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SHELL181

4-NodeStructuralShell
MPMESTPRPRNDSDSS<><><><>PPVTEMEMFS
ProductRestrictions
SHELL181ElementDescription
SHELL181issuitableforanalyzingthintomoderately-thickshellstructures.Itisa
four-nodeelementwithsixdegreesoffreedomateachnode:translationsinthex,
y,andzdirections,androtationsaboutthex,y,andz-axes.(Ifthemembrane
optionisused,theelementhastranslationaldegreesoffreedomonly).The
degeneratetriangularoptionshouldonlybeusedasfillerelementsinmesh
generation.
SHELL181iswell-suitedforlinear,largerotation,and/orlargestrainnonlinear
applications.Changeinshellthicknessisaccountedforinnonlinearanalyses.In
theelementdomain,bothfullandreducedintegrationschemesaresupported.
SHELL181accountsforfollower(loadstiffness)effectsofdistributedpressures.
SHELL181maybeusedforlayeredapplicationsformodelingcompositeshellsor
sandwichconstruction.Theaccuracyinmodelingcompositeshellsisgovernedby
thefirst-ordershear-deformationtheory(usuallyreferredtoasMindlin-Reissner
shelltheory).
Theelementformulationisbasedonlogarithmicstrainandtruestressmeasures.
Theelementkinematicsallowforfinitemembranestrains(stretching).However,
thecurvaturechangeswithinatimeincrementareassumedtobesmall.
SeeSHELL181intheMechanicalAPDLTheoryReferenceformoredetailsabout
thiselement.
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SHELL181InputData
Thefollowingfigureshowsthegeometry,nodelocations,andtheelement
coordinatesystemforthiselement.Theelementisdefinedbyshellsection
informationandbyfournodes(I,J,K,andL).
Figure181.1SHELL181Geometry
x
o
=Elementx-axisifESYSisnotprovided.
x=Elementx-axisifESYSisprovided.
Single-LayerDefinition
Todefinethethickness(andotherinformation),usesectiondefinition,asfollows:
SECTYPE,,SHELL
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SECDATA,THICKNESS,...
Asingle-layershellsectiondefinitionprovidesflexibleoptions.Forexample,you
canspecifythenumberofintegrationpointsusedandthematerialorientation.
MultilayerDefinition
Theshellsectioncommandsallowforlayeredshelldefinition.Optionsareavailable
forspecifyingthethickness,material,orientation,andnumberofintegration
pointsthroughthethicknessofthelayers.
Youcandesignatethenumberofintegrationpoints(1,3,5,7,or9)located
throughthethicknessofeachlayerwhenusingsectioninput.Whenonlyone,the
pointisalwayslocatedmidwaybetweenthetopandbottomsurfaces.Ifthreeor
morepoints,twopointsarelocatedonthetopandbottomsurfacesrespectively
andtheremainingpointsaredistributedequaldistancebetweenthetwopoints.
Thedefaultnumberofintegrationpointsforeachlayeristhree;however,whena
singlelayerisdefinedandplasticityispresent,thenumberofintegrationpointsis
changedtoaminimumoffiveduringsolution.
Thefollowingadditionalcapabilitiesareavailablewhendefiningshelllayers:
SHELL181acceptsthepreintegratedshellsectiontype(SECTYPE,,
GENS).
WhentheelementisassociatedwiththeGENSsectiontype,thicknessor
materialdefinitionsarenotrequired.
Youcanusethefunctiontooltodefinethicknessasafunctionof
global/localcoordinatesornodenumbers(SECFUNCTION).
Youcanspecifyoffsets(SECOFFSET).
AsectioncanbepartiallydefinedusingdatafromaFiberSIM.xmlfile
(SECTYPE,,SHELL,FIBERSIM).
