Chapter 3.

37: Girkmann Verification Problem

3.37 Girkmann Verification Problem


Summary 354

Detailed Description 355
 Results 359

Modeling Tips 361

Input Files 365
3.37- Marc User’s Guide
Summary

Summary

Title Girkmann Verification Problem

Problem features The Girkmann problem is a numerical verification exercise in solid
mechanics proposed by Juhani Pitkäranta, Ivo Babuška, and Barna Szabó
in 2008. The importance of verification is self-evident.
Geometry h
h = 0.06 m Rm = Rc/sin(α)
Rc = 15.00 m
Qα
α = 2π/9
a = 0.60 m α
b = 0.50 m Mα Mα

Rc Qα
ring b
shel
l ρ=
X 33 3
5.71 A a B
k g/m 3
Z Y

p = 27,283.1 N/m2
Rc
CL

Material properties E = 2.059x1010 N/m2,  = 0.0,  = 3335.71 kg/m3

Analysis type Static with elastic material behavior
Boundary conditions Axial displacement at centerline = 0, pressure and gravity loads indicated
Element type Axisymmetric shell and solid elements are connected with displacement
and slope continuity.
FE results Bending moment and 300
Bending Moment (Nm/m)
shear force at shell-ring 250
interface; meridional
200
angle at maximum
bending moment. The 150

authors invited their 100

readers to solve this
problem and verify the 50
Meridional Angle (degrees)
results are accurate to 0

within 5 percent. The 10 20 30 40

-50
results herein are within 38.137o

0.50 percent.

ρ=3
335
.71
kg /
m3

CL p = 27,283.1 N/m2
 CHAPTER 3.37 3.37-
Girkmann Verification Problem

The Girkmann problem consists of a spherical shell connected to a stiffening ring at the crown radius.
The objective of the analysis is to accurately estimate: a) the shear force and bending moment acting at
the junction between the spherical shell and the stiffening ring b) determine the location (meridional
angle) and the magnitude of the maximum bending moment in the shell. The model problem was first
discussed by Girkmann in 1956, subsequently by Timoshenko and Woinowski-Krieger in 1959. The
results are compared to the solutions by the classical methods to demonstrate the accuracy.

Detailed Description
Element type 1, an axisymmetric, straight, thick-shell element is used for modeling the spherical shell
and element type 10, an axisymmetric, four-node, quadrilateral element is used to model the stiffening
ring. The geometry for the Girkmann problem is shown in Figure 3.37-1. The x axis is the axis of
rotational symmetry. A spherical shell of thickness h and mid-surface radius Rm, is connected to a
stiffening ring at the meridional angle α and a crown radius of Rc. The dimensions of the ring are a and b.
h
h = 0.06 m Rm = Rc/sin(α)
Rc = 15.00 m
Qα
α = 2π/9
a = 0.60 m α
b = 0.50 m Mα Mα

Rc Qα
ring b
shel
l ρ=
33 3
X 5.71 A a B
k g/m 3
Z Y

p = 27,283.1 N/m2
Rc
CL

Figure 3.37-1 The Girkmann Problem Geometry

3.37- Marc User’s Guide
Detailed Description

A close-up of the shell-ring intersection for the Girkmann problem is shown in Figure 3.37-2. The Mesh
consists of 2208 elements and 2270 nodes.

Figure 3.37-2 The Girkmann Shell - Ring Close-up

The axisymmetric solid elements for the stiffening ring are generated by *add_elements and re-meshed
with *subdivide_elements (Figure 3.37-3). The axisymmetric shell elements for the spherical shell are
generated using *expand_nodes.

