Fesafe Rubber Tutorials
Fesafe Rubber Tutorials
fe-safe/RUBBER TUTORIALS
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1.1.1 Preparation
The tutorial uses an Abaqus *.odb model. However, the same techniques can be applied to all FE formats for which
nominal strains and stresses can be reported.
This tutorial assumes that the user has experience using fe-safe, thus detailed information on how to set up an fe-
safe analysis is not included in this tutorial. Please see the fe-safe User Manual including fe-safe Tutorials for
details, for instance:
• Tutorial 106: Using fe-safe with Abaqus .odb files
Start fe-safe/RubberTM as described in the fe-safe User Manual. The Configure fe-safe Project Directory window
will be displayed:
Select an existing project, or create a new one from the welcome page
Figure 1-1
From the Menu bar select Tools >> Clear Data and Settings..., The Clear Data and Settings dialogue will appear
as shown in Figure 1-2 below, by selecting all of the Project settings and the Re-set file dialogues setting (all but
the Re-set user settings checkbox). Click OK.
Configure fe-safe/Rubber™
This exercise must be completed with fe-safe using fe-safe/Rubber™ with the fe-safe_Rubber.dll plug-in library.
If the EnduricaMaterials database isn’t shown in the Material Databases window, please select File >>
Materials >> Open Materials Database to browse to the User Directory <UserDir> and open the fe-safe/Rubber
database (EnduricaMaterials_writable.dbase).
fe-safe should automatically detect and load the plug-in. This can be verified by selecting Tools >> Plug-in
Information. An information window will be displayed with the available plug-ins selectable from a drop-down
menu.
If the Endurica plug-in is not shown, you can manually load the plug-in instead.
From the Menu bar select Tools >> Import Plug-in..., and browse to the Installation directory <InstallDir> to find
the executable subdirectory (/win_b64/code/bin). Select the fe-safe/Rubber™ Plug-in (fe-safe_Rubber.dll) and
click Open.
Figure 1-4
Encastre constraint is applied at the right, and a Y-direction displacement is applied for 1 second using 5
increments, at the node shown at the left. Displacement amplitude varies from 1 to 100 over 1 second (equally
spaced time points) using the signal shown in Figure 1-6.
To open the model, select the menu item File >> FEA Solutions >> Open Finite Element Model... and browse to
the sample file tensionwithhole*.odb from the directory <DataDir>\rubber.
A prompt to pre-scan the file will be displayed. Click Yes.
The Select Datasets to Read dialogue will be displayed. Check the Quick select items for Stresses, Strains (NE)
as shown and click Apply to Dataset List to apply the selections. Ensure that all of the checkboxes for the stress
and strain symbols under each Increment are selected and select OK to load the datasets, as shown in Figure 1-7:
Note: Loading the model without pre-scanning may not load the required datasets.
As fe-safe loads the model, information about the file and the data it contains is written to the file:
<ResultsDir>\reader.log.
This information is also displayed in the Message Log window.
If the dialogue box does not appear automatically, then it can be displayed by right-clicking on the icon in the
Current FE Models window and selecting Properties.
Ensure that the stress, strain and temperature units are MPa, strain and deg.C, respectively, as shown in Figure
1-8, then click OK.
You may see the following message regarding zeroes in datasets, this is normal.
Figure 1-10
Note: if the window does not appear as shown above, then expand the tree view to show more details.
If the incorrect number of datasets is shown, use your right-mouse-button in the Current FE models window to
select Reload All Models as shown in Figure 1-12.
Click Yes as needed until the Select Datasets to Read dialogue is displayed as shown above.
Note: If the units of Stress, Strain and Temperature, do not appear as shown they can be changed by double-
clicking on the icon in the Current FE Models window and modifying Properties.
.
Analysis process:
For each elemental centroidal position:
• The nominal strain (NE) and stress (S) are read from the FE model database into fe-safe.
• The loading history is configured according to the sequence of stress and strain datasets and the length in
seconds specified in Loading Settings
• The 6 components of the nominal strain tensor are calculated from the 3 in-plane nominal strain components,
and from the plane stress condition (e.g. the out of plane stress is exactly 0).
