Using shell-elements

Hi!



I've been doing some FE-analysis with solidelements in CosmosWorks
Designer, but our product are mainly sheet metal products and solid
elements are quite cumbersome to use in bigger sheet metal assemblys.



Problem is that there really isn't that many tutorials concerning
shell-elements in assemblies and it has proved to be a challenge to
model bolt-connections and more complex sheet metal parts and still be
able to define shell components correctly. In bigger assemblies, I
always manage to get several error messages



Any advices where to find tutorials or some shell-element assembly FAQs?



thanks,



-JJ-

Large models using shell elements in CosmosWorks are a lost
cause. The shell definition time approaches infinity.
There's an SPR on the problem. Defining shells on about 50
surfaces might typically take 15 minutes (no, not meshing, not
running...DEFINING.) Of course, every thickness change requires
re-definition. It's hard to believe the product was ever actually
tested.



Until as such time as they might fix it, I would recommend against
using shell elements in CosmosWorks for any but trivially small
problems....which you could probably model as solids anyway.

bcarman55 you are correct. I am analysing right now MSc project (Truck frame design and structural analysis) and i have modeled whole frame with fuel tank clamps, cross members, engine and gear clamps and others elements and time which CosmosWorks need to define mesh on all surfaces takes a lot of time. But from other side it works !! Of course i have found other problems with surface analysis in CW for example: updating surfaces definition do not work correctly ( it makes definition realy hard if you are maing updates to the model), problems with not correctly sided mesh, remote forces do not work with edges, Connectors are not suitable to work with surfaces, and others less important but making analysis time longer. But !! I have to say that it is super FEA package why ??? Doing this in other packages (Truck frame analysis) like FEMAP, IDEAS is horrible (puting connectors beatween surfaces with 2 mm offset even using groups and other tricks is realy time depended . Bonded Connection is realy greate