T i p s

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T r i c k s

2001 Structural Research and Analysis Corporation (SRAC) 12121 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700 Los Angeles, California 90025-1170 310 207-2800 (phone) 310 207-2774 (fax)All
All Rights Reserved

SolidWorks is a trademark of SolidWorks Corp. COSMOS/ is a trademarks of Structural Research and Analysis Corporation. ANSYS is a trademark of SAS IP. MSC and MSC/are registered trademarks of MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation. NASTRAN is a registered trademark of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
PATRAN is the registered trademark of PDA Engineering

Structural research and Analysis Corporation is a Dassault Systemes S.A. (Nasdaq:DASTY) company. Information is subject to change without notice. No material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means for any purpose without written permission of SRAC. As a condition to your use of this software, you agree to accept the limited warranty, disclaimer and other terms and conditions set forth in SRAC License Agreement which accompanies this software. If, after reading the SRAC License Agreement, you do not agree with its terms and conditions, promptly return the unused software and all accompanying material to SRAC and your payment will be refunded.

Acrobat, and Acrobat Reader are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. IGES Access Library is a trademark of IGES Data Analysis, Inc. Other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Portions of this software 1999 Unigraphics SolutionsTM, Inc. Portions of this software 1999 Visual Kinematics, Inc. Portions of this software 1999 Solversoft, Inc.

Contents

General Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 How do I set COSMOS/Works Preferences? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 How can I switch languages while using COSMOS/Works? 2 What's the difference between node values and element values? 2 Applying Loads and Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How do I apply Bearing Loads? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Do I have to be consistent with units? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How do design changes affect the study defined? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How can I apply a torque to a face? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How can I apply boundary condition to a portion of the model? . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 How can I work with COSMOS/Works when I have several configurations for my part? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 How do I apply variable forces that reverse direction on a given face? . . . . . . . 7 I need to apply varying pressure (hydrostatic pressure) on surfaces on the model. Is it possible with COSMOS/Works? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Applying Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Can I define Isotropic and Orthotropic Material properties? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 How can I add materials permanently to the database? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Do I have to reapply materials and Loads/BCs for a new study? . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Meshing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 What is Meshing? What is a Transitional Mesh? How do I implement Transitional Mesh in COSMOS/Works? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Why is that there is only one mesh folder for all studies? Can I create a different mesh for each study? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 What is the difference between a draft quality and a high quality mesh? . . . . . 17 When do I use a Draft or High quality Mesh? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 What are the Mesh Control Parameters? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

COSMOS/Works Tutorial

I cannot mesh the part I am trying to analyze. What can I do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 I cannot mesh some parts in my assembly. What should I do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 What is the recommended meshing strategy for hard-to-mesh models? . . . . . . 18 Running the Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 How do I choose a solver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 How can I solve a problem without any restraints, like importing loads from motion analysis and free thermal expansion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 How do I take into account inplane effects? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Thermal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 What is a transient thermal analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 What is a steady state thermal analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 What is Radiation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 What is Convection? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 What is Conduction? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 How can I extract thermal stresses? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Is there a better way to model epoxy between two components in Heat Transfer analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Buckling Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 What is the buckling factor (load factor) for buckling analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 How do I calculate the critical buckling loads for pipes with internal pressure? 28 Frequency Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 How do you deal with rigid body modes in frequency analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 What do the displacements resulting from frequency analysis mean? . . . . . . . . 31 Static Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 What is Static Analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 What is Linear Static Analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Nonlinear Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 What is nonlinear analysis? What are the types of nonlinearities that can occur? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Thin Walled/Shell Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 What are the specific points to take into account when applying loads and boundary conditions to shell models? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 What is meant by stiffening in thin plates? When and how can I simulate this effect? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Assembly Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 How do I ignore some parts in an assembly for analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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What are the different kinds of Global Contact Options available in COSMOS/Works? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Can I apply Local Contact Options? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 I am running a surface contact analysis problem. When I right click on the study name and choose properties, I see an option "Ignore clearance for surface contact". What does this option mean and how do I know whether to check this option or not? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 What is the procedure to simulate Shrink Fit condition on a 3D Assembly model? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Checking for Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 How do I make sure I have an accurate or converged solution? . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Is there a way to get converged solution automatically? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 What is Jacobian check? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 What is Aspect ratio check? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 How can I check for failure using Factor of Safety as a criterion? . . . . . . . . . . .44 Results and Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Can I visualize results in local or cylindrical co-ordinate systems? . . . . . . . . . .45 How can I list results based on geometric entities? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Can I create a graph of results of selected nodes in the model? . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 How can I create automatic reports? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 How can I locate the areas of maximum stress in the model? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 How do I create section or Iso plots? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Design Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Can I do automatic optimization? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Motion Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 How are joints created in COSMOS/Motion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 How do I import motion loads into COSMOS/Works? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

T his booklet has been compiled from FAQs stored on the COSMOS/ Online

Knowledge Base. Hundreds of additional tips and tricks for COSMOS/Works can be found at http://www.cosmosm.com/support/faq.htm

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

General Info

General Info
How do I set COSMOS/Works Preferences?
You can access the Preferences dialog box by right clicking the part or assembly icon in the COSMOS/ Works Manager tree and selecting Preferences. Or, by clicking COSMOS/Works, Preferences from SolidWorks menu bar. The Preferences dialog box contains tabs to set preferences for general, units, material, mesh, results, graphics and export. Preferences are stored in a file and are used by default every time you start COSMOS/ Works. Click the desired tab to open its preferences dialog box.

How can I switch languages while using COSMOS/Works?

The installation procedure of the international COSMOS/Works CD allows you to install several international versions in addition to English. The Language tab in the Preference dialog box has been added to let you select a preferred language. When exiting COSMOS/Works, the selected language will be used when COSMOS/Works is started again.

What's the difference between node values and element values?