• A series of material planes is generated based on the plug-in setting for damage sphere variables phi and
theta. Subsequent calculations will be repeated on each material plane, in order to identify the critical plane.
• The local loading history is computed for each plane, giving the Cracking Energy Density as a function of time.
• A Rainflow counting algorithm is then used to identify each individual cycle (e.g. peak and valley) contained
within the entire local loading history.
• A numerical integration of the crack growth rate law is made to determine the number of repeats (the life)
required to grow the initial flaw to its specified size at nucleation (see the fe-safe/RubberTM Theory manual).
As a part of the computation, the crack growth rate contributions of individual cycles are summed to obtain a
total rate of crack growth per repeat of the entire loading history. The initial and final flaw sizes, and all crack
growth properties were specified as a part of the material definition.
• Once the life has been computed for every material plane, then the minimum life is selected from among the
results and reported as the life of the individual item.
• Output File containing Log Life and fe-safe Results Log file containing analysis configurations are automatically
generated
• Select the Loading Settings tab from the Fatigue from FEA dialogue to switch to the loading tree;
• Use your right-mouse-button to select Clear all loadings and click Yes as shown:
• Use the Add button in the Loading Settings window to select Add... >> Dataset:
This means 1 through 11 every second dataset enumerator, e.g. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, then 11.
• Use the enter key to apply the changes made with the Keyboard
• In the Loading Settings panel, right-click on the stress dataset and select Add dataset:
• The strain dataset will appear as a branch in tree-view under the sequence of stress datasets.
• Double-click on the Strain Dataset and using your keyboard, type the sequence ‘2-12(2)’ without the ‘ symbols
to represent every second dataset from 2 to 12 (e.g. a sequence of strain datasets). Use the enter key to apply
the changes made with the Keyboard
Note: After adding a strain dataset to the Elastic Block, the block title will change to Elastic-Plastic Block,
signifying that stress and strain are used to define the stress-history and strain-history for fatigue loading. This is
only a naming convention, stresses and strains actually follow the stress-strain law the user implemented in FE.
Note: if the window does not appear as shown above, then expand the tree view to show more details. Time-
dependent effects are not accounted for in the example, so time definition in the loading is not required.
Now configure material parameters for the second order Reduced Polynomial model:
• select the C10 field: hyperelastic : RP C10 (MPa);
• double-click on the value field to edit it
• modify the value to: 1.0;
• Repeat to configure fields for C20 to 0.1, D1 to 0.00067, and D2 to 0.0;
• All of the material parameters related to higher order Reduced Polynomial models are to be configured with
value of Unused.
Note: If ‘Analyse using a plug-in algorithm’ is not an option, go back to Load the fe-safe/RubberTM plug-in above to
follow the steps to Load the plug-in.
Check that the analysis is configured as shown in Figure 1-24, and then click Continue.
As the analysis is being performed, the analysis information is written to the log file.
The analysis log file has the same file name as the output file, except that the extension is .log, for instance:
<ResultsDir>\tensionholewithResults_ex01.log
This information is also displayed in the Message Log window.
Note: In fe-safe, the calculated fatigue life always refers to the number of repeats of the complete defined fatigue
loading cycle. An optional conversion factor can be used to convert the fatigue life in repeats to fatigue life with
respect to some other quantity, for example hours or miles (see the fe-safe User Guide for details).
Note: Worst-case life and location may be different than above. Algorithm settings like damage sphere
discretization will affect results.
Note: Contours may appear differently depending on post-processor, contour legend limits and averaging scheme.
Objective:
This exercise is a continuation of Exercise 1. Continue using fe-safe without changing fatigue configurations.
To define a complex loading scenario – in this case 5 seconds worth of loading based on only 1 second of FEA
analysis. The exercise will illustrate use of the loading definition file (*.LDF). The fe-safe User Guide includes a full
description of the LDF file, including syntax.
