ANSYS Comp

MAE 656 - Advanced
Computer Aided Design

05. Shells and Membranes Doc 04
Shell Laminates
Introduction
Shell structures can be made of just one material or can
combine several materials along its thickness.
MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012
05.ShellsandMembranes Doc04
Introduction
Ansys Workbench (in its version 13) is only prepared to
work with a single material shell. This is a big drawback as
many shells are made of laminate materials.
Therefore, if we want to define a laminate, we have to insert
APLD commands in the Mechanical module.
We will have to interact on the Geometry and on the Static
Structural sections.
Note: Although we will only use APLD commands to define laminate elements,
these can be used for many other applications, being possible to customize
Ansys Workbench as much as wanted.
Definition of the Laminate

In the mechanical module, in the geometry section, are
displayed all surface elements that have been defined to
simulate the structural component.
It is possible to insert command lines under each one of
them. In these command lines we will define the laminate.
Definition of the Laminate

The laminate definition is divided in three blocks:
Definition of the shell properties
Definition of the materials included in the laminate
Definition of the laminate layup
The first line that has to be added in the command file is:
/prep7
This line calls the preprocessor
Shell Properties
The shell properties are defined as follows:
et, matid, 181
keyopt,matid,1,0
keyopt,matid,3,2
keyopt,matid,8,1
!Specifies the element type, shell 181

!Bending and membrane stiffness (default)
!Use full integration
!Store data of all layers
A detailed definition of all these options can be found in

ANSYS manual, in sections:
(// Command Reference // VI. E Commands // ET)
(// Element Reference // I. Element Library // SHELL181)
Material Properties
The first thing that is recommended to do when defining
the material properties is to erase all data that may be
generated in previous steps:
mpdel, all, 11
tbdel, all, 11
!Delete all assigned prop. for material 11

!Delete all previously assigned tabular data
In this case, the material defined is number eleven. It is

recommended to use materials with high numeration to
avoid writing the data over materials previously assigned in
the Engineering Data section.
Material Properties
Afterwards we will define all material props:
MP,
MP,
MP,
MP,
MP,
MP,
MP,
MP,
MP,
EX,
EY,
EZ,
GXY,
GYZ,
GXZ,
PRXY,
PRYZ,
PRXZ,
11, 139.80e3
11, 10.93e3
11, 10.93e3
11,
3.92e3
11,
3.92e3
11,
3.92e3
11,
0.28
11,
0.28
11,
0.28
A detailed description of the different properties that can

be defined is found in:
(// Command Reference // XIV. M Commands // MP)
Section Definition
First we have to give a number to the section and say the
type of section that will be defined:
Msect, 1, shell
Afterwards we have to provide some data of the section. In

particular, we are interested in defining the staking
sequence. This is, the thickness of the lamina, the material
and its orientation:
secdata, 0.26, 11, 30
!Define thickness, material & orientation for layer i
Section Definition
We can also define the position of the laminate relative to
the shell geometry:
secoffset, MID
!Define thickness location (TOP - MID - BOT)
As happened with the other parameters defined, more

information can be found in Ansys help, which can be
found in:
(// Command Reference // XX. S Commands // SECDATA)
(// Command Reference // XX. S Commands // SECOFFSET)
Some Notes
The materials defined in a command file (for a particular
shell part) can be used in other command files, without
having to redefine them.
Material properties are defined in the local shell
direction. It is recommended to define the orientation
axis of the shell in order to have the material correctly
oriented.
All commands described are basic APDL commands. A
better description on how to define composite materials
using ANSYS APDL can be found in:
E. Barbero Finite Element Analysis of Composite Materials (Composite
Materials: Design and Analysis). CRC Press. ISBN: 978-1420054330
Static Structural
After defining the boundary conditions, we have to include
an APDL command in the Static Structural section, in order
to be sure that Ansys uses the shell section defined.
Static Structural
The lines to be included are the following:
fini
/prep7
etcon,off
fini
/solu
!Exit current Module

!Call the preprocessor
!Disable ANSYS from changin any KEYOPTS
!Exit the preprocessor
!Call the Solve Module
It is important to include this command file as the last think

defined in the Static Structural region because its last line
sends the developed model to the solver. If some boundary
conditions are defined after the command line, they may be
not considered.
Numerical Example
Define a rectangular shell structure with dimensions:
Note: All measures are in millimeters.

Numerical Example
The boundary conditions applied are:
Numerical Example
Solve three different laminates to study the interaction
between the different deformation modes.
The composites that have to be studied are:
(02, 02, 902)
(302, 02, 302)
(302, 02, -302)
The middle layers, written in green, are made of material
12. The rest of the layers are made of material 11.
Each layer has a thickness of 0.26mm
Numerical Example
The materials defined are:
!Material 11
MP, EX,
MP, EY,
MP, EZ,
MP, GXY,
MP, GYZ,
MP, GXZ,
MP, PRXY,
MP, PRYZ,
MP, PRXZ,
- Def. of mechanical properties mat 11

11, 139.80e3
11, 10.93e3
11, 10.93e3
11,
3.92e3
11,
3.92e3
11,
3.92e3
11,
0.28
11,
0.28
11,
0.28
Numerical Example
The materials defined are:
!Material 12
MP, EX,
MP, EY,
MP, EZ,
MP, GXY,
MP, GYZ,
MP, GXZ,
MP, PRXY,
MP, PRYZ,
MP, PRXZ,
12,
12,
12,
12,
12,
12,
12,
12,
12,
Def. of mechanical properties mat 12

5.00e3
5.00e3
5.00e3
2.08e3
2.08e3
2.08e3
0.20
0.20
0.20
Numerical Example (2)

Reproduce the ply drop-off test using shell elements.
In this case we will have to modify the geometry to divide
the shell in two different regions. Each one with a different
number of layers.
3 layers
6 layers

The boundary conditions are:
With an imposed displacement of 0.5mm

All layers are oriented in the direction of Xglobal and the
material considered is mat 11 previously defined.
The deformation obtained with the solid model for this
same problem is:

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MAE 656 - Advanced

Computer Aided Design

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

Definition of the Laminate

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

Definition of the Laminate

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

!Specifies the element type, shell 181

A detailed definition of all these options can be found in

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

!Delete all assigned prop. for material 11

In this case, the material defined is number eleven. It is

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

A detailed description of the different properties that can

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

Afterwards we have to provide some data of the section. In

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

As happened with the other parameters defined, more

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

!Exit current Module

It is important to include this command file as the last think

Note: All measures are in millimeters.

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

- Def. of mechanical properties mat 11

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

Def. of mechanical properties mat 12

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

Numerical Example (2)

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

Numerical Example (2)

With an imposed displacement of 0.5mm

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

Numerical Example (2)

MAE656 cba Dr.XavierMartinez,2012

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