4. Select Finish to create the model.

5. Click Analysis > Task Wizard to open the Task Wizard dialog.

6. In the Task Wizard dialog select the Static Ride Analysis task from the Front End Tasks,
as shown.

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7. Click Next to move to the next step.

8. Click Finish twice to accept all of the defaults for this static ride analysis.
9. In the Model Browser expand the system folder Frnt SLA susp (1 pc. LCA) as well as the
Bodies folder.
10. Select the Lwr control arm.

11. In the Properties tab for the Lwr control arm-left deselect the Symmetric Properties
check box.
12. Select Retain in the dialogue that appears to retain the current values for mass/inertia.
13. Click the Deformable check box and click Yes in the dialogue box that appears asking
whether the right hand side LCA is also deformable.

14. Click for Graphic file and select sla_flex_left.h3d from your working directory.

You will see that the H3D file field is populated automatically with the same path and file
name as the graphic file you just specified.

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Tip: The h3d file is required by MotionSolve to compute the flexible body deformations.
However, the Graphics File does not necessarily need to be the same h3d file – you can specify
any graphics h3d file to change or simplify geometry to increase post-processing speed.
15. Click the Nodes button in the Body panel to display the Nodes dialog box. This dialog
helps find attachment points in the model for the interface nodes in the flexible body to
connect bushings, forces, joints, etc.
16. In the Nodes dialog make sure the Only search interface nodes check box is selected.
17. Click the Find All button in the nodes dialog box to find the interface nodes on the flexible
body that are located closest to the connection points on the vehicle model.
18. On the far right of the nodes dialog box in the Offset column click the Align buttons for all
the points on the MBD model and select Yes for the warning dialog box that appears. This
action will move the respective points used by the joints, bushings, forces, etc. to the
interface nodes labeled in the Node ID column.
Tip: Moving model points to the interface nodes can cause unforeseen changes in
simulation results. You should examine the relationships between the points and the model
behavior.
The nodes dialog box should look like the figure below.

19. Click Close to close the dialog.

20. Click the Modes button to display the Modes dialog box.
Tip: This box shows the user which modes are active during the simulation, and allows the
user to select different options to define the modal damping during the MotionSolve run.
Although the dialog box has the option to turn on or off individual modes, it is strongly
advised to never turn off any of the flexible body modes other than the rigid body
modes . If you need less modes, you should go back to regenerate the flexible body.
The first six modes are rigid body modes, and are always turned off by default since the rigid
body motion is already computed by MotionSolve and thus these modes are not necessary.
The modes dialog box is shown below.

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Tip: The default settings for damping are:

• Frequencies under 100Hz, 1% damping
• Frequencies greater than 100Hz and less than 1000Hz, 10% damping
• Frequencieis greater than 1000 Hz use 100% damping.
Alternative damping may be provided. See Body Panel (F1 help) and/or Body_Flexible for
more details. Help->HyperWorks Home Help-> Reference Guides->MotionSolve-
>Reference Guide->XML Format->Model Statements-> Body_Flexible.
21. Click the Close button to close the Modes dialog box.
22. Select the Right tab and repeat steps 13 through 18 to integrate the right side flexible body
sla_flex_right.h3d in your model.
Your model should look similar to the image below.

23. Click Tools > Check Model to check your complete MBD model for errors.
24. Save your model as an MDL file named sla_flex.mdl.

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25. Click the icon in the General Actions toolbar.

26. In the Main tab, click the icon next to Save and run current model and save the
model as sla_flex.xml.
27. Set the End time to 4 and Print interval to 0.01.
28. Click the Run button to execute a MotionSolve simulation.

Step 8: Viewing MotionSolve flexible body results

In this step, you will animate the MotionSolve results file sla_flex.h3d HyperView.
1. Select the Animate button in the Run panel.

2. Animate the results by clicking the Start/Stop Transient Animation button.

3. Click the Contour icon on the HyperView Visualization toolbar to open the Contour
panel.
4. From the Result Type pull down menus, select Displacement (v) and Mag for magnitude.
5. Click the Apply button to view the displacement contours on the elements of two flexible
body lower control arms as shown in the figure below.

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Tips on Modeling Flexible Bodies

• Since the flexible bodies are modal representation, the deformation must be linear (e.g,
~10% deformation of characteristic length of body).
• Avoid selecting interface nodes that are too close together. This increases the likelihood
of modes being almost linearly dependent, which causes difficulty in the solution.
• Deactivating modes in your flexible body will gain computational speed at the sacrifice of
accuracy, but this may be acceptable. If you see integration failures, try adding more
modes back to the flexible body. Regenerate the flexible body with the smaller set of
modes if you find it is acceptable, since the modal shapes influence each other for the
final solution.
• A fine mesh is usually not necessary for component mode synthesis as only a few fixed
interface eigenmodes are needed. Most often people use too fine a mesh, rather than
too coarse. Use a fine mesh if you want stress or strain computed in the flexbody.
• Use plotels, MODEL set, and STRESS/STRAIN set options in the FEM input file to
reduce the size of flex body H3D file without sacrificing accuracy. (see next section for
more details)
• Use Released DOF method to keep the number of CMS modes low for models
that have a large number of interface nodes. For example, release the rotational
degree of freedom for a revolute joint. (see next section for more details)Section
2 (Optional): Manual methods to reduce the size of the flexible body h3d file.
• Use CBG (Craig Bampton Geometric Stiffness) method when deformations are above
linear range. CBG flex body includes geometric stiffening matrices along with modal
matrices that captures geometric non-linearity.
The previous section discussed flexible body generation using FlexPrep. It is possible to
generate flexible bodies directly from by editing the OptiStruct input file in a text editor or
HyperMesh and creating/modifying the cards that generate the flexible body in OptiStruct. By
doing this, you can reduce the size of the h3d file by altering different options not available in
the GUI. Reducing the size of the flexible body h3d file will increase the speed of pre-
processing, simulation, and post-processing.
Here is a list of the H3D file size estimates for this example (15 requested modes):
• Original, all DOF, Stress and Strain for all elements: ~12 MB
• Reduced DOF (ASET), Stress and Strain for all elements: ~10 MB
• Use of SET to reduce element for Stress and Strain: ~7.5 MB
• Use of SET to reduce elements for Stress, Strain and Model(display): ~5 MB
• PLOTEL (no stress, strain): ~2 MB

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OptiStruct Input Deck

The FlexPrep utility creates an OptiStruct input deck when it invokes OptiStruct to create the
flexible body h3d file. The OptiStruct input deck file can be modified in HyperMesh or by a text
editor to change the parameters that will determine the flexible body:
• change interface nodes
• increase the number of fixed interface or free-free eigen modes calculated
• reduce the .h3d flexible body file size, etc.
The OptiStruct input file is generally broken up into two sections named:
• the case control section and
• the bulk data section as shown in the figure to the right.

Case Control Section

Bulk Data Section

Case Control Section

The case control section is near the top of the OptiStruct file and determines which loads,
constraints, and outputs are evaluated during the FEA simulation. In normal FEA analyses, the
user can specify multiple subcases for FEA evaluation, but only one subcase is generally
needed when generating a flexible body. The following are common statements or “cards” in
the case control section for MBD flexible body file generation:
• TITLE – Sets the title of the OptiStruct job.
• OUTFILE – Defines the prefix for the output files.
• OUTPUT – Defines the type of output files created.
o OptiStruct will generate a MotionView .h3d and ADAMS .mnf flexible body files.
• CMSMETH – Selects the CMS method bulk data card for this calculation.

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• STRESS – Calculates the element stress modes in the MotionView .h3d file.
• STRAIN – Calculates the element strain modes in the MotionView .h3d file.
• MODEL – Selects a set of elements used for display purposes in the flexible body h3d
file.
• Set – A set of grid points or a set of elements in the bulk data section.
o These sets are used to reduce the size of the output .h3d by limiting the number
of elements displayed and/or with stress/stain modes calculated.
o The number after the “=“ sign for the STRESS, STRAIN and MODEL cards
selects the set.

Case Control Section

Bulk Data Section

Bulk Data Section

The end of the case control section and the beginning of the bulk data section is determined
with the “BEGIN BULK” statement in the OptiStruct input deck. Within the bulk data section, the
loads, materials, properties, constraints, grid points, elements, and other physical properties of
the FEA model are defined. For the generation of MBD flexible bodies the following input cards
are common:
• DTI UNITS – Outputs the units of the FEA model to the .h3d file.
o Sets of the Units of the OptiStruct input deck. All data in the bulk data file must
conform to the units specified in this card.
o This card exports the units to the .h3d and/or .mnf model.

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• GRID – Sets the location of the grid points.

• PLOTEL – A FEA element used for display purposes.
o Has no effect on the physical properties of the model.
• RBE2 – Rigid elements that connects the interface node location to the FEA structural
elements.
• CTREA3 – A 2D shell element.
o OptiStruct contains multiple types of 1D, 2D, and 3D elements.
• PSHELL – A card that defines the properties, material, thickness, etc, of elements in the
FEA model.
o Called in an element definition card.
o There multiple property card types in OptiStruct
• MAT1 – A card that defines a material.
o Called in a property card to define the material.
o OptiStruct has multiple material definition cards.
• ASET1/ASET – Calls the interface node IDs and sets the restricted degrees of freedom.
• CMSMETH – Selects the CMS method and number of or highest frequency of the
computed fixed interface or free-free eigen modes.