Preparation:
Below is listed a tabular representation of Figure 1-6, describing the Y-direction displacement applied in the FE
solver as it relates to the time increments in the solution (from the pre-processor):
Time (s) Displacement (mm)
0 0
0.2 40
0.4 20
0.6 60
0.8 100
The desired 5-second displacement that’s required is as follows:
Time (s) Displacement (mm)
0 0
0.2 40
0.4 20
0.6 60
0.8 100
1 0
1.2 20
1.4 40
1.6 20
1.8 40
2 20
2.2 40
2.4 20
2.6 40
2.8 0
3 60
3.2 20
3.4 0
3.6 100
3.8 20
4 100
4.2 60
4.4 40
4.6 100
4.8 60
5 0
So it will be required to represent the displacements desired in seconds 2 through 4 by using solved displacement
stress and strain pairs from the 1 second FEA solution, at those desired time instances.
fe-safe/Rubber™ analysis requires time instants to be equally spaced. In this case we’ve used 0.2 second time
incrementation for the entire loading definition.
INIT
transitions=Yes
END
# Block number 1
BLOCK
ds=1, de=2
ds=3, de=4
ds=5, de=6
ds=7, de=8
ds=9, de=10
ds=11, de=12
END
Note: comment lines starting in # mark may vary):
• Edit the text file to add stress(ds) and strain (de) pairs for each additionally required time instant, as follows
# .ldf file created by fe-safe compliant product [mswin]
INIT
transitions=Yes
END
# Block number 1
BLOCK
ds=1, de=2
ds=3, de=4
ds=5, de=6
ds=7, de=8
ds=9, de=10
ds=11, de=12
ds=5, de=6
ds=3, de=4
ds=5, de=6
ds=3, de=4
ds=5, de=6
ds=3, de=4
ds=5, de=6
ds=3, de=4
ds=11, de=12
ds=7, de=8
ds=5, de=6
ds=11, de=12
ds=9, de=10
ds=5, de=6
ds=9, de=10
ds=7, de=8
ds=3, de=4
ds=9, de=10
ds=7, de=8
ds=11, de=12
END
• Click OK;
• The loading definition will appear as shown in Figure 1-28:
Note: if the window does not appear as shown above, then expand the tree view to show more details.
• Select the Analysis Settings tab from the Fatigue from FEA dialogue to switch to the Analysis Settings panel
• A dialogue will be displayed prompting to save the loading definition to ex02.ldf which has been modified:
The analysis log shows that the worst-case life for the whole model is approximately 1.7 hours of the loading at the
centroid of element 61.
Note: An optional conversion factor was used in this example to convert the fatigue life in repeats to fatigue life with
respect to hours (see the fe-safe User Guide for details).
Note: Worst-case life and location may be different than above. Algorithm settings like damage sphere
discretization will affect results.
Note: Contours may appear differently depending on post-processor, contour legend limits and averaging scheme.
Objective:
This exercise is a continuation of Exercise 2. Continue using fe-safe without changing fatigue configurations.
This exercise will define a single element for a secondary FEA Fatigue analysis, and configure plug-in Settings to
request exports and outputs for an element of interest.
Preparation:
The element at which the lowest life in Hours was reported during Exercise 2 was element number 61. This will be
used for a secondary post-processing analysis of only one element. Such an analysis may be desirable in order to:
1. Speed up delivery of exports and outputs at a known position, without calculating lives in the remainder of the
model
2. Limit log output from fe-safe/Rubber to ASCII text file formats
3. Limit size of Output Files generated during the secondary analysis
Method:
Step 1: Define the Output File:
When the FE model was loaded, the Output File was automatically defaulted to a standard file name in the Project
Directory.
• in the Fatigue from FEA dialogue select the browse button to the right of the Output File field.
• Change the output filename to: tensionholewithResults_ex03.csv
Note: Since only one element will be analysed a text format such as *.csv or *.fer is used to reduce output file size.
See the Appendices of the fe-safe User Manual for details of Output File fatigue results formats.
Figure 1-31 Configure the List of Items to only analyse the listed items
• Click OK;
Figure 1-32
As the analysis is being performed, analysis information is written to the log file.