Stress results are first calculated at special points, called Gaussian or Quadrature points, located inside each element. These points are selected to give optimal results, and the number of Gauss points per element depends on the element type (shell, solid, etc...). The program calculates stresses at the nodes of each element by extrapolating the results available at the Gaussian points:

After a successful run, nodal stress results at each node of every element should be available in the database. Consequently, multiple results are available at nodes common to two or more elements. These results will not be identical because the finite element method is an approximate method. For example, if a node is common to three elements, there can be 3 slightly different values for every stress component at that node. During result visualization, you may ask for element stresses or nodal stresses. In calculating nodal stresses at a node, the program averages the corresponding results from all elements contributing to the stresses at that node. For example:

In calculating element stresses, the program averages the corresponding nodal stresses for each element. Using the same example:

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

General Info

Important Notes:

Due to the different methods of averaging, the maximum values obtained from the Element values and Nodal values will be different. In the example above, the maximum for the node stresses is 5 whereas the maximum for the element stresses is 5.66. If your mesh is coarse compared to the rate of variation of results, then the maximum of the element values and the maximum of the node values will be very different. Comparing the maximum of the element values and the maximum of the node values will give you an idea of how coarse your mesh is in the maximum stress concentration zone.

Applying Loads and Boundary Conditions

How do I apply Bearing Loads?
Bearing loads develop between contacting cylindrical faces. In most cases, the contacting faces have the same radius. The bearing forces generate a non-uniform pressure at the interface of contact. To apply bearing loads:
1

Select a coordinate system and a set of cylindrical faces. The Z-axis of the selected faces should coincide with the Z-axis of the selected coordinate system. Do the following: Right-click the Load/Restraint folder of a structural study and select Bearing Load.

Do I have to be consistent with units?

You can mix and match units in COSMOS/Works. The results can be plotted in any standard system of units as well.

How do design changes affect the study defined?

As the model changes, the materials and loads/BCs update automatically. You need to remesh and rerun the solution. You do not have to remesh the model if the material and loads/BCs change.

How can I apply a torque to a face?

Torque can be applied to faces only. To apply a torque, follow this procedure:
1 2

Select the desired entities to which the torque load is to be applied and a reference axis. From the Visualizer, right-click the Load/Restraint icon. A context-sensitive pop-up window appears. Click Force. (Menu equivalent: COSMOS/Works > Insert > Force) In the Force dialog box, click Uniform. From the Type option, select Apply Torque.
5

3 4

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Applying Loads and Boundary Conditions

5 6 7

From the Units drop-down menu, select a unit system. Type the total torque value in the Force field. Click the OK button.

Tips:

The value specified in the torque dialog box is the total torque for each entity. To change the color of the force symbol, click the Color button. The color palette opens. Select the desired color and click the OK button. Selected entities box lists the number of faces and edges to which the force is to be applied. Reference entities box displays the name of the plane to be used as reference for defining the force loads. If no reference is selected, then the force is applied with respect to Plane 1.

How can I apply boundary condition to a portion of the model?

If you want to apply a boundary condition to a zone of the model that doesn't correspond to an existing face, edge or vertex, you then have to use the split line command of SolidWorks to create it. To do so, follow this procedure:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Sketch a line to project as a split line. Click Split Line on the Curves toolbar, or click Insert, Curve, Split Line. In the Split Lines dialog box, select Projection, and click Next. Click the Sketch to Project box and select the sketched line in the Feature Manager design tree. Click the Faces to Split box, then hold the Ctrl key and select all the faces around the perimeter of the part that you want the split line to pass through. Click Single Direction if you want the split line to project in only one direction. Click Reverse Direction to project the split line in the opposite direction. Click Finish.

How can I work with COSMOS/Works when I have several configurations for my part?
Working with different configurations (for example default and FEM configuration): For the moment, COSMOS/Works shows the loads and boundary conditions only if they were created with the active configuration of the part when it was opened. For example, if you want to do the analysis with FEM configuration, then save the part with FEM as the active configuration. Close the part and then reload it. The you will be able to perform the analysis. Consequently, whenever you reload the part, if the active configuration is FEM during loading, then you will see all the loads and boundary conditions. If you don't see the Loads/BCs then do a forced rebuild by pressing CTRL+Q. Similarly, if you do an analysis with default configuration, always reload the part with the default configuration as active and you should be able to see the Loads/ BCs and results.

How do I apply variable forces that reverse direction on a given face?

If the variable force that you wish to apply reverses direction on a face or edge, we recommend that you split the face/edge and apply forces to the split face/edge such that the applied forces on the split face/edge do not change direction. Users should keep in mind that, whether the applied variable force reverses direction or not, the program sets the summation of the absolute values of the individual nodal forces to be equal to the specified force value (the value set in the Value filed of the Force dialogue box). Let us consider the following simple example:

In that case, the net resultant force = 0, and the summation of the absolute values of the individual nodal forces = Value is a non-zero value Therefore, the value you should input is not equal to the resultant force you want to apply. This can create some confusion. Thus, in a more general case

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Applying Loads and Boundary Conditions

like the following, where the force reverses direction, you should split the entity so that the force has a constant direction on each of the split entities. Original configuration with one entity:

Modified configuration, with two entities on each of which the force has a constant sign and direction:

I need to apply varying pressure (hydrostatic pressure) on surfaces on the model. Is it possible with COSMOS/Works?
Variable pressures (that varies in intensity on a single face) are now available in COSMOS/Works 5.0. To define a variable pressure on a face, follow these steps:
1

Define a coordinate system (Insert > Reference Geometry > Coordinate System) in terms of which you can describe the pressure distribution. The coordinate system should be oriented such that the distribution on the target face varies with respect to the x and y coordinates only. Select the desired face(s), along with the coordinate system, and possibly a plane which will be used to define the orientation of the load. Right click on the Load/Restraint folder of the Visualizer and select Pressure. Make sure the "variable" option is activated. Fill-in the coefficient of the equation. The Variable option uses a distribution of the form:
p(x, y) = Value (A + Bx + Cy + Dxy + Ex^2 + Fy^2)

2 3

Where: p (x, y) = Magnitude of pressure applied at a point with coordinates x and y in the selected coordinate system.
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 Value = The number entered in the Value field. x, y = Coordinates of the point relative to the selected coordinate system. A, B, C, D, E, and F are polynomial coefficients.

Applying Material Properties

Can I define Isotropic and Orthotropic Material properties?
You can manually input the properties to add permanently to the database using the Material Browser.

How can I add materials permanently to the database?

