Distributed mass problem 2

[slumdogengineer]

Dear All,

I have a model consisting of shell181 and solid 185 elements. The structure is made of laminates, which I have modelled using the section commands. I want to add a distributed mass across the whole structure (to simulate the mass of wiring).

My questions are:

- Is there a way of adding a uniformly distributed mass across a structure? I am aware that shell elements have an added mass per unit area option but solid elements do not as far as I can tell.

- I considered increasing the density of the material (although this is less straightforward in a composite model). To calculate the required density increase I need to know the total volume of the structure. But I can't find anywhere a way of doing this! It seems a very fundamental thing, so there must be a way right? How do you calculate the total volume of a model (a mixture of shells and solids)?

By the way, I am using Ansys Multiphysics (not workbench).
Many thanks for any help,

Will

 

[cbrn]

Hi,
you could overlay shell elements to the "outer surfaces" of the solid elements.
As for the volume, see *VSUM command. In case of shells, the volume is trivially the area multiplied by the defined thickness.

Regards

 

[Stringmaker]

Use SURF154 elements. You can add mass per unit area...or you can assign them density and thickness. Make sure you specify real constants and material properties correctly!

 

[slumdogengineer]

Thanks guys, both very helpful replies! I have now fixed the problem.

Cheers,
Will