Element Penetrate

Jerome Teoh
Jerome Teoh Altair Community Member
edited November 2022 in Community Q&A

Good evening,

image

I am simulation 3pt bending test. I physically model the steel rod, and defining contact card between the substrate surface and rod.

Not sure why it is penetrating.

image

Also, I am modeling the laminated composite as a 2D shell element? Is there a way to visualize it in 3D during the post processing?

Especially the stress result?

 

Thanks,

Jerome.

Best Answer

  • Robinson Ferrari_20451
    Robinson Ferrari_20451
    Altair Employee
    edited November 2022 Answer ✓

    If you are running in small displacement, be sure the search distance is enough to create the contact pair. Otherwise, the contact will not be updated throughout the solution. For linear, you can consider what AM has mentioned.
    Another important point is to check if you are considering the shell thickness in your search distance (by default OptiStruct uses GPAD = thick).
    I believe in this case large displacement should be the best choice for 3pt bending test. So, use PARAM,LGDISP, 1, and select track=CONSLI for the contact pair (keep in mind to take into account the shell thickness). Let us know if it works for all, and consider marking the answer as correct. Thank you.

Answers

  • AM_20700
    AM_20700 Altair Community Member
    edited October 2022

    Complete noob here, so take my reply with a hefty serving of salt.

    Is this a linear analysis? If so, the contact will be assessed at the start of the simulation and remain in that state throughout the simulation. If your search distance is too small, the contact will be set to "open" and will not update as the components get closer.

  • Robinson Ferrari_20451
    Robinson Ferrari_20451
    Altair Employee
    edited November 2022 Answer ✓

    If you are running in small displacement, be sure the search distance is enough to create the contact pair. Otherwise, the contact will not be updated throughout the solution. For linear, you can consider what AM has mentioned.
    Another important point is to check if you are considering the shell thickness in your search distance (by default OptiStruct uses GPAD = thick).
    I believe in this case large displacement should be the best choice for 3pt bending test. So, use PARAM,LGDISP, 1, and select track=CONSLI for the contact pair (keep in mind to take into account the shell thickness). Let us know if it works for all, and consider marking the answer as correct. Thank you.