Physics Setup — Lesson 5

The following video shows how to specify the physics of the problem: plane stress approximation, material properties (Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio) and boundary conditions. These settings get fed into the element formulation when obtaining the numerical solution later.

Summary of steps in the above video:

1. In Ansys Mechanical, double-check units, behavior, thickness value, and material assignment:
   1. Select Units > U.S. Customary (in, lbm, lbf, F, s, V, A).
   2. In the Project Tree, highlight Geometry. Under Details of "Geometry," verify that 2D Behavior is set to Plane Stress.
   3. In the Project Tree, expand Geometry. Highlight Surface Body. Under Details of "Surface Body," verify Thickness is set to 3in in accordance with problem statement.
   4. Verify Material > Assignment > Structural Steel in accordance with problem statement.
2. To apply displacement constraints:
   1. In the Project Tree, highlight Static Structural.
   2. In the toolbar, select Supports > Fixed Support.
   3. Using the Vertex Selection tool, hold down CTRL button and select bottom two vertices on rectangle. Click Geometry > Apply.
3. To apply loads:
   1. In the Project Tree, highlight Static Structural.
   2. In the toolbar, select Loads > Force.
   3. Using Vertex Selection tool, select a point of load application on the rectangle. Click Geometry > Apply.
   4. Click Define By > Components. Change Y Component value to -10000
4. Save Project.