Chapter 5

Accessing ANSYS Options

Accessing ANSYS Options

Chapter Overview
In this chapter, the following ways of interfacing with
ANSYS will be covered:
Named Selections and ANSYS Components
Using Commands Objects
Loading a Simulation Environment Directly in ANSYS

The capabilities described in this section are generally

applicable to ANSYS Professional licenses or above.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

A. Named Selections and ANSYS

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As will be seen subsequently, there are different ways to

interface with ANSYS to access advanced functionality
However, when the model is transferred to ANSYS, only
node and element entities are sent
Solid model geometry is not referenced by the ANSYS solver
Because of this, it may be difficult to select or manipulate the
model if only the finite element mesh is present

Named Selections provide a convenient way of selecting

and manipulating the mesh
Named Selections are defined in Simulation
These are transferred as Components in ANSYS, where they
can be selected or manipulated, as needed.
To reference any geometry in ANSYS, the geometry must first
be defined as a Named Component in Simulation
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Transferring to ANSYS
Named Selections transferred as ANSYS Components:

Vertex, edge, and surface named selections are transferred as

nodal components with the same name
Named selections of solid, surface, and line bodies transfer as
element components with the same name
Change the selection filter to Body. This allows selection of
surface and line bodies, not just solid bodies!

The following conventions apply when Named Selections in

Simulation are transferred as ANSYS Components:
Names beginning with a number have the prefix C_ added
Spaces will be replaced by underscores
If multiple selection groups have the same name, only the last
one is converted as an ANSYS component

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Transferring to ANSYS

Once Named Selections are transferred to ANSYS, they can

be referenced as Components to do the following:
Apply types of loads not supported in Simulation
Change element attributes
Define additional elements not supported in Simulation
Special postprocessing tasks
etc.

Most ANSYS commands accept component names as an

argument, facilitating component use in ANSYS

Named Selections are associative with the CAD geometry,

so users do not have to worry if CAD model is updated

Use of components is numbering-independent, so users do

not have to worry if the mesh changes

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Accessing ANSYS Options

B. Overview of Command Objects

Command Objects enable users to add APDL (ANSYS

Parametric Design Language) commands, which expose
advanced ANSYS functionality not otherwise available in
Simulation
The Command objects requires that the user has familiarity
with APDL commands
Command objects can be inserted in the Part, Contact,
Environment or Solution branches:
Part branch: commands are inserted following the material
definition in ANSYS /prep7
Contact branch: commands are inserted following the contact
definitions in ANSYS /prep7
Environment branch: commands inserted prior to the SOLVE
command

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Solution branch: commands inserted after the /POST1 command

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Adding Command Objects

Adding command objects is done by right-clicking in the

appropriate branch and using Insert > Commands
A new branch with a Worksheet view will be shown where
APDL commands can be inserted.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Parameterizing Command Objects

The details window for each command object can contain

up to 9 parameter definitions (ARG1 to ARG9).
Just as with other detail information throughout Workbench
these arguments can be made parametric.
In this example a command object
placed in the Environment branch
contains the NSUB command. The
syntax of the command is:
NSUB, Initial substeps, max substeps, min substeps

Notice we have substituted ARG1 in the

command resulting in:
Nsub, 10, arg1, 2

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This parameter can be used throughout

Workbench including DesignXplorer

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Accessing ANSYS Options

. . . Specifying Material Properties

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Command objects inserted in part branches allow quick

material modification without having to know each parts
material number (ANSYS)

In the example below the mp command is used to modify

the Youngs modulus for the material used for Part1.
Notice the parameter matid is inserted into the command in
place of the materials reference number.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

. . . Specifying Contact Properties

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Contact branch command objects can be used to modify

ANSYS element type , real constant and material number
data using parametric references.

Can be used with symmetric or asymmetric contact pairs.

Insert ANSYS commands using parametric references.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Obtaining Output Parameters

Inserting a Command Object under the Solution
branch allows for the use of postprocessing
commands.

Certain types of APDL parameters may be

retrieved as Simulation parameters for use with
design studies
A output prefix is specified (default is my_), so
all APDL parameters with that prefix will be
searched and parsed.
Output parameters can be used with Parameter
Manager (discussed earlier in Chapter 10) or
DesignXplorer, enabling inclusion of APDL
commands

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Retrieving ANSYS Output Information

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Command objects placed in the Solution branch can be

used to retrieve plots from ANSYS

Place the appropriate plot formating information (file type,

size, etc.) in the command object.

Issue the desired plot commands.

ANSYS plots are placed below the command object.

