Oh, I think I got your point.
Ansys do increase the timestep increment but only after some substeps tend to converge within a small number of iterations.
In Ansys Manual the Chapter 15.7 of Theory Reference (try this path on help: //Theory Reference//15. Analysis Tools//15.7. Automatic Time...
When you use a shell element it is wise to choose the elements to represent the mid-surface. Doing that, you guarantee that the results related to "mid" will correctly represent the displacements and stresses on that surface.
For instance, when you model a tube (or duct) by its midsize surface...
Try setting the software to use higher degree elements by going to
Mesh -> Advanced -> Element Midside Nodes
And setting it to "ON"
See attached image.
Also, I know you did not ask but your mesh seems to be over refined in some places, that is probably why it is taking so long to solve the...
You've already answered your question. Ansys does it in order to try to solve the problem quicker.
There are many ways to avoid that. I will try to explain some of them:
set the substeps size to a fixed value, by modifying "Analysis Settings" > "Step Controls" "Auto Time Step" to "OFF" and...
Try studying the ET" command. That is the way to define element types on both ANSYS Classic and Workbench. The difference is that on Workbench you will need to create a Command stance under the geometry at the outline treeline.
It updates the legend for the plot you see on screen.
For example, if you change the "Display Time" on Solution "definition" property and retrieve the results, the plot will be updated but the the legend won't change for itself, so you'll need to do the "Adjust to Visible" in order to update it.