The end of the bulk data card is signified by the “ENDDATA” card.

Tip: For more information regarding the OptiStruct control and bulk data cards please refer to
Help > HyperWorks Home Help > Reference Guides > OptiStruct > Reference Guide >
Bulk Data Format > Input Data.

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Exercise 12b: Reviewing OptiStruct Files

Problem Setup
You should copy the files: sla_flex.abf, sla_flex.h3d, sla_flex.log,
sla_flex.mdl, sla_flex.mrf, sla_flex.plt, sla_flex.xml,
sla_flex_front.sdf, sla_flex_left.fem, sla_flex_left.h3d,
sla_flex_left.out, sla_flex_left.stat, sla_flex_left_fixed.fem,
sla_flex_left_fixed_prp.fem, sla_flex_left_model_set.fem,
sla_flex_left_model_set.h3d, sla_flex_left_model_set.out,
sla_flex_left_model_set.stat, sla_flex_left_plotel.fem,
sla_flex_left_prp.fem, sla_flex_left_stress_strain_set.fem,
sla_flex_left_stress_strain_set.h3d,
sla_flex_left_stress_strain_set.out,
sla_flex_left_stress_strain_set.stat, sla_flex_right.h3d

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Step 1: Reviewing the OptiStruct input file for flexible body creation
1. Open the file sla_flex_left_prp.fem in a text editor.
2. The first few lines of the OptiStruct input file sets up the simulation to perform CMS and
generate the flexible body h3d file. The cards usually generated using the FlexPrep Utility
are listed below:
• SUBCASE – Indicates the start of a Subcase that determines the loads,
computational methods, and boundary conditions of the FEA simulation.
• OUTFILE – Specifies the name for the h3d output file.
• CMSMETH – Card that points to the CMS method bulk data card used in this
Subcase during simulation – See CMSMETH card below for bulk data
representation.
• STRESS=ALL – Specifies that OptiStruct will compute and output the modal stress
for all the elements to the flexible body h3d file.
• STRAIN=ALL – Specifies that OptiStruct will compute and output the modal strain for
all the elements to the flexible body h3d file.
• BEGIN BULK – Defines the end of the case control section and the start of the bulk
data section.
• DTI, UNITS – Provides the units of the FEA model for output to the h3d flexible body
file – does not control the units of the FEA file.
• PARAM COUPMASS -1 – Instructs OptiStruct to use the lumped mass formulation in
the eigen value analysis.
• CMSMETH – Determines the CMS method and number of extra modes that
OptiStruct will compute during the simulation.
• ASET1 – Defines the degrees of freedom removed at the interface node ID’s of the
flexible body.

How to Reduce the Size of the Flexbody?

With the cards specified above, OPTISTRUCT generates a flex body h3d file. As expected,
large FEA models produce large flex body h3d files. In such a scenario, it is possible to reduce
the size of the flex body H3D file by creating smaller sets of elements for the following cards:
• MODEL Set – Creates a set of elements which are displayed by the flexible body h3d file
in MotionView and HyperView for pre-processing and post-processing. The other
elements are still used in the OptiStruct simulation, but they are not displayed.
• PLOTEL – Creates lines between elements that can be used by the MODEL card for
displaying the flexbody.
• STRESS and/or STRAIN Set – Creates a set of elements for which stress or strain
modes are calculated.

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Step 2: STRESS/STRAIN Set in OPTISTRUCT

The cards STRESS and STRAIN must be included during flexible body generation to compute
their respective values in MotionSolve. To reduce the number of elements that compute stress
and strain, use the following syntax:
Syntax of the MODEL, STRESS, and STRAIN cards:
STRESS=7
STRAIN=7
SET 7 = 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,…
…where STRESS and STRAIN are the OptiStruct case control cards that specify the set of
elements of the flex body for which the stress and strain computations are carried out and 7 is
the ID of set that defines the elements.
1. Open the fem input deck sla_left_stress_strain_set.fem located in <training install
dir>\model_files\Chapter12 directory in any text editor.
2. Verify if the cards STRESS=ALL and STRAIN=ALL are modified as STRESS=7 and
STRAIN=7 respectively. Also notice the SET 7 card specifies the ID’s of the elements used
in this set.
3. Close the file.
4. Generate the flex body for sla_left_stress_strain_set.fem by either of the following
methods:
• Run the OptiStruct deck from the start menu.
• Use FlexPrep within MotionView with the option “Create h3d flexbody using pre-
existing prp file” from the “OptiStruct Flexbody Generation.” Click OK to create the
flexible body .h3d file.

5. Start a new HyperView session.

6. Click File > Open > Model to load in the H3D file generated by OptiStruct in step 4.

7. Browse for the .h3d file by clicking on the folder icon next to the Load Model field and
select Apply.

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8. Click on the Contour icon on the HyperView Visualization toolbar to open the
Contour panel.
9. From the Result Type pull down menus, select Stress (t) and VonMises.
10. Click the Apply button to view the VonMises stress contours on the element selected in set
7.
11. Click the select animation mode arrow and from the drop-down list select the Set Modal

Animation Mode icon, which will animate one mode at a time.

12. To animate a particular mode shape, go to the Results Browser select the Mode 9 from the
drop down menu as shown in the figure to the right.

13. Click the Start/Pause Animation button to animate the selected mode.

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Step 3: MODEL Set in OptiStruct

The MODEL card lets the user control the display of elements of the flex body in the H3D during
pre and post-processing in MotionView. To reduce the number of elements that display in the
flexbody, use the following syntax:
Syntax of MODEL card:
MODEL=7
SET 7 = 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,…
Where MODEL is the OptiStruct card that determines the set of elements of the flexible body
that are displayed in MotionView and 7 is the ID of set that defines the elements.
1. Open the fem input deck sla_left_model_set.fem in a text editor.
2. Note the model card: MODEL = 7 above the line STRESS=7.
This is the only change to the model from the previous example besides the OUTFILE
name.
3. As in the previous step, generate the flex body for sla_left_model_set.fem by either of the
following:
• Run the OptiStruct deck from the start menu.
• Use FlexPrep within MotionView with the option “Create h3d flexbody using pre-
existing prp file” from the “OptiStruct Flexbody Generation.” Click OK to create the
flexible body .h3d file.
4. Start a new session and change the window type to HyperView.
5. Open the sla_flex_left_model_set.h3d to load in the H3D file generated by OptiStruct in step
2 into HyperView as shown in the previous section.

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6. Animate Mode 9 with the VonMises stresses as shown in the previous section. The
animation will look similar to the picture below.

Step 4: Outline feature using PLOTEL elements in OptiStruct

PLOTEL elements can significantly reduce the size of a flexible body h3d file. PLOTEL
elements create a line between two grid points and are used to display only the edges or a
“stick figure” representation of the model during post-processing. PLOTEL elements have no
affect on the FEA results. Below is the syntax of the PLOTEL element:
PLOTEL EID G1 G2
Where PLOTEL is the element type, EID is the element ID, G1 and G2 are the nodes used to
define the element. For example: PLOTEL 8786 4698 1702
HyperMesh can create PLOTEL elements in a couple of ways:
• The edges panel on the Tools page
will create PLOTEL elements along
the free edges of the flexible body.
• The features option on the Tools
page in HyperMesh generates
PLOTEL elements highlighting
“features” of the FEA model.
The picture below shows the flex body model
with PLOTEL elements created using the features option (the green edges):

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Tip: Please refer to HyperMesh tutorial HM-3000: Creating 1-D Elements for how to create
PLOTEL using the features option and HM-3300 checking and Editing Mesh for creating
PLOTEL elements using the edges option.
After the PLOTEL elements have been created:
• Create an element SET consisting of all the PLOTEL elements.
• Use the MODEL card and specify the SET id of the SET created above PLOTEL.
For more information on HyperMesh features panel please refer to HyperMesh tutorial HM-
3000.
1. Open the FEM deck sla_left_plotel.fem in any text editor.
2. Notice the MODEL card points to set 9 that is a list of all the PLOTEL elements in the model.
3. Search for the BULK DATA section and note the PLOTEL elements.
4. Close the deck in the text editor.
5. As in the previous steps, generate the flex body for sla_left_plotel.fem by either of the
following:
• Run the OptiStruct deck from the start menu.
• Use FlexPrep within MotionView with the option “Create h3d flexbody using pre-
existing prp file” from the “OptiStruct Flexbody Generation.” Click OK to create the
flexible body .h3d file.
6. As shown in the previous steps, animate Mode 9 without any contours. The model should
resemble the figure below.

