Table of Contents

www.kxcad.net Home > CAE Index > ANSYS Index > Release 11.0 Documentation for ANSYS

1. About This Manual

1.1. Conventions Used in this Manual

1.1.1. Product Codes

1.1.2. Applicable ANSYS Products

1.2. ANSYS Product Capabilities

2. General Element Features

2.1. Element Input

2.1.1. Element Name

2.1.2. Nodes

2.1.3. Degrees of Freedom

2.1.4. Real Constants

2.1.5. Material Properties

2.1.6. Surface Loads

2.1.7. Body Loads

2.1.8. Special Features

2.1.9. KEYOPTS

2.2. Solution Output

2.2.1. Nodal Solution

2.2.2. Element Solution

2.3. Coordinate Systems

2.3.1. Element Coordinate Systems

2.3.2. Elements that Operate in the Nodal Coordinate System

2.4. Linear Material Properties

2.5. Data Tables - Implicit Analysis

2.5.1. GUI-Inaccessible Material Properties

2.5.2. Nonlinear Stress-Strain Materials

2.5.3. Hyperelastic Material Constants

2.5.4. Viscoelastic Material Constants

2.5.5. Magnetic Materials

2.5.6. High-Frequency Electromagnetic Materials

2.5.7. Anisotropic Elastic Materials

2.5.8. Piezoelectric Materials

2.5.9. Piezoresistive Materials

2.5.10. Anisotropic Electric Permittivity Materials

2.5.11. Rate-Dependent Plastic (Viscoplastic) Materials

2.5.12. Gasket Materials

2.5.13. Creep Equations

2.5.14. Shape Memory Alloys

2.5.15. Swelling Equations

2.5.16. MPC184 Joint Materials

2.5.17. Contact Friction

2.5.18. Cohesive Zone Materials

2.6. Material Model Combinations

2.7. Explicit Dynamics Materials

2.8. Node and Element Loads

2.9. Triangle, Prism and Tetrahedral Elements

2.10. Shell Elements

2.11. Generalized Plane Strain Option of 18x Solid Elements

2.12. Axisymmetric Elements

2.13. Axisymmetric Elements with Nonaxisymmetric Loads

2.14. Shear Deflection

2.15. Geometric Nonlinearities

2.16. Mixed u-P Formulation Elements

2.16.1. Element Technologies

2.16.2. 18x Mixed u-P Elements

2.16.3. Applications of Mixed u-P Formulations

2.16.4. Overconstrained Models and No Unique Solution

2.17. Legacy vs. Current Element Technologies

2.18. Automatic Selection of Element Technologies

3. Element Characteristics

3.1. Element Classifications

3.2. Pictorial Summary

3.3. GUI-Inaccessible Elements

I. Element Library

4. Element Library

LINK1 - 2-D Spar (or Truss)

BEAM3 - 2-D Elastic Beam

BEAM4 - 3-D Elastic Beam

SOLID5 - 3-D Coupled-Field Solid

COMBIN7 - Revolute Joint

LINK8 - 3-D Spar (or Truss)

INFIN9 - 2-D Infinite Boundary

LINK10 - Tension-only or Compression-only Spar

LINK11 - Linear Actuator

CONTAC12 - 2-D Point-to-Point Contact

PLANE13 - 2-D Coupled-Field Solid

COMBIN14 - Spring-Damper

PIPE16 - Elastic Straight Pipe

PIPE17 - Elastic Pipe Tee

PIPE18 - Elastic Curved Pipe

PIPE20 - Plastic Straight Thin-Walled Pipe

MASS21 - Structural Mass

BEAM23 - 2-D Plastic Beam

BEAM24 - 3-D Thin-walled Beam

PLANE25 - Axisymmetric-Harmonic 4-Node Structural Solid

MATRIX27 - Stiffness, Damping, or Mass Matrix

SHELL28 - Shear/Twist Panel

FLUID29 - 2-D Axisymmetric Harmonic Acoustic Fluid

FLUID30 - 3-D Acoustic Fluid

LINK31 - Radiation Link

LINK32 - 2-D Conduction Bar

LINK33 - 3-D Conduction Bar

LINK34 - Convection Link

PLANE35 - 2-D 6-Node Triangular Thermal Solid

SOURC36 - Current Source

COMBIN37 - Control

FLUID38 - Dynamic Fluid Coupling

COMBIN39 - Nonlinear Spring

COMBIN40 - Combination

SHELL41 - Membrane Shell

PLANE42 - 2-D Structural Solid

SHELL43 - 4-Node Plastic Large Strain Shell

BEAM44 - 3-D Elastic Tapered Unsymmetric Beam

SOLID45 - 3-D Structural Solid

SOLID46 - 3-D 8-Node Layered Structural Solid

INFIN47 - 3-D Infinite Boundary

MATRIX50 - Superelement (or Substructure)