OtherInput
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ThedefaultorientationforthiselementhastheS
1
(shellsurfacecoordinate)axis
alignedwiththefirstparametricdirectionoftheelementatthecenterofthe
element,whichconnectsthemidsidesofedgesLIandJKandisshownasx
o
in
Figure181.1.Inthemostgeneralcase,theaxiscanbedefinedas:
where:

{x}
I
,{x}
J
,{x}
K
,{x}
L
=globalnodalcoordinates
Forundistortedelements,thedefaultorientationisthesameasdescribedin
CoordinateSystems(thefirstsurfacedirectionisalignedwiththeIJside).For
spatiallywarpedorotherwisedistortedelements,thedefaultorientation
representsthestressstatebetterbecausetheelementusesasinglepointof
quadrature(bydefault)intheelementdomain.
ThefirstsurfacedirectionS
1
canberotatedbyangle(indegrees)forthelayer
viatheSECDATAcommand.Foranelement,youcanspecifyasinglevalueof
orientationintheplaneoftheelement.Layer-wiseorientationissupported.
YoucanalsodefineelementorientationviatheESYScommand.SeeCoordinate
Systems.
Theelementsupportsdegenerationintoatriangularform;however,useofthe
triangularformisnotrecommended,exceptwhenusedasmeshfillerelementsor
withthemembraneoption(KEYOPT(1)=1).Thetriangleformisgenerallymore
robustwhenusingthemembraneoptionwithlargedeflections.
Toevaluatestressesandstrainsonexteriorsurfaces,useKEYOPT(1)=2.When
usedasoverlaidelementsonthefacesof3-Delements,thisoptionissimilarto
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usedasoverlaidelementsonthefacesof3-Delements,thisoptionissimilarto
thesurfacestressoption(describedintheMechanicalAPDLTheoryReference),
butismoregeneralandapplicabletononlinearanalysis.Theelementusedwith
thisoptiondoesnotprovideanystiffness,mass,orloadcontributions.Thisoption
shouldonlybeusedinsingle-layershells.Irrespectiveofothersettings,
SHELL181providesstressandstrainoutputatthecenterofthelayer.
SHELL181usesapenaltymethodtorelatetheindependentrotationaldegreesof
freedomaboutthenormal(totheshellsurface)withthein-planecomponentsof
displacements.Theprogramchoosesanappropriatepenaltystiffnessbydefault.A
drillstiffnessfactorcanbespecifiedviatheSECCONTROLScommand.
ElementloadsaredescribedinNodalLoading.Pressuresmaybeinputassurface
loadsontheelementfacesasshownbythecirclednumbersonFigure181.1.
Positivepressuresactintotheelement.Becauseshelledgepressuresareinputon
aper-unit-lengthbasis,per-unit-areaquantitiesmustbemultipliedbytheshell
thickness.
Temperaturesmaybeinputaselementbodyloadsatthecornersoftheoutside
facesoftheelementandatthecornersoftheinterfacesbetweenlayers.Thefirst
cornertemperatureT1defaultstoTUNIF.Ifallothertemperaturesare
unspecified,theydefaulttoT1.IfKEYOPT(1)=0andifexactlyNL+1
temperaturesareinput,onetemperatureisusedforthefourbottomcornersof
eachlayer,andthelasttemperatureisusedforthefourtopcornertemperatures
ofthetoplayer.IfKEYOPT(1)=1andifexactlyNLtemperaturesareinput,one
temperatureisusedforthefourcornersofeachlayer.Thatis,T1isusedforT1,
T2,T3,andT4;T2(asinput)isusedforT5,T6,T7,andT8,etc.Foranyother
inputpattern,unspecifiedtemperaturesdefaulttoTUNIF.
UsingKEYOPT(3),SHELL181supportsuniformreducedintegrationandfull
integrationwithincompatiblemodes.Bydefault,thiselementusestheuniform
reducedintegrationforperformancereasonsinnonlinearapplications.
Usingreducedintegrationwithhourglasscontrolcreatessomeusagerestrictions,
althoughminimal.Forexample,tocapturethein-planebendingofacantileveror
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astiffener(seeFigure181.2),anumberofelementsthroughthethickness
directionisnecessary.Theperformancegainsachievedbyusinguniformreduced
integrationaresignificantenoughtooffsettheneedtousemoreelements.In
relativelywell-refinedmeshes,hourglassingissuesarelargelyirrelevant.
