Pro/ENGINEER Mechanica

Enhancements covered in this Tutorial:

• Nonlinear Materials*
• Contact with Friction
• Improved Results

Simulation Products Mission: “Provide the spectrum of Pro/ENGINEER users, from designers through analysts, a fully integrated suite of world class applications for the evaluation and improvement of all aspects of product design performance.”

Highlights of other enhancements in the area of Simulation:

• Contact with Infinite Friction*
• Dynamic Query on Cap/Cut Planes
• Exploded views in results
• Enhanced Geometry Selection in Results
• Model Connectivity Review
• AVI Movie Export
• Mechanisms Springs and Dampers as Features
• Mechanisms Parameter UI in MDX
• Hierarchical Loads
• Resultant Measures
• Thermal Resistance*
• New AutoGEM Controls (Max size and curvature based refinement)

* Denotes functionality in Pro/ENGINEER Advanced Mechanica.  The remaining functionality in this tutorial is available in Pro/ENGINEER Mechanica.

Pro/ENGINEER Mechanica is now fully unified as a module of Pro/ENGINEER during install using PTC.Setup.  This streamlines the process, and eliminates the risk of a version mismatch.

Nonlinear Materials

Hyperelastic materials, such as rubber, are nonlinear materials that exhibit instantaneous elastic response to large strains. Mechanica uses an industry leading material definition UI to bring this complex nonlinear solution capability to non-specialist users.

Mechanica supports several different mathematical models of hyperelastic material. Material properties can be defined by experimental data or using popular material laws such as Arruda-Boyce, Mooney-Rivlin, Neo-Hookean, etc.

This functionality covered in this tutorial requires Pro/ENGINEER Advanced Mechanica.

The Working Directory for all the Simulation tutorials is SIMULATION.

1. Open  HANGAR.ASM.

This model is made up of two steel plates that sandwich some elastic material.  We are going to review the material properties and review the results of this analysis.

2. Applications > Mechanica > Continue.

This model already has material properties, loading conditions and constraints.  You will first review the material properties for the parts in this assembly.

3. Click the Materials  icon on the right toolbar to open the material definition dialog. 
4. Select Urethane from the list on the right, then RMB > Properties.
5. Explore this dialog and select Edit button to enter the Hyperelastic Material Definition dialog.  Explore the additional options available. 

Currently the material is being defined by a text file called Test1 and you can see the two columns of data on the left side.  The UI is set to select the best fit automatically and has selected the Yeoh material law.

6. Cancel out of dialog box and OK to confirm.  OK for remainder of open dialogs.
7. Select  icon to open the Analysis dialog. 
8. With HANGAR_LDA highlighted, select  Edit Study to enter the Static Analysis Definition dialog. 

Note that the check box for Calculate large deformations is checked.  This is necessary for the nonlinear material definitions to be in effect.

9. Click OK to exit box.
10. With HANGAR_LDA highlighted, select the Results  icon.
11. Fill out the Result Window Definition dialog box with the following information.  Select OK and Show.
    (use the 'Click to view larger picture button' to expand image)

You should see the following image:

Erasing the barrier separating design and analysis . . . . Unparalleled CAD/CAE Integration!

12. File > Exit Results > NO and close out of dialog boxes.
13. Window > Close .

You have completed this Exercise, continue to Next Page.

Contact with Friction

Users have the ability to add friction to individual contact regions.  Once contact is enabled, users may also define "slippage measures."  Measures will let users know if the normal force with the friction coefficient specified is enough to keep the parts from moving.  Friction can be used to keep contact models from being under constrained in static analyses.

The functionality covered in this tutorial is included with Pro/ENGINEER Mechanica.

1. Open  FRICTION_ASM.ASM.

This model is made up of two parts that are both made of aluminum.  You are going to run this simulation with friction and without friction.  Contact definition is part of Pro/Engineer Mechanica licenses.

2. Applications > Mechanica > Continue.

The material assignments, loads, constraints, measures and contact regions have already been defined for you.

