Shell181 element coordinate system

Question

Shell181 element coordinate system

PedroCarneiro22 (Aerospace)

(OP)

14 Apr 22 15:33

Hi,

I am trying to change the direction of z axis of shell 181 element coordinate system.
I am using the local and csys commands.
However, if i put the local coordinate system with the same orientation of cartesian the z direction of the elements appears in the wrong direction.
I tried a simple case of a square plate and tried to put the element coordinate system equal to original cartesian and it is not working.
Can anyone explain how to modify the z direction of the shell 181 coordinate system?

NRP99 (Mechanical) · Answer 1 · 2022-04-15 06:09:34

You need to define local co-ordinate system first and then mesh the geometry by changing attributes or use ESYS command for the same.

Check "Coordinate Systems" in help manual.

PedroCarneiro22 (Aerospace) · Answer 2 · 2022-04-18 08:33:16

Hi, i also found that the positive direction of z axis is related with the positive direction of the area that is defined by the right-hand rule of the associated lines.

NRP99 (Mechanical) · Answer 3 · 2022-04-18 13:37:42

Yes. All the "positive arrow directions" are based on right hand rule in almost every FEA software.

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Shell181 element coordinate system