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Analysis.
In this exercise, we will perform a thermal transient/static structural analysis of
a rocket engine turbo pump flow guide. The flow guide redirects combustion
gases through the pump during operation. Before launch, the flow guide is
cooled to cryogenic temperatures as liquid oxygen is pumped through it.
During launch, the superheated combustion gases heat the flow guide from
cryogenic temperatures (-350F) to over 1400F in approximately 10-seconds.
Although there are negligible mechanical stresses on the part, thermal
gradients are very severe.
The rocket engine is part of a reusable vehicle, which is designed to last for 50
missions. Post flight inspections reveal that the flow guide develops thermo
mechanical fatigue (TMF) cracks in the guide vanes after only one flight.
The goal of the analysis is to determine the time point after launch that has the
highest thermal gradient through the wall of the flow guide, and perform a
stress analysis at this limiting point.
Page 1
Page 2
Outline:
1. Launch ANSYS/Professional with the MTB
2. Setup Tab:
3. Model Tab:
3.1. Model Import:
3.2. Scale Model
3.3. Mesh
3.4. Mesh Refinement
4. Thermal B.C.s
5. ANSYS/Mechanical Interface
5.1. Save model
5.2. Launch Classic GUI
5.3. Material Properties
6. Thermal Solution
6.1. Solution Options
6.2. Initial Conditions
6.3. Output Controls
6.4. Nonlinear Options
6.5. Solve
8. Structural Modeling
8.1. Convert to Structural model
Page 3
9. Structural Solution
9.1. Solve
11. Conclusions
Page 4
Step-by-step Instructions:
Before beginning this problem, create a separate folder on your computer for
this job and copy the flowguide Parasolid part file flowguide.x_t to this folder
from the InputFiles folder on the CD.
1. Launch ANSYS/Professional
1.1. Launch ANSYS using your start menu.
A. Browse to select the working directory you just created for this job.
B. Enter a job name (Rocket1). All ANSYS files created for this problem
will have a filename of rocket1 followed by a unique extension.
C. Change the workspace and database sizes for this job to be 512 and
256 respectively.
D. Click RUN to start the ANSYS GUI.
1.1.A
1.1.B
1.1.C
1.1.D
Page 5
2. Setup
2.1. In the Mechanical Toolbar (MTB), we will set the basic analysis type
options.
A. Change Structural to Thermal. Steady-State will be the only available
Analysis type.
2.1.A
2.1.B
C. Enter
title
for
the
2.1.C
Page 6
E.
F. A menu dialog appears for you to enter menu preferences and other
information. Click on the User Info tab.
2.1.E
G. This step is optional. You can enter your name, company name, and
address. Click OK when finished.
2.1.F
Page 7
H.
3. Model
3.1. Under the Model tab, we import the geometry file and mesh the part.
A. Click on the Model tab in the MTB.
3.1.A
3.1.D
B. Click on the Import Geometry box to bring up the model import dialog.
3.1.B
3.1.D
3.1.E
3.1.C
Page 8
F.
G. Another dialog box will open asking you to choose import options.
Select 3-D Solid.
H. Leave the No model clean-up (faster) option set.
3.1.F
3.1.G
3.1.H
I. Click OK.
Page 9
J. ANSYS will import the Parasolid file and draw the part in the graphics
window. Use the dynamic viewing controls to view all portions of the
model. This is a 1/22 symmetry segment of the full flow guide.
3.2. Scale Model:
Parasolid models like the one we imported usually come from Unigraphics. If
a UG model was build in English units (inches), UG converts the file to metric
units (meters) when it writes the Parasolid file. When ANSYS imports this file,
it has no way of knowing if the originating part was in English or Metric units,
so it imports the file as is. In our case, we must convert the file back to
English units. This involves scaling it back from meters to inches (multiply by
39.37).
We can perform this scaling by temporarily activating the ANSYS Classic
interface.
