Checking Stacking Direction and Running the Study

To check the ply stacking direction:

  1. In the Simulation study tree, right-click Mesh and select Create Mesh .
  2. Move the Mesh Factor slider to the rightmost position Fine and click .
    The mesh is created. The program locates the first ply on the bottom face and the last ply on the top face. The gray colored faces (top shell face) are located on the outside for both cylinders, as shown, to make sure that the stacking direction is from the inside to the outside. The stacking direction is important only for unsymmetric laminates.

    If the shell orientation is not consistent across the two faces of the cylinders, select the orange colored bottom shell face. Right-click Mesh, and select Flip Shell Elements.

  3. To run the study, click Run This Study (Simulation CommandManager).