F3D Thin Shell Tutorial CFG V2.6

FRANC3D &
STAGS
Thin Shell Tutorial
Version 2.6
2003
1 Introduction
Cornell Fracture Group FRANC3D/OSM Advanced 3D Tutorial
This manual contains a tutorial example for the thin shell capabilities of coupled
FRANC3D/STAGS system. The capabilities of the programs are illustrated by
performing a crack growth simulation in a section of a generic narrow body airplane
fuselage. It is intended that the user perform the operations as they are presented, but feel
free to experiment and consult the other reference documentation whenever necessary.
First, all the steps needed to create the model geometry using OSM are described. There
some explanation of OSM's features in this section, but you should refer to the OSM
Reference Manual for more detailed coverage. Once the geometric model is created, the
steps necessary to, mesh the surfaces, attach material properties and boundary conditions,
create an initial flaw, perform a STAGS stress analysis, read and display the results,
propagate the crack, and finally, rebuild the mesh for subsequent analyses using
FRANC3D are all described.
In the tutorial, menu and dialog box options are indicated by bold text, such as Read
Franc3d File. Text that is printed to or entered in the program control window is
indicated in a typewriter font, such Initializing first block in utl_mm.
Information and warning messages that appear in the message box are indicated by
italics, such as Select the vertices that specify the curve. The programs are started by
typing the program name with the appropriate path. The programs must be started from
within the directory that contains the data files. The location of the program can vary,
but an example session to start FRANC3D from the examples directory is:
% cd ~/examples
% ~/programs/franc3d
where % represents the UNIX shell prompt and the tilde symbol (~) represents the users
home directory.
2 Creating Model Geometry Using OSM

2.1 Introduction
There are several ways to create the initial geometry for a new model, either by hand, by
using our modeling program called OSM, or by transforming the data from some other
solid modeling/design program into a format that FRANC3D can read. The latter may
not be trivial as FRANC3D requires a specific format for the boundary surface patches.
A description of the geometry input format is contained in the FRANC3D Concepts
Manual. We will describe how to use OSM only in this tutorial.
When OSM is started, the main menu, title box, message box, and view control panel are
displayed. The modeling window does not yet exist; it is created by selecting either
Read Osm Model File or Create New Model. If you have existing OSM .mod files,
2
you can read them and proceed to modify them, otherwise you must create a new model.
We will create a new model at this stage.
skin
stringer shear clip

frame
Figure 2.1 Fuselage section to be modeled.
This tutorial will show how to model a section of a fuselage of a generic narrow body
transport aircraft with a "floating frame" design. The section of the fuselage to be
modeled is shown in Figure 2.1. The significant structural elements are the skin, hat-
section shaped stringers, the Z-section shaped frames, and the shear clips that tie the
frames to the stringers. Not shown are doublers which run beneath the stringers, frames,
and circumferentially at the mid-point between the frames. Doublers will not be modeled
explicitly in our geometrical model. Rather, they will exist in the mesh model only (as
described in more detail below).
To build this model, we will first generate one quarter of this panel, and then paste in
properly translated copies of this quarter to create the complete model.
The coordinate system chosen for this model is that the X axis is the central axis of the
fuselage and one of the stringers is centered about the Z axis. This is illustrated
schematically in Figure 2.2 (without frames).
3
y
x
z
Figure 2.2 Coordinate orientation used for the model.
All dimensions are given below are in inches. The angular spacing between stringers is
7.2 degrees. The spacing between frames is 20 inches. The radius of the fuselage is 74
inches.
2.2 Stringer Cross Section

The first step in building the geometry is to create a cross section of the stringers. The
geometry of the stringers is shown in Figure 2.3. This three-dimensional solid will be
idealized as a collection of zero thickness shell surfaces. For the most part, idealized
surface will lie at the centerline of the actual solids they are meant to represent. In this
model, the centerline of the skin is taken as a reference surface from which the
coordinates of most other keypoints are determined.
shear reference
clip surface
0.22
stringer
0.44 1.154
0.88 skin 0.934

0.036 doubler
0.036 reference
surface
0.9
Figure 2.3 Stringer geometry.
4
In the real structure there are three layers where the stringer is bonded to the skin (the
bottom of the hat-section, a doubler, and the skin). In building a model that will be
analyzed with STAGS, it is more convenient to idealize this as one geometrical surface.
Later, we will attach attributes to this surface that will force the generation of three layers
of shell finite elements with the appropriate thicknesses and offsets to model the three
real surface.
To start building the model in OSM, we need to determine "keypoints" that describe the
cross section. In Figure 2.3, the skin is illustrated as being a flat plate. In reality there is
a slight curvature to the skin. In our geometrical model we would like to keep the legs of
the stringer perpendicular to the skin. This means that the legs of the stringer will not be
quite parallel to each other. Figure 2.4 shows this (greatly exaggerated) and indicates the
four keypoints that we will use to describe the cross section.
The actual keypoint coordinates are shown in table 2.1. These keypoints are in a local
coordinate system that is convenient for describing the stringer, but is not the coordinate
system that will be used for the full model.
y
x
3
2
1 C
74.0 D
B
Figure 2.4 Keypoints for the stringer cross-section.
Table 2.1 Keypoints for the stringer cross-section.
R (in) angle (degrees) X Y
5
A 74.000 0.34842 0.45000 -73.99863

B 73.066 0.34842 0.44432 -73.06465
C 72.846 0.52146 0.66297 -72.84298
D 73.066 0.69345 0.88429 -73.06065
These Cartesian coordinates are computed from a simple transformation from the polar
coordinates of the points. This is illustrated for point C below:
R = 74 .0 1. 154 = 72. 846

. 45 .22
= 1 + 2 = tan 1
+ tan 1
= 0.521457
74 R
x = R sin ( )
y = R cos( )
Now we are ready to start building the OSM model. This is done as follows:
select Create New Model to create a new modeling window;

select Type In Points to get the coordinate entry dialog box;
enter the keypoint coordinates in the spread sheet (all z coordinates equal to zero),
and select Accept to place them in the model;
Show All Objects will adjust the view so that you can see the points; and
to add line segments between the points, Select All to select the points, and Create
Line Segments to add the lines.
We now use the Mirror function to create the "left" side of the section. Select Select All
again to highlight the lines and vertices. Select Mirror ... (which may be hidden by the
modeling window), make sure that x = 0 is the selected mirror plane, and Accept. Show
All Objects will show the whole cross section.
Finally, we need to add the bottom of the stringer. To do this, select the points at the
bottom of the two legs (this can be done either by "clicking" on one, and the "Shift-
clicking" on the other, or by clicking, and dragging the select box to include both points).
When the two bottom points (and only the two bottom points) are highlighted, select
Create A Curve to add the line segment.
Now we have completed the cross section, and should save it in a file in case we need to
reference it later. To do this select Write Osm Model File, and enter a file name in the
dialog box (for example, myfuselage).
2.3 Placing the Stringer Cross Section
6
The next step is to create a new modeling window for the full panel, place the stringer
cross section in this window, and translate it to its proper orientation. The steps to do this
are as follows:
Select All, to select the entire cross section;

