Error 33303: An unsupported connection of two metallic plates in different media was found.

Altair Forum User

I see the following error:

Error 33303: An unsupported connection of two metallic plates in different media was found.

What does it mean and what should I do to fix it?

JIF

The full error message in the OUT file reads:

  A connection between the following metallic triangles has been found, which is not allowed: Triangle  4 with media  1 and  1 (type 0) Triangle  92 with media  0 and  0 (type 0) Introduce metallic plate on dielectric surface as solution ERROR 33303: An unsupported connection of two metallic plates in different media was found

 

This error message is given when a metallic strip directly penetrates a boundary between different media (dielectrics) and only when the model is solved with the FEM.

See the images below for a workaround. On the right we see the unsupported connection where metallic triangles are penetrating a dielectric cuboid directly. In the middle image and in the left image we see two options that can be used as a workaround - on the left we introduce a 'step' in the dielectric where the metallic triangles have dielectric below them and free space above them, and in the middle image we introduce a few metallic triangles around the edge on the surface of the boundary.