Changing boundary conditions (such as contact between parts that changes over time)
Large deformations (for example the crumpling of sheet metal parts)
Nonlinear materials that do not exhibit ideally elastic behavior (for example thermoplastic polymers)

"Transient dynamic" means analyzing high speed, short duration events where inertial forces are important. Typical uses include:
Automotive crash (deformation of chassis, airbag inflation, seatbelt tensioning)
Explosions (underwater Naval mine, shaped charges)
Manufacturing (sheet metal stamping)


LS-DYNA's potential applications are numerous and can be tailored to many fields. In a given simulation, any of LS-DYNA's many features can be combined to model a wide range of physical events. An example of a simulation, which involves a unique combination of features, is the NASA JPL Mars Pathfinder landing simulation which simulated the space probe's use of airbags to aid in its landing. LS-DYNA is one of the most flexible finite element analysis software packages available.

LS-DYNA consists of a single executable file and is entirely command line driven. Therefore all that is required to run LS-DYNA is a command shell, the executable, an input file, and enough free disk space to run the calculation. All input files are in simple ASCII format and thus can be prepared using any text editor. Input files can also be prepared with the instant aid of a graphical preprocessor.

There are many third party software products available for preprocessing LS-DYNA input files. LSTC also develops its own preprocessor, LS-PrePost, which is freely distributed and runs without a license. Licensees of LS-DYNA automatically have access to all of the program's capabilities, from simple linear static mechanical analysis up to advanced thermal and flow solving methods. Furthermore, they have full use of LS-OPT, a standalone design optimization and probabilistic analysis package with an interface to LS-DYNA.

Capabilities
LS-DYNA's analysis capabilities include:
Full 2D & 3D capabilities
Nonlinear dynamics
Rigid body dynamics
Quasi-static simulations
Normal modes
Linear statics
Thermal analysis
Fluid analysis
Eulerian capabilities
ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian)
FSI (Fluid-Structure Interaction)
Navier-Stokes fluids
Compressible fluid solver, CESE (Conservation Element & Solution Element)

FEM-rigid multi-body dynamics coupling (MADYMO, Cal3D)
Underwater shock
Failure analysis
Crack propagation
Real-time acoustics
Implicit springback
Multi-physics coupling
Structural-thermal coupling
Adaptive remeshing
SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics)
EFG (Element Free Galerkin)
Radiation transport
EM (Electromagnetism)

Material Library
LS-DYNA's material library includes:
Metals
Plastics
Glass
Foams
Fabrics
Elastomers
Honeycombs
Concrete & soils
Viscous fluids
User-defined materials

Element Library
LS-DYNA's element library includes:
Beams (standard, trusses, discrete, cables, and welds) (with over 10 beam element formulations)
Discrete Elements (springs and dampers)
Lumped inertias
Lumped masses
Accelerometers
Sensors
Seatbelts
Pretensioners
Retractors
Sliprings

Shells (3, 4, 6, and 8-node including 3D shells, membranes, 2D plane stress, plane strain, and axisymmetric solids) (with over 25 shell element formulations)
Solids (4 and 10-node tetrahedrons, 6-node pentahedrons, and 8-node hexahedrons) (with over 20 solid element formulations)
SPH Elements
Thick Shells (8-node)

Contact Algorithms
LS-DYNA's contact algorithms include:
Flexible body contact
Flexible body to rigid body contact
Rigid body to rigid body contact
Edge-to-edge contact
Eroding contact
Tied surfaces
CAD surfaces
Rigid walls
Draw beads