Whenthereducedintegrationoptionisused,youcanchecktheaccuracyofthe
solutionbycomparingthetotalenergy(SENElabelinETABLE)andtheartificial
energy(AENElabelinETABLE)introducedbyhourglasscontrol.Iftheratioof
artificialenergytototalenergyislessthan5%,thesolutionisgenerally
acceptable.Thetotalenergyandartificialenergycanalsobemonitoredbyusing
OUTPR,VENGinthesolutionphase.
Bilinearelements,whenfullyintegrated,aretoostiffinin-planebending.
SHELL181usesthemethodofincompatiblemodestoenhancetheaccuracyin
bending-dominatedproblems.Thisapproachisalsocalled"extrashapes"or
"bubble"modesapproach.SHELL181usestheformulationthatensures
satisfactionofthepatchtest(J.C.SimoandF.Armero,"Geometricallynonlinear
enhancedstrainmixedmethodsandthemethodofincompatiblemodes,"IJNME,
Vol.33,pp.1413-1449,1992).
Whenincludingincompatiblemodesintheanalysis,youmustusefullintegration.
KEYOPT(3)=2impliestheinclusionofincompatiblemodesandtheuseoffull
(2x2)quadrature.
SHELL181,withKEYOPT(3)=2specified,doesnothaveanyspuriousenergy
mechanisms.ThisspecificformofSHELL181ishighlyaccurate,evenwithcoarse
meshes.WerecommendthatyouuseKEYOPT(3)=2ifyouencounterany
hourglass-relateddifficultieswiththedefaultoptions.KEYOPT(3)=2isalso
necessaryifthemeshiscoarseandin-planebendingoftheelementsdominate
theresponse.Werecommendthisoptionwithalllayeredapplications.
KEYOPT(3)=2imposesthefewestusagerestrictions.Youcanalwayschoosethis
option.However,youcanimproveelementperformancebychoosingthebest
optionforyourproblem.ConsidertheproblemsillustratedinFigure181.2
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Figure181.2SHELL181TypicalBendingApplications

Thecantileverbeamandthebeamcross-sectiontobemodeledwithshellsare
typicalexamplesofin-planebending-dominatedproblems.TheuseofKEYOPT(3)
=2isthemosteffectivechoiceinthesecircumstances.Reducedintegrationwould
requirerefinedmeshes.Forexample,reducedintegrationforthecantileverbeam
problemrequiresfourelementsthroughthethickness,whereasthefullintegration
withincompatiblemodesonlyrequiresoneelementthroughthethickness.
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Forthestiffenedshell,themosteffectivechoiceistouseKEYOPT(3)=0forthe
shellandKEYOPT(3)=2forthestiffener.
WhenKEYOPT(3)=0isspecified,SHELL181usesanhourglasscontrolmethod
formembraneandbendingmodes.Bydefault,SHELL181calculatesthehourglass
parametersforbothmetalandhyperelasticapplications.Tospecifythehourglass
stiffnessscalingfactors,usetheSECCONTROLScommand.
SHELL181includesthelineareffectsoftransversesheardeformation.Anassumed
shearstrainformulationofBathe-Dvorkinisusedtoalleviateshearlocking.The
transverseshearstiffnessoftheelementisa2x2matrixasshownbelow:
Todefinetransverseshearstiffnessvalues,usetheSECCONTROLScommand.
Forasingle-layershellwithisotropicmaterial,defaulttransverseshearstiffnesses
are:
Intheabovematrix,k=5/6,G=shearmodulus,andh=thicknessoftheshell.
SHELL181canbeassociatedwithlinearelastic,elastoplastic,creep,orhyperelastic
materialproperties.Onlyisotropic,anisotropic,andorthotropiclinearelastic
propertiescanbeinputforelasticity.ThevonMisesisotropichardeningplasticity
modelscanbeinvokedwithBISO(bilinearisotropichardening),MISO(multilinear
isotropichardening),andNLISO(nonlinearisotropichardening)options.The
kinematichardeningplasticitymodelscanbeinvokedwithBKIN(bilinearkinematic
hardening),MKINandKINH(multilinearkinematichardening),andCHABOCHE
(nonlinearkinematichardening).Invokingplasticityassumesthattheelastic
propertiesareisotropic(thatis,iforthotropicelasticityisusedwithplasticity,
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ANSYSassumestheisotropicelasticmodulus=EXandPoisson'sratio=NUXY).
