Reply To: To shell or not to shell, that is the question.

[Kaushal Vadnere]

Use of mid-surface does not necessarily over-simplifies the model, you are making an calculated assumption that the stress distribution in the thickness is not required hence you can avoid computationally expensive solid elements. For No separation contact types, the Far Open status means the penetration and gap is set to 0 even though there is some geometric gap exists at the contact interface. You can check geometry and adjust to touch. Shell thickness effect only considers the thickness of the shell for contact which means, when 2 bodies come into contact with each other, the contact will not accur at the mid-surface but at some distance from the mid-surface to account for the thickness of the shell. You can check parameters for the automatic contact detection or create manual contacts where contact is not detected.