The COSMOS/M Material Browser and Editor provides a functionality to create your own library or edit the COSMOS/Works Material Library. It is designed to let you edit the COSMOS/Works Material library by adding new categories of materials, new materials, or editing values of the material properties. You can access the material library from Start > Programs > COSMOS Applications > Material Browser.

Do I have to reapply materials and Loads/BCs for a new study?

You can drop and drop materials and Loads/BCs from one study to another.

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Meshing

Meshing
What is Meshing? What is a Transitional Mesh? How do I implement Transitional Mesh in COSMOS/Works?
What is Meshing? Finite Element Analysis (FEA) provides a reliable numerical technique for analyzing engineering designs. The process starts with the creation of a geometric model. Then, the program subdivides the model into small pieces of simple shapes (elements) connected at common points (nodes). The representation of a given region by a set of elements (i.e., discretization or mesh generation) is an important step in finite element analysis. Meshing the model is the heart of any FEA analysis. The choice of element type, number of elements, and density of elements depends on the geometry of the domain, the problem to be analyzed, and the degree of accuracy desired. Local mesh refinement tools are very important to have good mesh with gradual transitions between the mesh densities. One should have a finer mesh in the areas of high stress gradient to ensure accuracy of the solution. What is Transitional Mesh? The aspect ratio of the element is very critical for the accurate solution. The transition of the element should not be from very small to very big. There should be smooth transition of the elements to ensure accurate and converged solution. A sudden change in element size can result in artificially high stress calculation in the transition zone. The smooth variation of the mesh density from high-density region to the low-density region is termed as Transitional Mesh. The ratio and the number of layers at which the mesh can grow is controlled by the Element growth ratio and number of layers specified. Why Transitional Mesh? Using transitional meshing to focus resources on critical areas in the model, an accurate solution can be achieved at a minimal cost, both in terms of time and computer requirements (RAM, disk space etc.). How to implement Transitional Mesh in COSMOS/? The Mesh control section has two options for transitional mesh. (Tools >Options >Mesh >Mesh Option):

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 Automatic Transition: The program automatically applies mesh controls to all small features, details, holes, and fillets. If these small features were not of concern to us in terms of our analysis accuracy, it would be wasteful to generate smaller elements on those regions as this will use up more of our resources and solution time User Defined Control: The user has control over the areas to which mesh control is applied. Reference geometric entities can be vertices, edges, faces, and components. Using this feature carefully would help us reduce computer requirement (memory) and solution time (CPU time). The important question that arises here is, when should one use the automatic transition or user defined control? Which one would be better for the better solution? To answer these question follow these basic guidelines: Turn off the Automatic Transition option unless you have a simple model with few small features. Activating automatic transition may result in generating a very large number of elements unnecessarily when meshing model with many small features. Mesh your model with a very coarse mesh (initial study) and run the analysis, thus identifying the areas of high stress gradient. Once the most critical region in the model has been identified, apply userdefined mesh control, re-mesh and re-run the analysis. The mesh size for the user-defined control must be smaller than the global mesh size. The illustrated example below shows, how the appropriate use of user-defined mesh control can help us reduce the total number of DOF to be solved, thus saving the resources and time. Increasing the total DOF by 2 increases the total CPU/ memory by 4; hence our aim would always be to get converged/accurate solution with less number of nodes (i.e. less DOF).

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

11

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Meshing

Lets take the following shell model. All three holes are fixed and a pressure of -1 psi is applied at the bottom surface. We will see that applying the user defined control is more appropriate than using automatic transition or smaller global mesh size for the entire model. Using user-defined control gives us fairly accurate solution with lesser number of nodes, hence less number of DOF to be solved. Following are the findings:
Global Mesh Size (in) 0.6 Max. von Mises Stress (psi) 8.43 x 103 Min. von Mises Stress (psi) 17.3 Total Memory Usage for the Solver (KB) 14624 Total Solution Time (sec) 12

Case

Mesh Type

DOF

Uniform Mesh Density Uniform Mesh Density Uniform Mesh Density Automatic Transition User Controls

14,574

0.3

55,686

10.1 x 103

0.95

36068

35

0.15

212,886

11.0 x 103

3.09

121276

133

4 5

0.6 0.6 (mesh refineme nt size =0.15)

33,372 22,194

9.98 x 103 10.5 x 103

3.82 17.06

24744 19676

25 19

12

Conclusion:

The analysis above was done on a Pentium III / 256 MB RAM, 500 MHz machine. The solver used was FFEPlus (Iterative solver). Looking at the results, we can see that the user-defined control is the better option for the user in terms of memory, time and efficiency. In the chart, cost increase going right, accuracy increases moving upward. Therefore, it is desirable to move toward the upper left corner. It can be seen from the above graph that, accurate and converged solution can be obtained by using user-defined control while reducing the time and computer requirements by a factor of almost 7 with respect to using the uniform mesh density.

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

13

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Meshing

Mesh Plot (Case 3)

Von Mises Stress Plot (Case 3)

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Mesh Plot (Case 4)

Von Mises Stress Plot (Case 4)

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

15

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Meshing

Mesh Plot (Case 5)

Von Mises Stress Plot (Case 5)

Why is that there is only one mesh folder for all studies? Can I create a different mesh for each study?
You can use one mesh for multiple studies to investigate the effect of using different materials, loads, and/or restraints. Each study can have its own mesh as well. However, to consider the impact of geometry changes on the results, you must rebuild the mesh and rerun the study after making any change in geometry.
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The old mesh will be overwritten, but you can still view the mesh associated with a study and visualize the corresponding results even after rebuilding the mesh. If you rerun a study after rebuilding the mesh, the new mesh will be used and all old results will be overwritten. You can create solid and shell studies in the same document. To run a study using its associated mesh, activate the study by clicking its icon, show its mesh by right-clicking the Mesh icon and selecting Show Mesh before running it.

What is the difference between a draft quality and a high quality mesh?
In a draft quality mesh (also called lower order mesh), each solid tetrahedral element will have 4 corner nodes only. No mid-side nodes are inserted. In a high quality mesh (also called higher order mesh), each solid tetrahedral element will have 10 nodes: 4 corner nodes and one node at the middle of each edge (a total of 6 mid-side nodes).

Note that with a higher order mesh, the elements can have curved edges. This helps account for curved geometry.

When do I use a Draft or High quality Mesh?