Z Y

Figure 3.37-3 Building the Ring using Subdivide

 CHAPTER 3.37 3.37-
Girkmann Verification Problem

A local Cartesian coordinate system (*new_coord_system) is created with the shell solid intersection
node as origin, the local X axis along the 400 inclined edge of the ring and the local Y axis normal to
that. All the nodes on the 400 inclined edge of the ring and the end node of the shell at the intersection
are transformed into this co-ordinate system (Figure 3.37-4).

n
io
ct
re
Di
lX
ca
Lo

Lo
ca
lY
Di
re
ct
io
n

Z Y

Figure 3.37-4 Coordinate Transformation (colored arrows) for Joining the Shell and Ring

Servo links constrain the translation and rotation displacements of the end node of the shell joining the
inclined edge of the ring. The local Y displacement of the nodes on the ring edge is the sum (with
appropriate sign) of the local Y displacement of the end node of the shell at the intersection and Z rotation
times the distance of that node from the end node of the shell (see Figure 3.37-8). The local X and local
Y displacement of the coincident nodes of solid and shell at the intersection are constrained to be equal.
3.37- Marc User’s Guide
Detailed Description

The material for all elements is linear elastic, isotropic with Young’s modulus of 2.059e10 N/m2 and
density of 3335.71 Kg/m3. Pressure of 27283.14706 N/m2 is applied is applied to the bottom face (left)
of the ring as an edge load (Figure 3.37-5). An acceleration of -9.81 m/s2 is applied in the X direction
(although not necessary the Y and Z components of acceleration is set to zero as well) only to the shell
elements, whose mass times this acceleration will determine the weight or gravity load of the shell
structure. The stiffening ring is assumed to be weightless. The displacement of the node on the axis of
symmetry is constrained in the axial direction.

shel
l ρ=
333
5.71
k g/m 3

Rc
p = 27,283.1 N/m2

apply1 -> Axial Disp = 0

X
apply2 -> Pressure Load
Z Y
apply3 -> Gravity Load

CL

Figure 3.37-5 Loads and Boundary Conditions

By design, the axial (vertical in Figure 3.37-5) force on the ring equilibrates the weight of the shell.
 CHAPTER 3.37 3.37-
Girkmann Verification Problem

Results
The internal forces from the force balance file (girkmann_job1.grd) are listed below for the node (2270)
on shell at the intersection.
node 2270 internal force from element 2208 -0.1571E+07 0.1735E+07 0.0000E+00 -0.3475E+04 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00
node 2270 externally applied forces -0.4710E+03 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00
node 2270 tying/mpc forces 0.1572E+07 -0.1735E+07 0.0000E+00 0.3475E+04 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00
node 2270 reaction - residual forces 0.6319E-05 -0.7750E-05 0.0000E+00 0.1676E-07 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00

The bending moment at the shell-ring interface becomes, M  = 3575 3575

------------ = -------------- = 36.871 Nm/m .
D   30 

– 1571000
The axial force at the shell-ring interface becomes, Q  = ------------------------ = – 16668.828 N/m .
D

The radial force at the shell-ring interface becomes, 1735000

Q r = --------------------- = 18408.922 N/m .
D

The shear stress at the shell-ring interface (Figure 3.37-6) is -15658.2 N/m2, and when multiplied by the
thickness gives a shear force of -939.492 N/m.
Inc: 0 -15236.7
Time: 0.000e+000
84066.9

83265.8
7.668e+005 -15404.7
93494.7
-3.277e+004
83583.3
-15573.5
140071
77680
70742.5
-15658.2

66222.7
-32766.4 63572.1

73937.8
62333.3
13389.1 43299.7

X
71077
29697.9
31703.8 61789.1
Z Y
job1 80888.5
42517.6

Comp 12 of Stress Layer 1

Figure 3.37-6 Shear Stress (Component 12) at the Shell-Ring Interface

3.37- Marc User’s Guide
Results

The bending moment is estimated from the shell stresses as follows:

 B =  Comp 11 of Stress at Layer 1 - Comp 11 of Stress at Layer 5   2
2 2
M B =  B  bd  6  =  B  1  0.06   6 
Using the above, the bending moment can be plotted versus the meridional angle as shown in. The
maximum bending moment is 255.103 Nm/m at a meridional angle of 38.137o.
300
Bending Moment (Nm/m)