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Step 5: Released DOF method for interface nodes in OPTISTRUCT

The released DOF (degrees of freedom) feature enables the user to free some degrees of
freedom of the interface nodes which removes modes that are unnecessary to describe the
motion of the flex body, thus reducing the flexbody file size. If the appropriate DOF are released
for a particular interface node the simulation is not affected in any way. The DOF released will
depend on the kind of kinematic constraint applied at the interface node.
For example, a revolute joint has one DOF in the MBD model. This DOF can be released in at
the interface node, since there is no constraint to apply a torque in this direction. The modal
information in this direction is useless to the simulation.
Similarly, for a ball (spherical) joint, the three rotational DOF can be released for the same
reason.
The ASET1 card is used define the boundary degrees of freedom of an interface node of a flex
body.
Syntax of the ASET1 card:
ASET1 C G1
(or)
ASET1, C, G1
Where:
• ASET1 is the card name
• C is the DOF to be constrained
• G1 is the node ID

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For example
ASET1, 123456, 4887
This means that the interface node of ID 4887 will be constrained for all DOF where 123456
represent the translation along x,y & z axes and rotation about x,y & z axes, respectively. Thus,
to release a DOF from the interface node (for example rotation about X) the C value will be
12356. Multiple nodes can be constrained using a single ASET1 card as given below.
ASET1, 123456, 4887, 4888, 4890, 4891
This constrains all DOF. We would like to release some of these DOF if we can in order to
reduce the size of the flex body for the modes that are unnecessary to describe the motion of
the flex body. To do this, follow the following steps:
1. Open the OptiStruct input deck sla_flex_rdof.fem in any text editor.
2. Confirm the ASET1 cards in the deck are these values:
ASET1, 123456, 4887
ASET1, 1234, 4888  4 DOF remaining Y, and Z rotations do not contribute to motion
ASET1, 1234, 4890 4 DOF remaining Y, and Z rotations do not contribute to motion
ASET1, 123, 4891  3 DOF remaining X, Y, and Z rotations do not contribute to motion
3. Close the FEM deck in the text editor.
4. Generate the flex body for sla_left_rdof.fem by either of the following:
• Run the fem deck in OptiStruct (for example, in HyperMesh)
• Use FlexPrep within MotionView with the option Create h3d flexbody using pre-
existing prp file from the OptiStruct Flexbody Generation. Click OK to create the
flexbody .h3d file.

5. Start a new MotionView session and change the window type to HyperView.
6. Select File > Open > Model to load in the H3D file generated by OptiStruct in step 4.
7. Browse for the .h3d file by clicking on the folder icon and select Apply.

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8. Check the size of the H3D generated and you will notice a reduction in size; this is due to
the released DOF incorporated into the flex body.
H3D File Size Estimates for this example:
(15 requested modes)
• Original, all DOF, Stress and Strain for all elements: ~12 MB
• Reduced DOF, Stress and Strain for all elements: ~10 MB
• Use of SET to reduce element for Stress and Strain: ~7.5 MB
• Use of SET to reduce elements for Stress, Strain and Model(display): ~5 MB
• PLOTEL (no stress, strain): ~2 MB

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Exercise 12c: Hollow Circular Beam with Twist Load

In this exercise, you will create a hollow circular cross-section beam using NLFE body.
The beam is subjected to a torsion load at its endpoint as shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: A beam of hollow circular cross section fixed at one end and subject to torsion at the other

Where,
L = 1000 mm Beam length
di = 90 mm Internal diameter
do = 120 mm External diameter
T = 3x108 N.mm Torque

Material Steel:
E = 2.1x105 Modulus of
N/mm2 elasticity
v = 0.3 Poisson ratio
p = 7.86x10-6 External diameter
kg/mm3

Problem Setup
There are no starting files required for this exercise.

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Step 1: Hand calculation of the expected result

Consider the described beam under the twist load, what is the final twist angle?

Twist angle :
E
=G = 80.76 ×103 N / mm 2
2(1 + v)
TL (3 ×108 Nmm) × (1000mm)
θ
= =
GJ (80.76 ×103 N / mm 2 ) × (1.392 ×107 mm 4 )
π (d o4 − di4 )
=J = 1.392 × 107 mm 4
32
θ = 0.26686 rad

Step 2: Creating the Multi-Body model

1. Right-click on the Points icon to bring up the Add Point or Point Pair dialog box.
2. Click Apply to create Point 0 and leave the dialog open.
Tip: Point 0 is created at 0,0,0, the default location.
3. Click OK to create Point 1.

4. Using the Point panel Properties tab, set the Point 2 coordinates to 1000 for X, 0 for Y, and
0 for Z.

5. Using the macro Create Points Along a Vector select Point 0 and Point 1 and
enter 9 for Number of points. Select Create Points to add 9 points between Point 0 and
Point 1.

6. Right click on theBody icon to open the Add Body or Body Pair dialog. Change the
type to NLFE body and click OK.

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The NLFE Body is displayed with the Properties tab active.

7. From the Properties tab, define the properties as listed below:
− Type: Beam
− Cross section: Tube
− dim1: 60
− dim2: 45
− Number of Segments X=15 Y=3 Z=50

8. From the Connectivity tab, appended 8 points.

9. Select the points in the following order:

The beam is already created.

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10. Click on the Orientation tab to review the Start and End orientations.

11. Click on the Mass Properties tab to review the calculated values.

12. Right click on the Joint icon to open the Add Joint or Joint Pair dialog. Select Fixed
Joint and click Ok.

13. From the Connectivity tab, select NLFEBody0 as Body 1, Ground Body as Body
2 and Point 0 as Origin Point:

12. Right click on the Force icon to open the Add Force or Force Pair dialog. Create a
single force.

13. From the Connectivity tab, change the Properties to Rotational, select
NLFEBody0 as Action force on, Point 1 as Apply force at and Global Frame as Ref
Marker:

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14. From the Rot Properties tab, specify the expression for Tx as
`300000000*STEP(TIME,0,0,4,1)`.
15. Turn off gravity to eliminate deflection due to beam self-weight.

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16. Right click on the Output icon to open the Add Output dialog and click OK.
17. From Properties select Expressions options and specify the expression `{frc_0.AX}` in F2.
This expression computes the Angle X of the beam at point 1.
18. Save your model.

Step 3: Solving the model and post-processing

1. Invoke the Run panel by clicking on the Run Solver button on the toolbar.
2. Specify MotionSolve file name and click on the Run button.
3. After the simulation is completed, click on the Animate button to view the animation in
HyperView.

4. Click the Contour icon on the toolbar to activate the Contour panel.
5. Under Result type: select NLFE Stress (t), Averaging method: Simple, and click Apply to
view stress contours.

6. Click the Start/Pause Animation icon, , on the Animation toolbar to start the animation.
7. Click the Plot button in the MotionView Run panel to load the .abf file in HyperGraph.
8. Plot Angle X vs Time in HyperGraph selecting the following data:

X Type Time
Y Type Expression
Y Request REQ/70000000 Output 0
Y Component F2

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The twist angle for the numerical result is found as:

θ = 0.266946 rad

Conclusion
The NLFE model with 10 NLFE beam elements shows close agreement to the theoretical
results for this case.

Beam Theory Numerical % error

Twist Angle 0.26686 rad 0.266946 rad -0.032 %

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Exercise 12d: NLFE Helical Spring in an Engine Valve

In this exercise, you will learn how to use the NLFE Helical Spring sub-system to create a spring
in an engine valve.
The Engine Valve model is represented by the Valve Pin, Ring and Arm.

Ring

Arm

Valve_Pin

The helical spring will connect the ring to the valve pin.

Problem Setup
You should copy the files: Engine_Valve.mdl, valve_graphic.h3d

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Step 1: Reviewing the Model

1. Start a new MotionView session.
2. Load the Engine_Valve.mdl file from your working directory.
3. Review the model.
• 3 rigid bodies and 3 graphics represent the Valve Pin, Arm and Ring.
• A Fixed joint fix the ring to the graphic, a translational joint fix the Valve pin
to the ring which allows the pin to translate in X direction, a revolute joint
fix the Arm to the ground allowing the rotational DOF in Z direction. To
represent the contact between the Arm and the Pin, a Ball joint (with
compliance) fix the Arm to the pin with a translational stiffness of
1000N/mm.
• A motion acts on the Arm body with a sine curve rotating it from 0 to 25
degree, represented by the expression `abs(0.436332*sin(2*pi*time))`.

Step 2: Adding an NLFE Helical Spring

1. Add an NLFE Helical Spring Subsystem by clicking the NLFE Helical Spring Subsystem

icon in the Subsystems toolbar as shown:

The Add an NLFEHelicalSpring Subsystem dialog is displayed.

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2. Click on the Body 1 collector to bring up the model tree. Select Valve_Pin as the Body 1.

3. Click on the Point 1 collector to bring up the model tree. Select Pin Top as the Point 1.

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4. Repeat Step 2-3 now selecting Ring for Body 2 and Ring center for Point 2.
5. Enter the spring parameters as shown below: (ensure that Show Additional
Parameters is checked)

Wire diameter 2.5

Spring Diameter 18
Num. of inactive coils 1
Num. of active coils 4
Number of elements per
15
coil
Note: These parameters will give the following stiffness:
The equation for the coil spring stiffness:
𝐺𝐺. 𝑑𝑑4
𝑘𝑘 =
8. 𝑛𝑛. 𝐷𝐷3
Where:
G = Modulus of rigidity;
d = Wire diameter;
n = No. of active coils;
D = Spring mean diameter
Substituting the values from the table above in the equation and using Steel for material
with Modulus of rigidity of 80769 N/mm²:
80769 ∗ 2.54 𝑁𝑁
𝑘𝑘 = 3
= 16.9058
8 ∗ 4 ∗ 18 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

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6. The Completed dialog is shown below. Click Ok.

