Damping for Airbags

When simulating airbag deployment, using the classical uniform-pressure (CONTROL VOLUME) or non-uniform-pressure (ALE, Particle), users frequently encounter oscillations. These oscillations are generally categorized as local and global. To reduce both forms of oscillations, LS-DYNA provides two types of damping that are briefly discussed here. 1. Mass-Weighted-Damping The parameter MWD in *AIRBAG_{OPTION} keyword provides a means…

November 22, 2006 | by

General Guidelines for Crash Analysis in LS-DYNA

LS-DYNA is a general purpose finite element software and is designed for use in various applications. Based on the use of the software for a specific application, LS-DYNA offers several parameters that can be changed from their default values to improve the accuracy, robustness, and stability of the simulation. For performing crash analysis using LS-DYNA,…

November 1, 2006 | by

A Few “Words” on Memory Settings in LS-DYNA

Memory in LS-DYNA is specified in “words” at the execution time. The term “word” refers to the amount of data that can be written to or read from a memory in one operation. The following figure will aid in the relationships of bits, the most basic data type, to words on various computers. One bit…

October 27, 2006 | by

Modeling Symmetric/Unsymmetric NonLinear Discrete Springs

Discrete springs provide a easy way to model complicated systems by using their responses in the material definitions. This post brings attention to the way LS-DYNA handles the default behavior in tension or compress when the material input does not pass through the origin (0,0) but simply begins from origin. When only one of either…

October 20, 2006 | by

Limitations of Penalty Joint Treatment in LS-DYNA

LS-DYNA supports various joint definition types such as spherical, cylindrical, etc (please refer to the LS-DYNA User’s manual for a complete list). Irrespective of the joint definition type and the elements associated, translational constraints are applied to the joint nodes to model appropriate behavior. The constraints are applied using the default penalty formulation whose stiffness…

October 19, 2006 | by

Storing Re-Usable Models in a Central Location with *INCLUDE_PATH

Beginning version 971 and later, LS-DYNA allows easy way to store models in a central location for use at run time. This feature can be turned on using *INCLUDE_PATH which takes unlimited number of absolute directory names. When INCLUDE_PATH is used, LS-DYNA first checks the file, specified using *INCLUDE keyword, in the local directory and…

October 12, 2006 | by

Best Practices for Modeling Recoverable Low Density Foams – By Example

Attachments:mat57_default.k Modeling recoverable foams poses several challenges in crash worthiness as well as in low-to-medium impact velocity conditions. This is due to its relatively low stiffness when compared with structural materials which has an indirect effect on its contact-impact interactions with other materials. To review the best practices when modeling such components, we can consider…

October 12, 2006 | by

Simulation Based Product Design Using LS-DYNA – Single Code & Single Model Benefits

Over the past decade, the ability of simulations driving the design has grown rapidly and today’s confidence in simulations results is a good testament to it. Two significant areas that have contributed to this is the “Numerical Modeling Awareness” and “Design Domain Knowledge” gained over the years by design and analysis community. Numerical modeling awareness…

October 6, 2006 | by

Implicit Dynamics – Now with Birth, Death, and Burial Properties

When solving static or quasi-static type problems, the default Implicit Static solver (IMAS=0 in CONTROL_IMPLICIT_DYNAMICS) requires a well-conditioned model, with no rigidbody modes, to get good convergence behavior. It is often difficult to prevent rigidbody modes especially when its dependent on contact-impact conditions. In such cases, use of Implicit Dynamics solver (IMAS=1) can help us…

October 3, 2006 | by

Overview of Mass-Scaling in LS-DYNA

Mass-scaling is a term that is used for the process of scaling the element’s mass in explicit simulations to adjust its timestep. The primary motivation is to change (usually increase) the global compute timestep which is limited by the Courant’s stability criteria. LS-DYNA allows two different types of mass-scaling using the DT2MS parameter from *CONTROL_TIMESTEP…

October 2, 2006 | by