As a general rule always use High Quality Mesh to get a right answer. Draft quality elements are used to solve a quick analysis and understand the pattern of the results.

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Meshing

What are the Mesh Control Parameters?

You can specify mesh control parameters at vertices, edges, faces, and components. You can access the Mesh Control dialog box by right-clicking the Mesh icon and selecting Apply Control. The mesh control parameters are: Element size at the specified entity (e), Element growth ratio (r), and Number of layers of elements (n). Assuming that the global element size used for meshing (specified in the Mesh dialogue box) is E, the average element size in the layers radiating from the entity will be e, er, er2, er3, etc. If the calculated average element size of a layer exceeds E, the program uses E instead. If the specified number of layers (n) is too small for smooth transition, the program may add more layers.

I cannot mesh the part I am trying to analyze. What can I do?

Make sure that it is a solid model to begin with. Understand and locate all the small features of the model. Make sure that the smallest feature is at least twice as large as the mesh tolerance. Suppress the tiny features that do not effect the solution. Progressively reduce the element size and try to mesh the model. Also, try to apply mesh control on the small feature faces.

I cannot mesh some parts in my assembly. What should I do?

Make sure that there is no interference between parts (except in case of shrink fit). In case of bonded assembly, make sure that there is surface contact between parts. Open the parts that the mesher could not mesh and mesh them individually. Use this individual mesh sizes as the component control (mesh size) in the assembly. If the assembly still cannot be meshed, treat the contact surface area between parts as a geometric feature and apply mesh controls in that area.

What is the recommended meshing strategy for hard-to-mesh models?

Use shell meshing for sheet metal parts. Shell or solid meshing is specified in the properties of the study.

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 Always try the Standard mesher first. If meshing fails, try different element sizes or edit mesh control settings. You may use the Alternate mesher in rare situations where the Standard mesher keeps failing with different element sizes. Turn on the High mesh quality option. You can use the draft mesh quality option in preliminary studies of very large problems. Turn off the Automatic Transition option unless you have a simple model with few small features. Activating automatic transition may result in generating a very large number of elements unnecessarily when meshing with many small features. Do not use the Alternate mesher when Automatic Transition or Use Defined Controls is on. Always turn on the Smooth Surface option. This option improves the quality of the mesh in most cases. To improve results in important areas, use mesh control to set a smaller element size. After setting the recommended options described above, mesh the model using the default element size and tolerance. If meshing fails, try a different element size and/or a larger tolerance. If the element size is too big, the program will tell you to use a smaller element size.

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Running the Analysis

Running the Analysis

How do I choose a solver?
Static Problems: There are three solvers for static problems; the new Direct Sparse solver, the Old FFE solver, and the New FFE solver. Use the New FFE solver for large and very large problems (problems with over 300,000 DOF). Use the Old FFE solver or the Direct Sparse solver for small and medium problems (problems with 100,000 to 300,000 DOF). Use the Direct Sparse solver for assembly problems with contact, especially when you turn on the friction effects. Use the Direct Sparse solver when solving assemblies of parts with widely different material properties. Frequency Problems: There are two ways for solving frequency problems. You can use the mode extraction routine powered by the Direct Sparse solver or the iterative FFE solver. Use the mode extraction routine powered by the FFE solver if your model is not adequately restrained (rigid body modes). Use the mode extraction routine powered by the Direct Sparse solver if you want to consider the effect of loading on the natural frequencies. Use the mode extraction routine powered by the Direct Sparse solver when solving assemblies of parts with widely different material properties. Buckling Problems: Only the mode extraction routine powered by the Direct Sparse solver is available for solving buckling problems.

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Thermal Problems: There are two solvers available for thermal problems; the new Direct Sparse solver and the Old FFE solver. Thermal problems have one degree of freedom (DOF) per node, and hence their solution is usually much faster than structural problems of the same number of nodes. Use the Old FFE solver for large and very large problems. Use the Direct Sparse solver when solving assemblies of parts with widely different material properties.

How can I solve a problem without any restraints, like importing loads from motion analysis and free thermal expansion?
Use Inertia Relief option for either Sparse Matrix Solver or the New FFE solver to solve for a problem without restraints.

How do I take into account inplane effects?

For many slender structures with in-plane loading, the membrane forces alter bending stiffness. Compressive in-plane force decrease bending stiffness, and tensile in-plane forces increase bending stiffness. Structures become stiffer in the presence of tensile in-plane loads due to stress stiffening. Similarly, structures become less stiff in the presence of compressive in-plane loads, an effect known as stress softening. To take into account inplane effects, in-plane loading flag is activated in the solver options of the study. Use Inertia Relief option for either Sparse Matrix Solver or the New FFE solver to solve for a problem without restraints.

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Thermal Analysis

Thermal Analysis
What is a transient thermal analysis?
In this type of analysis, we are interested in knowing the thermal status of the model at different instances of time. A thermos designer, for example, knows that the temperature of the fluid inside will eventually be equal to the room temperature (steady state), but he or she is interested in finding out the temperature of the fluid as a function of time. In addition to the thermal conductivity (only material property needed for steady-state thermal analysis), we also need to specify density, specific heat, initial temperature profile, and the period of time for which solutions are desired.

What is a steady state thermal analysis?

In this type of analysis, we are only interested in the thermal conditions of the body when it reaches thermal equilibrium, but we are not interested in the time it takes to reach this status. The temperature of each point in the model will remain unchanged until a change occurs in the system. At equilibrium, the thermal energy entering the system is equal to the thermal energy leaving it. Generally, the only material property that is needed for steady state analysis is the thermal conductivity.

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What is Radiation?
Thermal radiation is the thermal energy emitted by bodies in the form of electromagnetic waves because of their temperature. All bodies with temperatures above the absolute zero emit thermal energy. Because electromagnetic waves travel in a vacuum, no medium is necessary for radiation to take place. The thermal energy of the sun reaches earth by radiation. Because electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light, radiation is the fastest heat transfer mechanism. Stefan-Boltzmann Constant and Emissivity Stefan-Boltzmann's law states that the maximum rate of radiation that can be emitted by a surface of area A at a temperature Ts when a surrounding temperature Tenv is equal to:

where is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 x10-8 W/m2.C4 or 3.3063 x 10-15 Btu/s.in2.F4). A surface that is emitting heat energy at this rate is called a blackbody. The rate of radiation emitted by real bodies is expressed as a fraction of the blackbody radiation:

where is the emissivity of the surface. COSMOS/Works defines the Stefan-Boltzmann constant automatically based on the system of units used. You must define the emissivity () whenever you want to include radiation effects.

Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Thermal Analysis

Radiation is defined as a boundary condition on faces. Only radiation to the ambient atmosphere is supported by this version of COSMOS/Works.
Note:

Generally, heat transfer by radiation becomes significant only at high temperatures.

What is Convection?
Convection is the heat transfer mode in which heat transfers between a solid face and an adjacent moving fluid (or gas). Convection involves the combined effects of conduction and the moving fluid. The fluid particles act as carriers of thermal energy. The rate of heat exchange between the fluid of temperature Tf and the face of a solid of area A and temperature Ts can be expressed as:

where h is the convection heat transfer coefficient, Tf is the temperature of the fluid away from the face of the solid. The units of h are: W/m2.C or Btu/s.in2.F Convection processes can be divided into two main classes:
Free (Natural) Convection

The motion of the fluid adjacent to a solid face is caused by the buoyancy forces induced by changes in the density of the fluid due to the presence of the solid. When a hot plate is left to cool down in the air, the particles of air adjacent to the face of the plate get warmer, their density decreases and hence they move.

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Forced Convection

An external means such as a fan or a pump is used to accelerate the flow of the fluid over the face of the solid. The rapid motion of the fluid particles over the face of the solid maximizes the temperature gradient and results in increasing the rate of heat exchange.

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Thermal Analysis

What is Conduction?
Thermal energy transfers from one point to another through the interaction between the atoms or molecules of the matter. Conduction occurs in solids, liquids, and gasses. For example, a hot cup of coffee on your desk will eventually cool down to the room-temperature mainly by conduction from the coffee directly to the air and through the body of the cup. There is no bulk motion of matter when heat transfers by conduction. The rate of heat conduction through a plane layer of thickness X is proportional to the heat transfer area and the temperature gradient, and inversely proportional to the thickness of the layer. Rate of Heat Conduction= K (Area) (Difference in Temperature/Thickness) or:

where K, called the thermal conductivity, measures the ability of a material to conduct heat and dT/dx is the temperature gradient. The units of K are W/m2.C or (Btu/s)/in2.F.

How can I extract thermal stresses?

After performing thermal analysis, the thermal results can be imported into Static analysis by selecting the properties of static analysis study.

Is there a better way to model epoxy between two components in Heat Transfer analysis?
Modeling epoxy is difficult because epoxy is a very thin layer and it requires a very fine mesh. The best way to tackle this problem is to define Thermal contact resistance between the two components and ignoring the epoxy.
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Thermal contact resistance is implemented as part of a surface-to-surface contact condition. You can either specify the total resistivity or the resistivity per unit area.

Buckling Analysis
What is the buckling factor (load factor) for buckling analysis?
Let's go back to the definition of the buckling load factor :

The value of the buckling load factor is calculated by the software and indicates the likelihood of buckling under the applied loads:
Value of Signification The applied load is below the critical load for buckling The applied load exceeds the critical load for buckling The applied load is stiffening the structure (it actually creates tension in the structure).
Note:

Buckling is a phenomenon which is difficult to predict accurately. The actual buckling load depends heavily on geometric imperfections (in the shape of the structure, in the way loads are applied) and material imperfections. Use of an appropriate safety factor is recommended

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Buckling Analysis

How do I calculate the critical buckling loads for pipes with internal pressure?
In a typical buckling analysis, the quantities to be computed include the critical loads at which the structure becomes unstable, and the corresponding buckling mode shapes. The first (or the lowest) mode of buckling is of practical importance in many design scenarios. For many slender structures with in-plane loading, the membrane forces alter the bending stiffness. Buckling occurs when the compressive membrane forces reduce the bending stiffness to zero for a kinematically admissible deformation mode. However, when the membrane forces are reversed (tensile instead of compressive), then the bending stiffness is effectively increased. Thus, the structure becomes stiffer under tensile in-plane loads, exhibiting what is known as the stress stiffening effect. The stress stiffening or softening effect can also be considered in the computation of natural frequencies. For slender structures with in-plane loading, the natural frequencies are significantly altered depending on the type of preload applied. Compressive loads tend to decrease the natural frequencies whereas tensile forces tend to increase them. For these types of structures, the stiffness properties are function of both static loads and the deformed shape. While an accurate solution of such problems requires the use of geometrically nonlinear solution techniques, reasonable accuracy can be obtained by using the differential stiffness approach. In this method, it is assumed that the geometrically nonlinear problems can be approximated by adding a geometric stiffness matrix KG (also known as initial stress or differential stiffness matrix, or stability coefficient matrix) to the conventional structural stiffness matrix. The displacements are computed with respect to the original configuration of the structure, and the change in geometry is reflected only in the geometric stiffness matrix. COSMOS/DesignSTAR and COSMOS/Works give the option to consider the effect of applied loads while estimating the natural frequencies by activating in-plane effect flag in frequency study properties dialog box. First, the program runs a linear static analysis to calculate the deformed shape (and KG) and then it calculates the natural frequencies (or critical buckling load factors) and mode shapes including the effect of the applied loads. Loads are not considered and their effect will be ignored unless you activate the in-plane loading option and use the direct solver.

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It is already shown and can be proved that the natural frequency of the structure tends to zero as the loads applied on the structure tends to the critical buckling load. This concept can be easily used in finding critical buckling loads for structures stiffened due to in-plane loads. One common example is the buckling of a pipe due to internal pressure and axial loads. Now it is very difficult to estimate the axial buckling load for a pipe for a given internal pressure since the critical load factor we obtain after the analysis is to be multiplied by both internal pressure and the axial loads o obtain the buckling loads for the pipe. For this case, using the frequency analysis (with in-plane load flag on) we could estimate the axial load, which makes the first natural frequency of the structure to zero. This way we could estimate the axial buckling load for any internal pressure or any other form of stiffening (or softening) loads on the structure. Consider the following example where we need to estimate the axial buckling load for a pipe subjected to an internal pressure of 100 N/m2. The pipe is made of aluminum 1035 alloy and clamped at one end. First, a frequency study (with shell mesh) is carried out in and an axial force value is determined (by trial and error) which makes the first natural frequency to be zero.