Plots are static images (see next page).

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Retrieving ANSYS Output Information

ANSYS plots are retrieved below the command object.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Linking with Text File

The Command Objects contents can be exported or
imported to/from a text file:

The Command Object contents can be refreshed to reflect

current text file contents
In Details view, linked filename will be shown

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Command Objects Summary

Command Objects provide a convenient means of adding

APDL commands to a Simulation model in order to access
advanced ANSYS functionality not otherwise exposed
Commands branch provides pre- and post-processing access
inside of ANSYS, including linking contents with external text
files (e.g., ANSYS input or macro files)
When used for post-processing, certain parameters with a
given prefix may be retrieved back into Simulation. This is
useful not only to view APDL parameter output but also for
design studies, such as with Parameter Manager or
DesignXplorer
For users not as familiar with APDL commands, the
Preprocessing and Postprocessing Commands branches,
discussed next, provide an alternate means of including
ANSYS functionality within Simulation.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

C. Transferring Models to ANSYS

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As seen in the previous section, the two types of

Commands branches allow the user to add ANSYS APDL
commands within the Simulation environment to access
advanced functionality

In some cases, users may wish to transfer the Simulation

model into ANSYS directly and run the model from there
All of these options will transfer the mesh only, not the solid
model geometry, to ANSYS

There are three ways to transfer the mesh/loads to ANSYS:

Saving the Environment as a binary ANSYS database
Saving the Environment as an ASCII ANSYS input file
Loading the Environment in an ANSYS session

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Saving the ANSYS Database

During solution, the ANSYS binary database can be saved

In the Details view of the Solution branch, change Save
ANSYS db to Yes
Specify the ANSYS database filename in the ANSYS db File
Name textbox, which will appear underneath
Solve the model, which will initiate solution and save the
ANSYS database (*.db)
Things to keep in mind:
A solution must be initiated to create/save the
.db file
The ANSYS .db file will be saved in the active
units (Units menu)
This is also used in conjunction with saving
ANSYS result files after a solution (see next slide)

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Saving Other ANSYS Binary Files

ANSYS files written during solution may also be saved:
Use with the Postprocessing Commands Builder
Enable use to manually post-process within ANSYS later

In the Tools menu > Options > Simulation: Solution,

user can save ANSYS files as well as specify where these
files are stored. To save ANSYS files for each Simulation
database, use the option Use Project Directory.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Writing an ANSYS Input File

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Select a Solution branch

Select Tools > Write ANSYS Input File and
enter the name and location of the input file
Things to keep in mind:
As with saving the binary ANSYS database, only the currently selected
Environment will be written. Write multiple input files for each
Environment branch to be saved.
Unlike saving the binary ANSYS database, this option does not require a
Simulation solution. If loads/supports and requested results are
incomplete, Simulation will not know what type of analysis to specify, so
the model may be transferred as MESH200 generic mesh-only elements.
Otherwise, see previous chapters as to how the model will be translated
to ANSYS

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An ANSYS input file may be generated,

independent of the Simulation solution

There will be an /EOF command prior to SOLVE

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To make the input file generate the mesh and solve, simply remove the
/EOF line in any text editor

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Loading Environment in ANSYS

It is possible to load an Environment directly into ANSYS:

In the Workbench Project page, select a Model
On the right-side menu, one can list Environments contained
in that Model branch
Select the Environment of interest to load into ANSYS

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Loading Environment in ANSYS

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The analysis may be continued from within ANSYS

Note that any actions performed in ANSYS will be captured in an
ANSYS log file, but these will not be stored in Simulation
When leaving ANSYS, the user will be prompted to save files

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After selecting the Environment, the ANSYS Output Window

will appear, and the Workbench GUI will change to ANSYS

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Loading Environment in ANSYS

All pertinent files from the ANSYS session will be stored in

a new subdirectory in the Solver Working Directory
The subdirectory name will be called filename_num where
filename is the name of the .dsdb file and num is the
numerical Environment number
For example, for the third environment branch of a Project.dsdb
file, the subdirectory will be named Project_3

All ANSYS-generated files, including the input file, error file,

log file, and database, will be contained in the subdirectory
filename_AWE.inp: text input file generated from Simulation and
automatically read into ANSYS
filename.db (optional): binary ANSYS database of mesh and loads
filename.err: text file containing all error or warning messages
filename.log: text file containing ANSYS command history

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filename.page: temporary binary file (leave untouched)

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Workshop 5

Accessing ANSYS Options

Hyperelastic with Contact
Nonlinear Analysis of a Keyboard

Accessing ANSYS Options

D. Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Training Manual

General use of Commands

object in the Geometry,
Environment, and Solution
branches
Use of Named Selections will
facilitate manipulating data
in ANSYS
Output parameters and plots
will be retrieved from the
solution
Items shown with round
bullet points are tasks to be
performed.

