Learning Forum

[2020221038]

 May I ask how a shaped solid (186 solid element) and a shell (181 shell element) covering the outer side can be connected other than making a direct bound contact (174 contact element and 170 target element)? It's too computationally inefficient to make binding contact. Without contact, it only takes about 10 seconds for a common node, but this connection is hinged and does not match the structural forces.

[peteroznewman]

Please reply with an image of the geometry you wish to mesh. You say a nodal connection is hinged, but if the shells are touching the face of a solid over an area, I don't see how a hinge forms. I do understand that if you have a flat surface and have one edge of that surface touch the face of a solid body along a straight line, that will create a hinge, but you say the shells are covering the outer side.

In SpaceClaim, if you have a solid body, say a cube with 6 faces, you can select one face and type Ctrl-C then Ctrl-V to make a surface of that face.  Then on the Workbench tab, use the Share button. That will cause the surface body and solid body to share nodes on the common face.  In that way you can have shell elements covering that one face on the soild body that is meshed with solid elements.

Without going to SpaceClaim, in Mechanical, you can right click on the Geometry branch and insert a Surface Coating.  This allows you to put a shell mesh on the face(s) of a solid body that has a solid mesh and assign a material and thickness. You can choose whether to include bending and membrane effects, useful for thick coatings, or membrane only effects, useful for very thin coatings.