AERSYS

KNOWLEDGEUNIT
AERSYS7001
Author: AsierRuizdeAguirreMalaxetxebarria Date: 04/01/2011
FEM X HAND LIN NOLIN BUCK FAT STATIC COMP X MET
TRANSFORMINGPCOMPTOPSHELL

1
AERSYSAERONAUTICAS.L.2011Allrightsreserved

1. INTRODUCTION

NASTRAN uses PCOMP cards usually combined with MAT8 cards to define composite
materials. The PCOMP cards are internally converted to PSHELL+MAT2 cards by using the
equivalentpropertiesformembrane,bending,outofplaneshearandmembranebending
coupling.

Although the way to define the PCOMP cards is more straightforward once the layup is
defined, the PSHELL+MAT2 cards offer the possibility to manipulate each term and allow
the user to implement some especial features on the model. For example a pure
membrane behavior without bending stiffness can be defined, or the coupling between
membraneandbendingcanberemovedinasymmetriclaminates.

For these reasons sometime is very useful to use the PSHELL combined with MAT2 to
definethecomposites.But,theproblemistotransformtheeasilydefinedPCOMPcardin
thecomplexPSHELL+MAT2cards.
2. THEORETICALBACKGROUND

The force flows of the shell elements are related with the strains and curvatures of the
elementsbytheA,BandDmatricesinthefollowingway:

`
1
1
1
1
n
xx
n

n
x
m
xx
m

m
x1
1
1
1
1
= j
A B
B
[
`
1
1
1
1
e
xx
e

e
x
k
xx
k

k
x1
1
1
1
1

Where:
n:Forceflows(N/mm)
m:Momentflows(N)
A,B,D:Stiffnessmatricesofthelaminate
:Strainsofthelaminate
k:Curvaturesofthelaminate

Membrane:

The matrix [A] relates the force flows with the strains on the laminate in absence of
curvatures(membranebehavior):

AERSYS
KNOWLEDGEUNIT
AERSYS7001
Author: AsierRuizdeAguirreMalaxetxebarria Date: 04/01/2011
FEM X HAND LIN NOLIN BUCK FAT STATIC COMP X MET
TRANSFORMINGPCOMPTOPSHELL

2
AERSYSAERONAUTICAS.L.2011Allrightsreserved

_
n
xx
n

n
x
_ = |A] _
e
xx
e

e
x
_

Iftheequationaboveisdividedbythethicknessofthelaminate:

_
o
xx
o

o
x
_ =
1
t
|A] _
e
xx
e

e
x
_

ThereforetheMAT2ofthemembranebehavior(MID1field)willbe:

|HI1] =
1
t
|A]

UsingaZ0onthePCOMPcardorusinganoffsetontheshellelementswillnotchangethe
[A]matrixneithertherelationsstatedontheequationabove.

Bending:

Thematrix[D]relatesthemomentflowswiththecurvaturesonthelaminateinabsenceof
neutralaxisstrains(purebendingbehavior):

_
m
xx
m

m
x
_ = |] _
k
xx
k

k
x
_

Thisexpressioncanberewrittenas:

_
o
xx
o

o
x
_
t
3
12
t
2
= |] _
e
xx
e

e
x
_
1
t
2

Simplifyingandreordering:

_
o
xx
o

o
x
_ =
12
t
3
|] _
e
xx
e

e
x
_

ThereforetheMAT2ofthemembranebehavior(MID2field)willbe:

AERSYS
KNOWLEDGEUNIT
AERSYS7001
Author: AsierRuizdeAguirreMalaxetxebarria Date: 04/01/2011
FEM X HAND LIN NOLIN BUCK FAT STATIC COMP X MET
TRANSFORMINGPCOMPTOPSHELL

3
AERSYSAERONAUTICAS.L.2011Allrightsreserved

|HI2] =
12
t
3
|]

Using a Z0 on the PCOMP card will change the [D] matrix (because the bending stiffness
will be calculated taken into account a different offset of the center of gravity of the
section regarding the nodes location) but it will not change the relation stated on the
equation above. The offset on the shell elements will not change the [D] matrix or the
equationabove.

OutofPlaneShear:

Thefollowingmatrixrelatestheoutofplane(ortransverse)shearstresseswiththeshear
deformationsonasingleply:

13

23
= _
0
13
u
u 0
23
_ ]
y
13
y
23

Whenthematrixisrotatedananglethefollowingexpressioncanbeapplied:

xz

z
= _
cos (0) -sin (0)
sin (0) cos (0)
_ ]

13

23

]
y
xz
y
z
= _
cos (0) -sin (0)
sin (0) cos (0)
_ ]
y
13
y
23

_
cos (0) sin (0)
-sin (0) cos (0)
_ ]

xz

z
= _
0
13
u
u 0
23
_ _
cos (0) sin (0)
-sin (0) cos (0)
_ ]
y
xz
y
z

xz

z
= _
cos (0) -sin (0)
sin (0) cos (0)
_ _
0
13
u
u 0
23
_ _
cos (0) sin (0)
-sin (0) cos (0)
_ ]
y
xz
y
z

Thematerialstiffnessmatrixforeachplyiscalculatedas:

|m]'

= _
cos (0) -sin (0)
sin (0) cos (0)
_ _
0
13
u
u 0
23
_ _
cos (0) sin (0)
-sin (0) cos (0)
_

When combining all the ply matrices to get the equivalent laminate matrix the
contribution of each ply on each direction is different because the tangential stress
distributionthroughthethicknessisverycomplex forlaminatedcomposite materials.For
homogeneous materials this distribution is simpler (parabolic with a 0 value at the outer
faces). The parabolic distribution on homogeneous materials leads to use a ratio of
equivalent thickness of 5/6 for transverse shear (which is the mean value of shear stress
calculatedintegratingtheshearstressthroughthethickness).