7. Select NLFE Spring 0 body under the subsystem.

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From Properties tab change the Number of segments to X = 8, Y=5 and Z=15.

Note: The number of segments specify the discretization per element along the three
axes of the beam/cable. These parameters are used for visualization in HyperView and
influences the display of stress and deformation contours.
8. Save the model as Engine_Valve_NLFE.mdl.

Step 3: Solving the model and post-processing

1. Invoke the Run panel by clicking on the Run Solver button on the toolbar.

2. Specify MotionSolve file Engine_Valve_NLFE.xml and click on the Run button.

3. After the simulation is completed, click on the Animate button to view the animation in
HyperView.

4. Click the Start/Pause Animation icon, , on the Animation toolbar to start the animation.
5. Coil-to-coil clash can be viewed at the bottom/top set of coils.

6. Click the Contour icon on the toolbar to activate the Contour panel.
7. Under Result type: select NLFE Stress (t), Averaging method: Simple, and click Apply to
view stress contours.

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8. Click the Plot button in the MotionView Run panel to load the .abf file in HyperGraph.
9. Plot Force Z of spring vs Time in HyperGraph selecting the following data:

X Type Time
Y Type Marker Force
Y Request REQ/70000003 Spring_toUpperBody_att
Y Component FZ

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10. Add a new Page Window using the icon showing below:

A new HyperGraph window will be opened.

11. Plot Force Z of spring vs Displacement in HyperGraph selecting the following data:

X Type Marker Displacement

X Request REQ/70000000 Spring Length- (on Valve_Pin)
X Component DZ
Y Type Marker Force
Y Request REQ/70000003 Spring_toUpperBody_att
Y Component FZ

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The slop of this curve gives you the real K of the non-linear spring.
Step 4 (OPTIONAL): Comparing Results with a regular spring
1. In the MotionView deactivate the system NLFEHelicalSpring 0.

2. Using the icon add a Coil Spring.

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3. From Connectivity tab select Valve_Pin as Body1, Ring as Body2, Pin Top as
Point1 and Ring Center as Point2.
4. From Properties tab enter 16.9058 as value of K.

5. Add a force output at the spring using the icon .

6. Save your model as Engine_Valve_Regular.mdl.

7. Run the simulation and plot Force vs Time to compare the results.

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8. Analyze the results.

The difference could be attributed to the following reasons:
• NLFE spring has mass and inertias associated with it as it is represented as a
body. A regular spring is a force entity without any mass/inertias.
• The difference in force outputs is particularly seen when the spring displacement
is high. This is the point where the coil-to-coil contact happens. During this
event, the effective number of coils reduces, thus increasing the spring stiffness
marginally and hence the force outputs.

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 Chapter 14: Half-Vehicle Events Exercises

Chapter 14

Half-Vehicle Events Exercises

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 Chapter 14: Half-Vehicle Events Exercises

Exercise 14a: Front Suspension Kinematics &

Compliance Analysis
In this exercise, users will become familiar with using the Assembly Wizard to create a front-
end model, using the Task Wizard to attach a Kinematics & Compliance event, and making
modifications to the model through MotionView to adjust the vehicle K&C outputs to match
an expected target.
This vehicle model will eventually become part of the full-vehicle model used later on within
these course exercises.

Problem Setup
There are no files required to start this exercise.

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Step 1: Start MotionView

Step 2: Set up a standard front suspension model in the Assembly Wizard

1. Select Model > Assembly Wizard from the menu to open the Assembly Wizard.

2. Select the option for Front end of vehicle and click Next > to advance to the next
page of the Assembly Wizard.
3. Under Select the driveline configuration, activate the No driveline option and
proceed to the next page.
4. Click Next > on the Select primary systems screen to accept the defaults and move to
the next page.
5. Similarly, accept the defaults on the Select steering subsystems page.
6. In the Select springs, dampers, and stabars (page 5 of 7), set the Front struts to
Front strut (deformable) and the Front stabilizer bars to Frnt stabar with
links. Proceed to the next page of the Assembly Wizard.

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7. On the Select jounce and rebound bumpers page, set the Front jounce bumpers to
Frnt internal jounce bumpers and the Front rebound bumpers to Frnt
internal reb bumpers. Proceed to the next page of the Assembly Wizard.
8. Click Finish to exit the Assembly Wizard.
Tip: MotionView will use the selected options to assemble a vehicle model.

Step 3: Modify the point locations in the model to adjust the lower control arm
geometries

1. Click the Filter By Points button to filter selection within the graphics area to point
selection.
2. With the point filter active, click the LCA frnt bushing-left point as shown below.
Tip: The point properties will be loaded into the panel area for editing.

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3. Change the X: value of the LCA front bushing point location to 988.0.
Tip: Note that both the left and right LCA front bushing locations are updated by changing
the left point because these are point pairs with the left point as master.

4. Select the left LCA rear bushing point from the graphics area or by selecting it in the
Model tree hierararchy. Set its X: location to 1291.0.

Step 4: Set up a default K&C event using the Task Wizard

1. Select Analysis > Task Wizard from the menu to open the Task Wizard.
2. Under Select a task, select the Front end task Kinematics and Compliance
Analysis.
3. Click Next > and Finish to exit the Task Wizard.
4. Click Finish on the following screen to accept the default parameters for the K&C
analysis setup.

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Tip: A system is added to the Model, visible in the Model tree, containing the bodies, other
entities, and datasets for performing a kinematics and compliance analysis.

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Step 5: Run a baseline analysis

1. Click the Run Solver button to bring up the Run Solver panel.
2. Confirm that the Simulation Type: is set to Quasi-Static and the Analysis: type is
set to Kinematics and Compliance Analysis.
3. Browse for a location to save the model as example1.xml.
4. Click Run to launch the selected analysis.

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Step 6: Load the MotionSolve Standard Report Model from this analysis
1. Click Analysis > View Reports… to bring up the View Reports dialog.
2. Select the report Front KC – Msolve Standard Report Model.
3. Uncheck the options for Auto fit plots and Auto color plots.
4. Click OK to process and view the report.
Tip: This report creates 39 new pages in the session. Cycle through previous and next

pages in the report by using the Previous Page and Next Page buttons
respectively.

Step 7: Animate the K&C analysis animation in HyperView

Tip: The HyperView window with the animation should be page 39 of the report. Use the
Play button on the animation toolbar to activate playback of the K&C analysis results.

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Step 8: Review the SDF report output to determine the ground reaction force
Tip: The TextView window with the SDF report should be page 40 of the report.

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Step 9: Verify the ground reaction force using the Vertical force vs. Wheel
travel plots
Tip: The HyperGraph 2D windows with the left/right Vertical force vs. Wheel travel plots
should be page 7 of the report.

1. Click within the left plot to activate it and click the Fit All button to scale the plot to
the window.
2. Similarly, scale the right plot to fit its window as well.

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3. Click on the Coordinate Info button on the HyperGraph XY Chart button bar to
open the Coordinate Info panel in HyperGraph 2D.
Tip: In this panel, users can review information about plot data points and curves.
4. Activate the left window and select a point on the curve at the point where it crosses the
y-axis of the plot.
Tip: The corresponding data point in the panel will be highlighted, giving the X location: 0
and the data point’s Y-value: 3594.73 which should be very close to to the ground reaction
force value from the previous step.

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5. Confirm the ground reaction force value using the y-axis crossing of the right wheel
vertical force plot as well.

Step 10: Iterate the spring preload to adjust the model’s ground reaction force
to 4000 N
Tip: The MotionView model is located in page 1 of the session.

1. Filter by SpringDamper and select the Coil Spring-left.

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2. In the Preload tab, estimate a new Preload value to bring the ground reaction force to
4000 N.
Tip: Adjusting the preload value will be an iterative process which requires the model to be
reanalyzed by the user for various preload values to determine the cornering value. To
reduce the amount of time spent in analysis overall, several of the outputs which are “User-
Defined” can be deactivated, as this directly reduces the time spent writing to output files.
This trick also comes in handy when performing optimization or DOE runs with MotionSolve-
based models that require reporting. Deactivated outputs can later be reactivated and rerun
for full output and/or reporting.
3. Rename the output to example2.xml, rerun the model, and check the change in
results. Repeat steps 10.2 and 10.3 to get the model wheel load value as close to 4000
N as possible.
Tip: When loading the report for post-processing to view the change in results, note that
analysis runs are listed in order of most recent (at the top) to oldest (at the bottom).
Tip: Ensure that the Mode when loading new reports is set to Overlay (rather than Append
or Replace), which allows you to view more than one report plot on a single graph. Using
Overlay mode will not provide dual-view capability on HyperWorks clients that only accept
a single model or input (modal mode) such as HyperView animation or TextView windows.

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Step 11: Update the LCA rear bushings orientations and rates
Tip: Reorient the model so that the LCA rear bushing is clearly visible.

1. Filter by Bushing and select the LCA rear bushing-left.

2. On the Connectivity tab of the Bushings panel, use the drop-down to change the Z-
axis orientation type for the bushing from Point to DxDyDz.

Tip: By default, the DxDyDz option provides a unit vector in the global Z direction.
3. On the Trans Stiffness tab of the Bushings panel, change the Kx: bushing rate to
3000.

