APDL supports direct coupled-field elements (e.g., SOLID226, SOLID227). You can solve for thermal-structural, piezoelectric, or electromagnetic-structural behavior in a single matrix solve. APDL allows you to define the specific degrees of freedom (UX, UY, TEMP, VOLT) per node manually, giving you total control over the physics coupling.
If you are a student, force yourself to solve five problems using only the *DO loop and *GET commands. If you are a professional, convert one standard Workbench simulation into a pure APDL script.
! 3. Geometry (Nodes) N,1,0,0 ! Node 1 at origin N,2, L, 0 ! Node 2 at length ansys apdl
For the ultimate analyst, APDL interfaces with Fortran. You can write your own user-defined elements (USER300), creep laws, or plasticity models using UPFs, compile them into a custom Ansys executable, and call them via APDL commands. This is how research institutions simulate proprietary materials not available in standard libraries.
/TITLE, Simple Beam Analysis using APDL /PREP7 ! 1. Define Parameters L = 100 ! Length (mm) H = 10 ! Height (mm) FORCE = -100! Force (N) negative = downward APDL supports direct coupled-field elements (e
! 6. Loads F,1, FY, FORCE/2 ! Reaction at left? No. Actually apply force at middle. ! Correct method: Add a node in middle. N,3, L/2, 0 E,1,3 ! Split beam into two elements E,3,2 F,3, FY, FORCE
| Command Category | Example | Function | |----------------|---------|----------| | Preprocessor | ET,1,BEAM188 | Define element type 1 as BEAM188 | | | MP,EX,1,2.1E5 | Young’s modulus for material 1 | | | K,1,0,0,0 | Define keypoint 1 at origin | | Solver | ANTYPE,STATIC | Static analysis | | | D,10,UX,0 | Constraint UX=0 at node 10 | | | F,20,FY,-100 | Force -100 at node 20 | | | SOLVE | Initiate solution | | Postprocessor | PLNSOL,S,EQV | Plot von Mises stress | | | PRRSOL | Print reaction forces | If you are a student, force yourself to
Below is a simple APDL script to create a 3D block (a common "piece") and prepare it for analysis:
! 5. Boundary Conditions D,1, UX, 0 ! Fix Node 1 X direction D,1, UY, 0 ! Fix Node 1 Y direction D,2, UY, 0 ! Roller support at Node 2
Before Workbench had DesignXplorer, APDL had built-in optimization routines. Using OPVAR , OPTYPE , and OPEXE , users can run a gradient-based optimization to minimize weight while staying below a stress constraint. This is deterministic optimization (as opposed to Workbench’s stochastic DOE), which is faster for linear problems.