Copy, to copy this to the "paste buffer";
Create New Model, to get a new modeling window;
with the title bar of new window highlighted, Paste, to paste a copy of the cross
section into the window; and
Show All Objects will display the cross section in the new window.
The cross section is positioned in the coordinate space of the modeling window in
orientation 1, as shown in Figure 2.5. Ultimately, we want is oriented in position 3. We
will go from 1 to 3 in two steps. First, make sure that the entire cross section is
highlighted and that the Translate function is available (use Select All if not). Select the
Translate menu option, and the Translate About Axis ... suboption. This will give you
the rotation dialog box. To go from position 1 to position 2 (Figure 5), we need to rotate
90 degrees about x axis (right hand rule applies). Enter this information and select
Accept. To go from position 2 to position 3, select the same option and suboption, but
this time we want to rotate 90 degrees about the z axis (again, Show All Objects will
show the newly oriented cross section).
The next step is to create cross sections of the portions of the skin that are adjacent to the
stringer, as shown in Figure 6a. This is done with the following steps:
rotate the cross section so that you have a view similar to Figure 6b;
select point A (either a click or drag select), and select the menu option Sweep, and
the suboption Sweep About Axis...;
this gives us a dialog box that we can use to sweep point a into a portion of a
circular arc. In this case we want to rotate about the x axis an amount of 3.25158
degrees (that is, one quarter of the total arc of the panel, 3.6 degrees, minus the are
from the center of the stringer to point A, 0.34842 degrees, from Table 1);
repeat the sweep for point B, this time with a negative angle.
y
3 x
z
2
1
Figure 2.5 Orientation of the stringer cross section in the modeling window.
7
(a) (b)
Figure 2.6 (a) the stringer cross section with adjacent skin, (b) a detail of the cross
section.
Your model should now look like Figure 2.6a. This is a good time to save your work so
far by selecting Write Osm Model File ..., and typing in a new file.
2.4 Sweeping the Stringer and Skin Cross Sections

The next step is to sweep the stringer and skin cross sections along the axis of the
fuselage to create surface patches. A schematic view of an axial section of the fuselage is
shown in Figure 2.7. We will sweep the cross section in segments so that we will have
complete sections at the stations indicated in the figure. Note, that while omitted for
clarity in Figure 2.7, there is a doubler that runs between the stringer and the skin.
To perform the sweep, first Select All to highlight the entire cross section. Select the
Sweep option and the Cartesian Sweep suboption to get a sweep dialog box. In the first
segment, we want to sweep 0.75 inches in the x direction. Type this in and select
Accept. Notice that after the sweep the newly created cross section remains selected.
Therefore, we can continue the sweep by again selecting Sweep and Cartesian Sweep,
this time with a translation of 8.5 in the x direction. You should repeat this process for x
translations of 0.75, 0.75, 8.5, and 0.75. You may need to select Show All Objects to see
your progress.
This is another good point to use the Write Osm Model File option to save a copy of
your work.
frame
stringer
doubler
skin
8.5 8.5
0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75
Figure 2.7 A schematic view of an axial section of the fuselage.
8
2.5 Creating the Frame

A schematic of the frame cross section is shown in Figure 2.8. The frame will be
described with five keypoints. The only thing that may not be obvious is that we add
keypoint C to insure that we have a vertex at the proper location to attach the shear clip.
The actual keypoint coordinates for the section are shown in Table 2.2 (all z coordinates
are zero).
1.0
D E
0.625 0.25
C
shear clip
frame 2.5
1.0
stringer A B
1.174
skin doubler
Figure 2.8 A schematic of the frame cross section.
Table 2.2 Frame keypoint coordinates.
X Y
A -1.0 -72.826
B 0.0 -72.826
C 0.0 -70.951
D 0.0 -70.326
E 1.0 -70.326
9
Like with the stringer cross section, the frame cross section will be created in its own
modeling window first, and then pasted into the rest of the model. The cross section is
created as follows:
select Create New Model;

select Type In Points (the middle mouse button will pop it to the top if it is
partially covered);
enter the new points (the Clear button will clean out any left over data);
enter Accept to add the points to the model;
Show All Objects to see them;
Select All to highlight all five points; and
Create Line Segments to add lines between them.
At this point, use the Write Osm Model File option to save the frame cross section.
The next step is to place the frame cross section into the main modeling window. To do
this:
Select All, to select the cross section lines and points;

Copy;
use the mouse to pop the main modeling window to the top, and make sure that the
title bar is highlighted; and
Paste, and Show All Objects to see the cross section.
As with the stringer cross section, it will take two steps to position the frame. If the
Translate option is not available, use a drag select to highlight the cross section. Select
the Translate option, and the Cartesian Translate suboption. Specify an x translation
of 10.0 (to the mid-point of the panel). For the second step, again select Translate, but
now select the Translate About Axis suboption. We want to rotate about the x axis 86.4
degrees (90 minus one quarter of the total arc of the panel, 3.6).
The final step for creating the frame is to sweep the cross section to create the surfaces.
This will be done in three segments: one to the first leg of the stringer, one across the
string, and one to the far side of the panel. This is done by selecting the Sweep option,
the Sweep About Axis suboption, and specifying sweeps of 3.25158, 0.69684, and
3.25158 degrees, all about the x axis.
This is a good time to save the model. You might also want to look more closely at the
model, and explore some of the display options such as turning points, lines, surfaces and
normals on and off, and by looking at both wireframe and solid views of the surfaces.
2.6 Creating the Shear Clip