A. In the ANSYS Utilities Menu, click MenuCtrls:
B. Main Menu:
C. Preprocessor:
3.1.I
Page 10
3.2.A
3.2.B
3.2.C
Page 11
D.
E. Operate:
F. Scale:
G. Volumes:
H. Pick All:
3.2.D
3.2.E
3.2.F
3.2.G
Page 12
I. Enter 39.37 for all three scale factors (RX, RY, RZ).
J. Change the Copied button to Moved. Otherwise you will end up with
two brackets, one the original size, and the other the correct scaled
size.
K. OK. A warning about ANSYS dialogs: Apply executes the function
and leaves the dialog open. OK executes the function and closes the
dialog. If you click Apply, it may appear that nothing happened when
in fact, your model was scaled. Then, if you click OK, your model will
be scaled twice.
3.2.H
3.2.I
3.2.J
L. The model is now scaled to the correct dimensions. We can turn off the
ANSYS input window and return to the MTB. Click MenuCtrls
M. Click on the Main Menu button to turn it off.
3.2.K
3.2.L
Page 13
N.
3.3. Meshing: We will use the SmartSize meshing to create an initial
coarse mesh on the part, then use the MeshTool to illustrate an
advanced feature to refine elements at an expected area of interest.
A. The slider bar in the MTB controls the SmartSize mesh density in
various levels from very coarse (right most setting) to very fine (left
most setting). Drag the slider two notches to the right (coarser setting).
This will be the third tick from the right.
B. Click on the Mesh Model button to create the mesh. This may take a
few minutes due to the complexity of the model.
3.3.A
3.3.B
Page 14
C. A mesh should appear similar to the one shown here. Use the dynamic
viewing controls to view all sides of the model. Notice that the
SmartSize mesher adjusted the mesh density to be fine in areas of
high curvature, or small features.
3.3.C
Page 15
D.
3.4. Mesh Refinement:
Engine test data tells us that the flow guide cracks in the areas shown below.
This is caused by the flow guide vanes bending due to the high thermal
gradient through them. The mesh in these fillets and the vanes should be
refined since they are the areas of interest. We will use some advanced
meshing features to refine the mesh in this location.
Maximum stresses
occur in these areas.
Page 16
B. A new dialog box will pop up with many advanced features for
controlling and refining the mesh. Some of these features are
described below:
Page 17
C.
D. We will use the default feature which is to refine at elements. Other
options include refine at volumes, areas, lines, etc.
E. Click the Refine button.
F. A dialog box will appear asking you to select elements for refinement.
Click on the Polygon button to activate polygon selection.
Page 18
3.4.E
3.4.H
3.4.C
3.4.D
Page 19
G.
H. Use the Pan/Zoom/Rotate function to orient the model as shown below.
3.4.F
3.4.G
I. Draw polygons shown to select the elements in the lower portion of each
vane and the fillet areas between the vanes and main body of the flow
guide. Elements are selected when you close each polygon.
J. OK.
K. A dialog box will appear asking you to select the level of refinement.
Accept the default (1 minimal) and click OK. ANSYS will refine the
mesh. This may take a few minutes.
3.4.I
Page 20
L.
M. Notice how the elements in this region have been refined. Use the
Pan/Zoom/Rotate function to see a detailed view of the new mesh.
3.4.J
Page 21
Adiabadic (symmetry)
surfaces (red)
Page 22
For thermal analyses, the ANSYS MTB offers four types of boundary conditions
that can be applied to the geometry entities (keypoints, lines, or areas). These
are enforced temperatures, heat flows, heat flux, or convection loads as shown
below. The default is to apply these boundary conditions on areas, but each
button has a fly-out menu for you to select other geometric entities for application
such as keypoints or lines. The fly-out menus are activated by clicking and
holding the mouse over one of the load buttons.