AERSYS
KNOWLEDGEUNIT
AERSYS7001
Author: AsierRuizdeAguirreMalaxetxebarria Date: 04/01/2011
FEM X HAND LIN NOLIN BUCK FAT STATIC COMP X MET
TRANSFORMINGPCOMPTOPSHELL

4
AERSYSAERONAUTICAS.L.2011Allrightsreserved

Thewaytocombinealltheseplymatricesisverycomplex.Youcanfindtheformulationat
the Reference manual of NASTRAN >> Additional Topics >> Composites >> Transverse
ShearTheory

You can neglect this out of plane shear stiffness using a 0 value for the MID3 field of the
PSHELL if MID2 field has been filled (If MID2 field is not entered MID3 must be blank). In
fact,thisistheusualsituationbecausetheoutofplaneshearflexibilityistypicallyignored.
The PCOMP is usually combined with MAT8 cards that normally do not have G1Z and/or
G2Zdefined.Thisimpliesthattheoutofplaneshearstiffnessisinfiniteandthereforeany
transversaldeformationwillbeonlyduetobending.

UsingaZ0onthePCOMPcardorusinganoffsetontheshellelementswillnotchangethe
outofplaneshearstiffnessatall.

MembraneBendingCoupling:

The membrane bending coupling is the effect of bending generated by membrane loads.
Thishappenswhenanyofthecentersofgravityofthecrosssectionofthelaminateisnot
atthemidplaneofthelaminate(asymmetriclaminates,PCOMPSwithZ0).Whenthistakes
place,someeccentricityisincludedonthelaminateandbendingdeformationsarecreated
with axial loads (and reciprocally some axial loads can result from the application of
bendingmoment).

TheMID4fieldofthePSHELLisusedtorepresentthisbehavior.

The[B]matrixofthelaminateexpressesthecouplingas:

_
n
xx
n

n
x
_ = |B] _
k
xx
k

k
x
_ witb ({e] = {u])
Or:
_
m
xx
m

m
x
_ = |B] _
e
xx
e

e
x
_ witb ({k] = {u])

Inthiscaseobtainingthematerialmatrixismorecomplexbecausethestrainsdistributions
aremorecomplex(axial+bending).Thefinalresultisthat:

|HI4] = -
1
t
2
|B]

AERSYS
KNOWLEDGEUNIT
AERSYS7001
Author: AsierRuizdeAguirreMalaxetxebarria Date: 04/01/2011
FEM X HAND LIN NOLIN BUCK FAT STATIC COMP X MET
TRANSFORMINGPCOMPTOPSHELL

5
AERSYSAERONAUTICAS.L.2011Allrightsreserved

ThesignminusisduetothewaythepliesareenteredonthePCOMPcard(fromlowerto
upper face) which is the contrary criterion to the one implemented on the programs
commonlyused(includingPATRAN)tocalculatethecouplingmatrix[B].

Using a Z0 on the PCOMP card will change the [B] matrix (because the bendingaxial
couplingwillbecalculatedtakenintoaccountadifferentoffsetofthecenterofgravityof
thesectionregardingthenodeslocation)butitwillnotchangetherelationstatedonthe
equation above. The offset on the shell elements will not change the [B] matrix or the
equationabove.
3. TRANSFORMINGPCOMPSTOPSHELL+MAT2ONNASTRAN

The way to carry out this transformation is very simple. Once the finite element model is
available with the PCOMP cards on it (and their related MAT cards, usually MAT8) the
ECHOcommandonthecasecontrolshallbesettopunch:

ECHO=PUNCH

Inordertoacceleratethemodelrun,allthesubcasescanberemovedfromtheNASTRAN
inputsincetheonlypurposeofthisrunistoreplicatethemodel.Thefiniteelementmodel
nowcanberunandapunchfile(withextension.pch)willbecreated.Thisfilecontainsall
thecards thatNASTRAN hasreadfromtheinputfile.Abouttheendofthepunchfile the
conversion of the PCOMP cards is summarized (you can look for the ID of the PCOMP to
searchonespecificcard).

On this conversion the PCOMP cards are transformed in a PSHELL plus four MAT2 cards.
Each MAT2 represents one of the four behaviors of the PSHELL properties (membrane,
bending,transverseshear,andmembranebendingcoupling).EachoftheIDfortheMAT2
generatedisrelatedwiththecorrespondingfieldofthePSHELLcard.

Thetransformationperformedinthepunchfile(PSHELL+MAT2cards)candirectlyreplace
the PCOMP definition of the original input file of NASTRAN. This replacement should not
makeanydifferenceontheresultsobtainedonthefiniteelementmodel.Ofcourse,allthe
stressorstrainsrelatedwithplieswillnotbeavailablesinceconvertingthePCOMPintoits
homogeneousequivalentshellwillmisstheinformationrelatedtotheexistingplies.

When using Z0 at the PCOMP the stress/strain recovery points of the equivalent PSHELL
cardwillbemodifiedtoremainontheoutersurfacesoftheelement.

ThereforethegeneratedPSHELLandMAT2cardscanreplacethedefinitionofthePCOMP
intheNASTRANinputfileinthenextrunsallowingtheusertomanipulatetheconstantsof

AERSYS
KNOWLEDGEUNIT
AERSYS7001
Author: AsierRuizdeAguirreMalaxetxebarria Date: 04/01/2011
FEM X HAND LIN NOLIN BUCK FAT STATIC COMP X MET
TRANSFORMINGPCOMPTOPSHELL

6
AERSYSAERONAUTICAS.L.2011Allrightsreserved

thematerialsthatdefinemoredirectlythestiffnessoftheshellelement.