The next step is to create the shear clip. To do this, first, turn off the display of surfaces,
normals, and points, and turn on the display of curves. Next zoom into the model, and try
10
to orient your view so that it is like that shown in Figure 2.9. Note that the "hidden" lines
have been removed from Figure 2.9 for clarity.
We will begin with the top of the clips. In the Select/Display box, turn off the selection
of Curves and Surfaces, but make sure that the selection of Points is turned on. Click at
the location of point A (Figure 2.9) to select this vertex. Then hold down the shift key,
and click to select point B. From Figure 2.8 we see that the tops of the clips are 0.25
inches. Select Sweep, and the Cartesian Sweep suboption. Specify a sweep of 0.25
inches in the x direction.
B
A
Figure 2.9 Keypoints for creating the shear clip.
We will now sweep points C and D. However, determining the amount of sweep is
slightly more involved. Eventually, the shear clip will tie to point E and its companion
point on the other side of stringer (not shown). Point E is 0.22 inches farther out than
point D radially, so we need to use similar triangles to find the sweep distance of the new
points. This calculation is shown in Figure 2.10.
Just as with points A and B, select points C and D and sweep them in the x direction a
distance of 0.69326 inches.
The shear clips are completed by adding the surface patches. There are six patches that
need to be added to define the clips. They are shown in Figure 2.11. The easiest way to
add the patches use to the "shift-click" selection to highlight the four corner vertices of
the patch, and then select Create A Patch By Corners to add the surface (you will need
to turn the display of surfaces back on to see the patches.
11
B G
x
( rF r G )
x F = xG + ( x E x G )
( rE r G )
1.875
x F = 0. 25 + 0. 5 = 0.69326
2. 115
D F
E
r
Figure 2.10 Calculation of the sweep distance for points C and D.
1
3
4
5 6
Figure 2.11 The six surfaces to be added to define the shear clip.
At this point, one quarter of the full model is complete, and it would be a good idea to
save your work to a file.
2.7 Completing the Model

The remaining three quarters of the model can now be created by pasting in suitably
translated copies of the current model. To do this, make sure that Points, Curves, and
Surfaces are all selected in the Select portion of the Select/Display box. Then:
Select All, to select the whole model;

Copy;
Paste Special, Rotate About Axis, and rotate about the x axis 7.2 degrees;
Select All, again;
12
Copy; and
Paste Special, Cartesian Translate, and translate in the x direction 20 inches.
You should now have a complete geometrical model like than shown in figure 1. You
should now save this model.
At this point we are done with OSM, but first we need to create a geometrical input file
for FRANC3D. To do this, select Write Franc3D File, and the Thin Shell Model
suboption. Name the file, and note that OSM will automatically append a file extension
of ".dat".
You can now select end to exit OSM.
3 Specifying Material and Geometry

Properties
We now switch to the FRANC3D program. Once you start the program, the first step is
to read in the model geometry. Select Read Geometry File and the file you just created
with Osm. If there are no errors in you Osm file, after a few seconds, the model should
be displayed in the main modeling window.
3.1 Surface Coordinate Systems

Note: Setting the surface coordinate systems as described in this section is both tricky
and tedious. We realize this, and are investigating methods to simplify or eliminate these
steps. Unfortunately these are not available yet. Look for them in the next version.
The first step in creating an analysis model is to set the surface coordinate systems.
These coordinate systems specify a normal pointing out of the surface and two
perpendicular directions along the surface. The objective is to set similar local
coordinate definitions for all surfaces that make up a logical structural element (e.g., the
skin). This currently cannot be done automatically by Osm because it treats all surfaces
as unrelated patches, not as structural components.
Setting the coordinate system is done in two steps: first the normals, then the surface
directions. Of these, setting the normals is more important. The fuselage is built-up
structure, meaning that at many places there are a number of different physical layers that
we have modeled as one face. In the section 3.2.2 we will go through the steps to specify
that these locations should be modeled as a series of layers, with individual thicknesses
and offsets to the center-lines specified for each of the layers. The offsets are specified
along the normal direction, so in cases where a structural member is defined over a
number different faces, we must set the normals of these faces to all point in one
consistent direction.
13
The in-surface directions are used for viewing stress results during postprocessing. If we
want a continuous display of stresses over a series of independent geometrically patches
that together comprise one logical surface (again, the skin, for example). We need to
have all the local coordinate systems for the patches aligned.
To access the surface coordinate systems, select Develop Model, Specify Attributes,
and Face Coordinate Systems. The program will display a red, green, and blue vector at
the center of each geometrical face. The size of the vectors is proportional to the size of
the face. Figure 3.1 shows the coordinate system for a typical face. The red vector
indicates the normal direction, while the green and blue indicate the in surface directions.
blue green
red
Figure 3.1 A typical face coordinate system.
First we will set the coordinate systems for the skin. We will make the arbitrary decision
that the normals will point away from the center of the fuselage. It is probably easiest to
do this one section at a time, zooming in close enough so that you can get a good view of
the coordinate vectors, and selecting an angle so that you can see well if the normal is
pointing inward or outward. Figure 3.2 shows the model in such an orientation.
14
Figure 3.2 A view of the model in a good orientation for setting face normal directions.
Select Reverse Face Normal, and then point to the faces where the red normal vector is
pointing into the fuselage. The faces will be highlighted as they are selected. After you
have selected a group of faces, select the Finish button. The display will then be updated
to show the new normal direction. Repeat this process until the skin face normals point
outward.
The next step is to rotate the coordinate system within the face. Close inspection of our
model shows that all the skin faces already have the green vector oriented along the
positive x direction, so no rotations are necessary. If when building your model you
followed the procedure described above exactly, you should have a similar situation. If,
however, all your coordinate systems are not aligned, select the Rotate Face System
option, specify the faces for which the system should be rotated, Finish, and then specify
incremental amount of rotation (probably 90 or 180) in the dialog box.
Setting the skin faces is good practice because most of them are large and it is relatively
simple to see the orientation. The next step is to set the coordinate systems for the frame.
This may be a little more difficult because the system vectors are smaller and clustered
closer together. The best advice is to zoom in close to the region in which you are
working, and if you get confused, rotate the model. Our eyes are much better at picking
out relative positions of objects if they are moving.
For the frames, the (arbitrary) decision was made that normals along the web of the "Z"
should point in the positive x direction, while the normals along the tops and bottoms
should point away from the center of the fuselage. Again, if you built the model as
described above, the normals will already be oriented this way (see, it wasn't such an
arbitrary decision after all). The in-face systems should also be consistent. If not, you
should set them to be so.
15
Next we do the stringers. Here things get a little harder to see. Our suggestion is that
you get the coordinate systems of the "upstanding" legs to be consistent, and ignore the
narrow "hat" faces on top. Set the systems so that the upstanding leg normals point away
from the center of the section, and the green vector points in the positive x direction. The
normal orientation is shown in figure 3.3. You will probably find that for both stringers,
the faces on the leg with the greater y coordinate will need to be reversed.
normals
Figure 3.3 Desired normal orientation for the legs of the stringer.
The final step is the four shear clips. The clips have three faces that make up the "backs"
of the clips, and six faces that make up the "legs". The top part of the back is also part of
the frame, and thus already has the normal direction specified (towards the center of the
section in this case). The other two faces of the back should have their normals set in a
similar orientation. The sides of the clip should have normals pointing away from the
center of the section, to correspond with the normal directions for the legs of the
stringers. The desired normal orientations are shown in figure 3.4. Don't worry about the
in-face orientation of the clip coordinate systems. Remember also, that to select the faces
on the legs of the clip you will need to orient your view so that you are looking into the
open portion of the section, otherwise you will select portions faces on the frame or the
back of the clip, which will be closer to you.
Figure 3.4 Surface normal orientations for the shear clip.
At this point, it would be a good idea to select Write FRANC3D File to save a copy of
your work so far.
16
3.2 Material and Geometrical Properties