Heat
Flow
Enforced
Temperature
Heat
Flux
Convection
Page 23
Blue: 77.0e-6
BTU/in**2*s*F),
1400F Gas Temp
Page 24
Since there are many surfaces on this model and it would be difficult to pick
each one, the easiest way to apply the desired loads is by the following
procedure:
Apply the 77.0e-6 convection load to all surfaces using the pick all
button.
Apply the 580.0e-6 convection load to the vane flow surfaces. This
load will overwrite the previously applied load.
The adiabatic surfaces are defined by deleting the convection loads
from that surface. Adiabatic is defined as no heat in or out of that
surface. This is appropriate for a symmetry surface and is the
default for any surface with no boundary conditions applied.
B. Click on the Area Convection button. The default is to apply to areas,
so we dont need to activate the fly-out menu.
C. A dialog box will appear asking you to select areas. Click on the pick
all button.
D. Enter 77e-6 for the convection load and 1400 for the bulk temperature.
E. OK.
4.1.B
4.1.D
4.1.E
4.1.C
Exercise 4: Rocket Engine Turbopump Flowguide Analysis
Page 25
F. ANSYS will draw BC symbols on all surfaces which will make it difficult
for you to pick surfaces for the next load condition.
4.1.F
4.1.G
Page 26
We will now apply the convection load to the flow path surfaces. We could
pick each area when the convection load application prompts us to, but with
this method it is difficult to see all the surfaces to be sure our selection process
was correct. Instead, we will use the ANSYS select logic to first isolate all the
flow path areas from the rest of the model. This way we can visually see and
verify that only the areas we want to apply loads to are selected. The select
logic in ANSYS is a very powerful tool that is worth spending some time
getting comfortable with.
H. In the ANSYS utilities menu, click the Select button.
I. Click Entities.
J. Change items to select from Nodes to Areas.
K. There are four radio buttons indicating the type of select operation you
want to perform. These are described below. We will use the default
which is to select From Full.
L. Click the Apply button.
4.1.H
4.1.I
4.1.J
4.1.K
Page 27
M.
N. A select dialog box will appear for you to select areas. If you click and
hold the left mouse button while dragging across the screen, each area
to be selected will be highlighted. The area is not actually selected
until you release the button. The hot spot for each area is the
geometric center, which may not even lie on that area if it is a curved
surface like the fillets. You will have to use the dynamic viewing
controls to obtain a better orientation for selecting each area. Be sure
to pick all areas on both sides of the part. If you accidentally select a
wrong area, click the right mouse button. The cursor will change from
an upward pointing arrow to a downward pointing arrow indicating that
you can now unpick items from the selection with the left mouse
button. Click the right button again to toggle back to picking. When
you have selected all the areas on the flow path, click OK.
O. Next, click the replot button in the select entities box. Only those
entitles which you selected should be displayed. If you did not get all
the areas shown in the plot below or have additional areas you dont
want, you use the radio buttons to Also Select or Unselect from this set
until it is correct. Be sure to replot after selection to verify that the set
looks like the one shown below.
4.1.M
4.1.N
Page 28
After replotting, you should have only the selected areas shown below.
Page 29
P. Now we can easily apply the convection load to these surfaces. Click
the Area Convection button as we did before.
Q. Pick All
R. Enter 580e-6 for the convection coefficient and 1400 for the bulk
temperature.
S. OK.
An important point has just been demonstrated here. Every command
executed in ANSYS only operates on entities that are selected at the time
you issue the command. Even though we said Pick All, the loads were only
applied to the selected set of areas. This is a very powerful feature that can
be used to simplify modeling, or can lead to error if you are not careful. It is
well worth assigning a few brain cells to keeping this thought in active memory.
4.1.O
4.1.Q
4.1.R
4.1.P
Exercise 4: Rocket Engine Turbopump Flowguide Analysis
Page 30
T.
U. Next, we want to restore all areas to the selected set. In the Utilities
menu, pick Select.
V. Everything.
4.1.S
4.1.T
W. Click the Plot Volumes fly-out . The entire model should be restored.
4.1.U
Page 31
X.