CONTAC52 - 3-D Point-to-Point Contact

PLANE53 - 2-D 8-Node Magnetic Solid

BEAM54 - 2-D Elastic Tapered Unsymmetric Beam

PLANE55 - 2-D Thermal Solid

SHELL57 - Thermal Shell

PIPE59 - Immersed Pipe or Cable

PIPE60 - Plastic Curved Thin-Walled Pipe

SHELL61 - Axisymmetric-Harmonic Structural Shell

SOLID62 - 3-D Magneto-Structural Solid

SHELL63 - Elastic Shell

SOLID65 - 3-D Reinforced Concrete Solid

PLANE67 - 2-D Coupled Thermal-Electric Solid

LINK68 - Coupled Thermal-Electric Line

SOLID69 - 3-D Coupled Thermal-Electric Solid

SOLID70 - 3-D Thermal Solid

MASS71 - Thermal Mass

PLANE75 - Axisymmetric-Harmonic 4-Node Thermal Solid

PLANE77 - 2-D 8-Node Thermal Solid

PLANE78 - Axisymmetric-Harmonic 8-Node Thermal Solid

FLUID79 - 2-D Contained Fluid

FLUID80 - 3-D Contained Fluid

FLUID81 - Axisymmetric-Harmonic Contained Fluid

PLANE82 - 2-D 8-Node Structural Solid

PLANE83 - Axisymmetric-Harmonic 8-Node Structural Solid

SOLID87 - 3-D 10-Node Tetrahedral Thermal Solid

VISCO88 - 2-D 8-Node Viscoelastic Solid

VISCO89 - 3-D 20-Node Viscoelastic Solid

SOLID90 - 3-D 20-Node Thermal Solid

SHELL91 - Nonlinear Layered Structural Shell

SOLID92 - 3-D 10-Node Tetrahedral Structural Solid

SHELL93 - 8-Node Structural Shell

CIRCU94 - Piezoelectric Circuit

SOLID95 - 3-D 20-Node Structural Solid

SOLID96 - 3-D Magnetic Scalar Solid

SOLID97 - 3-D Magnetic Solid

SOLID98 - Tetrahedral Coupled-Field Solid

SHELL99 - Linear Layered Structural Shell

VISCO106 - 2-D 4-Node Viscoplastic Solid

VISCO107 - 3-D 8-Node Viscoplastic Solid

VISCO108 - 2-D 8-Node Viscoplastic Solid

TRANS109 - 2-D Electromechanical Transducer

INFIN110 - 2-D Infinite Solid

INFIN111 - 3-D Infinite Solid

INTER115 - 3-D Magnetic Interface

FLUID116 - Coupled Thermal-Fluid Pipe

SOLID117 - 3-D 20-Node Magnetic Solid

HF118 - 2-D High-Frequency Quadrilateral Solid

HF119 - 3-D High-Frequency Tetrahedral Solid

HF120 - 3-D High-Frequency Brick Solid

PLANE121 - 2-D 8-Node Electrostatic Solid

SOLID122 - 3-D 20-Node Electrostatic Solid

SOLID123 - 3-D 10-Node Tetrahedral Electrostatic Solid

CIRCU124 - Electric Circuit

CIRCU125 - Diode

TRANS126 - Electromechanical Transducer

SOLID127 - 3-D Tetrahedral Electrostatic Solid p-Element

SOLID128 - 3-D Brick Electrostatic Solid p-Element

FLUID129 - 2-D Infinite Acoustic

FLUID130 - 3-D Infinite Acoustic

SHELL131 - 4-Node Layered Thermal Shell

SHELL132 - 8-Node Layered Thermal Shell

FLUID136 - 3-D Squeeze Film Fluid Element

FLUID138 - 3-D Viscous Fluid Link Element

FLUID139 - 3-D Slide Film Fluid Element

FLUID141 - 2-D Fluid-Thermal

FLUID142 - 3-D Fluid-Thermal

ROM144 - Reduced Order Electrostatic-Structural

PLANE145 - 2-D Quadrilateral Structural Solid p-Element

PLANE146 - 2-D Triangular Structural Solid p-Element

SOLID147 - 3-D Brick Structural Solid p-Element

SOLID148 - 3-D Tetrahedral Structural Solid p-Element

SHELL150 - 8-Node Structural Shell p-Element

SURF151 - 2-D Thermal Surface Effect

SURF152 - 3-D Thermal Surface Effect

SURF153 - 2-D Structural Surface Effect

SURF154 - 3-D Structural Surface Effect

SURF156 - 3-D Structural Surface Line Load Effect

SHELL157 - Thermal-Electric Shell

LINK160 - Explicit 3-D Spar (or Truss)

