Learning Forum

[cristiana]

i, I’m trying to model a simple parallelepiped that is being welded. I got a working thermal simulation, but in my structural simulation all the results are 0 everywhere.

I made the transient thermal simulation with a moving heat source, which is set up through an APDL script. This simulation works without problems.

Moving on to the structural simulation, in workbench I’ve connected the models of thermal and structural together and solution with setup. I’ve assigned a material that has defined all the properties I need (so young modules, passion ratio, yield strength and tangent modulus which are temperature dependent, specific heat, thermal conductivity).
I’ve set up some boundaries (fixed support, frictionless, I’ve tried with different combinations).
Under “imported load” I can see “imported body temperature” and if I change the active row I can properly see the load, similarly to what I see in solution of the thermal simulation.
Under analysis settings, I made sure to have everywhere the same step settings that are in the APDL code (I have two steps, one for “welding” which is 10s long, and one for “cooling” which lasts 20s).

Still, when I run the simulation the results I get are 0 everywhere, for both total deformation and equivalent stress.

I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong, how should I fix it? Is it possible that I have to also insert the APDL code for the moving heat source in the structural simulation too? Is there something else I should be doing that I’m missing?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

[dlooman]

You didn't mention the coefficient of thermal expansion property (alpx), which is the property that couples thermal and structural.