Using ‘Parameters’ in multi-step simulations (ANSYS Mechanical)

- January 3, 2019 at 5:39 am
  
  micsinco
  Subscriber
  
  Hi,
  
  I'm modelling a bolted steelwork arrangement in ANSYS Mechanical. The model includes bolt pretension forces and an applied load. The pretension is applied in the first timestep and locked during the second. The applied load is only applied during the second timestep.
  
  I want to efficiently obtain results at many different bolt pretension and applied load values. In other single-timestep models I've developed I could set the applied loads and desired results as parameters, and efficiently run multiple models through the 'Parameters' interface.
  
  It appears that you can no longer use 'Parameters' if the model has more than one time-step. Is there an alternative tool I could use to efficiently run multiple models with different input load values?
- January 3, 2019 at 1:35 pm
  
  peteroznewman
  Subscriber
  
  If you were skilled at APDL, you may be able to write out your model as APDL, add some code to create the parameter and run that code. I don't know how to do that but there are members on this site that might describe how to do that.
  
  Another idea is to see if the INISTATE command could be used. I don't know for sure that this would work, but the idea is that a model that has one step, the bolt pretensioning step, is solved and the state of stress is written to a file. Then a second model that has only one step, the applied load, has the INISTATE command to read in the initial stress. Again, members on this site might be able to help you get this working.
- April 13, 2022 at 1:00 am
  
  SikulskyiS
  Subscriber
  
  Hi everyone,I faced the same issue and found a solution to it. It is not the prettiest one but worked for me and I hope it helps someone not to waste a couple of hours on that :). If projected to the micsinco's (original question author) problem, it probably should look like the following:nYou leave your pretension as you have (the pretension is defined by a parameter set, applied at the first time step, and locked during time step 2). Then, if you want to define another force through a parameter set and apply it at a different time step, you first select it to be a parameter like you would do normally, and then, in the Tabular data, you right-click and Activate/Deactivate at this step the steps you want the force not to be applied at.nnn