Step 12: Save the model as front_susp_knc.mdl

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Step 13: Rerun the analysis with the new bushing orientation and rates as
example3.xml

Step 14: Overlay the results report from example3.xml onto the other report
plots

Step 15: Compare the effects of the changes to the bushing orientation and
rates on the kinematics and compliance analysis results
Tip: Use the Fit All button to ensure that the changes in the results is more easily visible.

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Exercise 14b: Rear Suspension Kinematics &

Compliance Analysis
In this exercise, users will create a rear-end model, use the Task Wizard to attach a
Kinematics & Compliance event, and adjust the model to allow the use of an AutoBushing.
This vehicle model will eventually become part of the full-vehicle model used later on within
these course exercises.

Problem Setup
There are no files required to start this exercise.

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Step 1: Start MotionView

Step 2: Confirm that the MotionView preferences file for dynamics tools is
loaded
1. In the menu, select File > Load > Preference File.
Tip: This brings up the Preferences dialog.
2. Click Register to bring up the Open Preference File dialog.
3. Navigate to <install directory>\Altair\2017\utility\mbd\preferences
and select the file mvdt.mdl.
Tip: MBD-Vehicle Dynamics Tools should now be listed among the registered preferences
files for HyperWorks Desktop.

Tip: Please note that if users launch another client such as HyperMesh Desktop or
HyperView and then switch into a MotionView client, some of the menu options loaded with
preference files may not be available to use. As a best practice, please launch the
MotionView application directly from the a shortcut link on the desktop or taskbar, from the

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install directory, or from the Start Menu to enter the client and use Vehicle Dynamics Tools
capabilities and menu options.

Step 3: Set up a standard rear suspension model using the following settings
in the Assembly Wizard
Page Suspension Component Setting
Model Type - Rear end of vehicle

Select jounce and rebound Rear jounce bumpers Rear internal jounce
bumpers bumpers

Select jounce and rebound Rear rebound bumpers Rear internal reb
bumpers bumpers

Tip: Use the default settings within the Assembly Wizard for options not explicitly listed.

Step 4: Add a Kinematics and Compliance Analysis event to the rear

suspension model using the default settings for attachment points and
datasets

Step 5: Save the model as rear_knc.mdl

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Step 6: Run the model and K&C analysis as rear_knc.xml

Step 7: Load the MotionSolve Standard Report Model for this analysis

Step 8: Review the animation for the K&C analysis event

Step 9: Create new marker pairs on the rear lower link at the bushing
Tip: We will operate on the following entities using the left bodies/joints/points, etc, using
them as the master for symmetric orientations.

4. In the MotionView model, right-click on the Add Marker button to bring up the
Add Marker dialog.
5. Set the System to Rear quadlink susp, set Type: to Pair, and click OK to create
the new marker pair.

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6. In the Properties tab for the newly created marker pair, select the Rear lower link
as the Parent: body.
7. Set the Origin: point to Rear lwr bush.

8. Using the drop-down, set the orientation type for the Z Axis setting to Point.

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9. Set the Point: for the Z-axis orientation to Front lwr bush-left as shown below.

Tip: This point is located immediately X- (vehicle forward) of the bushing point where the
marker origin is located.
10. Check the Sym box near the Z Axis orientation controls and MotionView will ask which
of the markers should be mirrored. Select Left to set the right marker symmetrically
oriented to the left marker across the Y-axis vehicle centerline.

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Step 10: Create a new AutoBushing in the Rear quadlink susp system and
attach it to the rest of the model
1. In the MotionView Model tree, right-click on the Rear quadlink susp system to
bring up the context-sensitive menu and select Add Auto Entity.
Tip: This opens the Add Auto Entity dialog.

2. Confirm that the Parent: system is the Rear quadlink susp system. Name the new
entity New Rear Bushing, select Type: Pair and change the entity selector to
AutoBushPair. Click OK to create the AutoBushing pair and set the properties.

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3. Resolve the AutoBushing body attachment points by setting Body 1 to Rear lwr
link, and set Body 2 to Rear low link att body, selectable through the
Attachments section of the Rear quadlink susp system in the Select a Body or
BodyPair dialog.
Tip: Because attachment points are parameterized, the Body 2 will now point to whatever
the attachment itself it pointing to, which is the Vehicle Body.
4. Resolve the Marker by choosing the marker created in the previous step.
5. Resolve the Point by choosing the Rear lwr bush point.

Step 11: Review the AutoBushing parameters in the property file

1. On the Left Connectivity tab of the AutoBushing, locate the Property File listing and
click the View File button next to the file path.

Tip: A Preview Window opens up.

2. Scroll through the file in the Preview Window, paying particular attention to the FX, FY,
and FZ curves for the bushing forces and moments.

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Step 12: Deactivate the Rear lwr bush located within the Rear quadlink susp >
Joints

Step 13: Scroll through the list of graphics in the Rear quadlink susp system
and deactivate any associated with the rear bushing

Step 14: Run the Check Model to ensure that the new bushing has been
correctly referenced and the old bushing has been successfully deactivated
and unlinked

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Step 15: Save the model as rear_knc_autobush.mdl

Step 16: Run the K&C analysis event

Step 17: Overlay the report for the autobush run over the previous rear
suspension report and compare the results with an AutoBushing

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Chapter 16

Tires, Roads, & Full Vehicle

Events Exercises

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 Chapter 16: Tires, Roads, & Full Vehicle Events Exercises

Exercise 16a: Full Vehicle Model Assembly with SLA

Event
In this exercise, users build a full vehicle model from prior front- and rear-vehicle half-vehicle
models.

Problem Setup
You should copy the file: front_susp_knc.mdl and rear_knc_autobush.mdl or
use the completed models from the previous exercises.

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Step 1: Start MotionView and open the front_susp_knc.mdl file

Step 2: Export the front macpherson suspension system to a file

1. Select the system Frnt macpherson susp (1 pc LCA) in the Model Browser.

2. In the panel area, select the Import/Export tab.

3. Select the Export option and ensure that Export topology as: is set to MDL
statements and that the Property Data checkbox is selected.
4. Click on the file selection icon and name the exported file front_export.mdl.
Tip: After entering a file name, MotionView will parse the file and may open the Message
Log with any warnings or errors. In this case, we can close the Message Log.
5. Click the Quick Export button to export the selected system to the file.

Step 3: Open a new page in the session and load the file
rear_knc_autobush.mdl

Step 4: Export the rear quadlink suspension system to rear_export.mdl

Tip: The front and rear suspension models will be left open in different MotionView pages
or within this session so that they can be easily accessed later on in the exercise during
trimming operations.

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Step 5: In a new page, use the Assembly Wizard to create a new Full Vehicle
with Advanced Driver with the following settings
Page Suspension Component Setting
Model Type - Full vehicle with
advanced driver

Select the driveline configuration - Front wheel drive

Select primary systems Tires AutoTire

Step 6: Replace the Wizard front and rear suspension systems with the
exported half car versions
1. Right-click on the front suspension in the Model Browser to use the context-sensitive
menu to delete the Frnt macpherson susp (1 pc. LCA) in the new full vehicle
model.
Tip: Be certain to click OK in the deletion confirmation dialog.
2. Delete the Rear quadlink susp from the model as well.

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3. Click on the Model at the top level of the hierarchy in the Model Browser.
4. In the panel area, select Import/Export and select the Import radio button.
5. Use the file management to browse and locate the front_export.mdl.

6. Click Import to import it into the current model. Click OK to import all of the system
definition defaults.

7. Similarly, import the rear_export.mdl file into the current model.

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Step 7: Add a straight line analysis to the vehicle model and set it to constant
velocity
1. Right-click on the Model in the Model Browser and select Add Events from the
context-sensitive menu.

2. In the Add Scripted Driver Task dialog, set a new event of Type StraightLineAcc.

3. In the Driver Event tab, click on the Event Editor to open the Straight Line Acceleration
event editor.

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4. Set the velocity for the event to a constant 5000 by updating the Desired Acceleration:
to 0.0.

5. Set the Transient time [s] to 5.

6. Click Apply to apply the settings to the selected event.
7. Close the Event Editor dialog.

Step 8: Solve the analysis for the newly created event

1. Enter the Run panel. Ensure that the Straight Line Accleration analysis event
is selected as the Analysis.
2. Set the output run file name to straight_line_run.xml.
3. Click Run to solve the model for the straight line acceleration event.

Step 9: Post-process the simulation

1. In the Run panel, click the Animate button to open a new window in the current page
with a HyperView client and load the results.

Use the YZ Front Plane View button to orient the model so that the vehicle is facing

the viewport and click Play on the Animation Toolbar to animate the run.

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Tip: Users should see very little side-to-side variation of the model results from a front or
rear position, indicating that the model is indeed being steered along a straight road.

Step 10: Calculate the factors needed to update the full-vehicle model
Calculate: Recall that in the front- and rear-suspension exercises, each front wheel had a
vertical force of 4000 N at zero wheel travel and each rear wheel was tuned to a vertical
force of approximately 2571 N. These figures can be verified by requesting the y-value
at x=0 from the reports of the front and rear suspension K&C analyses on the page
showing the Vertical Displacement in phase: Vertical force vs. Wheel
Travel.
From this we can then calculate the vehicle weight. The sum of two front wheels at
4000 apiece plus two rear wheels at 2571 apiece creates a total vertical force for the full
vehicle of 13142 N. Divide this number by 9.81 m/s to determine the mass (in
kilograms) exerting that force, which equates to a 1340 kg vehicle.

