Chapter 2

MAKING A COMPOSITE MODEL

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-1

 CONTENTS
„ Ply Definition pg. 2-3
„ Tape Plies pg. 2-4
„ MAT8 bulk data entry pg. 2-5
„ Patran 2D Orthotropic pg. 2-6
„ Composite Material pg. 2-7
„ PCOMP bulk data entry pg. 2-8
„ Patran Composite pg. 2-10
„ CQUAD4 bulk data entry pg. 2-11
„ Patran Composite Properties pg. 2-12
„ Patran Material Coord. System pg. 2-13
„ Nastran Input File pg. 2-15
„ Nastran Ply Stress Output pg. 2-16
„ Patran Ply Output Request pg. 2-17
„ Patran Ply Stress Results pg. 2-18
„ Workshop 1 – Creating a Composite pg. 2-19

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-2

 PLY DEFINITION

„ Typically a ply is a flat group of fibers imbedded in a

matrix.
„ The matrix is usually an isotropic material that holds
the fibers together.
„ In a ply called a tape, the fibers are unidirectional.
„ In a ply called a cloth, the fibers are woven at 0 and
90 degree directions.

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-3

 TAPE PLIES
„ Fiber:
‹ Unidirectional in tape
‹ Direction is the 1 axis of the
ply coordinate system
„ Matrix:
‹ Glue that holds fibers
together
‹ Matrix direction is the 2 axis
‹ 90 degrees to the 1 axis
„ Material properties are:
‹ 2D orthotropic material in
Patran
‹ MAT8 in Nastran

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-4

 MAT8 BULK DATA ENTRY
„ Defines the ply orthotropic properties.
‹ Elastic properties are E1, E2, NU12, G12, G1Z, G2Z.
‹ Allowables are Xt, Xc, Yt, Yc, S.
‹ Use STRN=1.0 if allowables are in units of strain.
‹ F12 is for the Tsai-Wu failure theorem.
‹ Thermal coefficients of expansion are A1 and A2,
‹ The MAT8 TREF reference temperature is not used since it is overridden by the
PCOMP TREF,
‹ Density is RHO,
‹ The MAT8 GE structural damping is not used since it is overridden by the PCOMP GE
„ The example below is typical for a graphite/epoxy tape.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MAT8 MID E1 E2 NU12 G12 G1Z G2Z RHO
MAT8 1 20.+6 2.+6 0.35 1.6+6 1.6+6 1.6+6 1.3-4

A1 A2 TREF Xt Xc Yt Yc S
-2.3-7 4.5-6 1.3+5 1.2+5 1.1 +4 1.2+4 1.25+4

GE F12 STRN

mat8, 1, 20.+6, 2.+6, 0.35, 1.0+6, 1.0+6, 1.0+6, 1.3-4,+

.bdf file extract +, -2.3-7, 4.5-6,, 1.3+5, 1.2+5, 1.1+4, 1.2+4, 1.25+4

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-5

 PATRAN 2D ORTHOTROPIC

Materials:
Create/ 2d
Orthotropic/
Manual Input
Material Name
Input Properties
Linear Elastic
Apply
Input Properties
Failure
Apply

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-6

 COMPOSITE MATERIAL
„ Stack of plies
„ Each ply has a different
direction, material, and
thickness
„ Composite properties are
calculated in the material
coordinate system (Xm, Ym,
Zm)

„ Zm is the same as the element Z axis (Ze)

‹ Right hand rule of grid ordering, G1,G2,G3,G4
„ Xm is in the direction of the 0 degree ply
„ Positive angles are defined by right hand
rule around Zm

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-7

 PCOMP BULK DATA ENTRY
„ Defines the composite layup.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
PCOMP PID Z0 NSM SB FT TREF GE LAM
PCOMP 1 5000.0 HILL 0.0

MID1 T1 THETA1 SOUT1 MID2 T2 THETA2 SOUT2

1 0.0054 0.0 YES 1 0.0054 45.0 YES

MID3 T3 THETA3 SOUT3 ect.