Hyperelasticmaterialproperties(2,3,5,or9parameterMooney-Rivlinmaterial
model,Neo-Hookeanmodel,Polynomialformmodel,Arruda-Boycemodel,and
user-definedmodel)canbeusedwiththiselement.Poisson'sratioisusedto
specifythecompressibilityofthematerial.Iflessthan0,Poisson'sratioissetto0;
ifgreaterthanorequalto0.5,Poisson'sratioissetto0.5(fullyincompressible).
Bothisotropicandorthotropicthermalexpansioncoefficientscanbeinputusing
MP,ALPX.Whenusedwithhyperelasticity,isotropicexpansionisassumed.
UsetheBETADcommandtospecifytheglobalvalueofdamping.IfMP,BETDis
definedforthematerialnumberoftheelement(assignedwiththeMAT
command),itissummedwiththevaluefromtheBETADcommand.Similarly,
usetheTREFcommandtospecifytheglobalvalueofreferencetemperature.If
MP,REFTisdefinedforthematerialnumberoftheelement,itisusedforthe
elementinsteadofthevaluefromtheTREFcommand.ButifMP,REFTis
definedforthematerialnumberofthelayer,itisusedinsteadofeithertheglobal
orelementvalue.
Withreducedintegrationandhourglasscontrol(KEYOPT(3)=0),lowfrequency
spuriousmodesmayappearifthemassmatrixemployedisnotconsistentwith
thequadraturerule.SHELL181usesaprojectionschemethateffectivelyfiltersout
theinertiacontributionstothehourglassmodesoftheelement.Tobeeffective,a
consistentmassmatrixmustbeused.WerecommendsettingLUMPM,OFFfora
modalanalysisusingthiselementtype.Thelumpedmassoptioncan,however,be
usedwiththefullintegrationoptions(KEYOPT(3)=2).
KEYOPT(8)=2storesmidsurfaceresultsintheresultsfileforsingleormulti-layer
shellelements.IfyouuseSHELL,MID,youwillseethesecalculatedvalues,rather
thantheaverageoftheTOPandBOTTOMresults.Youshouldusethisoptionto
accessthesecorrectmidsurfaceresults(membraneresults)forthoseanalyses
whereaveragingTOPandBOTTOMresultsisinappropriate;examplesinclude
midsurfacestressesandstrainswithnonlinearmaterialbehavior,andmidsurface
resultsaftermodecombinationsthatinvolvesquaringoperationssuchasin
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spectrumanalyses.
KEYOPT(9)=1readsinitialthicknessdatafromausersubroutine.
YoucanapplyaninitialstressstatetothiselementviatheINISTATEcommand.
Formoreinformation,see"InitialState"intheBasicAnalysisGuide.
Theeffectsofpressureloadstiffnessareautomaticallyincludedforthiselement.If
anunsymmetricmatrixisneededforpressureloadstiffnesseffects,useNROPT,
UNSYM.
Asummaryoftheelementinputisgivenin"SHELL181InputSummary".A
generaldescriptionofelementinputisgiveninElementInput.
SHELL181InputSummary
Nodes
I,J,K,L
DegreesofFreedom
UX,UY,UZ,ROTX,ROTY,ROTZifKEYOPT(1)=0
UX,UY,UZifKEYOPT(1)=1
MaterialProperties
EX,EY,EZ,(PRXY,PRYZ,PRXZ,orNUXY,NUYZ,NUXZ),
ALPX,ALPY,ALPZ(orCTEX,CTEY,CTEZorTHSX,THSY,THSZ),
DENS,GXY,GYZ,GXZ,ALPD
SpecifyBETDonlyoncefortheelement(useMATcommandtoassign
materialpropertyset).REFTmaybeprovidedoncefortheelement,orit
maybeassignedonaper-layerbasis.Seethediscussionin"SHELL181
InputSummary"formoredetails.
