- A voltage can be applied to nodes or surfaces of a model. A surface voltage applies nodal voltages to each node on the surface.
- A voltage is used for a voltage induced stress analysis. The node that a voltage is applied to will be kept at the value specified in the Magnitude field. This voltage will only be applied to that node. It will not conduct through the material. Either a Piezoelectric or General Piezoelectric material model must be selected in the Material Model drop-down box of the Element Definition dialog for nodal voltages to affect a structural analysis.
- The stress caused by the nodal voltage will be determined by the values entered in the Piezoelectric tab of the Element Material Specification dialog.
- For the voltages to be accounted for in the analysis, you will need to select the Model file option in the Source of nodal voltages drop-down box in the Multiphysics tab of the Analysis Parameters dialog. You will also need to select the load curve that will control the magnitudes of the voltages in the Nodal voltage load curve index in the same tab.
Apply Voltage
If you have nodes or surfaces selected, you can right-click in the display area and select the Add pull-out menu. Select the Nodal Voltages or Surface Voltages command.
Specify the magnitude of the voltage that will be applied to each selected object in the Magnitude field.
Tip: See the comments under the
Application of Loads and Constraints at Duplicate Vertices heading on the
Loads and Constraints page for information about how nodal loads are applied at duplicate vertices.
Apply Constant Voltage to Entire Models
If you simply want to determine the stress in a model due to a uniform voltage change, it is not necessary to add nodal voltages to the entire model. Under the Analysis Type heading in the tree view, right-click the Thermal/Electrical heading. This will access the Thermal/Electrical tab of the Analysis Parameters dialog. Type the value in the Default nodal voltage field. Any node in the model that does not have a nodal voltage will be set to this value.
Apply Voltage Profiles from Electrostatic Analyses
In some cases, the voltage profile for a model has already been calculated using an electrostatic analysis. If the geometry of the structural model is identical to the electrostatic model, the voltage results can be used for the voltage profile.
Under the Analysis Type heading in the tree view, right-click the Thermal/Electrical heading. This will access the Thermal/Electrical tab of the Analysis Parameters dialog. Select the Electrostatic analysis option in the Source of nodal voltages drop-down box. Press the Browse button next to the Voltage data in file field and navigate to the electrostatic results file.