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Converting shell elements to solids

Altair Forum User

Hi guys,

I'm currently developing a complex composite structure und simulated it already with optistruct with shell elements (Mat8, PCOMPP).

In order to distuguish different failure mechanisms I need analyse the stress in thickness direction of the structre. For that I used the 'shell-to-solid conversion' within the aerospace menu.
Now that I have a solid mesh, I'm not sure how to proceed.

What property do I assign to the solid mesh ?
What material card do I use for it ?
Do I need to assign the material orientation to the new mesh again and if yes, how do I do that ?

Thanks in advance /emoticons/default_smile.png' srcset='/emoticons/smile@2x.png 2x' title=':)' width='20' />

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Altair Forum User

Hi @Vol7age

For solid elements you need PSOLID property and for orthotropic material you can use either MAt9 or MAT9ORT

Altair Forum User

Can I create a laminate with solid elements ? If yes, how ?

I can select the different elements that I got from the shell-to-solid conversion for creating plies but I encountered various error messages during the check-run connected to the laminate.

Altair Forum User

@Vol7age

If you want to include a ply with solid elements in laminate with STACK card, no it is not possible.

You can create two laminates on top and bottom faces of the solid component so that you can include solid ply in between the laminates.