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Structural & Thermal

Structural & Thermal

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  3. Why is initial distance between general edge-edge contact (vis GCGEN) on shell element perimeters always reported as a “gap” even when the shell edges are actually penetrating?

Why is initial distance between general edge-edge contact (vis GCGEN) on shell element perimeters always reported as a “gap” even when the shell edges are actually penetrating?

Tagged: 19, contact, GCGEN, mapdl, mechanical-apdl, modeling-and-meshing, structural-and-thermal, structural-mechanics
    • April 5, 2023 at 2:33 pm
      FAQFAQ
      Participant

      This is a code limitation. Code cannot distinguish between gaps and penetrations at the start of the analysis. To get edge-edge contact (via GCGEN,,,2) to work in such applications, make sure there is a real “gap” at start of analysis. Zero gap or small penetration will not work, regardless of pinball.

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