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What is ANSYS?

ANSYS is a general purpose finite element program. Many different types of problems may be analyzed using the code.  Examples include structural, thermal, magnetic field, electric field, coupled field and fluids analyses.

ANSYS is also a self contained program in that the Pre-processor (model definition), Processor (solver) and Post-processor (output) are all integrated into a single code. All of these components may be accessed either through a graphical user interface (GUI) or through execution commands.

The ANSYS INC. Home Page

Setting the Environment

Use SSH to connect to the DECS Compute Servers with X11 forwarding enabled. We recommend using the X2Go client.

You can set the environment for a session by typing source $SOFT/ansys in the terminal.  Successfully sourcing ANSYS should reveal a screen similar to the text below detailing options for launching different ANSYS versions:

You are configured for Version 17.2. 
Use the command ansys172, launcher172 or runwb2 to start ansys. 
Use the command ansysedt to start the electronic desktop.
If you wish to use an earlier version,type source /opt/lib/soft/ansys1**, where ** is 50, 62, 70 or 71

ANSYS Execution Command

ANSYS may also be initiated by issuing the execution command. At the UNIX prompt enter:

ansys172 [-g yes] [-j jobname]

The options -g yes or no is to use the GUI. The options "yes" or "blank" indicate that the GUI is on, and "no" indicates that the GUI is off.

And -j jobname is to name the initial jobname that will be assigned to the files generated during the ANSYS session. If the -j option is not used then all files will be assigned the name FILE.

Using ANSYS Workbench

If you want to use the Ansys Workbench, the command is runwb2.

Exiting ANSYS

When using the GUI, you can exit the ANSYS program by either choosing Exit under File in the ANSYS Utility Menu or choose QUIT from the ANSYS Toolbar. With either selection the "Exit from ANSYS" window will appear requesting which information to save from the session. After making your selection, choose OK to exit or Cancel to continue your ANSYS session. When exiting, click OK then move the mouse into the ANSYS_Output window and press Return to close the window.

If you are not using the GUI, the /exit command will terminate your ANSYS session.

Printing

Hardcopy output may be obtained from ANSYS in two ways. The first method provides a quick and easy means of generating hardcopies of the ANSYS graphics window in postscript format. The hardcopy command is found by clicking on the PlotCtrls option of the ANSYS Utility Menu and choosing Hard Copy (for screen or graphic window) or Capture Image (for graphic window only). Once the PS Hard Copy or Image Hard Copy window appears, the desired options may be selected and the output is generated. To print, select Print To and Enter. [Command: lpr -P printername]

The stand alone ANSYS graphics utility program DISPLAY provides the second and more advanced option for producing hardcopy output. DISPLAY allows for greater control of the printout (i.e. scaling functions) and it also allows for alternate graphics formats (i.e. HPGL format). This utility can be used to plot, print or export neutral graphic files on desired formats. Neutral graphic files are created in the ANSYS program. Information on using DISPLAY is contained in the document Printing in ANSYS.

Running ANSYS in Background (UNIX)

The following command nohup ansys < ansys.input > ansys.output & will run your ANSYS file (ansys.input) in the background on one of the servers. The "nohup" will enable the program to keep running after you log off the server. The "&" will tell the server to run the command in the background. "Ansys.output" is where your output will be stored. 

Tutorials

There are online tutorials available for the current versions of ANSYS accessible through the Help menu (Help).