Birth and Death with loadsteps

[Comlex]

Hi,
I have two cantilever beams (3d) meshed with SOLID 45 elements arranged one over the other. Contact elements (CONTA173 and TARGE 170)are generated between them. In first loadstep I want to bend them and in second load step, I want to apply a surface load (pressure). Contact elements between two beams should be killed in first load step and should be activated in second load step.I used EKILL and EALIVE separately with lswrite commands. It solves only first load step and stops. I have used KINH material model. Can you guide me, how to solve it ?

 

[HStruct]

First thing - isfiles don’t support any contact elements.

Then step-wise what you can do is -
1. in 1st load step kill the contact elems.
2. apply bending load.
3. when u solve with iswrite command before solve command, it will write initial stress file.
4. in 2nd LS make contact elems alive however before you read isfile you unselect the contact elems.
5. now select everything ALLSEL. and solve.

note - iswrite creates initial stress values in reverse fashion for example, if you apply tension it creates initial stress values for compression, thus be careful

-Hemant