How can I properly add plies to a composite leaf spring in ANSYS APDL?

AI Thread Summary
To properly add plies to a composite leaf spring in ANSYS APDL, it is crucial to use the correct element type, as SHELL181 is not designed for layered composite structures. Users suggest considering SHELL91 or SHELL99, although these elements are no longer officially supported, which complicates their use. The issue may stem from the element type not recognizing the ply thickness when attempting to divide the total thickness into layers. Additionally, transitioning to ANSYS Mechanical Workbench could provide better functionality for handling composite elements and importing geometries from SolidWorks. Proper selection of elements and software may enhance the analysis of composite materials.
salmansl
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Hi,
I'm analyzing a composite leaf spring using ANSYS APDL, the leaf spring has a thickness of 12mm, and since it is a composite material, it is composed of many plies, I'm assuming the ply thickness to be 0.125mm. I imported the geometry as a Parasolid x_t. And the element type I used is SHELL181. But when I go to SHELL options and try to add plies, it doesn't seem to be dividing the thickness of the leaf spring into the plies I add. What do you think I'm doing wrong?
If anyone has done anything like that before, any help is highly appreciated.
 
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From what I see in the element reference SHELL181 is a standard 2-D shell element, but not a layered structure element for analyzing composite geometry. Shouldn't you be using a layered element such as SHELL91 or SHELL99?
 
SHELL181 is a 3D layered element. SHELL99 and SHELL91 are not supported anymore, I can manually add them to my analysis, but then when I click solve, nothing happens.
 
APDL is just Ansys Parametric Design Language. It is the old school interface before they invented Workbench. Ansys Mechanical Workbench can import your SolidWorks file. Then you can get crazy with composite elements?
 

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