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Calculating the percentage of weight distrubed to the front wheels requires dividing the
front vertical force by the total vertical force of the vehicle: 8000/13142 ~ 0.61, or
61%.
To determine the wheel base:
1. Expand the Frnt macpherson susp (1 pc. LCA) system in the Model Browser.
Expand the Points folder and click on the Wheel center point.
2. In the Measure tab, next to Select second:, double-click on the Point selector and
navigate to the rear suspension to select Wheel center in the tree and the Wheel
center-left as the specific point to measure to.

3. The measurement panel shows the component distance from the front suspension
wheel center to the rear suspension wheel center, an X-distance of 2700 [mm], which is
the wheel base.

Calculate the CG location: Multiply the wheel base (2700 mm) by (1-weight
distribution) to determine the CG location to obtain the proper wheel loading.
2700 mm*(1-0.61) = 2700 mm * 0.39 = 1053 mm

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Step 11: Adjust the vehicle mass and CG locations using the calculations
1. In the Tools menu, select the CG/Inertia Summary….
2. In the CG/Inertia Summary dialog, under the Select bodies: area, select the Model
entry and click Add.

3. At the bottom of the summary section, the total vehicle mass and CGs are presented.
Tip: The total vehicle weight listed here is 1420 which is higher than our calculation of 1340
kg, so the weight of the vehicle must be reduced by 80 kg. Our current assumption is that
all of the unsprung mass within the vehicle is correct, so we can take the weight out of the
vehicle body.
4. Navigate to the Vehicle Body listing at the top of the summary and reduce the mass by
80 kg from 1000 kg to 920 kg.

Tip: Use the expression 1000-80 to set the new vehicle body mass while keeping track of
what the original value was.

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5. Review the total to verify that the vehicle mass is now updated to approximately 1340
kg.

6. Locate the front wheel CG location in the summary and note the X-value.

Tip: The X-location of the front wheel centers is X=1000 [mm], and we have previously
calculated that the total vehicle CG should be 1053 mm behind that point, so should be at
2053 mm.
7. Review and note the total vehicle CG X-location:

Tip: We need to adjust the vehicle CG forward.

8. Iteratively adjust the Vehicle Body CG X-location to move the total vehicle CGx very
near to 2053.
Tip: Please note this is an iterative process.

9. Note the vehicle CGz location.

Tip: This value will be critical to calculating the ride height. Since the ground reference
marker is not always at Z=0, the total vehicle CGz should not be used as a direct indicator of
ride height.
10. Click Close to exit the CG/Inertia Summary dialog.
11. Click on the Points icon to enter the Points panel and then click in the graphics area on
the point on the vehicle centerline just ahead of the front of the vehicle, which should be
the origin point for the ground reference marker.

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12. Review the Z location for the Ground Reference Marker origin point:

13. The CGz of the vehicle can be calculated by subtracking the ground reference marker
MAG from the total vehicle CGz.

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Step 12: Re-run the adjusted model through the straight line acceleration
event as straight_line_run2.xml

Step 13: Plot and compare the vertical loads on the tires

1. Use the Add Page button to create a new page in the session.
2. Change the client on the new page to HyperGraph 2D.

3. Click on the Build Plots button to enter the Build Plots panel.
4. Under Data File:, load the file straight_line_run.plt.
Tip: HyperGraph 2D will parse the file and populate the plot axes options for you.
5. For Y Type:, choose User Defined.
6. In the Filter: next to Y Request:, type in SAE to filter the list for SAE axis systems and
press Enter.
7. The filter should return four results: the tire data from the front left, front right, rear left,
and rear right tires in that order. Shift-click to select all four Y-Requests.
8. Under Y Type:, choose f4 which corresponds to the Z-force on each tire.

9. Click Apply to create a plot of the z-forces for all four tires for the initial run.

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Tip: Here the front wheels are close to 4000 N, but the rear tires show 3000 N per tire. This
initial run shows that the changes to the vehicle body mass and CG were necessary to
achieve a match with our previous half-car runs.
10. In the Build Plots panel, load the file straight_line_run2.plt and redo steps 13.5
through 13.9 to plot the adjusted run curves on the same plot as the initial run.

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Tip: With the results overlaid, the difference between the runs is clear. Through careful
calculation and adjustment, the force of the front wheels did not change, and the rear
wheels now show a force equivalent to our initial rear suspension run.
Tip: The asymmetry of the tire force results shown here is likely effected by the steering
system which adds mass to one side of the vehicle rather than the centerline. This is
common in vehicle dynamics.

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 Chapter 17: Loads Simulation for Half Vehicle & Full Vehicle Exercises

Chapter 17

Loads Simulation for Half Vehicle

& Full Vehicle Exercises

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Exercise 17a: Quasi-Static Loading and Load Export

In this exercise, users utilize the previous front suspension model to set up and run a quasi-
static load event and use the Load Export Utility to export the load conditions from entities
within the model for use in other models.

Problem Setup
You should copy the file: front_susp_knc.mdl used in previous exercises.

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Step 1: Start MotionView and open the front_susp_knc.mdl file

Step 2: Calculate the front gross vehicle mass based upon the preexisting
suspension parameters
Tip: Since the front tires were generating 4000 N of force per tire, the front gross vehicle
mass carried by the axle is (4000 * 2) / 9.81 or 815.49 kg.

Step 3: Add a new Static Load Analysis event from the Task Wizard and adjust
the front gross vehicle mass
1. Open the Task Wizard and select a new Static Load Analysis event.
2. Click Finish to accept thte task.
Tip: MotionView will bring up the Car/Small truck – Front end tasks dialog for adjusting
event parameters.

3. In the Car/Small truck – Front end tasks dialog, set the Front gvm – includes
unsprung mass (Kg) to 815.5.
Tip: The rear GVM does not need to be adjusted, as we are only working with the front end
of the vehicle in these operations.
4. Click Finish to exit the dialog.

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Step 4: Update the loadcases for the model to be 2.5G vertical loads and add a
2G lateral loadcase
1. In the Model Browser, expand the Static Load Analysis system and expand the
Forms folder to select the Loadcases form.
2. In the Properties tab of the Panel area, click the … button to the right of the panel to
expand the loadcases into a separate window.
3. Within this new window, click the … button on the upper left hand side of the table to
expand the usable area.
4. Update the Title for the loads to “2.5G Vert Load”.
Tip: Please note that the double quotes are necessary to evaluate expressions as text.
5. Update the Locations for both of the entries to use the Tire patch-left and Tire
patch-right, respectively.
6. Update the Mult. value to 1.5.
Tip: The loading scheme for this event already applies a 1 G load to the wheel center at all
times, as can be seen by reviewing the Forces – one is applied at the tire patch and the
other at the wheel center, so the loadcase only has to make up the difference of the 2.5 G
loading at the tire patch, a difference of 1.5 G.

7. Click the Add button at the bottom of the window two times to add two new rows for
loadcases.

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8. Check the boxes for State for the new rows, enabling them in the analysis.
9. Set the Loadcase # to 2.
10. Name the two new rows “2G Long”, as these will be 2G longitudinal runs.
11. Set the rows to use the Location Tire patch-left and Tire patch-right
respectively and set both of the row Direction to X.
12. Set both Mult. to 2.
13. Copy the parameterized value from the first loadcase into the rows for the second.
Tip: Note that the values are highlighted in blue because the variables are parameterized.
The actual value set in the field is
ds_vehpar.grav.value/1000*ds_vehpar.frnt_gvm.value/2, and should evaluate
to a value of 4000.0275 when properly copied and pasted.
14. Set the Steps for both rows to 10.

15. Click Close to exit the Static load-cases window and re-enter the Loadcases window.
16. Ensure that all of the information and check marks are correctly entered and click Close
to return to the main MotionView window.

Step 5: Create an output for each component that loads will be exported from

1. Right-click on the Outputs button to bring up the Add Outputs dialog.

2. Create a new output named LCA Left Loads with variable name
o_lca_left_loads.

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3. In the Properties tab for the new output, set the type from Displacement to Force
and ensure that the subtype is set to Entity.
4. Double-click on the Body entity selector to enable the selector and open the Select a
Body dialog.
5. Uncheck the option Only show entities within valid scope to enable selection of
bodies outside the event where we are creating the new output.

6. Select the left lower control arm from the front suspension system and click OK.

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Step 6: Run the current event as qs_load_export.xml

Step 7: Plot the loads from the run to verify the analysis characteristics
1. Create a new page and set the client to HyperGraph 2D.
2. In the Build Plots panel, load the file qs_load_export.plt.
3. Set the Y Type to Force and filter the Y Request section using the search term LCA.
Select the four results returned.
Tip: The four search terms returned by the filter search correspond to the four attachment
points on the left lower control arm. Outputs for each attachment point were created
automatically when the output request was processed by MotionSolve.
4. Select the Y Component Z and click Apply to create the plot.

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Tip: For this event, loadcases are processed every odd second. In this specific run, the
value at 1 second corresponds to the 2.5 G vertical loadcase and the value at 3 seconds
corresponds to the 2G longitudinal load case. In between each loadcase, the model is
analyzed without a loadcase to return it to a “zeroed” state.