250

200

150

100

50
Meridional Angle (degrees)
0
10 20 30 40
-50
38.137o

Figure 3.37-7 Bending Moment versus Meridional Angle

The results are summarized below and compared to the reference values.
Result Marc Reference (1) % Error
Bending Moment (Nm/m) 36.871 36.81 0.17%
Axial Force (N/m) -16668.828 -16700 -0.19%
Radial Force (N/m) 18408.922 18400 0.05%
Shear Force (N/m) -939.492 -943.6 -0.44%
Max. Bending Moment in the shell (Nm/m) 255.103 253.97 0.45%
Meridional Angle of Max. BM (degree) 38.137 38.08 0.15%

(1) The Problem of Verification with Reference to the Girkmann Problem by Barna Szabó, Ivo Babuška,
Juhani Pitkäranta, and Sebastian Nervi. The Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences
Report 09-17, 2009. See www.ices.utexas.edu/research/reports/2009/0917.pdf.
Editorial Comment: The above reference is well worth reading; the authors received 15 solutions and
among their comments the following is worth repeating, namely: “Another respondent wrote:
“Regarding verification tasks for structural analysis software that has adequate quality for use in our
safety critical profession of structural engineering, the solution of problems such as the Girkmann
problem represents a minuscule fraction of what is necessary to assure quality.” We [the authors] agree
with this statement. That is why we find it very surprising that the answers received had such a large
dispersion. For example, the reported values of the moment at the shell-ring interface ranged between
-205 and 17977 Nm/m. Solution of the Girkmann problem should be a very short exercise to persons
having expertise in FEA, yet many of the answers were wildly off.”
 CHAPTER 3.37 3.37-
Girkmann Verification Problem

Modeling Tips
To review the model, read in the Marc input file girkmann.dat into Mentat. All of the modeling
information will be present. Axisymmetric models in Marc use the global x axis as the axis of rotation.
The meshing is relatively straight forward and is not repeated here. However, an important feature in this
model are the transformations and constraints between the end shell node (n:2770) where it joins the
inclined plane of the ring (n:11). To review the transformations and constraints let’s read in the input file
and go to modeling tools.
FILES
MARC INPUT FILE
READ
girkmann.dat, OK
SAVE AS
girkmann, OK
FILL
MAIN
MODELING TOOLS
TRANSFORMATONS
TRANSFORMATION PLOT SETTINGS
TRANSFORMATIONS (turn on)
DRAW (should look like Figure 3.37-4)
TRANSFORMATIONS (turn off)
DRAW
MAIN
LINKS
SERVO LINKS (see Figure 3.37-8)
MAIN
We see that servo link 1 in Figure 3.37-8, constrains the ring node 110 to have its second degree of
freedom related to the second (translation normal to incline) and third (rotation) of the end shell node
2770 by the moment arm of length 0.03m. This is repeated 15 more times for all nodes along the ring
incline edge. Servo link 17 and 18, simply equate the first and second degrees of freedom to the
coincident nodes 2270 of the shell and 11 of the ring. These servo links are automatically generated with
the N to 1 SERVOS button, where you need only select the proper nodes and all of the coefficients (aka
moment arms) are computed automatically by Mentat.
Furthermore, since the shell elements have three degrees of freedom per node, while the ring elements
have only two degrees of freedom per node, node 11 and node 2270 should never be the same node
number, but constrained together as shown here. Also since the nodes are separate, the results will not
be nodal averaged across the shell and solid axisymmetric elements. Finally, getting this step wrong will
give incorrect results that may not be obvious.
3.37- Marc User’s Guide
Modeling Tips

2262
2263 110 109 108

2264 121
132
2265
0.03
143
2266
154
2267
165
2268 176
Lo
ca 2269 187
lX
Z, dof 3 ,d
of 2270 11
Lo 1
ca 22
lY
,d 33
of
2 44
55
66
X 77
88
Z Y Servo 1: dof 2 n:110 =1*dof 2 n: 2270 + 0.03*dof 3 n:2270
99