The next step is to set the material and geometrical properties for all faces. If you select
Return on the face system menu, the coordinate system vectors will disappear.
3.2.1 Material Properties
First we will set up the material properties. This model is comprised of two different
aluminums with slightly different Young's moduli. The skin and doublers are made of a
material with an E equal to 10.5e6 psi, while the stringers, frames, and clips have an E
equal to 10.7e6 psi.
First select the Material Properties option. The system always predefines one material
set. This is given the default name "mat_1". We will use this material for our skin and
doublers. We will need to edit the property values. Select Edit Material, to get the
suboptions Select a Region and Select From List. Select a Region is for solid analysis,
so ignore it, and select Select From List, and then mat_1. This will display a dialog box
showing the material properties.
You can change the material name to be something more descriptive (although for our
present purposes we will leave it at mat_1). Change the Young's modulus to 10.5e6.
Poisson's ratio should be set to 0.33 if it is not that already. The other properties will not
be used in this analysis, so they can be ignored. Select Accept once your changes are
complete.
Select Add New Material to define the second material. You will see that the program
generates a material name of "mat_2", and copies the material properties from the first
material. Change Young's modulus to be 10.7e6, and Accept.
This is all we need to do to define the materials, so you can select Return on the
MATERIAL PROPERTIES menu. These materials will actually be assigned to surfaces
as part of the geometrical properties described below.
3.2.2 Geometrical Properties
Geometrical properties specify for each face in the model, the number of layers along
with thickness, offset (eccentricity), material property set for each layer. There are
eleven different geometrical property sets required for this model.
Select the Geometric Properties option to get the GEOMETRIC PROPERTIES menu.
The first property set we will set is for the plane single layer skin. The program
automatically creates an initial single layer geometrical property set named
"geom_set_1". Select the Edit Geometry option to get the Select A Face and Select
17
From List suboptions. These suboptions allow you to tell the program which property
set you want to edit (this is somewhat superfluous in the current case because there is
only one set, this won't be the case for long). Select A Face allows you to point to a face
on the screen to get a dialog box containing the properties for the selected face. Select
From List will give you a list of the property set names. In this case, it is probably faster
to select Select From List and geom_set_1. The program will then display the property
set information.
If you wish, you can change the property name to be something more descriptive. Once a
property set is created, you cannot change the number of layers. If you get the number of
layers wrong, you must delete the set and create a new one.
Referring to Figure 2.3, we see that for the skin we want one layer with a thickness of
0.036, eccentricity of 0 (the centerline of the skin is the reference position), and we want
material property set "mat_1". If what you see on the screen is different from this, edit
the values and select Accept. Since there is currently only one property set defined for
the model, this set is assigned to all surfaces automatically.
The next step is to create the geometrical properties for the locations where we have the
skin and a doubler. Select Add New Geometry, specify 2 layers (set the property set
name if desired), and select Accept.
Layer one is the skin, and should have the skin properties (thickness of 0.036,
eccentricity of 0, and material mat_1). Edit these if necessary, then select the Next
Layer button. You will then see the properties for layer 2, the doubler. Here the
thickness is again 0.036, but the eccentricity should be -0.036, to offset the doubler from
the skin. The negative sign is because the eccentricity is specified with respect to the
normal. In our case, the normal points away from the center of the fuselage, while the
doublers are to be placed closer to the center. The material for this layer is "mat_1".
This information is shown in a table below. This table convention will be used for all the
other property sets.
geom_set_2 Layer 1 (skin) Layer 2 (doubler)

thickness 0.036 0.036
eccentricity 0.0 -0.036
material mat_1 mat_1
Select Accept to store this information. We now need to assign these properties to the
appropriate surfaces. The easiest way to do this is to select the Reset option on the
window's View menu, to get back the original view of the model. Now rotate 180 about
the vertical axis so that the skin is closest to you.
Select the Attach Geometry to Face option, and select the faces that are to be modeled
with skin and a doubler (and no other layers). Faces will be highlighted as you select
them; the appropriate faces are shown in Figure 3.5. Select Finish to assign the
appropriate properties.
18
Figure 3.5 Faces that are assigned the properties for skin and doubler.
The next property set, "geom_set_3", is for the material along the base of the stringers
which has three layers representing the skin, doubler, and the bottom of the stringer
section. These properties are defined as follows:
geom_set_3 Layer 1 (skin) Layer 2 (doubler) Layer 3 (stringer)

thickness 0.036 0.036 0.028
eccentricity 0.0 -0.036 -0.068
material mat_1 mat_1 mat_2
Create this set and assign it to the proper faces, as shown in Figure 3.6.
Figure 3.6 Faces assigned geometrical property set 3.
Properties are now defined for all the faces of the skin. Next we will do the frame.
Starting with the top and bottom flanges of the "Z":
geom_set_4 Layer 1
thickness 0.040
eccentricity 0.0
material mat_2
Now the web of the frame, except for those faces that are also part of the shear clips (note
that in this case we define the contact of the web and the shear clip as the reference
location, so we need to offset the frame web by one half it's thickness to place it at the
proper location):
geom_set_5 Layer 1
thickness 0.040
eccentricity -0.020
19
material mat_2
Now the four faces that are the both part of the web of the frame and the back of the
shear clips:
geom_set_6 Layer 1 (frame) Layer 2 (clip)

eccentricity -0.020 0.016
It's probably a good time to save your work if you have not done so recently.
We will now move on to the stringers. First the legs (notice the reference surface
definition in Figure 2.3):
geom_set_7 Layer 1
thickness 0.028
eccentricity 0.014
material mat_2
Then the angular "hat" faces on the tops of the legs:
geom_set_8 Layer 1
thickness 0.028
eccentricity 0.0
material mat_2
When assigning the properties for these faces, it can be a little tricky getting a view
where the face you want is the closest one to you. This is especially true where the
stringers pass under the frames. The best approach is to zoom in close, and do a few
surfaces at a time. The Show Faces with Active Geometry option can help you keep
track of what has been completed so far.
To finish the stringers we will do the eight faces that are both stringer and clip legs:
geom_set_9 Layer 1 (stringer) Layer 2 (clip)

eccentricity 0.014 -0.016
When assigning these properties, make sure that you are on the clip side of the frame. It
gets confusing in there.
All that is left to do now are the remaining faces of the shear clips that are not common to
the frame or the stringers. First we will do the two faces on the backs of the clips (faces
3 and 6 in Figure 2.11):
20
geom_set_10 Layer 1
thickness 0.032
eccentricity 0.016
material mat_2
Finally, the legs of the clip (faces 1, 2, 4, and 5 in Figure 2.11):
geom_set_11 Layer 1
thickness 0.032
eccentricity -0.016
material mat_2
We are all done with geometrical properties, so you can Return from the GEOMETRIC
PROPERTIES menu. This is definitely a good time to save your work.
4 Assigning Boundary Conditions