Step 8: Post-process the animated results using force vectors

1. Create a new page and set the client to HyperView.
2. Load the file qs_load_export.h3d and animate the results.

3. Click on the Vector icon to enter the Vector plot panel.

4. Set the Result Type: to Force and change the Selection: type to Assemblies.
5. Using the Assemblies entity selector, click on the left lower control arm and click Apply
to plot the force components.

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Step 9: Use the Load Export Utility to export the output loads
1. Return to the page with the MotionView model and select the menu option FlexTools >
Load Export.

Tip: The MotionView Load Export Module V7.0 dialog opens.

2. Click the Open button at the top of the dialog box.
3. Select the file qs_load_export.meta and click Open to load the file into the tool.

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4. Expand the folders under Body Selection until the Lwr control arm-left becomes visible.
Select Lwr control arm-left to populate the Force Selection area.
5. Select all four forces available in the Force Selection area.
6. Beneath the Time Selection area of the window, click Add twice to add two new rows.
7. For the first row, enter the Description 2.5 G Vert Load and set TimeStep to 1.0.
8. For the second row, enter the Description 2G Long Load and set TimeStep to 3.0.
9. Click Apply at the bottom of the Time Selection area to save the input time selections.

10. Select the Export type Tabular Summary.

11. Click Export to export the file and save the file as load_export_tabular.txt.
12. Open the file load_export_tabular.txt in a text editor to review the file contents.

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13. Return to the MotionView Load Export Module V7.0 window and select the Export
type OPTISTRUCT/NASTRAN.
14. Click on Nastran Options to open the Nastran Export Panel options window.

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Tip: This panel allows users to specify NASTRAN/OPTISTRUCT format, coordinate system,
and coordinate system cards, as well as managing and autonumbering node IDs for import
into an FE model.
15. Click Apply next to the Autonumber ID’s from section to apply automatic node ID
numbers to the attachment points specified in the finite element model output.
16. Click Apply to save those options and close the options window.
17. Export the file as load_export_optistruct.fem.
Tip: Note that the export process when outputting an OptiStruct or NASTRAN file from this
utility also creates a separate *.subcase file with the subcase specific information in it.
When creating FE models this information can be appended to the proper location within the
FE model to enable these subcases within the model analysis.

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Exercise 17b: 4-Post Analysis of a Full Vehicle

Model
In this exercise, users update the full vehicle model which was previously used for straight-
line acceleration analysis. Within this exercise, users will update the vehicle for use in a
modified 4-post analysis.

Problem Setup
You should copy the file: full_vehicle.mdl

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Step 1: Start MotionView and open the full_vehicle.mdl file

Step 2: In the Model Browser, right-click on and Deactivate the following items
within the model that are not necessary for the four post analysis
• Advanced Driver
• Disk Brakes
• MF/Swift Tire

Step 3: Add a new page, create a generic full vehicle model, & apply 4-post
analysis
1. In a new page with a MotionView client, open the Assembly Wizard and create a
vehicle with the following settings:

Page Suspension Component Setting

Model Type - Full vehicle

Select primary systems Tires Vert. spring tires

Tip: Accept the default settings in the Assembly Wizard for any settings not mentioned here.
2. Open the Task Wizard and create the Full vehicle task 4 post analysis.

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Step 4: Export the tires and event definition from the generic model
Tip: Export the Vert. spring tires system as vert_spring_tires.mdl and export the
complete 4 post analysis event as four_post_analysis.mdl.

Step 5: Delete the page containing the generic model and 4 post analysis

Tip: Use the Delete Page button to remove the current page shown in the session.
Alternatively, click the Session tab at the top of the Model Browser and right-click on the
page you wish to delete and select Delete from the context-senstive menu. The currently
viewed page will show up in the Session tab of the Model Browser in bold text.

Step 6: Import the vertical spring tire system and four post analysis event
definition into the full vehicle model
Tip: Since there is already a tire system in our original full vehicle model, the new spring tire
system we are importing needs a new variable name, such as sys_tires_spr

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Tip: Remember to select the Model in the Model Browser when importing and exporting
systems and events so that they are properly placed into the model hierarchy.

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Step 7: Check all of the attachments for the imported systems to ensure that
they are properly referencing elements of the existing model
1. Review the data in the Attachments tab for the Vert. spring tires system and
note any unresolved attachments.
Tip: There should be no unresolved entities in the list of Vert. spring tires
attachments.
2. Review the data in the Attachments tab for the 4 post analysis event and note any
unresolved attachments.

3. Update the tire_dataset to point to the Tire properties of the Vert. spring tires.
4. Update the tire_form to point to the Tire properties of the Vert. spring tires.

Step 8: Review the default curves in the four post analysis

1. Expand the 4 post analysis in the Model Browser and expand the Curves
subfolder.
2. Click on the first curve, Frt left jack input, and click on the Show Curve…
button on the Properties tab of the panel area.

Tip: The curve shows the displacement [mm] of the jack over time.
3. Similarly, review the other curves associated with the jack inputs.

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Step 9: Run the model analysis as full_vehicle_four_post_test.xml

Step 10: Review the results animation using the Run panel Animate button

Tip: Reviewing the animation in detail using either the Track feature available through
HyperView or a plot of the relative displacements of the wheel centers with respect to the
input jacks will reveal that this four post analysis is spindle coupled, suggesting that the
loads produced by the jack are transferred perfectly into the wheel at the spindle. This
ignores the effect of tires and is not a suitable comparator when attempting to model a
typical four-post analysis which is performed on a full vehicle with jacks acting on the tire
patch.

Step 11: Update the four-post analysis to support a tire-coupled analysis

1. Expand the Joints subfolder of the 4 post analysis event in the Model Browser
and click on the Jack Dummy Fix Front.
2. Change the Fixed Joint between the Jack Dummy Front body and Wheel to a
Translational Joint.

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3. Change the Alignment axis: assignment to reference the front suspension Point Wheel
center.

4. Repeat the process to change the Jack Dummy Fix Rear to a Translational
Joint which is aligned with the rear suspension Wheel center point.

Step 12: Create springs within the tire systems to model the tire compliance
1. Right-click on the Vert.spring tires system and select Add > Force Entity >
SpringDamper.
Tip: The Add SpringDamper or SpringDamperPair window opens.
2. For the new SpringDamper, set the Label: to Front Tire Spring, the Label: to
sd_front_tires, and set the Type to Pair.
3. Click Apply to create the SpringDamperPair and leave the window open.
4. Create one more new SpringDamper, set the Label: to Rear Tire Spring, the
Label: to sd_rear_tires, and set the Type to Pair.

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5. Click OK to create the rear tire springs and close the Add SpringDamper or
SpringDamperPair window.
6. Click on the Front Tire Spring in the Model Browser to load it into the panel area.
7. Set Body 1 to the front Wheel and Body 2 to Jack Dummy Front.
8. Set Point 1 to the front Wheel center attachment point in the Vert. spring tires
system points list and Point 2 to Front tire patch point in the 4 post analysis
event.

9. Click the checkbox for Symmetric properties and request that the left side be used as
the master.
10. In the Properties tab, set the K: to a value of 210 [N/mm] and a damping value C: of
0.001.
11. In the Preload tab, set the front tire spring Preload: to 4000.
Tip: This matches our design specification for the front suspension.
12. Click on the Rear Tire Spring in the Model Browser to load it into the panel area.
13. Set Body 1 to the rear Wheel and Body 2 to Jack Dummy Rear.

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14. Set Point 1 to the rear Wheel center attachment point in the Vert. spring tires
system points list and Point 2 to Rear tire patch point in the 4 post analysis
event.
15. Click the checkbox for Symmetric properties and request that the left side be used as
the master.
16. In the Properties tab, set the K: to a value of 210 [N/mm] and a damping value C: of
0.001.
17. In the Preload tab, set the front tire spring Preload: to 2571.
Tip: This matches our design specification for the rear suspension.

Step 13: Run the 4 post analysis event as

full_vehicle_four_post_springtires.xml and post-process the
animation in MotionView

Tip: The wheel/jack connection works to provide vertical force Z+ between the jack and the
car as the jack pushes against the wheel. Unfortunately, the spring also creates Z-
forces whenever the distance between the wheel and jack is greater than the design
point, essentially binding the car to the jack.

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Step 14: Incorporate nonlinear effects to the spring tires in order to model tire
liftoff
1. Right-click on the Vert.spring tires system and select Add > Reference Entity >
Curve to bring up the Add Curve window.
2. Set the Label: for the first curve to Front Tire Spring and the Variable: to
crv_front_tire and click Apply to create the first curve.
3. Set the Label: for the second curve to Rear Tire Spring and the Variable: to
crv_rear_tire and click OK to create the second curve and close the Add Curve
window.
4. Click on the Front Tire Spring curve in the Model Browser to load it into the panel
area.
5. In the Properties tab, set the x type to Values and y type to Values.
6. Enter the values of {-10,2100}, {0,0}, and {100,0} and click Show Curve… to plot
the new force-deflection curve to be used for the front tire spring.

7. In the Attributes panel, check the Linear extrapolation checkbox.

8. Set up the Rear Tire Spring curve identically to the completed Front Tire
Spring curve.
9. Click on the Front Tire Spring Spring Damper and deactivate Symmetric
Properties, having the right side Retain the properties previously set on it.