ANSYS Workbench Simulation

This exercise will cover accessing ANSYS options through

the Commands object. A 2D analysis of a portion of a
hyperelastic keyboard will be performed, as shown below.

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Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Launch Workbench and open a new
Simulation session

Under the Geometry branch in the

Details view:
Turn off import of solid and line
bodies and only select import of
surface bodies
Change the Analysis Type to 2-D

From the Context toolbar, choose

Geometry > From File and select
the Parasolid file keyboard.x_t
The model will be attached to
Simulation, as shown next

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Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Select the menu item Units > Metric
(mm, kg, N, C, s, mV, mA)

Right-click on Part 1 and select

Rename to rename it to ground

Likewise, right-click on Part 2 and

rename it to keyboard

Right-click on keyboard and select

Insert > Commands from the popup menu
In the contents of the Commands
object, type the following:

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mpdele,all,MATID
tb,hyper,MATID,1,,neo
tbdata,1,80.194

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

The matid parameter is used to

reference the material ID for that given
part, so the element type or material
can easily be changed using ANSYS
commands
The active Simulation units are used
during analysis, so it is important that
all materials defined in the Commands
object have the same units as the
active Simulation Units.

mpdele,all,MATID
tb,hyper,MATID,1,,neo
tbdata,1,80.194

Contact regions can also be

changed in a similar manner
under the Contact branch.
The ANSYS APDL parameters
CID and TID refer to the
contact and target real
constant numbers.

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The commands that were added in

the previous slide delete the existing
material properties for the
keyboard part and replace it with a
neo-Hookean hyperelastic model.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Using the Control Key, select both
ground and keyboard from the
Geometry branch
In the Details view, ensure that Plane
Stress is the Behavior
Enter 10 mm for the Thickness

In this example, the keyboard is

assumed to have a plane stress state
with a thickness of 10 mm.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Right-click on Contact Region
under the Contact branch and select
Rename Based on Geometry
The contact pair will be renamed to
ground To keyboard, as shown on
the right

In this case, the automatic contact

detection selected the top of the
ground as the contact surface
(red). We need to flip the contact pair
such that the top of the ground is
the target, as it is the stiffer material.

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Right click on ground To keyboard

and select Flip Contact/Target

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

In the Details view, select Contact.
The bottom of the keyboard will be
highlighted. With the Edge
selection active and the Control key
pressed, select the other two lines as
shown on the right, as these will be
expected to touch the ground
Click on Apply to complete the
selection
Change Type to Frictionless
Change Behavior to Asymmetric
Change Formulation to Augmented
Lagrange

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Toggle Pinball Region to Radius

and enter 10 mm for the radius.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Select the Mesh branch and, in the
Details view, toggle the Global
Control to Advanced
The Element Size should be set to
1 mm
Change Curve/Proximity to 100
The Shape Checking can be
switched to Aggressive

Change the selection filter to Face

and select the ground part. From
the Context toolbar, select Mesh
Control > Mapped Face Meshing, as
shown on the right
The Element Shape can be set to
Quadrilaterals

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Change the selection filter back to
Edge and select the four lines of
the ground part, as shown on the
right
From the Context toolbar, select
Mesh Control > Sizing
In the Details view, change Type to
Number of Divisions, with the
number of divisions being 1

In this example, the ground is not of

interest and is much stiffer than the
keyboard, so it will be meshed with
just one element.

Right click on the Mesh branch and

select Preview Mesh

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Select the topmost line of the
keyboard part and select the
Create Selection Group icon
When asked for a name, enter
PUSH_TOP

A new Named Selection branch and

PUSH_TOP object will be created in
the Tree.
The Named Selection can be
referenced as a nodal component in
ANSYS Command objects in order to
manipulate the model. In this case, a
special loading will be applied to the
nodes in PUSH_TOP

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Highlight the Environment branch,
then select the leftmost line of the
keyboard part
From the Context toolbar, select
Structural > Frictionless Support

Do the same for the rightmost line of

the keyboard part and add a
Frictionless Support there as well.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Select the bottommost line of the
ground part
Add Structural > Fixed Support from
the Context toolbar

Right-click on the Environment

branch and select Insert >
Commands
In the Commands object, select
Import from the Context toolbar
Select keyboard2.mac as the file
The contents of keyboard2.mac will
be inserted into the Commands object