The next step is to specify appropriate boundary conditions for the fuselage panel. The
panel is a sub-component of a larger structure. A "global/local" approach is used to get
the appropriate boundary conditions to apply to the sub-model. That is, one must do an
analysis of a larger portion of the fuselage using a courser mesh. Displacements and
rotations from this analysis are then applied along the boundary of the present refined
analysis.
In the present case, global analyses have been performed by the Aircraft Structures
Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center. Their results will be used here. The
mechanism used to transfer their results to our model is described below.
4.1 MRP File Description

As mentioned above, the present analysis is being performed as part of a local/global
analysis. This means that results from a larger courser analysis will be used as boundary
conditions for the present more refined local analysis. In particular, we will apply
displacements and rotations from the larger analysis (the local analysis will also have
pressure loading on the skin). To transfer information from one analysis to another, we
need a flexible way to transfer data from one model to another that does not rely on the
mesh of the refined model. Within the FRANC3D system this is done with a collection
of files we call MRP files (short for Mesh RePresentations).
MRP's describe how data, called field variables, vary along edges, over surfaces, or
through volumes. The field variables are described at "nodal" points, and are
interpolated between points using standard finite element shape functions. In practice, an
MRP is usually a description of a portion of the mesh of the global analysis along with
the field variables at the nodes and some simple control information.
21
For the present analysis, we will only be concerned with MRP's defined along one-
dimensional line elements. An example for the MRP for the ends of one of the frames is
given below. The MRP mesh described by this file is shown in Figure 4.2.
%+ Edge 5 data
8 9 6 0 0
1 0 14846 14907
2 0 14907 14968
3 0 14968 15029
4 0 15029 15090
5 0 15090 15151
6 0 15151 15212
7 0 15212 15273
8 0 15273 15334
14846 9.000e+00 1.365e+01 -7.154e+01

14907 9.500e+00 1.365e+01 -7.154e+01
14968 1.000e+01 1.365e+01 -7.154e+01
15029 1.000e+01 1.353e+01 -7.092e+01
15090 1.000e+01 1.341e+01 -7.031e+01
15151 1.000e+01 1.329e+01 -6.969e+01
15212 1.000e+01 1.318e+01 -6.908e+01
15273 1.050e+01 1.318e+01 -6.908e+01
15334 1.100e+01 1.318e+01 -6.908e+01
14846 -1.555e-02 1.790e-03 -1.761e-01 4.762e-04 3.366e-02 6.220e-03

14907 -1.591e-02 4.931e-03 -1.928e-01 4.765e-04 3.275e-02 6.046e-03
14968 -1.625e-02 7.755e-03 -2.078e-01 1.894e-04 2.600e-02 4.762e-03
15029 -4.148e-03 7.514e-03 -2.078e-01 1.949e-04 1.211e-02 2.069e-03
15090 -7.746e-04 7.244e-03 -2.078e-01 1.969e-04 -1.376e-03 -5.930e-04
15151 -6.011e-03 6.976e-03 -2.078e-01 1.915e-04 -1.493e-02 -3.271e-03
15212 -2.003e-02 6.745e-03 -2.079e-01 1.857e-04 -2.892e-02 -6.277e-03
15273 -2.041e-02 3.297e-03 -1.916e-01 3.412e-04 -3.474e-02 -7.387e-03
15334 -2.081e-02 -4.095e-04 -1.740e-01 2.820e-04 -3.544e-02 -7.523e-03
15334 15273 15212
15151
15090
15029
z
x
14968 14907 14846
Figure 4.2 The MRP mesh for edge 5.
22
MRP's usually begin with one or more identification or comment lines. In this case, the
identification line is "%+ Edge 5 data". Identification lines must begin with "%+", and
everything on the line after that is ignored.
The second line is a control line, in this case it is "8 9 6 0 0". The first number is the
number of elements in the MRP, the second number is the number of nodes, and the third
number is the number of field variables associated with each node. The forth and fifth
values are not used in this case. The forth value is a flag that if set (has a value of 1)
indicates that you want to specify element-wise values for the nodes, and the fifth value
then allows you to specify the number of element wise values (the element-wise
capability is not of much use when using MRP files to transfer boundary conditions, but
is exploited for other internal uses of the MRP's).
The next eight lines describe the "connectivity" of the mesh. This is particularly simple
for the present line elements, but works the same way for surface and volume elements.
The first number in each of these lines is the element number. The second gives the
element type. Type "0" is code for a 2-noded linear element. The third and forth
numbers give the node numbers for this element (notice that element and node numbers
need not be numbered consecutively, but they must not be zero or negative numbers).
The next nine lines give the coordinates of the nodes. The first item on the line is the
node number followed by the x, y, and z coordinates, respectively.
The final nine lines specify the values of the field variables at each node. The first item
on the line is, again, the node number. In the present case, this is followed by the x, y,
and z displacements and the rotations about the x, y, and z axis, respectively.
In most cases the element mesh created within FRANC3D will not correspond to the
mesh described in the MRP. The program automatically performs the interpolation
necessary to assign the proper boundary conditions for the FRANC3D analysis.
There are sixteen MRP files needed for this analysis. The contents of these files are
given in Appendix A. The files are also available electronically via anonymous ftp to
pilsner.cfg.cornell.edu. The files are named E1.mrp through E16.mrp.
4.2 Assigning MRP Boundary Conditions

Once the MRP files have all been copied or created, and are resident in the same
directory as the model file, we can attach the MRP boundary conditions. The locations
of the edges to which the MRP's are to be assigned are shown in Figure 4.3 and
summarized in Table 4.1.
To proceed, select the Boundary Conditions option from the SPECIFY ATTRIBUTES
menu, then select Show individual entity. This will give you a list of suboptions, from
which you want to select show EDGE. You should now select one of the edges that
makes up the short end of the skin denoted E1 in Figure 4.3.
23
At this point you will get the edge boundary condition dialog box. The values in the
dialog box should be set as follows:
Set global coordinates: because the bc's are specified with respect to the global x, y,
and z displacements and rotations;
Set the general distribution file name to E1.mrp;
Set the three displacement/traction toggles to displacement;
Set the three rotation/moment toggles to rotation; and
Set all six uniform/general distributions to be general (ignore the boxes that let you
set the magnitude of the uniform values).
E6 E3
E5 E4
E13
E9
E14
E15
E1
E10
E11
y E12 E7 E16
x E2 E8
Figure 4.3 Identification of the edges along which MRP file boundary conditions are
defined.
Table 4.1 Summary of the MRP file locations.