SurfaceLoads
Pressures--
face1(I-J-K-L)(bottom,in+Ndirection),
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face2(I-J-K-L)(top,in-Ndirection),
face3(J-I),face4(K-J),face5(L-K),face6(I-L)
BodyLoads
Temperatures--
ForKEYOPT(1)=0(Bendingandmembranestiffness):
T1,T2,T3,T4(atbottomoflayer1),T5,T6,T7,T8(betweenlayers
1-2);similarlyforbetweennextlayers,endingwithtemperaturesat
topoflayerNL(4*(NL+1)maximum).Hence,forone-layerelements,
8temperaturesareused.
ForKEYOPT(1)=1(Membranestiffnessonly):
T1,T2,T3,T4forlayer1,T5,T6,T7,T8forlayer2,similarlyforall
layers(4*NLmaximum).Hence,forone-layerelements,4
temperaturesareused.
SpecialFeatures
Birthanddeath
Elasticity
Elementtechnologyautoselect
Hyperelasticity
Initialstate
Largedeflection
Largestrain
Linearperturbation
Nonlinearstabilization
Plasticity
Sectiondefinitionforlayeredshellsandpreintegratedgeneralshell
sectionsforinputofhomogenoussectionstiffnesses
Stressstiffening
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User-definedmaterial
Viscoelasticity
Viscoplasticity/Creep
KEYOPT(1)
Elementstiffness:
0--
Bendingandmembranestiffness(default)
1--
Membranestiffnessonly
2--
Stress/strainevaluationonly
KEYOPT(3)
Integrationoption:
0--
Reducedintegrationwithhourglasscontrol(default)
2--
Fullintegrationwithincompatiblemodes
KEYOPT(8)
Specifylayerdatastorage:
0--
Storedataforbottomofbottomlayerandtopoftoplayer(multi-
layerelements)(default)
1--
StoredataforTOPandBOTTOM,foralllayers(multi-layer
elements)
Note: Volumeofdatamaybeexcessive.
2--
StoredataforTOP,BOTTOM,andMIDforalllayers;appliesto
single-andmulti-layerelements
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KEYOPT(9)
Userthicknessoption:
0--
Nousersubroutinetoprovideinitialthickness(default)
1--
ReadinitialthicknessdatafromusersubroutineUTHICK
Note: SeetheGuidetoANSYSUserProgrammable
Featuresforuserwrittensubroutines
SHELL181OutputData
Thesolutionoutputassociatedwiththeelementisintwoforms:
Nodaldisplacementsincludedintheoverallnodalsolution
AdditionalelementoutputasshowninTable181.1:SHELL181Element
OutputDefinitions
SeveralitemsareillustratedinFigure181.3.
KEYOPT(8)controlstheamountofdataoutputtotheresultsfileforprocessing
withtheLAYERcommand.InterlaminarshearstressisavailableasSYZandSXZ
evaluatedatthelayerinterfaces.KEYOPT(8)mustbesettoeither1or2to
outputthesestressesinPOST1.Ageneraldescriptionofsolutionoutputisgiven
inSolutionOutput.SeetheBasicAnalysisGuideforwaystoreviewresults.
Theelementstressresultants(N11,M11,Q13,etc.)areparalleltotheelement
coordinatesystem,asarethemembranestrainsandcurvaturesoftheelement.
SuchgeneralizedstrainsareavailablethroughtheSMISCoptionattheelement
centroidonly.ThetransverseshearforcesQ13,Q23areavailableonlyinresultant
form:thatis,useSMISC,7(or8).Likewise,thetransverseshearstrains, and
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form:thatis,useSMISC,7(or8).Likewise,thetransverseshearstrains,
13
and

23
,areconstantthroughthethicknessandareonlyavailableasSMISCitems
(SMISC,15andSMISC,16,respectively).