1 0.0054 90.0

„ Z0 is composite offset. „ GE is element damping

‹ Use default = -(composite thickness)/2 ‹ Overrides GE on ply MAT8s
„ NSM is nonstructural mass „ LAM is layup options
„ SB is allowable interlaminar shear stress „ MIDi is ply material ID
‹ Put as Bonding Shear Stress in Patran 2D ‹ MAT8 ID
Orthotropic Material (page 2-6)
„ Ti is ply thickness
„ FT is the ply failure theorem
„ THETAi is ply angle
„ TREF is reference temperature
„ SOUTi is data recovery option
‹ Overrides TREFs on ply MAT8s

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-8

 PCOMP BULK DATA ENTRY (cont.)
„ The example composite below is an 8 ply layup, symmetric about it’s
centerline, with an equal number of plies in each of the 0, +45, 90
degree directions.

PCOMP, 1,,, 5000., HILL

, 1, .0054, 0., YES
, 1, .0054, 45., YES
, 1, .0054, -45., YES
, 1, .0054, 90., YES .bdf file extract
, 1, .0054, 90., YES
, 1, .0054, -45., YES
, 1, .0054, 45., YES
, 1, .0054, 0., YES

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-9

 PATRAN COMPOSITE

Materials:
Create/ Composite/
Laminate
To create a ply, click
on a ply material in
Existing Materials.
Repeat for each of
the plies
Thickness for all
layers: 0.0054
Orientations: 0 45
–45 90 90 –45 45 0
Load Text Into
Spreadsheet
Apply

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-10

 CQUAD4 BULK DATA ENTRY
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CQUAD4 EID PID G1 G2 G3 G4 THETA ZOFFS
or MCID
CQUAD4 1 1 1 2 3 4 99

„ Defines the composite plate.

CQUAD4, 1, 1, 1, 2, 5, 4, 99
„ Material coordinate system
can be defined one of two
ways:
‹ MCID – (integer) - ID of a user
defined coordinate system who’s
X-axis is projected onto the
element to define the element’s
material coordinate system’s X-
axis. This along with the Z-axis of
the element coordinate system
defines the material coordinate
system.
‹ THETA – (real) - an angle
between the G1G2 vector of the
element and the X-axis of the
material coordinate system. The
positive sense of this angle is the
right hand rule direction around
the element’s Z-axis. CQUAD4, 1, 1, 1, 2, 5, 4, 25.0

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-11

 PATRAN COMPOSITE PROPERTIES

Properties:
Create/ 2D/ Shell
Property Set Name
Option: Laminate
Input Properties
Click on Mat Prop
Name Icon to
select the material
Click on coord. sys.
for projection to
material coord. sys.
OK
Select elements
Apply