The analysis log file has the same file name as the output file, except that the extension is .log, for instance:
<ResultsDir>\tensionholewithResults_ex03.log
This information is also displayed in the Message Log window.
Step 6: Viewing the Exports and Outputs from the fe-safe/Rubber plug-in:
• Use the operating system to browse to the Results Directory (e.g. C:\Temp\plate\jobs\job_01\fe-
results);
• Find the log file generated for load history on the critical plane (e.g.
tensionholewithResults_ex03CEDHISTORY.log);
• Find the log file generated for Rainflow Count (e.g. tensionholewithResults_ex03RAINFLOW.log);
• Inspect the log files in a text editor and plot histories and Rainflow counts if desired
2.1.1 Preparation
The tutorial uses an ASCII FE Tensor format. However, the same techniques can be applied to all FE formats for
which nominal strains and stresses can be reported. Results may differ while using other FE formats since the
ASCII file contains stress and strain solutions for only one element. Please see the Appendices of the fe-safe User
Manual for details on the Proprietary FE file format.
This tutorial assumes that the user has experience using fe-safe, thus detailed information on how to set up an fe-
safe analysis is not included in this tutorial. Please see Tutorial 1 for details.
• Start fe-safe/RubberTM;
• The Configure fe-safe Project Directory window will be displayed;
• Select an appropriate Project Directory <ProjectDir> and Click OK.
• When the model has finished loading, the Loaded FEA Models Properties dialogue box
• Ensure that the stress, strain and temperature units are psi, strain and deg.C, respectively, as shown:
• click OK.
• A dialogue will prompt to edit element groups loaded from the model, click No.
• You will see the following message regarding zeroes in datasets, this is normal
Figure 2-3
• A summary of the open model appears in the Current FE Models window, showing the loaded datasets
as shown:
Note: if the window does not appear as shown above, then expand the tree view to show more details.
• The model contains six stress datasets, six strain (NE) datasets. fe-safe also extracts element group
information from the ASCII FE file.
• If the correct number of datasets is not shown as above, use your right-mouse-button in the Current FE
models window to select Reload All Models
• Click Yes as needed until the Select Datasets to Read dialogue is displayed as shown above.
• If the units of Stress, Strain and Temperature, do not appear as shown they can be changed by double-
clicking on the icon in the Current FE Models window and modifying Properties
Objective:
To perform a rubber fatigue analysis based on a sequence of surface based centroidal stress and strain (NE)
solutions from FEA, with time dependent effects included.
Each increment represents the hyperelastic stress and strain solutions from FEA. Each stress and strain dataset
corresponds to a time increment (each increment is 0.2 seconds).
Analysis process:
For each elemental centroidal position:
• The nominal strain (NE) and stress (S) are read from the FE model database into fe-safe.
• The loading history is configured according to the sequence of stress and strain datasets and the length in
seconds specified in Loading Settings
• The 6 components of the nominal strain tensor are calculated from the 3 in-plane nominal strain components,
and from the plane stress condition (e.g. the out of plane stress is exactly 0).
• A series of material planes is generated based on the plug-in setting for damage sphere variables phi and
theta. Subsequent calculations will be repeated on each material plane, in order to identify the critical plane.
• The local loading history is computed for each plane, giving the Cracking Energy Density as a function of time.
• A Rainflow counting algorithm is then used to identify each individual cycle (e.g. peak and valley) contained
within the entire local loading history.
• A numerical integration of the crack growth rate law is made to determine the number of repeats (the life)
required to grow the initial flaw to its specified size at nucleation (see the fe-safe/RubberTM Theory manual).
As a part of the computation, the crack growth rate contributions of individual cycles are summed to obtain a
total rate of crack growth per repeat of the entire loading history. The initial and final flaw sizes, and all crack
growth properties were specified as a part of the material definition.
• Once the life has been computed for every material plane, then the minimum life is selected from among the
results and reported as the life of the individual item.
• Output File containing Log Life and fe-safe Results Log file containing analysis configurations are automatically
generated
• Any requested auxiliary outputs are written to their respective log files.