ANSYScomputesmoments(M11,M22,M12)withrespecttotheshellreference
plane.Bydefault,ANSYSadoptstheshellmidplaneasthereferenceplane.To
offsetthereferenceplanetoanyotherspecifiedlocation,issuetheSECOFFSET
command.Whenthereisanonzerooffset(L)fromthereferenceplanetothe
midplane,momentswithrespecttothemidplane( )canbe
recoveredfromstressresultantswithrespecttothereferenceplaneasfollows:
SHELL181doesnotsupportextensivebasicelementprintout.POST1provides
morecomprehensiveoutputprocessingtools;therefore,ANSYSsuggestsusing
theOUTREScommandtoensurethattherequiredresultsarestoredinthe
database.
Figure181.3SHELL181StressOutput
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x
o
=Elementx-axisifESYSisnotprovided.
x=Elementx-axisifESYSisprovided.
TheElementOutputDefinitionstableusesthefollowingnotation:
Acolon(:)intheNamecolumnindicatesthattheitemcanbeaccessedbythe
ComponentNamemethod(ETABLE,ESOL).TheOcolumnindicatesthe
availabilityoftheitemsinthefileJobname.OUT.TheRcolumnindicatesthe
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availabilityoftheitemsintheresultsfile.
IneithertheOorRcolumns,Yindicatesthattheitemisalwaysavailable,a
numberreferstoatablefootnotethatdescribeswhentheitemisconditionally
available,and-indicatesthattheitemisnotavailable.
Table181.1SHELL181ElementOutputDefinitions
Name Definition O R
EL Elementnumberandname Y Y
NODES Nodes-I,J,K,L - Y
MAT Materialnumber - Y
THICK Averagethickness - Y
VOLU: Volume - Y
XC,YC,ZC Locationwhereresultsarereported - 4
PRES PressuresP1atnodesI,J,K,L;P2atI,J,K,L;P3
atJ,I;P4atK,J;P5atL,K;P6atI,L
- Y
TEMP T1,T2,T3,T4atbottomoflayer1,T5,T6,T7,T8
betweenlayers1-2,similarlyforbetweennext
layers,endingwithtemperaturesattopoflayerNL
(4*(NL+1)maximum)
- Y
LOC TOP,MID,BOT,orintegrationpointlocation - 1
S:X,Y,Z,XY,
YZ,XZ
Stresses 3 1
S:1,2,3 Principalstresses - 1
S:INT Stressintensity - 1
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S:EQV Equivalentstress - 1
EPEL:X,Y,Z,
XY
Elasticstrains 3 1
EPEL:EQV Equivalentelasticstrains[7] - 1
EPTH:X,Y,Z,
XY
Thermalstrains 3 1
EPTH:EQV Equivalentthermalstrains[7] - 1
EPPL:X,Y,Z,
XY
Averageplasticstrains 3 2
EPPL:EQV Equivalentplasticstrains[7] - 2
EPCR:X,Y,Z,
XY
Averagecreepstrains 3 2
EPCR:EQV Equivalentcreepstrains[7] - 2
EPTO:X,Y,Z,
XY
Totalmechanicalstrains(EPEL+EPPL+EPCR) 3 -
EPTO:EQV Totalequivalentmechanicalstrains(EPEL+EPPL+
EPCR)
- -
NL:EPEQ Accumulatedequivalentplasticstrain - 2
NL:CREQ Accumulatedequivalentcreepstrain - 2
NL:SRAT Plasticyielding(1=activelyyielding,0=not
yielding)
- 2
NL:PLWK Plasticwork - 2
NL:HPRES Hydrostaticpressure - 2
SEND: Strainenergydensities - 2
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ELASTIC,
PLASTIC,
CREEP
N11,N22,N12 In-planeforces(perunitlength) - Y
M11,M22,
M12
Out-of-planemoments(perunitlength) - 8
Q13,Q23 Transverseshearforces(perunitlength) - 8

11
,
22
,
12
Membranestrains - Y
k
11
,k
22
,k
12
Curvatures - 8

13
,
23
Transverseshearstrains - 8
LOCI:X,Y,Z Integrationpointlocations - 5
SVAR:1,2,...,
N
Statevariables - 6
ILSXZ SXZinterlaminarshearstress - Y
ILSYZ SYZinterlaminarshearstress - Y
ILSUM Magnitudeoftheinterlaminarshearstressvector - Y
ILANG Angleofinterlaminarshearstressvector(measured
fromtheelementx-axistowardtheelementy-axis
indegrees)
- Y
Sm:11,22,12 Membranestresses - Y
Sb:11,22,12 Bendingstresses - Y
Sp:11,22,12 Peakstresses - Y
St:13,23 Averagedtransverseshearstresses - Y
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1. Thefollowingstresssolutionrepeatsfortop,middle,andbottom
surfaces.