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-12

 PATRAN MATERIAL COORD. Z-AXIS

Elements:
Verify/ Element/
Normals
Draw Normal Vectors
Apply

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-13

 PATRAN MATERIAL COORD. X-AXIS

Properties:
Show/ Shell
Orientation Angle
Apply

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-14

 NASTRAN INPUT FILE
SOL 101 GRID 1 0. 0. 0. .dat file extract
CEND GRID 2 0. .5 0.
TITLE = Composite Workshop Chapter 2 - Sample Composite Input GRID 3 0. 1. 0.
SPC = 1 GRID 4 .5 0. 0.
LOAD = 1 GRID 5 .5 .5 0.
DISP = ALL GRID 6 .5 1. 0.
STRESS =ALL GRID 7 1. 0. 0.
$ GRID 8 1. .5 0.
BEGIN BULK GRID 9 1. 1. 0.
PARAM, POST, -1 $
$ SPC1,1,1235,1
PCOMP, 1,,, 5000., HILL SPC1,1,135,2,3
, 1, .0054, 0., YES $
, 1, .0054, 45., YES FORCE 1 3 500. 0. 1. 0.
, 1, .0054, -45., YES FORCE 1 6 500. 0. 1. 0.
, 1, .0054, 90., YES FORCE 1 6 500. 0. 1. 0.
, 1, .0054, 90., YES FORCE 1 9 500. 0. 1. 0.
, 1, .0054, -45., YES FORCE 1 7 250. 1. 0. 0.
, 1, .0054, 45., YES FORCE 1 8 250. 1. 0. 0.
, 1, .0054, 0., YES FORCE 1 8 250. 1. 0. 0.
MAT8, 1, 2.+7, 2.+6, .35, 1.+6, 1.+6, 1.+6 FORCE 1 9 250. 1. 0. 0.
,,,,130000., 120000., 11000., 12000., 12500. FORCE 1 7 250. 0. 1. 0.
$ FORCE 1 8 250. 0. 1. 0.
CQUAD4 1 1 1 2 5 4 99 FORCE 1 8 250. 0. 1. 0.
CQUAD4 2 1 2 3 6 5 99 FORCE 1 9 250. 0. 1. 0.
CQUAD4 3 1 4 5 8 7 99 $
CQUAD4 4 1 5 6 9 8 99 CORD2R, 99,, 0., 0., 0., 0., 0., 1.
$ , 0., 1., 0.
ENDDATA

„ Large field format on PCOMP continuation fields allows easier cutting and
pasting of plies