Figure 3.37-8 Servo Link 1

You may wish to run the model; to do so simply go to Jobs, run and submit the simulation, for example
JOBS
RUN
SUBMIT
After the simulation completes, let’s examine how we can produce check the validity of the servo links,
the bending moment versus meridional angle shown in Figure 3.37-7, and some other ways to help
visualize the results.
OPEN POST FILE (RESULTS MENU) (opens results and jumps to results menu)
DEFORMED SHAPE SETTINGS
AUTOMATIC (turn on)
RETURN
DEF & ORIG (should look like Figure 3.37-9)
The servo links must keep the angle (a right angle in this case) between the shell and ring edge the same
before and after deformation. Since the deformations are very small, the scaling of the deformed shape
was set to automatic and the magnification factor is over 400 in Figure 3.37-9.
 CHAPTER 3.37 3.37-
Girkmann Verification Problem

Inc: 0
Time: 0.000e+000

Z Y

Figure 3.37-9 Shell-Ring Edge Originally Perpendicular must remain Perpendicular - Displacements
Automatically Magnified over 400 times.

The strategy to computing the bending moment in the shell is simple; we will just collect bending stress
along a path from the centerline to the end shell node.
PATH PLOT
NODE PATH
n:803 n:2270 #
ADD CURVES
ADD CURVE
Arc Length
Comp 11 of Stress Layer 1
Arc Length
Comp 11 of Stress Layer 5
SHOW ID 100
FIT (should look like Figure 3.37-10)
RETURN
CLIPBOARD COPY TO
The xy data is now in the clipboard and can be exported to Microsoft Excel for additional processing to
compute the bending moment from the bending stresses at the top and bottom layers of the shell element
that was used to produce the plot in Figure 3.37-7.
3.37- Marc User’s Guide
Modeling Tips

Y (x1e5)
-0.025 2130

2030

1930 2230

1830
830 930 1030 1130 1230 1330 1430
1530
1430 1630
1730
15301730
1630

1830

1930 2230

2030

-8.529 2130
0 1.629
Arc Length (x10)
Comp 11 of Stress Layer 1 Comp 11 of Stress Layer 5 1
Figure 3.37-10 Bending Stress of Top and Bottom Shell Layers along Arc Length of Shell Elements from
Center Line to Shell-ring Intersection

Also we can use the expand feature to expand (rotated 40o) our results about the axis of rotation.
Inc: 0
Time: 0.000e+000

-2.520e+003

-4.939e+004

-9.625e+004

-1.431e+005

-1.900e+005

-2.369e+005

-2.837e+005

-3.306e+005

-3.775e+005

-4.243e+005

-4.712e+005 X
Z
Y
job1
Comp 11 of Stress Layer 1 4

Figure 3.37-11 Axisymmetric Shell Element Results Expanded about the Rotational Symmetry Axis
 CHAPTER 3.37 3.37-
Girkmann Verification Problem

Finally we can visualize the shell-ring intersection by closing the post file and adjusting the plot settings
as follows:
MAIN
RESULTS
CLOSE
MAIN
GEOMETRIC PROPERTIES
PLOT SETTINGS SHELL
PLOT EXPANDED
DEFAULT THICKNESS = 0.06
DRAW (should look like Figure 3.37-12)
06
0.

Shell
Servo Links

Ring

Z Y

Figure 3.37-12 Expanded Shell Plot Showing the Shell’s Thickness at the Shell-Ring Intersection

Hence we can see that the thickness of the shell is identical to the length of the inclined ring edge that
has all of the servo links illustrated in Figure 3.37-8.

Input Files
The files below are on your delivery media or they can be downloaded by your web browser by clicking
the links (file names) below.

File Description
girkmann.dat Marc input file to run the above problem
3.37- Marc User’s Guide
Input Files