2. Nonlinearsolutionoutputfortop,middle,andbottomsurfaces,ifthe
elementhasanonlinearmaterial,oriflarge-deflectioneffectsareenabled
(NLGEOM,ON)forSEND.
3. Stresses,totalstrains,plasticstrains,elasticstrains,creepstrains,and
thermalstrainsintheelementcoordinatesystemareavailableforoutput
(atallsectionpointsthroughthickness).Iflayersareinuse,theresults
areinthelayercoordinatesystem.
4. Availableonlyatcentroidasa*GETitem.
5. AvailableonlyifOUTRES,LOCIisused.
6. AvailableonlyiftheUserMatsubroutineandTB,STATEcommandare
used.
7. TheequivalentstrainsuseaneffectivePoisson'sratio:forelasticand
thermalthisvalueissetbytheuser(MP,PRXY);forplasticandcreepthis
valueissetat0.5.
8. Notavailableifthemembraneelementoptionisused(KEYOPT(1)=1).
Table181.2:SHELL181ItemandSequenceNumberslistsoutputavailable
throughETABLEusingtheSequenceNumbermethod.SeeCreatinganElement
TableintheBasicAnalysisGuideandTheItemandSequenceNumberTablein
thismanualformoreinformation.Thefollowingnotationisusedin
Table181.2:SHELL181ItemandSequenceNumbers:
Name
outputquantityasdefinedintheTable181.1:SHELL181ElementOutput
Definitions
Item
predeterminedItemlabelforETABLE
E
sequencenumberforsingle-valuedorconstantelementdata
I,J,K,L
sequencenumberfordataatnodesI,J,K,L
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Table181.2SHELL181ItemandSequenceNumbers
OutputQuantityName
ETABLEandESOLCommandInput
Item E I J K L
N11 SMISC 1 - - - -
N22 SMISC 2 - - - -
N12 SMISC 3 - - - -
M11 SMISC 4 - - - -
M22 SMISC 5 - - - -
M12 SMISC 6 - - - -
Q13 SMISC 7 - - - -
Q23 SMISC 8 - - - -

11
SMISC 9 - - - -

22
SMISC 10 - - - -

12
SMISC 11 - - - -
k
11
SMISC 12 - - - -
k
22
SMISC 13 - - - -
k
12
SMISC 14 - - - -

13
SMISC 15 - - - -
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23
SMISC 16 - - - -
THICK SMISC 17 - - - -
P1 SMISC - 18 19 20 21
P2 SMISC - 22 23 24 25
P3 SMISC - 27 26 - -
P4 SMISC - - 29 28 -
P5 SMISC - - - 31 30
P6 SMISC - 32 - - 33
Sm:11 SMISC 34 - - - -
Sm:22 SMISC 35 - - - -
Sm:12 SMISC 36 - - - -
Sb:11 SMISC 37 - - - -
Sb:22 SMISC 38 - - - -
Sb:12 SMISC 39 - - - -
Sp:11(atshellbottom) SMISC 40 - - - -
Sp:22(atshellbottom) SMISC 41 - - - -
Sp:12(atshellbottom) SMISC 42 - - - -
Sp:11(atshelltop) SMISC 43 - - - -
Sp:22(atshelltop) SMISC 44 - - - -
Sp:12(atshelltop) SMISC 45 - - - -
St:13 SMISC 46 - - - -
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St:23 SMISC 47 - - - -
OutputQuantityName ETABLEandESOLCommandInput
Item BottomofLayeri TopofLayerNL
ILSXZ SMISC 8*(i-1)+51 8*(NL-1)+52
ILSYZ SMISC 8*(i-1)+53 8*(NL-1)+54
ILSUM SMISC 8*(i-1)+55 8*(NL-1)+56
ILANG SMISC 8*(i-1)+57 8*(NL-1)+58
SHELL181AssumptionsandRestrictions
ANSYSrecommendsagainstusingthiselementintriangularform,except
asafillerelement.Avoidtriangularformespeciallyinareaswithhigh
stressgradients.
