Hi all,

Greetings!!

I am facing a difficulty in creating a nonlinear simulation analysis. My problem statement is as described below,

I wish to apply two forces on this assembly but in two steps where application of force are sequential.

Step 1 -

Force F1 will be applied in such a way that it will press the upper block on the columns and on lower block & it will produce tensile force in the tie rod.

Step 2 -

After application of force F1 and locking its effect then force F2 will be applied.

Intended behavior for tie rod will be tensile force, Fnet = F1 + F2

It might so appear that since the direction of forces are opposite then how the net load will be sum of them?

In reality the force F1 is applied with special hydraulic fixtures which will push the upper block on the columns and after the loading is complete the nut is secured by locking the tensile force between compressed columns and tie rods with springs.

So far I tried to apply F1 in many ways,

1. Bolt connector preload
2. Spring connector preload

Is this simulation is possible in Solidworks?

As per my limited understanding it is only possible in non-linear analysis to define magnitude of the forces & constraints in time steps but it is not possible to simulate contacts or behavior of connectors in non-linear time steps so how this simulation can be achieved?

Is there any possibility of copying the results of one analysis for further application of discrete load sets or steps can be applied?

Is there any possibility to lock the load for the rest of analysis?

Can anyone offer any hints for to achieve the intended results?

Thanks!!

Regards