You often check a design while it is moving in a dynamic event such as buckling, swinging, rotation, or oscillation. Mechanical Event Simulation (MES) combines kinematic, rigid, and flexible-body dynamics and nonlinear stress analysis capabilities. As a result, MES can simultaneously analyze mechanical events involving large deformations, nonlinear material properties, kinematic motion, and forces caused by that motion and then predict the resulting stresses.
Some of the main advantages of MES is the need to make fewer assumptions. With MES, there is no need for elaborate hand calculations, interpretation of results or experiments to determine equivalent loading. The fewer assumptions that must be made lead to a smaller chance for errors.
There are three versions of the MES/nonlinear stress analysis software. The capabilities of each are summarized in the following table.
| Capability | Analysis Type | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| MES with Nonlinear Material Models | Static Stress with Nonlinear Material Models | MES Riks Analysis (Postbuckling and Collapse) | |
| Large Displacement | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dynamic and Inertial Effects | Yes | No. Model is static. | No |
| Rigid Body Motion | Yes | No. Model must be statically stable. | No. |
| Nonlinear Materials (hyperelastic, plasticity, and so on) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Buckling/snap through behavior | Yes | Limited since models are often unstable at buckling or snap through. | Yes |
| Surface to Surface Contact | Yes | Yes (provided all parts are statically stable) | Yes (provided all parts are statically stable) |
| Nodal Loads (forces, moments) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Element Loads(pressure, and so on) | Yes | Yes | No |