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10. For the Left Front Tire Spring, set the K: type to Curve, set the Curve to the Front
Tire Spring curve, and set the Interpolation: type to LINEAR.

11. Click in the Preload tab to note the Free length: value of the spring.

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12. Calculate the spring compression length for the front spring. At 4000 N loading and a K
of 210, the front springs will be compressed at the design point by 4000/210
[N·mm/N] = 19 [mm]
13. In the Properties tab, click in the Independent variable: field to edit the expression.
Update the measurement so that the Free length and spring compression length are
both subtracted from the existing measurement as shown below.

Tip: This uses the Free length value from the Preload tab and the total spring compression
caused by the vehicle weight distribution to zero out the independent measurement at the
design point, making it suitable for use in the curve we have prepared. These values are
subtracted separately from the original magnitude of the spring measurement so that they
can easily be referenced or changed. For values that will need to be reused and easily
calculable, new properties could be added to the existing forms for the tire system that allow
these values to be parameterized.
Tip: Note the presence and location of the backticks that surround the expression typed
above. If the expression shows after editing, carefully check that the entry
matches the form shown above.
14. Use steps 13.9-13.12 to set the Right Front Tire Spring to match the same properties.
OPTIONAL: Run the model to visualize the liftoff for the front tires.
15. Repeat Steps 13.9-13.13 for the Rear Tire Spring Spring Damper using the Rear
Tire Spring curve.
Tip: The rear spring compression length is an approximately 2580 N ground reaction force
divided by 210 N/mm, or 12.3 mm.

Step 15: Re-run the model with the nonlinear spring rates enabled and review
the animation

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 Chapter 18: Advanced Topics for Vehicle Models Exercises

Chapter 18

Advanced Topics for Vehicle

Models Exercises

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 Chapter 18: Advanced Topics for Vehicle Models Exercises

Exercise 18a: DOE using MotionView & HyperStudy

In this exercise, users utilize both MotionView and HyperView, using MotionSolve as the
solver, to perform a DOE on an automotive model.

Problem Setup
You should copy the file: hs.mdl, target_toe.csv

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Step 1: Start MotionView and open the hs.mdl file

Step 2: Review the following systems and system components/entries

• Frnt SLA susp (1 pc. LCA)
• Parallel steering
• Static Ride Analysis > Outputs > toe-curve

Step 3: Launch HyperStudy and set up the initial study

1. In the Applications menu, select HyperStudy.
Tip: The HyperStudy window will be launched.

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2. Click New Study and note the default Label: Study 1 and Varname: s_1.

3. Set the Location to the exercise directory for the current exercise and click OK to
accept the defaults and create the new study.

Step 4: Create the model definition, model data, and design variables

1. Click the Next button to advance through the study setup tree until the Define
Models page is reached.

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2. Click Add Model to add a model to the study.

3. In the Add – HyperStudy window, choose Select Type MotionView and

accept the default label and varname by clicking OK.
Tip: The loaded file is referenced in the new HyperStudy model listing.
4. Enter the name hs.xml as the Solver input file variable and ensure that
MotionSolve (ms) is set as the Solver execution script.

5. Click Import Variables to specify the design variables used in this study.
Tip: HyperStudy will interact with MotionView to request design variables to use in the
study.
6. Switch to the MotionView window which will show the Model Parameter Tree.
7. Browse for and select the following variables to set them as HyperStudy parameters:

System Point Coordinate

Front SLA susp. Otr tie-rod ball-jt -left Y

Front SLA susp. Otr tie-rod ball-jt –left Z

Parallel Steering Inr tie-rod ball - left Y

Parallel Steering Inr tie-rod ball - left Z

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8. Click OK to close the Model Parameter Tree dialog when all variables have been
selected.
9. In the HyperStudy window, click Next to advance in the study setup tree to Define
Design Variables.

Step 5: Define the design variable, add specifications, & evaluate the nominal
run
1. Update the Lower Bound and Upper Bound of each design variable with the following
values:

Point Coordinate Lower Upper

Outer tie-rod ball-jt -left Y -571.15 -559.15

Outer tie-rod ball-jt - left Z 246.92 250.92

Inner tie-rod ball - left Y -221.9 -209.9

Inner tie-rod ball - left Z 274.86 278.86

2. Click on the Distributions tab at the top of the section to review the distribution role and
variance for each variable.
3. Click Next to proceed to the Specifications section.

4. Ensure that the Mode selector is set to Nominal Run and click Apply .
5. Click Next to advance to the Evaluate section.

6. Click Evaluate Tasks to perform the nominal run.

7. When the run is complete and the Write, Execute, and Extract sections show Success
statuses, click Next to Define Output Responses.

Step 6: Define the responses

1. Click Add Output Response to add a new response to the study.
2. Enter the Label: Sum of Squared Error and click the ellipses … to launch the
Expression Builder.
Tip: For this exercise, the response function requires two Data Sources:
• The elements of Data Source 1 contain actual data points of the toe curve from the
solver run for the nominal configuration.
• The elements of Data Source 2 contain data points from the target curve.
3. Click the Data Sources tab to add a new data source which will use the solver output
file.
4. Click Add Data Source twice to add Data Source 1 and Data Source 2.

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5. For Data Source 1, click the ellipses … in the File variable listing to launch the Data
Source Builder.
6. Load the *.mrf file from the directory <exercise
directory>\approaches\nom_1\run_00001\m_1\.
Tip: This file contains the MotionSolve output requests for toe curve reviewed in Step 2.
7. For Type: select Expressions, for Request: select REQ/70000033 toe-curve, and
for Component: select F2.

Tip: A plot of the selected data is shown in the Preview area.

8. Click OK to load the file and use the curve as Data Source 1.
9. For Data Source 2, load the file target_toe.csv from the exercise directory.
10. In the Expression Builder, enter the expression sum((ds_1-ds_2)^2) and click
Evaluate Expression to ensure that the expression is correctly entered and the data
files are properly referenced.
Tip: The evaluated value should be ~ 16.289.
11. Click OK to close the Expression Builder.

12. Click the Evaluate button to extract the responses from the nominal run.
13. Click Next to go to the Post Processing page.

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14. Ensure that the table shows no missing or bad values.

15. Click Next to go to the Report step.
16. Review the various reporting formats available.

Step 7: Save the file as Setup.xml

Step 8: Add a new DOE study

1. Right-click in the Explorer Browser area to select Add from the context-sensitive menu.
2. Under Select Type choose a DOE study and click OK.
Tip: A new Design of Experiment is created labeled DOE 1 and placed into the study in the
Explorer Browser.

Step 9: Set the design variables, responses, and specifications for the new
study
1. Click Next to advance to the Select Input Variables section.
2. Verify on the Select Input Variables page that all of the variables used in the nominal
run are active for the DOE study.
3. Click Next to go to the Select Output Responses page.
4. There should be only one response in the study and it should be selected as Active.
5. Click Next to go to the Specifications page.
6. On the Specifications page, click the Show More… link to expand the list of available
DOE types.
7. Select the Full Factorial DOE type and click Levels to review the levels applicable
for each design variable.
8. Click Apply to generate the design space.
9. Select Next to go to the Evaluate section.

Step 10: Evaluate the DOE run

1. Review the Evaluation Data and Evaluation Plot sections of the Evaluate page.

2. Click the Evaluate Tasks button to generate the runs and execute the DOE
study.

Step 11: Post-process the results by reviewing the main effect and interaction
plots

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1. Click Next to go to the Post-Processing page.

2. Select the Linear Effects tab and select all of the variables available in the Channel
section.

3. In the Interations tab, select the design variables Otr_tierod_ball_jt-left-z and

Inr_tierod_ball_jt-left-z and the response to view the interaction.

Step 12: Add an approximation and calculate the approximation response

Tip: System response is approximated by using various curve fitting methods. An
approximation for the response with the design variables variation is calculated using the
data from above DOE study. The accuracy of the approximation can be checked and
improved.
1. Right-click in the Explorer Browser and select Add.
2. Select a new Fit and click OK.
3. Click Next to progress to the Select Matrices page.
4. Click Add Matrix to add a matrix to the Fit and ensure that the Matrix Source is set to
DOE 1.

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5. Click Import Matrix to import the matrix results into the approximation.
6. Click Next to go to Select Input Variables.
7. Ensure that all design variables are selected and click Next to go to the Select Output
Responses section.
8. Ensure that the response is selected and click Next to go to Specifications.
9. Click Show more… to change the study to a Moving Least Squares type and click
Apply to set the approximaton method.
10. Click Next to go to the Evaluate page.
11. On the Evaluate page, click Evaluate Tasks to generate the approximation from the
available matrix data and approximation type.
12. Plot the approximation result against the experiemental values by clicking the Evaluation
Plot tab and selecting both the Response and approximation fit *_MLSM to plot them on
the same graph.

13. Click Next to go to the Post-Processing page.

14. Review the data from the approximation including Residuals, Trade-offs, and other
statistical metrics for evaluating the correctness of the fit to the DOE results by using the
tabs in the Post-Processing page.

Step 13: Save the study as Setup.xml

HyperWorks v2017.2 Introduction to MotionView & MotionSolve

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