Lastly, the adiabatic or symmetry surfaces must be defined. Adiabatic means
no heat in or out of the surface. This is the default condition for any surface
that does not have any thermal boundary conditions applied. We will do this
by deleting the convection loads from the symmetry surfaces shown in red on
the figure at the beginning of section 4.1.
Y. Click the Delete BC button in the MTB. This button switches the
boundary condition apply functions to delete functions.
4.1.V
Page 32
AA. A new dialog box will appear for you to select areas. Note title at the
top of this box that says select areas to delete convection loads.
4.1.X
4.1.Z
BB. Select the three symmetry faces on both sides of the flow guide.
These are the red areas in the figure at the top of section 4.1. You will
have to use the dynamic viewing controls to select areas on both sides
of the part. There should be six areas total. Be sure to get them all.
CC. Click OK.
Page 33
4.1.Y
Page 34
5. ANSYS Mechanical:
We have now completed meshing the model and applying the thermal
boundary conditions. In order to continue, we will require the functionality of
ANSYS/Mechanical to add temperature dependant material properties and to
perform the thermal transient solution.
5.1. Before proceeding, lets save our work.
A. Click the save model button in the MTB.
5.1.A
5.1.B
5.1.C
Page 35
5.2.A
B. A dialog will appear asking you which environment you want to use.
This is the set of load conditions we want to preserve. Since we only
defined one set of loads or environment, click OK.
5.2.B
Page 36
C.
D. A warning message will appear indicating that loads have been
transferred from the geometry to the nodes and elements and that care
must be taken if/when subsequent loads are applied in full ANSYS.
Dismiss this warning when you are through reading it.
5.2.C
Temp
Modulus
Poissons
Ratio
Thermal
Expansion
Density
Thermal
Conductivity
Specific
Heat
-350
38.0e+6
0.380
3.15e-6
8.12e-4
6.20e-6
24.1
-200
36.5e+6
0.350
3.16e-6
8.12e-4
6.28e-6
24.7
70
34.0e+6
0.320
3.17e-6
8.12e-4
6.55e-6
25.4
200
32.5e+6
0.310
3.18e-6
8.12e-4
6.73e-6
26.0
500
30.5e+6
0.305
3.23e-6
8.12e-4
7.10e-6
26.7
800
28.0e+6
0.300
3.33e-6
8.12e-4
7.80e-6
27.3
1100
24.0e+6
0.300
3.41e-6
8.12e-4
8.50e-6
27.8
1400
21.0E+6
0.300
3.45e-6
8.12e-4
9.10e-6
28.3
Page 37
5.3.A
5.3.B
5.2.C
Page 38
D. A material property dialog will appear for you to select the type of
properties you want to define. Under Material Models Defined, there
are four models predefined for you by the ANSYS Mechanical Toolbar.
Our flowguide model references the lowest property ID of 1. We will
redefine the properties for this model.
E. Pick Structural
F. Linear
G. Elastic
H. Isotropic
5.3.E
5.3.F
5.3.D
5.3.G
5.3.H
Page 39
I. A dialog box will appear for you to enter the linear elastic structural
properties of modulus and poisons ratio. The temperature field is
grayed out by default, which assumes that your properties are not
temperature dependant. Click the Add Temperature button and
another column will appear with the temperature fields now active.
5.3.I
J. Enter the modulus and poissons ratio data for the first two
temperatures as shown below. You will overwrite the existing data.
K. With the cursor still positioned in one of the cells of column T2, click the
Add Temperature button.
5.3.J
5.3.K
Page 40
L. A new temperature column will be added after column T2. Had the
cursor been positioned in column T1 when you clicked the Add
Temperature button, the new column would have been positioned
between the two columns you just filled with data. Continue adding
data for the next temperature (70 degrees).
M. Click the Add Temperature button again and repeat the procedure until
you have entered all the modulus and poissons ratio data in the table
at the beginning of this section.
