According to linear static assumptions, all loads are applied slowly and gradually until they reach their full magnitudes and the displacements induced are small enough to ignore the change in stiffness caused by loading. It also assumes that the normal to contact areas do not change direction during loading. Hence, it applies the complete load in one step. This approach may lead to convergence difficulties or inaccurate results in cases where these assumptions are not valid.
Large Displacement Solution in SOLIDWORKS Simulation
At these situations, you can request large displacement solution. A large displacement solution generally consumes more resources and time than the small displacement solution, but provides more accurate results. The large displacement solution is required when the deformation acquired changes the stiffness (structure ability to resist loads) significantly. The small displacement solution assumes that the stiffness does not change during loading. The large displacement solution assumes that the stiffness changes during loading, therefore it applies the load in steps and for each solution time step it updates the stiffness of the model.
When the Large displacement option in the Static dialog box is activated, the static study is solved by stepping the load and updating the geometry. When you run a static analysis and all the displacements are calculated, the solver performs a large displacement check. The software issues a warning message when excessive displacements are calculated.
To activate the Large displacement option:
- In the Simulation study tree, right-click the static study icon and select properties.
- On the Options tab, check Large displacement (Figure 1).
- Click OK.