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Buckling Analysis

The direct solver is used with the in-plane load flag on for estimating the frequencies. During this process, the user may come across a STOP 7-Singular matrix error, which means that axial loads exceeded the critical buckling load. In such cases, reducing the axial loads would reduce the excessive softening and give a positive frequency value. Once after estimating the critical buckling load using this method, the value could be reconfirmed by a buckling study. Applying the estimated axial buckling load from the frequency study in the buckling study should give a critical buckling load factor value of 1.0. In this example the axial load which makes the first frequency close to zero is found to be 37433 N and when this same load is applied for the buckling study we obtain the critical load factor to be 1.0001 confirming the buckling load. It is also a good practice to compare the mode shapes from both studies and make sure they correspond to same buckling modes. This method is applicable to any slender structure softened or stiffened by inplane loads.

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Frequency Analysis
How do you deal with rigid body modes in frequency analysis?
In COSMOS/Works and COSMOS/DesignSTAR, if your model isn't fully constrained when you run the frequency analysis, the program will include rigid body modes in the results. For example, if you ask the program to calculate the first 5 natural modes, and your model isn't constrained at all (it has 6 rigid body modes), then 11 modes will be calculated. Modes 1 to 6 will be the rigid body modes, and 7 to 12 will be the actual modes of vibration.

What do the displacements resulting from frequency analysis mean?

Displacements resulting from a frequency analysis should be understood as relative values. Frequency analysis in COSMOS/Works only calculates natural mode shapes and frequencies. It does not predict, however, how much deformation will occur when the model vibrates. To get this type of result, a Post-Dynamic analysis must be run with COSMOS/M. In COSMOS/Works, displacement results are given to better understand the mode shape of vibration, and to compare the relative displacement of different nodes of the model in the same plot. Users should not compare displacement results of frequency analysis from different studies, nor from different mode shapes.

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Static Analysis

Static Analysis
What is Static Analysis?
When loads are applied to a body, the body will deform and the effect of the loads will be transmitted throughout the body. To absorb the effect of loads, the body generates internal forces and reactions at the supports to balance the applied external loads. Linear static analysis refers to the calculation of displacements, strains, and stresses under the effect of external loads based on two basic assumptions: Static Assumption All loads are applied slowly and gradually until they reach their full magnitudes. After reaching their full magnitudes, loads will remain constant (time-invariant). This assumption allows us to disregard insignificant inertial and damping forces due to negligibly small accelerations and velocities. Time-invariant loads that induce considerable inertial and/or damping forces may warrant dynamic analysis. Dynamic loads change with time and, in many cases, induce considerable inertial and damping forces that cannot be neglected.
Notes:

It is important to verify the static assumption since a dynamic load may generate stresses up to 1/(2 ) times the stresses generated by static loads with the same magnitude, where is the critical damping ratio. For a lightly damped structure with 5% damping, the dynamic stresses will be 10 times larger than the static stresses. The worst case scenario occurs at resonance. Please refer to the section of Frequency Analysis. You may use static analysis to calculate the structural response of bodies spinning with constant velocities or traveling with constant accelerations since the generated loads do not change with time. You may use the Dynamic Response or the Nonlinear Dynamic analysis modules, available in the Intermediate Bundle to calculate the structural response due to dynamic loads. Dynamic loads include oscillatory loads, impacts, collisions, and random loads.

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Linearity Assumption The relationship between loads and induced responses is linear. If you double the magnitude of loads, for example, the response of the model (displacements, strains, and stresses), will also double. You can assume that the linearity assumption is valid if: All the materials in the model comply with Hook's law, that is stress is directly proportional to strain. The induced displacements are small enough to ignore the change in stiffness caused by loading. Boundary conditions do not vary during the application of loads. Loads must be constant in magnitude, direction, and distribution. They should not change while the model is deforming.

What is Linear Static Analysis?

When loads are applied to a body, the body will deform and the effect of the loads will be transmitted throughout the body. To absorb the effect of loads, the body generates internal forces and reactions at the supports to balance the applied external loads. Linear static analysis refers to the calculation of displacements, strains, and stresses under the effect of external loads.

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Nonlinear Analysis

Nonlinear Analysis
What is nonlinear analysis? What are the types of nonlinearities that can occur?
In linear analysis, the response of a structure is directly proportional to the load. We assume that: the displacements and rotations are small stress is directly proportional to strain loads maintain their original directions as the structure deforms. However any of the convenient assumptions that are made during a linear analysis may not hold good in real life situations. For example: A contact area may change as the load changes A material may no longer exhibit an elastic behavior especially after it starts to yield and flows into the plasticity region. The stiffness of the structure may decrease because of buckling or the material may even fracture! The displacements and rotations may become too large and thus there is a need to develop equations describing the equilibrium at various intervals instead of one single configuration. The direction and magnitude of the applied force can change in large rotation problems. Thus for various reasons, a problem may become nonlinear and thus a plot of load versus displacement ceases to be a straight line. The figures below are different types of nonlinear models: Figure 1 shows an elastic beam loaded with a force F which acts normal to the axis of the beam at all times. The graph between F and the vertical displacement y is intended to represent the actual nonlinear displacement which occurs because of geometric nonlinearity. This means that because of significant changes in the geometry of the structure as it deforms, the displacement is no longer linear. In figure 2, the contact area between the bodies increases as the load F increases. Unlike the first example in figure 1, the displacements and the strains are significantly small here. Nevertheless the problem is nonlinear because of the change in contact surface area.

