Define and Assign the Element Coordinate System

To orient the plies and the cohesive section, a local coordinate system needs to be defined and assigned to the elements.

1. To define a local, rectangular coordinate system with the longitudinal axis of the ply material aligned with the global x-axis, enter the following into the command prompt: LOCAL, 11, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0.
2. To assign the local coordinate system to the elements, enter ESYS, 11 into the command prompt. The image below shows the local coordinate system relative to the base of the cantilever beam.

   

Refer to the ANSYS APDL documentation for additional details on the LOCAL and ESYS commands.