BEAM161 - Explicit 3-D Beam

PLANE162 - Explicit 2-D Structural Solid

SHELL163 - Explicit Thin Structural Shell

SOLID164 - Explicit 3-D Structural Solid

COMBI165 - Explicit Spring-Damper

MASS166 - Explicit 3-D Structural Mass

LINK167 - Explicit Tension-Only Spar

SOLID168 - Explicit 3-D 10-Node Tetrahedral Structural Solid

TARGE169 - 2-D Target Segment

TARGE170 - 3-D Target Segment

CONTA171 - 2-D 2-Node Surface-to-Surface Contact

CONTA172 - 2-D 3-Node Surface-to-Surface Contact

CONTA173 - 3-D 4-Node Surface-to-Surface Contact

CONTA174 - 3-D 8-Node Surface-to-Surface Contact

CONTA175 - 2-D/3-D Node-to-Surface Contact

CONTA176 - 3-D Line-to-Line Contact

CONTA177 - 3-D Line-to-Surface Contact

CONTA178 - 3-D Node-to-Node Contact

PRETS179 - Pretension

LINK180 - 3-D Finite Strain Spar (or Truss)

SHELL181 - 4-Node Finite Strain Shell

PLANE182 - 2-D 4-Node Structural Solid

PLANE183 - 2-D 8-Node or 6-Node Structural Solid

MPC184 - Multipoint Constraint Element

MPC184-Link/Beam - Multipoint Constraint Element: Rigid Link or Rigid Beam

MPC184-Slider - Multipoint Constraint Element: Slider

MPC184-Revolute - Multipoint Constraint Element: Revolute Joint

MPC184-Universal - Multipoint Constraint Element: Universal Joint

MPC184-Slot - Multipoint Constraint Element: Slot Joint

MPC184-Point - Multipoint Constraint Element: Point-in-plane Joint

MPC184-Translational - Multipoint Constraint Element: Translational Joint

MPC184-Cylindrical - Multipoint Constraint Element: Cylindrical Joint

MPC184-Planar - Multipoint Constraint Element: Planar Joint

MPC184-Weld - Multipoint Constraint Element: Weld Joint

MPC184-Orient - Multipoint Constraint Element: Orient Joint

MPC184-Spherical - Multipoint Constraint Element: Spherical Joint

MPC184-General - Multipoint Constraint Element: General Joint

SOLID185 - 3-D 8-Node Structural Solid or Layered Solid

SOLID186 - 3-D 20-Node Structural Solid or Layered Solid

SOLID187 - 3-D 10-Node Tetrahedral Structural Solid

BEAM188 - 3-D Linear Finite Strain Beam

BEAM189 - 3-D Quadratic Finite Strain Beam

SOLSH190 - 3-D 8-Node Layered Solid Shell

SOLID191 - 3-D 20-Node Layered Structural Solid

INTER192 - 2-D 4-Node Gasket

INTER193 - 2-D 6-Node Gasket

INTER194 - 3-D 16-Node Gasket

INTER195 - 3-D 8-Node Gasket

MESH200 - Meshing Facet

FOLLW201 - Follower Load

INTER202 - 2-D 4-Node Cohesive Zone

INTER203 - 2-D 6-Node Cohesive Zone

INTER204 - 3-D 16-Node Cohesive Zone

INTER205 - 3-D 8-Node Cohesive Zone

SHELL208 - 2-Node Finite Strain Axisymmetric Shell

SHELL209 - 3-Node Finite Strain Axisymmetric Shell

COMBI214 - 2-D Spring-Damper Bearing

PLANE223 - 2-D 8-Node Coupled-Field Solid

SOLID226 - 3-D 20-Node Coupled-Field Solid

SOLID227 - 3-D 10-Node Coupled-Field Solid

PLANE230 - 2-D 8-Node Electric Solid

SOLID231 - 3-D 20-Node Electric Solid

SOLID232 - 3-D 10-Node Tetrahedral Electric Solid

SURF251 - 2-D Radiosity Surface

SURF252 - 3-D Thermal Radiosity Surface

REINF265 - 3-D Smeared Reinforcing

SHELL281 - 8-Node Finite Strain Shell

Bibliography