Trouble with 3D Orthotropic Materials for Solid Composites

Trouble with Solid Composite elements.

I'm running a test model of a cantilever strip beam to compare a composite shell with a composite solid.

I've defined 3D orthotropic materials based from 2D values, but the results I get suggest the solid model is significantly less stiff than the shell model. The shell model agrees with a hand calc for a strip beam with E based calculate laminate.

I would have expected the Solid to be stiffer.

Running the same laminate with isotropic materials (E1, G12) gives result more that I would expect.

As such I think I have a problem with the 3D material properties.

Any advice or examples of this?

Thanks

0 Dave Popejoy over 6 years ago

Did you run a convergence study? For example, mesh density in the 3D model? How many elements through the thickness?
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0 alan.goddard over 6 years ago

Thanks for the response.

No convergence study. I used one element through thickness based on the following example:

http://pages.mscsoftware.com/rs/mscsoftware/images/Sec2_Solid_Composites_021712.pdf

Results I get seem ok with layered isotropic materials, but not with layered 3D orthotropic materials (even imitating isotropic).
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