12-19-2008, 01:40 PM
Hello,
Here is how I modeled a cylindrical solid section using continuum shell elements in CAE
Material is Elastic-composite-'Engineering Constants'
Stacking direction is critical for a composite material model. In Abaqus CAE the default stacking direction is 3 and there is no way to change it other than hacking the input file.
The stacking direction of a tetrahedral element is determined by (triangular elements have fixed stacking dir -3) the element connectivity. So the key is to use sweep meshing technique to accomplish this.
I assume that you know the basic procedure involved in creating and analyze a model using Abaqus CAE. So:
Verify:
Tools>query>mesh stack... See the attached pics (note the colors and the info at the prompt)
Notes:
1. The layup you specify in the section is contained in one single element through the thickness. So if you have multiple element through the thickness (can be adjusted while seeding the geometry) you have that many repeated stacking.
2. To obtain transverse shear stresses, you need to consider several other factors such as number of layers through the thickness or whether you are using parallel processing or not, and so on.
Ref: Use 24.6.1 Shell elements: overview (6.8 documentation)
Hope this helps. Please feel free to provide corrections/comments in this thread. Thanks.
-CJ
Here is how I modeled a cylindrical solid section using continuum shell elements in CAE
Material is Elastic-composite-'Engineering Constants'
Stacking direction is critical for a composite material model. In Abaqus CAE the default stacking direction is 3 and there is no way to change it other than hacking the input file.
The stacking direction of a tetrahedral element is determined by (triangular elements have fixed stacking dir -3) the element connectivity. So the key is to use sweep meshing technique to accomplish this.
I assume that you know the basic procedure involved in creating and analyze a model using Abaqus CAE. So:
- Go ahead and create a solid-extrusion part
- Composite material is engineering constants for 3D properties.
- When you create a section, make sure that you select Continuum shell. Else it will not be used while assigning the section to the geometry.
- Partition the model if necessary so that we have lines along the radius for sweep direction (see the attached image)
- In the mesh module, select sweep and use the 'Redefine Path' dialogue to edit the sweep direction and select the radial line (outward dir) as demonstrated as circled in the attached image.
- Then go ahead and mesh the geometry. That's it.
Verify:
Tools>query>mesh stack... See the attached pics (note the colors and the info at the prompt)
Notes:
1. The layup you specify in the section is contained in one single element through the thickness. So if you have multiple element through the thickness (can be adjusted while seeding the geometry) you have that many repeated stacking.
2. To obtain transverse shear stresses, you need to consider several other factors such as number of layers through the thickness or whether you are using parallel processing or not, and so on.
Ref: Use 24.6.1 Shell elements: overview (6.8 documentation)
Hope this helps. Please feel free to provide corrections/comments in this thread. Thanks.
-CJ