FE Absorb Plies generates a ply-based model from zone-based properties.
Entities that are created include ply and laminate entities, with optional creation
of (OptiStruct/Nastran)
PCOMPP.
Exact conversion of the zone-based model to ply-based model depends on the existence
of global ply ID’s/name’s on the zones, for example PCOMPG
instead of PCOMP. FE Absorb Plies will still run with zones that
do not have global data, for example PCOMP, but the conversion
relies on internal logic to determine how to connect plies from zone to zone. Figure 1.
From the menu bar, click Aerospace > Composites > FE Absorb Plies.
Import zone-based models with PCOMP or
PCOMPG properties.
These FE models do not have any plies or laminates. The goal is to create
plies and laminates from PCOMP or PCOMPG
properties. Figure 2. No Plies or Laminates are in the FE Model
Select all of the PCOMP or PCOMPG
properties that need to be converted to PCOMPP (ply-based
model).
If you are using OptiStruct, select
Update TMANUF of ply so that zone layer thickness is
copied to PLY card TMANUF (used for sizing
optimization).
Optional: If you are using OptiStruct or Nastran profiles, select Create
PCOMPP to generate a PCOMPP property for
ply-based models.
To delete zone-based properties after the creation of a ply-based model, select
Delete properties after absorption.
If a zone ply shape has multiple disconnected regions, generate multiple plies,
one for each disconnected region, by selecting Split disconnected ply
regions into separate new ply entities.
After the conversion, laminates and plies are created. However converting a
zone-based model to a ply-based model is not deterministic. Many possibilities
exist, especially the laminate stacking order. You are advised to check the
laminate and reorder, if necessary. Figure 3. Ply, Laminate and PCOMPP are Created in the Model after FE Absorb