5.3.L
5.3.M
N. After the data has been entered for all 8 temperatures, pick the Graph
button click over the Ex field.
5.3.N
Page 41
5.3.P
Page 42
OK, I know what youre thinking Remain Calm! Were not going to make you
do this again four more times for the other property tables. ANSYS has the
ability for you to create your own materials database. We created one for the
stainless steel you are using in this problem. All you have to do is import it.
Q. In the Materials Property Dialog, Click Material Library
R. Import Library
S. Select BIN for the units.
T. OK
5.3.Q
5.3.R
5.3.S
5.3.T
Page 43
U.
V. Change the material ID number to 1
W. Depending on your system, you may have to select the drive and
location to your working directory where this file is stored.
X. Highlight the stainless.bin_mpl file.
Y. OK
You can create material data files yourself using a text editor, or by inputing
properties through the menu like we just did, and exporting them to a
database file.
5.3.U
5.3.W
5.3.V
5.3.X
Page 44
Z. The properties will be listed for you in a list window. Close this window
when you are through reviewing the properties.
5.3.Y
Page 45
6. Thermal Solution:
6.1. Thermal Solution Options:
We have completed the model definition, boundary conditions, and material
property definition for the thermal solution. Now we must set some of the
nonlinear solution options before solving the thermal transient solution.
A. Enter the Solution module by clicking on Solution in the ANSYS Main
Menu.
B. Click the New Analysis button.
6.1.B
6.1.A
Page 46
C.
D. In the dialog that appears, select Transient Analysis.
E. OK
F. Another dialog will appear for you to choose solution method.
default is Full Newton Raphson method which we will accept.
The
G. OK
6.1.C
6.1.D
6.1.E
6.1.F
Page 47
H.
I. In the Solution menu, click Fast Soln Optn
J. Accept the default which is Fastest. OK.
6.1.G
6.1.H
Page 48
6.2.A
6.2.B
6.2.C
Page 49
D.
E. Pick All
F. Select TEMP
G. Enter 350
H. OK.
6.2.D
6.2.E
6.2.F
6.2.G
Page 50
6.3.B
6.3.A
Page 51
C.
D. The settings you apply in this dialog box are cumulative, meaning that
anything you select is added to the current setting. In order to write
nodal temperatures ONLY, we must first turn off all existing settings
and then add what we want. Select the None button. This will
suppress all items.
E. Apply
6.3.C
6.3.D
Page 52
F.
G. Next, select Nodal DOF Solu from the items to be controlled list.
H. Select Every substep
I. OK.
6.3.E
6.3.F
6.3.G
Page 53
J.
6.4. Time Step Options.
Lastly we need to set the time step options. The ANSYS automatic solution
control could be used as is to set the initial, minimum and maximum time
steps sizes to obtain the solution. However, the program would perform
several restarts until it determines the appropriate time step sizes for this
problem, and thus waste a lot of CPU time. This feature is valuable when you
solve a new class of problems and dont know what settings are appropriate.
As you gain an understanding of your typical problems, you will find that you
can speed solution by wisely choosing the initial settings. To speed solution,
we will provide you with the best settings.
Again, these settings are dependant on the class of problem and are usually
obtained through trial and error.
A. Select Time/Frequency in the Solution menu.
B. Time Time Step
6.4.B
6.4.A
Page 54
6.4.C
6.4.D
6.4.E
6.4.F
6.4.G
6.4.H
Page 55
6.5.A
6.5.B
Page 56
C.
D. In the Solution menu under Solve- pick Current LS.
6.5.C
Page 57
E.
F. A dialog box will appear showing the current solution options you
selected. Take a moment to verify that your settings match what is
shown below. Dismiss this window when you are finished reviewing it.
6.5.D
6.5.E
Page 58
H.
I. A dialog box will appear notifying you of any warning messages and
asking if you want to proceed. Click OK. The nonlinear solution may
take several minutes. During solution, the graphics window will track
time stepping and convergence norm so you can monitor the progress.
