Can I use MAT8 card to define the properties of carbon fiber ply in aerodynamic parts such as race car rear wing (airfoil shape)

Frederic Auger

Hi,

I'm a student in mechanical engineering. 

I want to run FEA on aerodynamic parts that are made of carbon fiber. These parts have airfoil shape.

I have read about the MAT8 and MAT9OR material card on the Altair OptiStruct website, but I still have 2 questions:

1. In the MAT8 card, does "2D element" mean that the ply has to be flat (like a plate) or does it mean that the thickness has to be really small compare to the length and width of the part regardless of the shape of the part?

2. How can I evaluate failure if I use MAT9OR card, since it does not allow entry of ultimate tensile and compressive strength values?

Thank you,

Frederic

 

Adriano A. Koga

1. MAT8 can be used for shell models, just like any other "regular shell", with thickness smaller compared to the other dimensions, independently of being flat or curved shape. Usually MAT8 will be used with PCOMPP,PCOMP,etc.

2. for 3D elements, and materials such as MAT9OR, you can add the failure model, and allowables into a MATF extension card. Enable it within your MAT9OR

https://help.altair.com/hwsolvers/os/topics/solvers/os/matf_bulk_r.htm?zoom_highlight=puck