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Nonlinear problems have to be solved in several steps by updating the tentative solution after each step and repeating the procedure until a convergence criteria is satisfied. The loads are applied gradually in each step and an iterative procedure used so that the equilibrium conditions are satisfied. Thus every load step is a separate linear analysis by itself! Typical nonlinear scenarios: Materials that exhibit viscoelastic, viscoplastic or creep behavior (the deformation is a function of the load rate) Problems with large strains

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Thin Walled/Shell Analysis

Thin Walled/Shell Analysis

What are the specific points to take into account when applying loads and boundary conditions to shell models?
You can apply loads and boundary conditions to faces, edges, and vertices of your model. Here are some helpful notes: Restraining a face across the thickness is equivalent to restraining any of the two associated edges. For example, fixing the face of a hole in a shell model is equivalent to fixing any or both of its circular edges. Restraining an edge along the thickness is equivalent to restraining one of the vertices associated with the edge. Since shell elements have rotational degrees of freedom, you must differentiate between the Immovable restraint (no translation) and the Fixed restraint (no translation and no rotation). You can also apply concentrated moments.

What is meant by stiffening in thin plates? When and how can I simulate this effect?
Introduction In Roark's "Formulas for Stress and Strain" (pages 405-406 fifth edition) he states that "when the deflection becomes larger than about one-half the thickness, as may occur in thin plates, the middle surface becomes appreciably strained and the stress in it cannot be ignored. It is a load that is not constant over the surface on which it is applied. When this condition of large deflection obtains, the plate is stiffer than indicated by the ordinary theory and the load-deflection and loadstress relations are nonlinear." This phenomenon is when membrane action takes place. In linear analysis, the lateral stiffness of a slender member remains constant, independent of magnitude of the loading or other factors. However, in reality, the lateral stiffness of a slender member may be profoundly affected by the longitudinal forces acting upon it. Increase in longitudinal tension has the effect of enhancing the lateral stiffness of a member; an increase in longitudinal compression has the opposite effect, that is to reduce the lateral stiffness of the member. The cross-coupling of the longitudinal forces on lateral response is called membrane effect.

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Problem Setup Two tests were run to compare and quantify the membrane effect for thin plates; a Linear analysis and a Nonlinear analysis with the large displacement option. Hand calculations based on linear theory were also included as reference. The model is a 10in X 10in plate with a thickness of 0.2 inches. It is simply supported at the perimeter and is subjected to a 150 psi pressure on the face. The material is Alloy Steel that is found in the COSMOS/ library (Youngs Modulus (E) = 3.046 x 107psi, Poissons ratio (n): 0.28).

Figure 1 shows the boundary conditions that were applied to the model. An element size of 0.35 inches was used to mesh the model with the standard mesher. A higher order mesh resulted in six noded triangular elements. Figure 2 shows the mesh that generated 1626 elements and 3369 nodes. Formula The formula for finding the center deflection for a flat rectangular plate under uniform load is (Roark's "Formulas for Stress and Strain" page 386 fifth edition)
Max Y = (A*q*b^4)/(E*t^3) Where

Y = Maximum deflection (in) A = a/b; constant on pg. 386 fifth edition of Roarks Formulas for Stress and Strain a = width (in) b = height (in)
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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Thin Walled/Shell Analysis

q = load (lbs/in2) E = Modulus of Elasticity (lbs/in2) t = thickness (in) Result Chart 1 compares the results from the theoretical linear displacement, FEA without the large displacement formulation, and FEA with the large displacement formulation. All the displacements were measured at the maximum location, which is at the center of the plate. Percentage error with respect to the theoretical linear displacement are shown in parenthesis.

Figure 3 shows the Pressure vs. deflection for all three cases. As one can observe, the FEA solution without the large displacement flag is extremely close to the handbook solution. At around 50 to 60 psi, the nonlinear solution (with the large displacement flag) visibly diverges from the linear solutions. In this case, the membrane effect manifests itself by an increase in lateral stiffness. As stated before, this is when the deflection becomes larger than approximately one-half the thickness (as noted in Roarks Formulas for Stress and Strain). The thickness in this example is 0.2.
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Conclusion A designer must always ask, How accurate are the results? Sure, in this case the results are accurate to the extent where the question was posed. The linear solution gave very good results compared to the handbook results. Of course the answers are incorrect, since the designer did not ask the right question. In this case, when the deflection of the plate is more than one half its thickness, this leads one to believe that the results are getting membrane action from shell elements. One can determine that geometric stiffening is taking effect as displacements increase; hence a nonlinear analysis with the large displacement option must be run.

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Assembly Analysis

Assembly Analysis
How do I ignore some parts in an assembly for analysis?
Suppress the parts in the SolidWorks feature tree and the parts are ignored for analysis.

What are the different kinds of Global Contact Options available in COSMOS/Works?
Touching Faces: Bonded- All touching faces will be bonded at their points of contact. The mesh will be compatible on touching areas. This is the default option Touching Faces: Node to Node-The mesh along the interface will be compatible on touching areas. The program creates gap elements connecting corresponding nodes across the faces. The faces may move away from each other but will preserve the physical requirement that they may not penetrate each other.

Can I apply Local Contact Options?

Local contact defines the type of contact for a pair of faces. Select the two faces where the contact definition is desired. Bonded-The selected pair of faces will be bonded at their points of contact (nodes). The mesh will be compatible on touching areas. Free-The selected pair of faces will be free to move in any direction. Node to Node-The program creates gap elements connecting corresponding nodes across the selected pair of faces. This option is used when the faces of the two parts touch each other. Surface-The program creates node-to-area pairs automatically. This option is used when there is initial clearance between the two surfaces. Shrink Fit-The program creates a shrink fit condition between the selected faces. The faces may or may not be cylindrical. For more information on Shrink Fit functionality.

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I am running a surface contact analysis problem. When I right click on the study name and choose properties, I see an option "Ignore clearance for surface contact". What does this option mean and how do I know whether to check this option or not?
Solving contact problems is an iterative process that starts with an initial deformation guess. Starting with a good initial guess helps the iterative process converge to the correct solution quickly. The status of this option affects the initial guess. This flag is used with surface contact only When the flag is turned off, initial contact between a node and the associated face is assumed if the initial distance is less than or equal to a certain threshold (0.5% of the global element size). If the initial distance exceeds the threshold, no initial contact is assumed. If the flag is turned on, initial contact (between each node and its associated face) is assumed regardless of the initial distance between them. The initial gaps will be ignored during contact iterations. This flag should be turned off (default) for most applications. It is specifically designed to take care of a specific situation when, due to tolerances, a small clearance exists between faces that should have been initially in contact. Due to this clearance, the mesh on the two faces, set for contact, may not be compatible and the elements on both sides may interfere with each other as dramatized in the figure. The interference in this case is non-physical (introduced by approximating the geometry by the mesh. The Ignore Clearance for Surface Contact flag should be turned on in such case. The flag should not be turned on when the two faces set for surface contact have large curvature differences. Turn on the flag in such cases where different curvatures caused by meshing elements face node. A small clearance that exists between these two faces nonphysical interference that should be smaller than the threshold.

