what is time step

Altair Forum User
Altair Forum User
Altair Employee
edited October 2020 in Community Q&A

what exactly element time and nodal time step mean?

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Answers

  • Altair Forum User
    Altair Forum User
    Altair Employee
    edited August 2017

    Hi,

    In the context of explicit analysis, time step is the time required for a shock wave (governed by the speed of sound) to propagate across the smallest distance of the element.

    The time step calculation for elements and node is as shown as in the image:

     

    As a general note on time step calculation:

    From the relation you can see that both material modulus and density control the speed of sound. The solution time step is inversely proportional to the speed of sound. So, if the material is stiffer (higher modulus of elasticity), the speed of sound increases resulting in a lower solution time step.

     

    I recommend you to go through our RADIOSS ebook, Crash Analysis With RADIOSS – A Study Guide where all the basics for explicit analysis are covered.

     

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