• Select the Analysis Settings tab from the Fatigue from FEA dialogue to switch to the Analysis Settings panel;
Configure the material parameters for the LAKELINDLEY fatigue crack growth rate model:
• expand the TUT2 material to show its properties;
• select the T0 field: fcgr : T0 (kJ/m^2);
• double-click on the value field to edit it
• modify the value to: 0.04;
• All of the remaining material parameters should remain as-is
Note: If ‘Analyse using a plug-in algorithm’ is not an option, go back to Load the fe-safe/RubberTM plug-in above to
follow the steps to Load the plug-in.
• select the Plug-in algorithm drop-down box, and select Surface from the drop-down menu;
• select the Settings button, next to the plug-in algorithm;
• The Edit Plug-in Settings dialogue will appear as shown:
Note: If the dialogue does not appear exactly as above, it can be re-sized so that the fields can be shown.
Note: the stress datasets shown in the log file may not be those used by fe-safe/Rubber. Exported Log for Items
come from the fe-safe User Interface as opposed to the fe-safe/Rubber plug-in algorithm.
• Find the List of plottable file(s) in the log file and copy the fill path to the Exported history for items
tensor file, e.g.:
C:\Temp\TUT2\jobs\job_01\fe-results\TUT2Results_ex01.txt_Element_2827.1.txt
• Retain the copied file path in the clipboard for later use in Step 10 below.
Note: the stress histories shown above in Figure 2-8 Exported history shown in Loaded Data Files may not be
those used by fe-safe/Rubber. Exported Histories for Items come from the fe-safe User Interface as opposed to the
fe-safe/Rubber plug-in algorithm.
• Use the left-mouse-button and shift key to select the three components of strain (eXX, eYY, and eXY)
• Use fe-safe to plot the three plots in one space using the menu selection View >> Stack Plots.
Step 11: Viewing the Exports and Outputs from the fe-safe/Rubber plug-in:
• Use the operating system to browse to the Results Directory
(e.g. C:\Temp\TUT2\jobs\job_01\fe-results);
• Find the log file generated for the output of plane dependence, also known as a damage sphere (e.g.
TUT2Results_ex01DAMAGESPHERE.log);
• Find the log file generated for the output of stress/strain verification setting (e.g.
TUT2Results_ex01VERIFYSTRESS.log);
• Find the log file generated for the output the fatigue crack growth rate verification setting (e.g.
TUT2Results_ex01VERIFYFCGR.log);
• Inspect the log files in a text editor and plot histories and Rainflow counts if desired
Objective:
This exercise is a continuation of Exercise 1. Continue using fe-safe without changing fatigue configurations.
This exercise will define an operating temperature for the entire model.
Method:
Step 1: Configure the temperature Settings
• In the Fatigue from FEA dialogue, switch to the Loading Settings tab
• Right-click on the Elastic-Plastic Block, and select Temperature from the context menu
Figure 2-10
• Enter 100 in the text field
Figure 2-11
As the analysis is being performed, analysis information is written to the log file.
The analysis log file has the same file name as the output file, except that the extension is .log, for instance:
<ResultsDir>\TUT2Results_ex01.log
This information is also displayed in the Message Log window.
Objective:
This exercise is a continuation of Exercise 1. Continue using fe-safe without changing fatigue configurations.
This exercise will define an operating temperature for the entire model.
Method:
Step 1: Configure the plug-in Settings:
• In the Fatigue from FEA dialogue, identify the Group Parameters table
• double-click the Algorithm column header to open the in Group Algorithm Selection dialogue box for all
groups;
• The Group Algorithm Selection dialogue will appear as shown;
• select the Settings button, next to the plug-in algorithm (Surface);
• The Edit Plug-in Settings dialogue will appear as shown:
As the analysis is being performed, analysis information is written to the log file.
The analysis log file has the same file name as the output file, except that the extension is .log, for instance:
<ResultsDir>\TUT2Results_ex01.log
This information is also displayed in the Message Log window.
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