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Assembly Analysis

What is the procedure to simulate Shrink Fit condition on a 3D Assembly model?

Shrink fitting is encountered in many engineering designs. It refers to fitting a component into a slightly smaller cavity. Due to normal forces that develop at the interface, the inner component will shrink while the outer component will expand. The amount of shrinkage/expansion is determined by the material properties as well as the geometry of the components. Shrink fitting is implemented as a contact condition. You can define a shrink fit contact condition using the Shrink Fit option in the Define Contact Pair dialog box. It should be noted that you need to remesh the model whenever you make a change in the contact conditions.

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Checking for Accuracy

How do I make sure I have an accurate or converged solution?
Except for Stress Singularities, the most accepted method is to run a solution, identify the areas of high solution gradients, refine the mesh in those areas and rerun the solution until the difference between the last two runs is less than 5%.

Is there a way to get converged solution automatically?

Use the P-adaptive method to get an automatically converged solution.

What is Jacobian check?

Parabolic elements can map curved geometry much more accurately than linear elements of the same size. The mid-side nodes of the boundary edges of an element are placed on the actual geometry of the model. In extremely sharp or curved boundaries, placing the mid-side nodes on the actual geometry can result in generating distorted elements with edges crossing over each other. The Jacobian of an extremely distorted element becomes negative. An element with negative Jacobian causes the analysis program to stop. In the course of calculating the element stiffness matrix, the program performs integration processes over the domain of the element. The integration process is simplified by evaluating the function of interest at prescribed locations inside the element. These locations are called Gaussian points. For the purpose of checking the quality of parabolic elements, COSMOS/Works gives you a choice to base the Jacobian check on 4, 16, or 29 Gaussian points. The Jacobian ratio of a parabolic tetrahedral element, with all mid-side nodes located exactly at the middle of the straight edges is 1.0. The Jacobian ratio increases as the curvatures of the edges increase. The Jacobian ratio at a point inside the element provides a measure of the degree of distortion of the element at that location. COSMOS/Works calculates the Jacobian ratio at the selected number of Gaussian points for each tetrahedral element. Based on stochastic studies, it is generally seen that a Jacobian ratio of 40 or less is acceptable. COSMOS/Works adjusts the locations of the mid-side nodes of distorted elements automatically to make sure they pass the Jacobian check.

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Checking for Accuracy

What is Aspect ratio check?

Numerical accuracy is best achieved by a mesh with uniform perfect tetrahedral elements whose edges are equal in length. For a general geometry, it is not possible to create a mesh of perfect tetrahedral elements. Due to small edges, curved geometry, thin features, and sharp corners, some of the generated elements can have some of their edges much longer than others. When the edges of an element become much different in length, the accuracy of the results degrades. The aspect ratio of a perfect tetrahedral element is used as the basis for calculating aspect ratios of other elements. The aspect ratio of an element is defined as the ratio between the longest edge and the shortest normal dropped from a vertex to the opposite face normalized with respect to a perfect tetrahedral. By definition, the aspect ratio of a perfect tetrahedral is 1.0. The aspect ratio check assumes straight edges connecting the four corner nodes. The aspect ratio check is automatically used by the program to check the quality of the mesh.

How can I check for failure using Factor of Safety as a criterion?

Failure criteria normally predict the failure of a material subjected to multi-axial state of stresses. The Design Check Wizard assesses the safety of the model based on a selected failure criterion. A material may behave in a ductile or brittle manner depending on the temperature, rate of loading, chemical environment, and the formation process. No single failure criterion is best applicable to a material under all conditions. You should use all the information available to you about the material to select a failure criterion. You can try more than one stress criterion to assess the safety of the model. Failure criterion is selected and Factor of Safety defined in Design Check Wizard.

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Results and Visualization

Can I visualize results in local or cylindrical co-ordinate systems?
You can visualize results in local or cylindrical co-ordinate systems is COSMOS/ Works 7.0. Select the reference geometry (desired plane or axis) and create a new plot by right mouse click on any result folder.

How can I list results based on geometric entities?

The List Selected tool lets you list the results on all nodes on the selected entities. It also lists the sum and average values. To use this tool, double-click the desired plot icon and then right-click on it in the COSMOS/Manager tree and select List Selected. You can then select the desired entities and click the Update button to list the results.

Can I create a graph of results of selected nodes in the model?

Using the probe tool the user can select the results at the selected nodes and plot the graph.

How can I create automatic reports?

The Report Wizard helps you document your work quickly and systematically for each study. COSMOS/Works generates structured, Internet-ready reports (HTML files) that describe all aspects related to the study. Use your favorite Internet browser to view reports. All plots created in the COSMOS/Works Manager tree can be included automatically in the report. You can also insert images, animations (AVI videos), and VRML files in the report to document the results of your work. A printerfriendly version of the report can be generated automatically. The generated report provides an excellent way to share the results of your studies with others online or in printed format.

How can I locate the areas of maximum stress in the model?

Using the ISO plot feature, users can easily locate the areas of high stress/solution gradients.

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Tips and Tricks for COSMOS/Works

Design Optimization

How do I create section or Iso plots?

Please refer to the help section of COSMOS/Works on Iso plots.

Design Optimization
Can I do automatic optimization?
You can do optimization inside COSMOS/Works. After running Statics or Frequency or Thermal analysis, optimization is performed. COSMOS/Works uses SolidWorks model dimensions to modify the part or assembly to reach the goals defined. Please refer to online tutorials to view an example.

Motion Simulation
How are joints created in COSMOS/Motion?
The mates created in SolidWorks between the parts are automatically converted into joints between the parts in the Motion analysis.

How do I import motion loads into COSMOS/Works?

After running Motion Analysis, export the results at the frame interested. COSMOS/Works can read the motion loads for the part interested. When the part is opened, a study with the loads is automatically created.

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