You can perform the following types of structural analyses:
Static Analysis -- Used to determine displacements, stresses, etc. under static loading conditions. Both linear and nonlinear static analyses. Nonlinearities can include plasticity, stress stiffening, large deflection, large strain, hyperelasticity, contact surfaces, and creep.
Modal Analysis -- Used to calculate the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a structure. Several mode-extraction methods are available.
Harmonic Analysis -- Used to determine the response of a structure to harmonically time-varying loads.
Transient Dynamic Analysis -- Used to determine the response of a structure to arbitrarily time-varying loads. All nonlinearities mentioned under Static Analysis above are allowed.
Spectrum Analysis -- An extension of the modal analysis, used to calculate stresses and strains due to a response spectrum or a PSD input (random vibrations).
Buckling Analysis -- Used to calculate the buckling loads and determine the buckling mode shape. Both linear (eigenvalue) buckling and nonlinear buckling analyses are possible.
Several special-purpose structural analysis capabilities are available:
The primary unknowns (nodal degrees of freedom) calculated in a structural analysis are displacements. Other quantities such as strains, stresses, and reaction forces are then derived from the nodal displacements.
The following additional topics related to structural analysis are available:
Most element types are structural elements, ranging from simple spars and beams to more complex layered shells and large strain solids. Most types of structural analyses can use any of these elements.
For more information, see Selecting Elements for Your Analysis in the Element Reference.
For analyses described in this guide, you must specify the material that you intend to simulate. For more information, see the Material Reference.
If you are using the GUI, you can specify many materials that you intend to simulate via an intuitive material model interface. The interface uses a hierarchical tree structure of material categories, intended to assist you in choosing the appropriate model for your analysis. For more information, see Material Model Interface in the Basic Analysis Guide.
Not all material models are available via the GUI. For more information, see GUI-Inaccessible Material Properties in the Material Reference.