Large Displacement Solution
The linear theory assumes small displacements. It also assumes that
the normals to contact areas do not change direction during loading. Hence,
it applies the full load in one step. This approach may lead to inaccurate
results or convergence difficulties in cases where these assumptions are
not valid.
You can request large displacement solution. A large displacement solution
takes more time and resources than the small displacement solution but
gives more accurate results. The large displacement solution is needed
when the acquired deformation alters the stiffness (ability of the structure
to resist loads) significantly. The small displacement solution assumes
that the stiffness does not change during loading. The large displacement
solution assumes that the stiffness changes during loading so it applies
the load in steps and updates the stiffness for each solution step.
When the Large displacement
option in the Static
dialog box is activated, the static study is solved by stepping the load
and updating the geometry.
When using large displacement solution for
static studies, you can only view the results at the last step which corresponds
to the full load. In nonlinear studies, you can view the results of each
solution step.
To activate the Large displacement option:
In the Simulation study tree, right-click
the static study icon and select Properties.
The Static
dialog box appears.
On the Options
tab, check Large displacement.
Click OK.
This option dictates how the software proceeds with the contact problem.
For an example of this function, refer to the Online Tutorial.
Option Unchecked.
The full load is applied at once. Source and target pairs are set based
on the initial configuration and remain unchanged during contact iterations.
Normals to contact areas are also based on the initial configuration and
remain unchanged during contact. This approach can lead to inaccurate
results or convergence difficulties if these assumptions are not valid,
a likely situation when displacements become large.
Option Checked.
Loads are applied gradually and uniformly in a number of steps up to their
full values. The number of steps are decided internally by the program
based on deformation results. Source and target pairs and normals to contact
areas are evaluated at each solution step.
Recommended Procedure
The following procedure is recommended for solving contact problems:
Solve the problem without activating the Large displacement option.
Activate the Large
displacement option and
try again in the following cases:
If displacements or the orientations of the
contacting faces are noticeable when the deformed shape is plotted using
a scale factor of 1.0.
If the highest strain exceeds 4%.
If von Mises stresses are close to yield.
NOTES