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

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All results are saved for each substep

The nodal component (Named
Selection) called PUSH_NODE is
selected, and a coupled set for the ydirection is created for all of the
nodes

/show,png
time,54
outres,erase
outres,all,all

cmsel,s,PUSH_TOP
PUSH_NODE=ndnext(0)

A displacement of 54 mm is applied
in the y-direction on the master node
of the coupled set.

cp,next,uy,all

An element plot is generated, so the

user can see the mesh and boundary
conditions in Workbench Simulation

allsel,all

d,PUSH_NODE,uy,-54

/pbc,all,1

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It may be worth pausing for a

moment to examine the commands
inserted from keyboard2.mac

eplot
/show,close

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Select the Solution branch. In the
Details view, change the following:
Solver Type to Direct
This model has hyperelastic and steel
materials, so the matrix may be illconditioned. The sparse direct solver
will suffice for such a small problem.

Weak Springs to Off

Large Deflection to On
Although the text box may change to
yellow, this is because no results have
been requested yet.

Auto Time Stepping to On

Initial Substeps and Minimum
Substeps of 10 and Maximum
Substeps of 1000

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

From the Context toolbar, select the
following:
Stress > Equivalent (von-Mises)
Strain > Equivalent (von-Mises)
Deformation > Total
Tools > Solution Information
Tools > Contact Tool

Change the Contact Tool detail to

Worksheet, change Contact Side
to Contact > Apply.

Then RMB > Insert:

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Contact > Pressure

Contact > Penetration

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Right-click on the Solution branch

and Insert > Commands
From the Context toolbar, select
Import and read in the
keyboard3.mac file
The contents will be displayed in the
worksheet. Notice the inclusion of the
output parameter MY_REACTION in
the Details view.

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There are some type of results that

cannot be viewed directly from
Simulation. These include loadhistory response (POST26) as well as
element table items

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

The keyboard3.mac contains postprocessing ANSYS
commands
/show,png
The Time-History Postprocessor is used to plot
force vs. displacement at the
top of the keyboard
The General Postprocessor
is then used to get the
reaction force due to pushing
the keyboard down. This is
reported as MY_REACTION,
which is also recognized by
Simulation as an output
parameter that can be used
with the Parameter Manager
or DesignXplorer
The resulting thicknesses are
also plotted.

/post26
rforce,2,PUSH_NODE,f,y,FORCE
/axlab,x,Displacement
/axlab,y,Force
plvar,2
finish

/post1
set,last
*get,MY_REACTION,node,PUSH_NODE,rf,fy
/title,Equivalent Stresses
plesol,s,eqv,2

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/title,Out-of-plane Thicknesses
plesol,nmisc,1
/show,close

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Click on the Solve icon to initiate
the solution.

Select the Solution Information

branch to review the contents of the
Output window.
The Force Convergence graph can
also be reviewed during solution to
monitor the progress of the analysis
At the end of the solution, a warning
message may appear. The user does
not have to worry about this, as the
frictionless supports used in this
example are fine for this largedeflection solution.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Select Equivalent Elastic Strain and
review the strains.
Change the scaling in the Context
toolbar to 1.0 (True Scale)
The undeformed model may also be
superimposed to get a better sense of
how much the keyboard deformed.
Note that the equivalent elastic strains
are very large (~66%), as this is a
hyperelastic model.

Review other results, such as

stresses, deformation, and contact
results. Contact pressure
distribution is shown on the right.

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

If no objects are shown under the

Commands branch, click on the
Workbench Project tab on the very top,
then return back to Simulation tab to
refresh the window

Select Post Output 2 this is a plot of

force vs. deflection in the y-direction.
Note that the force is relatively small at
first. Then, the slope changes when the
front of the keyboard initiates contact.
Another change in slope occurs when the
middle contacts the ground.

ANSYS Workbench Simulation

Note that under the Commands object in

the Solution branch, there are four Post
Output objects

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Accessing ANSYS Options

Workshop 5 Hyperelastic with Contact

Post Output 4 shows the final
thicknesses
Recall that the initial thickness was 10 mm
(Step 3)
Because of the incompressibility of the
hyperelastic material, some areas (yellow)
became thinner while other areas (red)
became thicker.

Post Output 3 shows equivalent

stresses
Note that the max stress in ANSYS is 141
MPa while max stress is 140 MPa in
Simulation. This slight difference is due to
the fact that ANSYS has different options
for output, including averaged or
unaveraged stresses, so the user has more
control over output results with the
Commands object.

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