Ansys Newbie....thermal + shells - please help!!

[ShaneUCB]

If someone could help me out and point me in the direction on how to do this, i would really appreciate it. I have tried everything I can, including google searches, books, etc. to no avail. I really need the formal training on this s/w package...

Very simple. I have a rectangle. I'm using Shell99 with a 10deg fiber angle. In doing this, if I pull on my rectangle in the X-dir, I get most movement in the Y-dir. Which is exactly what I want. Now, I want, instead of physically pulling on it, to apply a temperature at a particular point or along a line, such that my rectangle exhibits this same movement. (I need it to calculate the energy required internally to get this shape deformation).

Any questions, let me know. I know this is elemental and everything, but if someone could just take 5 minutes and help me out, I would be forever indebted to you. I'm getting extremely frustrated and I'm beginning to get lost in the software. Thanks...

 

[Drej]

Does it have to be a temperature that is applied? What type of energy are you trying to calculate?

 

[ShaneUCB]

It doesn't have to be a temperature that is applied really...I just need it to expand such that I get the same "shear" deformation. I was going to just calculate the thermal energy input to the model for simplicities sake, unless there is another way of doing it.

Essentially what I'm attempting to model is a very rudimentary version of how a plant's cells will expand locally in order to move (like in the case of a sunflower, for example). Ideally this would be done in 3D as a tube but I had too many problems doing that so I choose to cut the tube and lay it flat. The shearing motion I need would create a twisting motion in my 3D tube.

Thanks.

 

[Drej]

> I have a rectangle. I'm using Shell99 with a 10deg fiber angle. In doing this, if I pull on my rectangle in the X-dir, I get most movement in the Y-dir. Which is exactly what I want. Now, I want, instead of physically pulling on it, to apply a temperature at a particular point or along a line, such that my rectangle exhibits this same movement. (I need it to calculate the energy required internally to get this shape deformation).

So why not just apply a pressure/force/displacement to the rectangle edge? Alternatively, apply a force/pressure/whatever and then see what the displacements are and then re-apply these as a single loadcase.

 

[ShaneUCB]

>So why not just apply a pressure/force/displacement to the rectangle edge? Alternatively, apply a force/pressure/whatever and then see what the displacements are and then re-apply these as a single loadcase.

And then calculate what, total strain energy? I tried what you mentioned before, but I'm not sure what energy value I should calculate to give me the most realistic results. Thats why I was moving to temperature to get a clear cut energy value. If I'm able to get an accurate energy value from doing it with a pressure along the edge, I'd gladly do it that way. I just need to know how to calculate said energy value.

 

[ShaneUCB]

anyone? i'm kind of in a bind here... :-(

 

[ShaneUCB]

Thanks for all the helpful replies guys. What a wonderful community you got here. Sorry if I'm dumbing it down.