3. Review the contact interface.

• In the model tree, click Connections > Interfaces
• Right click on  Interface1
• Select Edit Definition
• Note that the coefficient of Friction is .15
• Close the dialog box

This dialog box is used to create all free, bonded and contact interfaces.    OPTIONAL: In Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0, you can set a default state of coincident surfaces or components in an assembly model.  You can choose to merge them, leave them free, or create contacts between them.  If you'd like to explore this, go to Edit > Mechanica Model Type and select the Default Interface selection.  Leave it at Bonded for this exercise.

4. Use the Run a Design Study  icon.

• Click File > New Static
• Name the study - CONTACT
• Complete the dialog box as follows

5. Click the Start Run  icon.

• Click YES to Do you want to run Interactive Diagnostics
• Click Display Study Status  to check progress of study

The study runs very quick

• Close the Diagnostics dialog box that has popped up
• With the CONTACT analysis highlighted, click the Results  icon

6. Fill out the Result Window Definition dialog box as follows.  Click OK and Show when finished.
(use the 'Click to view larger picture button' below to expand image)

7. Your Results look like this:

8. Notice the green area.  No slippage occurred here because of the pressure load in that area. 

The Contact Slippage Indicator is an automatic measure that is created when friction is defined with contact.

Color	Value of Slippage Indicator Measure	Slippage
Red	S > 0	Yes
Green	S < 0	No
Gray	S = 0	-

9. File > Exit Results > NO and close out of dialog boxes.

10. Window > Close .

You have completed this Exercise, continue to Next Page.

Results

The intent of this tutorial is to highlight enhancements made to displaying results in Mechanica.

• Edit legend values from the result screen
• Dynamic query using a capping surface
• Selection of surfaces for results from geometry
• Show explode state during results
• Export an AVI file of an animation

The functionality covered in this tutorial is included with Pro/ENGINEER Mechanica.

1. Open  4913003.asm.

This assembly is made up of two halves of a brake caliper.  Both of these parts are made up of aluminum alloy.

2. Applications > Mechanica > Continue.

All of the materials, constraints and loading conditions have been applied and the analysis has already been run.

3. Create a result window.

• Click on Results  (Analysis > Results)
• Click on Insert a New Definition (Insert > Result Window)
• Select Caliper and then click Open
• Define the Result Window Definition as follows (use the 'Click to view larger picture button' below)

4. Change the Legend values on screen.

• Edit > Legend Value
• Click on the 3.052e+02 value and change it to 200
• Enter Yes when asked about distributing it

5. Use Dynamic query on a capping surface

• Insert > Cutting/Capping Surf
• Fill out dialog box with following

• Apply and then select OK
• Info > Dynamic Query

• Close the Query box
• Edit > Delete Capping Surf to return to the initial results window

You have completed this Exercise, continue to Next Page.

Making sophisticated analyses accessible to design engineers

6. Change results to only show stress on selected surfaces.

• Edit the Selected Definition  (Edit > Result Window)
• Select the tab called Display Location
• Change All to Surfaces
• Select the

• Select some surfaces that you would like to isolate (the following image is a guideline, but you can select any surfaces that you wish to.  Use CTRL key to select multiple surfaces.

• Click OK or MMB
• Select OK and Show button
• Now you are left with the surfaces you selected

This was possible in previous versions, but now you are able to select surfaces directly from the Pro/Engineer model instead of the Mechanica mesh model.

7. Explode state during results.

Edit the Selected Definition  (Edit > Result Window)
Select the tab called Display Location
Change Surfaces to All
Select OK and Show button
• Select View > Explode
• Change it back to unexploded by repeating the last step

8. Create an AVI file.

• Edit the Selected Definition  (Edit > Result Window)
• Select the tab called Display Options
• Put a check mark in the Animate box and increase the frames to 12
• Select OK and Show button 

• Select File > Export > Movie
• Click on the Open  icon.
• Change the type to AVI and enter a filename (caliper1)
• Then click Save button
• Change the Output Settings to NTSC CDROM
• Lastly, click Export button to create the movie in the working directory that you navigated to after clicking on the open icon.

• View the movie by navigating to the save folder in Windows Explorer.

9. File > Exit Results > NO and close out of dialog boxes

10. Window > Close .

You have completed the Simulation Tutorial.