6.5.F
Click
6.5.G
Page 59
K.
7.1.A
7.1.B
Page 60
7.1.C
Page 61
7.1.E
7.1.F
Page 62
7.1.G
Page 63
7.1.H
We are now ready to post process the thermal solution. The maximum
stresses in the flow guide occur when the thermal gradient is the highest
through the wall of the forward vane. We want to calculate this thermal
gradient and plot it as a function of time throughout the 10 second start
transient. We can do this in the Time History Post Processor.
Page 64
7.2.B
7.2.A
Page 65
C.
D. Add Note that in this dialog, variable 1 for Time has already been
predefined for you. This is a vector containing all the time values from
your solution.
E. Nodal DOF Result
F. OK
7.2.C
7.2.D
7.2.E
Exercise 4: Rocket Engine Turbopump Flowguide Analysis
Page 66
G. A dialog box will appear for you to select a node for the first variable.
7.2.F
Page 67
7.2.G
7.2.H
Page 68
J. A dialog box appears for you to define a label for this variable, and what
data to associate with it. Enter Flowpath for the label.
K. Temperature is your only option for data.
L. OK. ANSYS just defined variable 2 for you, which is the temperature at
the node on the flowpath surface.
M. Pick Add again to add the second variable.
7.2.I
7.2.J
7.2.K
7.2.L
Page 69
N.
O. Nodal DOF is highlighted again. Pick OK
P. Pick the node on the inside vane surface opposite the flowpath node
we previously selected.
7.2.M
7.2.N
Page 70
Q. OK
R. Enter a descriptive label for this variable: Inside
S. OK
7.2.O
7.2.P
7.2.Q
Page 71
7.2.R
7.2.S
Page 72
V.
7.3. Math Operations:
Next, we will define the most important variable, which is the difference
between the flowpath temperature (variable 2) and the inside surface
temperature (variable 3).
A. In the TimeHist PostPro menu, Pick Math Operations
B. ADD
7.3.B
7.3.A
Page 73
C. A rather intimidating dialog box will appear for you to define a new
variable. You will be defining terms of the equation listed at the top of
this dialog box. Note that ANSYS is using the variable numbers. for
this equation. You just defined two of them where 2 is the flowpath
temperature, and 3 is the inside surface temperature. We will define a
new variable 4 (next available), which will be the difference between
variables 2 and 3. For Reference number for result, enter 4.
D. For 1st variable, enter variable number 2 (flowpath temperature).
E. For FACTB, enter 1. This will subtract the second variable.
F. For 2nd variable, enter variable number 3 (inside surface temperature).
G. For the user specified label, enter Delta-T
H. OK
7.3.C
7.3.D
7.3.E
7.3.F
7.3.G
7.3.H
Page 74
I. We can now list and graph these variables as a function of time. Select
Graph Variables from the TimeHist PostProc menu.
J. In the dialog that appears, enter 2, 3, and 4 as variables to graph.
These will be plotted against variable 1 which is the predefined time
variable.
K. OK
7.3.I
7.3.J
7.3.K
Page 75
L. The three variables will be plotted as a function of time. Note that the
maximum Delta-T occurs somewhere between 2-3 seconds.
7.3.L
M. We can list these values to more accurately identify the worst time. In
the TimeHist Postproc menu, click List Variables.
7.3.M
Page 76
7.3.N
7.3.O
7.3.Q
7.3.P
Page 77
7.4.B
7.4.A
Page 78
C.
D. Note that you have results from approximately 11 time points. Make a
note of the set number in this list. In the example below, this is 8.
(Yours may be different).
E. Close.
7.4.C
7.4.D
Page 79
7.4.E
7.4.F
7.4.G
Page 80
I. Temperature results have now been loaded into memory. Select Plot
Results
J. Nodal Solu
K. Temperatures are already highlighted since that is the only result
quantity we saved. Pick OK
7.4.I
7.4.H
7.4.F
7.4.J 7.4.G
Page 81
7.4.K
Page 82
7.4.L
7.4.M
7.4.N
Page 83
P.