Edges Location
E1 E4 fuselage skin
E5 E8 frame ends
E9 E16 stringer ends
Once the dialog values are set, select Accept to assign this information to the edge. At
this point it is usually a good idea to select Show individual entity again, and to select
the same edge. The dialog box will reappear, and you are looking to make sure that the
file name E1.mrp is specified in the general distribution file name box. If the program
read the MRP file with no errors, the name should appear. However, as the program
currently works, if it had trouble reading or interpreting the MRP file it writes the error
messages to the terminal window, where you might not notice them, and does not set the
file name in the appropriate box. If the correct file name is in the box then you can select
the Cancel dialog box button.
24
We have now set the boundary conditions for one of the edge segments that make up the
whole skin edge denoted E1 in Figure 4.3. The simplest way to copy these boundary
conditions to the rest of these edge segments is to:
select Duplicate BC of individual entity;
select the duplicate EDGE boundary conditions suboption;
select the edge segment to which you just assigned the MRP file;
select all the remaining edge segments that make up this edge of the skin (note that
you may need to zoom in closer to insure that you select the proper edges).
select Finish.
The above process must now be repeated for the remaining fifteen edges shown in Figure
4.3. Note, however, that for stringer ends (E9-E16), the boundary conditions are applied
to the upstanding legs of the hat section only, and not to the two smaller "hat" edges.
4.3 Assigning Pressure Boundary Conditions

The final step in assigning boundary conditions is to apply the internal pressure load of
7.8 psi to all faces on the skin. The simplest way to do this is as follows:
select Reset from the modeling window's View menu;

rotate the model 180 about a vertical axis so that the frames and stringers are at the
back of the model, and the skin is closest to you;
select the Show individual entity option and show FACE suboption;
select one of the faces that make up the skin;
in the face boundary condition dialog box, set the global/local coordinates toggle to
local;
make sure that all the displacement/traction toggles are set to traction;
make sure that all the uniform/general toggles are set to uniform;
set the x (normal) uniform value to be 7.8 (since have selected local coordinates,
this assigns a hydrostatic pressure in the outward pointing normal direction).
select Accept;
select Duplicate BC of individual entity and the duplicate FACE boundary
conditions suboption; and
select the face for which you just set the BC's, select all other faces the make up the
skin, and select Finish.
At this point all the skin faces should have the pressure boundary conditions. You can
check this by using the Show individual entity option for an arbitrary selected face.
If you have not done so already, this is good point to save your work.
5 Inserting a Crack
The next step is to insert an initial crack. For the purposes of this tutorial, we will
assume a straight three inch initial crack. The crack will be positioned at 1/4 of the
25
distance between stringers, and will splitting the central tear strap. This is illustrated in
Figure 5.1.
stringer
doubler
doubler doubler
A B C D E
stringer
Figure 5.1 The location of the initial crack.
Before we can insert the crack, we need to compute the coordinate of the keypoints
points A-E (Figure 5.1) that define the crack. All five points will have the same y and z
coordinates. We can compute these if we know the angle from the z axis to the crack
location.
From Figure 2.2 it can be seen that the angle from the z axis to the center of the lower
stringer is 180. Also, Figure 2.4 and Table 2.1 show that the angle from the center of
the stringer to the "top" is 0.34842. The panel models a total arc of 14.4. The angle
between center lines of the stringers is one half of this, 7.2. Therefore, the arc subtended
by one panel is 7.2 - (2 * 0.34842) = 6.50316, and the angle to the crack location is 180
- 0.34842 - 6.50316/4 = 178.02579. From this, y = 74 * sin(178.02579) = 2.54927, and
z = 74 * cos(178.02579) = -73.95608. The x coordinates can be determined easily from
Figure 2.7. The keypoint coordinates are summarized in Table 5.1.
Table 5.1 Keypoint coordinates for the initial crack.
x y z
A 18.50 2.549 -73.956

B 19.25 2.549 -73.956
C 20.00 2.549 -73.956
D 20.75 2.549 -73.956
E 21.50 2.549 -73.956
26
Inserting the crack is done in two steps. First we create edges (lines) on the skin surface
at the crack location. Second we tell the program to "tear" these lines open to create the
actual crack.
The first thing you should do is to get a view that is zoomed in close on the crack
location. If the DEVELOP MODEL is not already on the screen, select Develop Model
from the menu to display it, then select Modify Geometry. Next we want to display the
vertices in the model. To do this, select the Display option in the modeling window's
menu bar, and then select the Features option. This will display the features dialog box.
Make sure that the vertices option is selected (shaded), and click on the Accept button.
This will display all the vertices in the model as a little box.
We will now add keypoints B, C, and D (Figure 5.1). These lie on existing edges. To do
this:
select the Add Vertex option, and the to an Edge suboption;

select the Key In Coordinates button, which has appeared in the lower part of the
screen.
point and click at the approximate location of the new vertex;
a dialog box will appear containing the coordinates of the point you just picked,
these should be close to the corresponding keypoint coordinates (Table 5.1); and
edit the values in the dialog box to make them the exact keypoint values and then
select Accept.
The program will display the vertex just added. Repeat this for the other two keypoints.
The next step is to add the edges. We will do this by pointing to the vertices we just
created. All vertices have a small amount of "gravity" associated with them, so if we
click near a vertex, the endpoint of the edge will "snap" to the vertex. There is one not so
obvious complication, however. We want to add an edge to a face, but the vertices we
just created lie on the junction between two faces. If when adding an edge we just point
to one of the vertices, the program does not know to which of these faces we wish to add
the edge. In this case, the program will guess, but it might guess wrong. To get around
this, we will tell the program to which face we wish to add an edge explicitly. The steps
are then:
select the Add Edge option, and the to a Face suboption;

