FE representation of connectors.

[prebasha]

Hi all,

I'm new to Full-body/BIW FEA (have done FEA on other components before) and have observed at-least three different customers with little variation in their FE representation of connectors, most commonly I have seen following:

Spot/Seam weld: RBE3-Hexa-RBE3 ( ACM2 model)
Structural/mastic sealer: RBE2-Hexa-RBE3

What is the logic and theory behind these two types of representation?

One more question, what is gum-drop?

Thanks.

 

[dangermx]

Regarding the RBE3 and RBE2 the main difference is that RBE2 add stiffness in the results, unlike the RBE3 elements that doesn't add any value to the result stiffness matrix, most common is to use RBE2 elements to represent those component's joins like screws, push pins, etc, RBE3 elements allowes you to represent the union of two components without the stiffness that represents use fasteners, is used for representations of contacts between two different components. I hope this answer helps you

Regards