Zero-areaelementsarenotallowed.(Zero-areaelementsoccurmostoften
whenevertheelementsarenumberedimproperly.)
Zerothicknesselementsorelementstaperingdowntoazerothicknessat
anycornerarenotallowed(butzerothicknesslayersareallowed).
Ifmultipleloadstepsareused,thenumberoflayersmaynotchange
betweenloadsteps.
Whentheelementisassociatedwithpreintegratedshellsections
(SECTYPE,,GENS),additionalrestrictionsapply.Formoreinformation,
seeConsiderationsforUsingPreintegratedShellSections.
Ifreducedintegrationisused(KEYOPT(3)=0)SHELL181ignoresrotary
inertiaeffectswhenanunbalancedlaminateconstructionisused,andall
inertialeffectsareassumedtobeinthenodalplane(thatis,an
unbalancedlaminateconstructionandoffsetshavenoeffectonthemass
propertiesoftheelement).
Formostcompositeanalyses,ANSYSrecommendssettingKEYOPT(3)=2
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(necessarytocapturethestressgradients).
Noslippageisassumedbetweentheelementlayers.Sheardeflectionsare
includedintheelement;however,normalstothecenterplanebefore
deformationareassumedtoremainstraightafterdeformation.
Transverseshearstiffnessoftheshellsectionisestimatedbyanenergy
equivalenceprocedure(ofthegeneralizedsectionforces&strainsvs.the
materialpointstressesandstrains).Theaccuracyofthiscalculationmay
beadverselyaffectediftheratioofmaterialstiffnesses(Young'smoduli)
betweenadjacentlayersisveryhigh.
Thecalculationofinterlaminarshearstressesisbasedonsimplifying
assumptionsofunidirectional,uncoupledbendingineachdirection.If
accurateedgeinterlaminarshearstressesarerequired,shell-to-solid
submodelingshouldbeused.
Thesectiondefinitionpermitsuseofhyperelasticmaterialmodelsand
elastoplasticmaterialmodelsinlaminatedefinition.However,theaccuracy
ofthesolutionisprimarilygovernedbyfundamentalassumptionsofshell
theory.Theapplicabilityofshelltheoryinsuchcasesisbestunderstood
byusingacomparablesolidmodel.
Thelayerorientationanglehasnoeffectifthematerialofthelayeris
hyperelastic.
Beforeusingthiselementinasimulationcontainingcurvedthickshell
structureswithunbalancedlaminateconstructionorshelloffsets,validate
theusageviafull3-Dmodelingwithasolidelementinasimpler
representativemodel.Thiselementmayunderestimatethecurvedthick
shellstiffness,particularlywhentheoffsetislargeandthestructureis
undertorsionalload.
Thethrough-thicknessstress,SZ,isalwayszero.
ThiselementworksbestwiththefullNewton-Raphsonsolutionscheme
(NROPT,FULL,ON).
Stressstiffeningisalwaysincludedingeometricallynonlinearanalyses
(NLGEOM,ON).PrestresseffectscanbeactivatedbythePSTRES
command.
Inanonlinearanalysis,thesolutionprocessterminatesifthethicknessat
anyintegrationpointthatwasdefinedwithanonzerothicknessvanishes
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(withinasmallnumericaltolerance).
Ifashellsectionhasonlyonelayerandthenumberofsectionintegration
pointsisequaltoone,orifKEYOPT(1)=1,thentheshellhasnobending
stiffness,aconditionthatcanresultinsolverandconvergenceproblems.
SHELL181ProductRestrictions
ANSYSProfessional.
Theonlyspecialfeaturesallowedarestressstiffening,largedeflections,
andplasticity(BISO,BKIN).
Release14.0-2011SASIP,Inc.Allrightsreserved.