select the Indicate Face Before button at the lower part of the screen;
point and click at the middle of the face to which you want to add an edge, it will be
highlighted (this is shown in Figure 5.2);
now point and click very near a vertex that will be one end of the edge, but stay
slightly inside the highlighted face;
the vertex, when selected, will be highlighted;
select the other vertex.
Repeat these steps for the other edge.
27
Figure 5.2 The highlighted face after using Select Face Before
Now we will add the edges that go between points A and B, and D and E. We will use a
slightly different procedure for these:
select the Add Edge option, and the to a Face suboption;

select the Key In Coordinates button;
point and click at a location near either keypoint A or E;
you will see the face highlighted, and get the coordinate dialog box, enter the exact
coordinates (see Figure 5.3); and
select the vertex at the other end of the edge.
Repeat these steps for the remaining edge.
28
Figure 5.3 The highlighted face and new vertex.
The final step is to tell the program to tear open these edges to make a crack. The steps
for this are:
select the Nucleate Crack option, and the Shell Cracks option;
select the crack existing edge(s) option;
point and click on the four edges that will make up the crack; and
select Finish
The edges will be highlighted in white to indicate that they now define a crack.
At this point it would be a good idea to save your work, and to select Return on the
MODIFY GEOMETRY menu to clean up the screen.
6 Creating a Mesh
The next step is to create a finite element mesh for the panel. Creating a mesh with
FRANC3D is done in two steps: first nodal densities are defined along edges in the
model, then meshes are automatically generated over the surfaces.
6.1 Meshing the Crack Panels

As a general practice, it is usually most efficient to start meshing in the crack region, and
expand outward from this area until the complete model is meshed.
To begin with, rotate the model so that the skin is closer to you than the stringers and
frames, and zoom in on one of the panels that contain a crack tip (for the purposes of this
tutorial the right crack tip will be used, but either side can be used). Select Subdivide
Edges from the DEVELOP MODEL menu. If they are not already displayed, you should
turn on the display of all the vertices. This is done by selecting the Display option from
the modeling window's menu bar, select the Features suboption, and turn on the
Vertices option. You may also wish to select the Redraw Screen option from the same
menu to make the vertex box sizes more appropriate for the current view.
We will now specify the nodal density for the edges that surround the panel. This is done
as follows:
Select the Active Subdivision Data option, and enter 10 as the number of
subdivisions (this value can also be set using the Set Number of Subdivisions
option);
29
Select the Subdivide Edges option, and then point and click on the edges that
define the top and bottom of the panel (be careful on the bottom that you get the
panel edge, and not part of the stringer;
Select the Active Subdivision Data option again, set the number of subdivisions to
6, and select Accept;
Point and click on the edge away from the crack, and select the Finish button;
For the remaining three edges (the crack and the two adjacent edges) we will grade
the mesh so that we have small elements near the crack tip that get gradually larger
as we move away. Select the Active Subdivision Data option, and set the number
of subdivisions to 4, and set the first and last segment lengths to 1 and 4;
Select the Subdivide Edges option and then point and click on the crack edge. If
the nodes are graded so that largest space is at the crack tip, select Reverse Ratio,
and click on the edge again;
Select the Active Subdivision Data option again. This time set the number of
segments to 6, and the lengths to 1 and 2; and
Select the two remaining edges, reversing the ratio if necessary, and then select the
Finish button.
The resulting nodal distribution is shown in Figure 6.1a.
We can now mesh the panel.
Select the Mesh Surfaces option from the DEVELOP MODEL menu;
Select the Arbitrary Region option and the automatically generate internal
points suboption;
Point and click on the panel containing the crack tip; and
Select the Finish button.
The resulting mesh is shown in Figure 6.1b.
You should now repeat this process for the panel that contains the other crack tip.
30
(a) (b)
Figure 6.1 (a) specified nodal density for the crack-tip panel, (b) the mesh for the crack-
tip panel.
The next step is to mesh the faces adjacent to the rest of the crack. We will do this with a
mapped meshing algorithm. For this:
Select the Active Subdivision Data option and set the number of subdivisions to 6
with lengths of 1 and 2;
Select the two edges that intersect the crack at its mid-point, using Reverse Ratio if
necessary to keep the small elements near the crack;
Set the number of subdivisions to 2, and the lengths to 1 and 1;
Select the two edges the make up the middle of the crack, and the four parallel
edges that make up the top and bottom edges of these faces (see Figure 6.2a);
Select the Bi-linear Mapping option, and the No Corner Points suboption from
the MESH SURFACES menu;
Point and click to select the four faces, and then select the Finish button.
The resulting mesh is shown in Figure 6.2b.
31
(a) (b)
Figure 6.2 Meshing the faces between the crack-tip panels: (a) nodal density and (b) the
mesh.
6.2 Transition Away From the Crack

The purpose of the next few meshing steps is to transition from a relatively fine mesh
near the crack tips to a relatively course mesh away from the crack. We will start with
the faces that model skin and tear strap underneath the frames to the left and right of the
crack-tip panels.
In the first face we will insert a 6x1 regular mapped mesh (bi-linear mapping). In the
adjacent face we will insert a triangular mesh that transitions from 6 elements to three
elements. This is a relatively straight forward procedure; however, the edges of the
frame and the shear clip can make the display confusing. As always, rotating the image
helps alleviate some of the confusion. To create these meshes:
Select Active Subdivision Data, and set the number of subdivisions to 6 and the
lengths to 1;
Select Subdivide Edges and divide the edge that bisects the tear strap (Figure 6.3a,
note, the frame shear clip have been removed for clarity;
Set the number of subdivisions to 3 and divide the edge that defines the far side of
the tear strap.
Select the Bi-linear Mapping option, the No Corner Points suboption, and specify
the face for the regular mesh.
Select the Arbitrary Region option, the set meshing parameters suboption, and
select the all triangles option.
32
Select the Arbitrary Region option, the no internal points suboption, and specify
the other face.
The resulting mesh, with the frame and shear clip removed, is shown in figure 6.3b. You
should repeat this process for the other side of the crack.
(a) (b)
Figure 6.3 Meshing under the frame (removed for clarity): (a) specified nodes and (b) the
mesh.
Meshing of the remainder of the transition mesh faces requires the use of meshing
techniques described. Therefore, the steps required to create these meshes will not be
described in detail. Refer to Figure 6.4 for identification of these faces, and Figure 6.5
for the completed meshes (note that the frames, clips, and stringers have been removed
from Figures 6.4 & 6.5 for clarity).
33
j i m m
f e g h
b
a c d
b crack
l k m m
Figure 6.4 Identification of the mesh faces for the transition meshes.
The "a" face and the two "b" faces were meshed in the previous section;
Faces "c" and "d" where meshed above;
For face "e" you should specify a nodal density of 6 divisions along the top, 4
divisions along either side, and 10 divisions along the bottom (already specified for
the crack-tip mesh);
Set the meshing parameters back to all quadrilaterals and generate an arbitrary
mesh for this face;
Generate a 4x2 bi-linear mapped meshes for face "f";
Generate a 4x1 bi-linear mapped meshes for face "g";
For face "h", set the meshing parameters back to all triangles and generate 4-to-3x1
arbitrary transition mesh, selecting no internal points for the Arbitrary Region
suboption;
Face "i" is a 6-to-4x1 arbitrary transition mesh;
Faces "j" and "l" are 2-to-1x1 arbitrary transition mesh;
Face "k" is a 10-to-5x1 arbitrary transition mesh; and
34
Faces "m" are already the desired 1x1 meshes, so you don't need to do any
additional meshing for these.
These meshes should be created for both ends of the crack. The completed transition
mesh is shown in Figure 6.5.
Figure 6.5 Crack-tip and transition meshes.
6.3 Completing the Mesh for the Skin

