Set up a Nonlinear Static Stress analysis

Overview video (5:15)

General Analysis Settings

In a Nonlinear Static Stress analysis, loads are often applied over multiple increments. This is commonly referred to as ramping. The number of increments used to apply the load is important to consider for a nonlinear analysis. Using too few increments can lead to convergence issues, especially when material stiffnesses, geometric configurations, or contact boundaries are changing dramatically. Using too many increments could potentially increase the solution time and the size of the solution output.

To adjust the number of steps (or increments) used in the Nonlinear Static Stress study:

1. Right-click the Nonlinear Static Stress study in the browser and select Settings. The Settings can also be accessed from the toolbar (Manage > Settings).
2. Adjust the Number of Steps field to adjust the incrementation used for the analysis. By default, 10 steps are used.
3. Click OK.

Workflow: Run a Nonlinear Static Stress Analysis

1. Access the Simulation workspace.
2. From the Setup tab, select Study > New Simulation Study .
3. Select Nonlinear Static Stress Analysis.
4. Optionally, use the Simplify contextual environment to make simulation-specific changes to the model, preserving the production model:
   • Remove unnecessary features that only complicate the analysis and do not provide useful information.
   • See Model Simplification (Defeaturing).
   • Take advantage of Symmetry when appropriate to reduce the simulation model size and solution time. Symmetry can also facilitate constraining a model in a way that provides full stability but does not at all impede the natural deformation.
   • Split faces to confine loads or constraints to only portion of a larger face.
5. Assign materials.
   • Refer to Materials.
   • The creation of nonlinear materials is discussed in Nonlinear material properties.
6. Apply constraints.
   • Refer to Constraints.
7. Apply loads.
   • Refer to Loads.
8. Define contact surfaces (if multiple bodies are present in the simulation).
   • Refer to Contacts.
9. Define the mesh settings.
   • If you haven't previously adjusted the mesh settings, do so now. The mesh is generated automatically when the solution is run, whether you keep the default mesh settings or not.
   • Refer to Meshes.
10. Solve the analysis.
    • Refer to Solve.
11. Review results.
    • Refer to Access simulation results.