Reply To: Acceleration in Symmetry Region

[peteroznewman]

Hi Alessandro,

One approach to reduce the model size is to have a solid model only for a short length around each bolted joint. For the long spans of the beams, use beam elements. Bonded contact allows you to switch from a beam model to a solid model a short distance away from the bolt. But don't make the transition too close to the bolt.

You could build this up in phases, where in the initial phase, you don't model any bolts. Use a Fixed Joint to connect one hole to another hole where the bolt will be. You can extract forces and moments going through the Fixed Joint.  For the few joints that have the highest forces or moments, delete the Fixed Joint and add in a representation of the bolt, add a Bolt Pretension load and some Frictional contact between the parts being clamped. In this way you spend your time and resources (nodes and elements) in areas of high stress while saving your time and resources where the forces and moments are small and so the stress will be low.