Q. You can choose the number of animation frames and load step or time
step range for animation, and the results quantity. In our case, just
accept the defaults by picking OK.
R. The animation will be generated and displayed by your systems video
player. Click the image below for an example.
7.4.O
Page 84
8. Stress Solution:
We are ready to perform the Mechanical stress solution. The procedure is to
convert our finite elements from thermal to structural elements, load in the
temperatures as thermal loads, apply the mechanical boundary conditions,
and solve the stress solution.
8.1. Switch Element Types
A. In the ANSYS Main Menu, Pick PreProcessor
B. Element Type
C. Switch Elem Type
8.1.B
8.1.A
8.1.C
Page 85
D.
E. Select Thermal to Struc
F. OK
8.1.D
8.1.E
G. A warning will appear for you to check element settings and other
model info. Close the box when you are through reading it.
8.1.F
Page 86
8.2.A
8.2.B
8.2.C
Page 87
D.
E. Under Symmetry B.C.- pick On Areas
F. Select the areas shown in purple in the
figure below. Be sure to select the cut
faces on both sides of the model. There
will be 7 areas total. For symmetry
boundary conditions, ANSYS will restrain
the degrees of freedom normal to the
surface of model.
G. OK
8.2.D
8.2.F
8.2.E
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8.2.H
Page 89
J.
K. You should see symmetry symbols on the areas you selected.
8.2.I
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8.3.B
8.3.A
8.3.C
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D. In the dialog box that appears, you can identify the time point from the
thermal solution either by load step and substep number or by the
actual time value. In the example shown below, we enter Load step 1,
and substep 8.
E. Choose the result file, which will be your jobname with a .rth extension.
In our case, this should be rocket1.rth
F. OK
8.3.D
8.3.E
8.3.F
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G.
8.4. Analysis Options.
We will need to set some analysis options before performing the solution.
A. We will now be performing a linear static stress solution, which is the
default type of analysis in ANSYS. In the solution menu, pick New
Analysis
8.4.A
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8.4.B
8.4.C
8.4.D
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E. All the other settings (time step options, results file output controls, etc.)
need to be reset to their default options which is appropriate for a
linear static analysis. We can do this with one reset command. In the
Solution menu under Load Step Opts- pick Reset Options...
8.4.E
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F. OK
8.4.F
G. Lets change the title for the analysis to identify the condition we are
analyzing. In the Utility menu, pick File.
H. Change Title
8.4.G
8.4.H
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Turbopump
Flowguide.
8.4.I
8.4.J
9. Structural Solution.
9.1. Solve
A. We are ready to perform the structural solution. Before doing so, lets
save our work. In the Utilities menu, pick File
B. Save as Jobname.db
9.1.A
9.1.B
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9.1.C
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D. A status window will appear. Note that all the load step options and
output controls have been reset for a linear static solution as shown
below. Dismiss this window when you are finished reading it.
E. OK. The solution may take several minutes.
F. A dialog box will appear indicating that the solution is complete. Pick
Close to dismiss this box.
9.1.D
9.1.E
9.1.F
Exercise 4: Rocket Engine Turbopump Flowguide Analysis
Page 99
10.1.A
10.1.B
10.1.C
Page 100
10.1.D
10.1.E
Page 101
F. Notice the high stress areas in the lower fillet between the forward vane
and the body of the flow guide. What is causing this stress to be so
high?
Since the flow path surface of the vane heats up faster than the inner surface,
it tends to expand more than the inner surface, which creates a bending
condition that is reacted out at this fillet location.
10.1.F
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G. Notice the high stress in the top fillet between the vane and main body.
What is causing this stress concentration?
