Mesh Thickness is from Mid-Plane

swaraj

Hi,
There are two problems, I am facing:

• Can't Import the attached stl file. Shows no error but doesnt import either
  
• Even if the stl file get imported, When I try to give a thickness in material properties to the model it happens bi-directional. How can i set a direction to the thickness of the mesh?
  

swaraj

I imported unv format of the same mesh,it got imported. Can you solve the thickness direction of the mesh problem.

Victor

You can use Shell offset under Mesh tools -> Element properties to move the midplane by half the thickness.

swaraj

Hey @Victor, On determining thickness, some free surfaces are formed.Attached is the image

Victor

That's probably just an artifact of the display if there are sharp corners since it displays each element as a prism.

swaraj

So it wouldn't be a problem ?

Victor

Not usually. But it's hard to tell from the picture if there's anything else going on. If you're using the CCX solver, those kinds of sharp corners with large thickness can sometimes cause it to fail.

There will likely be more error in that region because shells aren't very good at sharp corners, so don't expect good stress results at the crease and be sure to check for mesh convergence. The whole structure looks quite thick for shells and might be better done with solids.