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-15

 NASTRAN PLY STRESS OUTPUT
„ Printed in the f06 file if STRESS=ALL or STRAIN=ALL Case Control Commands
are used.
S T R E S S E S I N L A Y E R E D C O M P O S I T E E L E M E N T S ( Q U A D 4 )
ELEMENT PLY STRESSES IN FIBER AND MATRIX DIRECTIONS INTER-LAMINAR STRESSES PRINCIPAL STRESSES (ZERO SHEAR) MAX
ID ID NORMAL-1 NORMAL-2 SHEAR-12 SHEAR XZ-MAT SHEAR YZ-MAT ANGLE MAJOR MINOR SHEAR
0 1 1 2.55820E+05 2.81603E+04 2.73019E+04 0.0 0.0 6.74 2.59049E+05 2.49319E+04 1.17058E+05
0 1 2 4.96222E+05 1.19674E+04 -2.69492E+03 0.0 0.0 -0.32 4.96237E+05 1.19524E+04 2.42142E+05
0 1 3 -3.72387E+04 4.79000E+04 2.69492E+03 0.0 0.0 88.19 4.79852E+04 -3.73239E+04 4.26546E+04
0 1 4 2.03163E+05 3.17071E+04 -2.73019E+04 0.0 0.0 -8.83 2.07406E+05 2.74647E+04 8.99705E+04
0 1 5 2.03163E+05 3.17071E+04 -2.73019E+04 0.0 0.0 -8.83 2.07406E+05 2.74647E+04 8.99705E+04
0 1 6 -3.72387E+04 4.79000E+04 2.69492E+03 0.0 0.0 88.19 4.79852E+04 -3.73239E+04 4.26546E+04
0 1 7 4.96222E+05 1.19674E+04 -2.69492E+03 0.0 0.0 -0.32 4.96237E+05 1.19524E+04 2.42142E+05
0 1 8 2.55820E+05 2.81603E+04 2.73019E+04 0.0 0.0 6.74 2.59049E+05 2.49319E+04 1.17058E+05
0 2 1 2.20297E+05 -1.59550E+04 9.95088E+03 0.0 0.0 2.41 2.20715E+05 -1.63734E+04 1.18544E+05
0 2 2 9.15727E+04 -7.28449E+03 -2.31267E+04 0.0 0.0 -12.54 9.67154E+04 -1.24272E+04 5.45713E+04
0 2 3 -1.02861E+05 5.81209E+03 2.31267E+04 0.0 0.0 78.47 1.05290E+04 -1.07578E+05 5.90535E+04
0 2 4 -2.31585E+05 1.44826E+04 -9.95088E+03 0.0 0.0 -87.69 1.48844E+04 -2.31987E+05 1.23436E+05
0 2 5 -2.31585E+05 1.44826E+04 -9.95088E+03 0.0 0.0 -87.69 1.48844E+04 -2.31987E+05 1.23436E+05
0 2 6 -1.02861E+05 5.81209E+03 2.31267E+04 0.0 0.0 78.47 1.05290E+04 -1.07578E+05 5.90535E+04
0 2 7 9.15727E+04 -7.28449E+03 -2.31267E+04 0.0 0.0 -12.54 9.67154E+04 -1.24272E+04 5.45713E+04
0 2 8 2.20297E+05 -1.59550E+04 9.95088E+03 0.0 0.0 2.41 2.20715E+05 -1.63734E+04 1.18544E+05
0 3 1 -5.90459E+04 1.03837E+04 8.14704E+03 0.0 0.0 83.40 1.13269E+04 -5.99891E+04 3.56580E+04
0 3 2 1.11984E+05 -1.13646E+03 9.35916E+03 0.0 0.0 4.70 1.12753E+05 -1.90558E+03 5.73294E+04
0 3 3 -4.72039E+04 9.58604E+03 -9.35916E+03 0.0 0.0 -80.88 1.10887E+04 -4.87066E+04 2.98976E+04
0 3 4 1.23826E+05 -1.93411E+03 -8.14704E+03 0.0 0.0 -3.69 1.24352E+05 -2.45970E+03 6.34056E+04
0 3 5 1.23826E+05 -1.93411E+03 -8.14704E+03 0.0 0.0 -3.69 1.24352E+05 -2.45970E+03 6.34056E+04
0 3 6 -4.72039E+04 9.58604E+03 -9.35916E+03 0.0 0.0 -80.88 1.10887E+04 -4.87066E+04 2.98976E+04
0 3 7 1.11984E+05 -1.13646E+03 9.35916E+03 0.0 0.0 4.70 1.12753E+05 -1.90558E+03 5.73294E+04
0 3 8 -5.90459E+04 1.03837E+04 8.14704E+03 0.0 0.0 83.40 1.13269E+04 -5.99891E+04 3.56580E+04
0 4 1 8.79761E+04 9.55942E+01 1.42040E+04 0.0 0.0 8.96 9.02149E+04 -2.14316E+03 4.61790E+04
0 4 2 1.69212E+05 -5.37626E+03 -5.88892E+03 0.0 0.0 -1.93 1.69411E+05 -5.57467E+03 8.74926E+04
0 4 3 -1.08326E+05 1.33180E+04 5.88892E+03 0.0 0.0 87.23 1.36024E+04 -1.08610E+05 6.11062E+04
0 4 4 -2.70896E+04 7.84613E+03 -1.42040E+04 0.0 0.0 -70.44 1.28923E+04 -3.21357E+04 2.25140E+04
0 4 5 -2.70896E+04 7.84613E+03 -1.42040E+04 0.0 0.0 -70.44 1.28923E+04 -3.21357E+04 2.25140E+04
0 4 6 -1.08326E+05 1.33180E+04 5.88892E+03 0.0 0.0 87.23 1.36024E+04 -1.08610E+05 6.11062E+04
0 4 7 1.69212E+05 -5.37626E+03 -5.88892E+03 0.0 0.0 -1.93 1.69411E+05 -5.57467E+03 8.74926E+04
0 4 8 8.79761E+04 9.55942E+01 1.42040E+04 0.0 0.0 8.96 9.02149E+04 -2.14316E+03 4.61790E+04

.f06 file extract

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-16

 PATRAN PLY OUTPUT REQUEST

Analysis:
Analyze/ Entire
Model/ Full Run
Translation
Parameters/
OP2
Subcases/
Create
Output
Requests/
Advanced/
Element Stress
Ply Stresses
OK
Apply

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-17

 PATRAN PLY STRESS RESULTS

Analysis:
Access Results
Read Output2

Results:
Create/
Quick Plot
Result/
Stress Tensor
Position/
Layer 1
Quantity/
X Component
Select Deformation
Result:
Displacements,
Translational
Apply

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-18

 Workshop 1 – Creating a Composite
‹ Go to WS1 in your
workshop booklet

NAS113, Chap. 2 , November 2003 C2-19