The problem consists of a flat composite plate with a hole in the center. It is subject to fixed boundary conditions on one end, and a displacement controlled load of 0.08" (0.53% of the plate length) on the other end. The plate is made of IM7/8552, the layup is [0/±45/90]s, and the ply thickness is 0.005" resulting in a plate thickness of 0.04". The model uses 8-noded solid elements (CHEXA) and a layered solid composite property definition (PCOMPLS). The dimensions, boundary conditions, and load are shown below. After the model is created and the finite element analysis is completed, steps are provided to view and interpret the results.
Elementary modeling details are omitted from this tutorial as it is assumed you have previous experience in the Patran environment. Please refer to the MSC Nastran and Patran documentation before completing this tutorial if you are unfamiliar with Patran.
If you are interested only in learning how to interpret results from Helius PFA, a completed MSC Nastran bulk data file (Tutorial_3_Nastran_Completed.bdf) is available for download which can be used to generate an MSC Nastran output (*.op2) file. In this case, run the bulk data file and refer to the View and Interpret Results section.