10.1.G
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You should have noticed by now the spotty nature of the stress contours. We
would expect the stress distribution to be smooth. What does this tell us about
our model? Stress gradients are very high due to the extreme temperature
gradients in the part. Remember from the thermal analysis that the gradient
through the vane wall was well over 800 degrees. Our vane wall has at most
two elements through the thickness. Is this adequate to capture the stress
field accurately? Probably not, but it is good enough to capture the general
response of the part under these conditions. You will notice in the plots to
come that many regions need mesh refinement.
If we were calculating the LCF life or strength margins on this part, we should
probably repeat the analysis with a much finer mesh. That, of coarse, would
require much longer run times and greater computer resources.
10.2. Cut Plane Viewing
Much of the surface area of the flow guide is hidden from view due to its
hollow nature. We can use some advanced graphics plotting to create a cut
plane view to reveal the inner surfaces of the part. Next we will orient the
ANSYS Working Plane to graphically split the flow guide in half for better
viewing.
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A. Reorient the viewing area as shown in the plot below. In the ANSYS
utility menu, pick WorkPlane
B. Display Working Plane.
C. The Work Plane will be drawn as a small grid. Notice that it is currently
oriented on the plane of the front face of the flow guide.
10.2.A
10.2.B
10.2.C
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D. We want to orient this work plane so that it cuts the flow guide in half
long ways. Note that the triad on the workplane grid indicates that the
X-axis is pointing up. If we can rotate the working plane 90-degrees
about its X-axis, it will be positioned correctly. In the Utility menu, pick
WorkPlane again.
E. Offset WP by Increments
10.2.D
10.2.E
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Page 107
G. In order to rotate the work plane 90 degrees about the X-axis, you can
either drag the degree slider bar over to 90-degrees, then click the +X
button, or leave the slider set at 30-degrees and click the +X button 3
times.
H. Do so now and orient the work plane as shown in the plot below.
10.2.G
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10.2.H
Page 109
10.2.I
10.2.K
10.2.J
Page 110
10.2.L
10.2.M
10.2.N
Use the Pan/Zoom/Rotate function to view all sides of the model. What does the
capped view tell us about the stress field in the model?
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10.2.O
10.2.P
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Q. Note the high stress location in the lower vane fillet. From the capped
view plot, we can see that this stress is very local in nature and dies
out very quickly through the thickness of the part. What does that tell
us? The stress is dominated by bending.
10.2.Q
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R. Lets view the principal stresses in order to see which locations are in
tension and compression. In the Postprocessing menu, pick Plot
Results.
S. Nodal Solu
10.2.S
10.2.R
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Page 115
10.2.T
10.2.U
Page 116
V.
W. Next, plot the min principal stress which is the 3rd Principal Stress S3.
Note that the high Von Mises stress in the lower vane fillet is actually a
compressive stress. What does that tell us? The vane must be
bending inward.
10.2.V
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X.
10.3. Animation:
A. Lastly, lets animate the stress results to better visualize how the
bracket deforms during loading.
Before doing so, use the
Pan/Zoom/Rotate function to obtain a view suitable to see the entire
part. Your current view settings will be used to generate the animation
movie.
10.3.A
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10.3.B
10.3.C
10.3.D
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E. Stress
F. VonMises SEQV
G. OK
H. This may take a few minutes while ANSYS generates animation
segments and launches the animation in your media player. Click the
image below to view an animated von Mises plot.
10.3.F
10.3.E
10.3.G
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11. Conclusions:
What have we learned about the design? The thermal loads on the part induce a
high compressive stress in the vane fillets. How could we reduce this stress?
What would be the effect of thickening the vane or increasing the fillet radius?
Since the stresses are primarily driven by thermal gradients, increasing wall the
wall thickness would actually aggravate the problem by increasing the thermal
gradient. We could probably reduce the stresses by decreasing the wall
thickness. What other measures could be taken? What about changing
materials to a lower alpha alloy? What other shape changes would help?
Are there other analyses might be necessary to verify this design? Could other
time points in the mission produce higher stresses in other areas?
Congratulations! You are now a Rocket Scientist
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