What remains is to complete the regular parts of the mesh for the skin, and to create
meshes for the frames and stringers. Because of the regular nature of these, this process
can be done much more quickly than the transition meshing.
The technique that allows us to speed this process is call mesh duplication. To use this
we mesh a region, and then "copy" this mesh to a number of similar regions.
We will start with the larger face at the lower left corner of the skin. Create a 3x4 bi-
linear mesh for this face as shown in Figure 6.6.
35
Figure 6.6 A 3x4 bi-linear mesh for the larger face in the lower left corner of the skin.
Now select the Duplicate Mesh option, point and click on the mesh you just created, and
then point and click on all other similar unmeshed faces, as shown in Figure 6.7 (note
that the two large faces below the crack tips are not selected, these will be meshed next).
Figure 6.7 Faces selected for the Duplicate Mesh procedure (transition mesh, frames and
stringers not shown).
The large faces below the crack-tip faces will also be meshed with a bi-linear mesh, but
in this case it must be a 3x 5 element mesh to match the transition mesh. You can specify
subdivisions and a bi-linear mesh for one of these faces, and create the mesh for the other
using the Duplicate Mesh option.
Next, create a 1x3 element mesh for the tall narrow lower left face. Use the Duplicate
Mesh option to "copy" this mesh for all similar faces. This is shown in Figure 6.8.
36
Figure 6.8 Faces selected for the duplication of the 1x3 element mesh (crack region
mesh, frames, and stringers not shown).
To complete the skin mesh, generate a 4x1 element mesh for one of the remaining
"horizontal" faces, and duplicate this mesh for the remaining unmeshed skin faces.
6.4 Meshing the Frames and Stringers

To complete the mesh we must generate meshes for the frames and stringers. For the
most part this can be done fairly rapidly using the Duplicate Mesh option. The meshes
for the frames consist primarily of 2x2 and 1x2 patches, with small number of 1x1
patches, for which no action is required. A typical frame mesh is shown in Figure 6.9
Figure 6.9 The mesh for a frame.
While meshing the frames, it is a good time to create the mesh for the shear clips. Most
of the faces that make up the shear clip will have a 1x1 mesh. You don't need to do
anything for these. However, on two of the faces that make up the upstanding legs of the
clip, a 2x1 mesh is required.
37
The final step is to create the meshes for the stringers. For all stringers, the mesh will be
one element wide for the upstanding legs, and one element wide for each of the faces that
make up the "hats" of the stringer. Along the length of the stringers the element spacing
is determine by the adjacent skin meshes. This means that in the transition zones there
will be a higher density of elements on one of the upstanding legs than on the other. A
portion of the stringer mesh is shown in Figure 6.10.
Figure 6.10 A portion of stringer mesh (with the skin removed).
Once you think you have completed the meshing, select the Highlight Unmeshed Faces
option to look any faces you may have missed. Once you mesh these, then save the
model.
7 Performing a STAGS Analysis

The next step is to perform a STAGS analysis for the panel. A separated interface
program, COUPLER, that couples FRANC3D with STAGS is written to generate the
model information for STAGS from FRANC3D although its functions are hidden in the
following. Performing a STAGS analysis is done in two steps: first write out the analysis
files from FRANC3D, then execute STAGS and extract the responses from STAGS
analysis.
7.1 Write the Analysis File from FRANC3D

First we will write out analysis files from FRANC3D. Select Read/Write Analysis File
option from FRANC3D MAIN MENU then select Write COUPLER File to get a
CPLR/STAGS file dialog box. The options in it enable one to define the necessary
parameters for linear, geometric nonlinear, and material nonlinear analyses in STAGS.
In this tutorial, only geometric nonlinear analysis will be performed for crack growth
simulation. Thus, select the toggle bottom non-linear to set up parameters that control
the nonlinear solution strategy. The default analysis parameters will be used in our
38
example so select Accept to go back to CPLR/STAGS file dialog box then select Accept
again to write out analysis files.
You can now select end to exit FRANC3D.
7.2 Execute STAGS and Extract the Responses

A simple script file called RunStags is written to facilitate the STAGS execution. The
script file assumes that the paths of COUPLER and STAGS are located in user's home
directory. You should alter the paths of them in the script file based on your program
environment. The contents of the script file are given in Appendix B. The script file is
also available electronically via anonymous ftp to pilsner.cfg.cornell.edu.
RunStags provides several options for users to control the STAGS execution process.
The synopsis is: RunStags [casename] [options] where casename is the name of the
analysis file saved from FRANC3D. By default, RunStags will perform model
preparation then STAGS analysis. The available options of RunStags are listed in the
following:
-0 run model and analysis processor (default)

-1 run model processor only
-2 run analysis processor only
-ext # extract responses (#: load step number)
-exlast extract responses of the last step
We will use the default to perform our STAGS execution so type RunStags
casename then hit the return key. Several messages indicate the process status will
show on the screen. To trace the STAGS analysis process, type tail -f
casename.out2 then hit the return key once you see a similar message like
"Executing /stags/bin/s2: Mon Jun 3 11:17:24 EDT 1996" on the
screen. For this tutorial example, it takes about 40 minutes for STAGS to finish the
execution on DEC AXP 3000 workstation. Once STAGS finishes the execution, we can
extract model responses for fracture analysis. The information that lists the applied load
or displacement ratio, and the corresponding load step is available at the end of
casename.out2 and, in general, we can extract the responses of any step by typing
RunStags casename -ext with the desired load step. Since only the last step that
reaches the full applied loads and displacements is needed for fatigue crack growth
simulation, type RunStags casename -exlast then hit the return key to extract
the responses of the last load step.
8 Displaying Responses
We now switch to the FRANC3D program to display the responses extracted from
STAGS. Once you start the program, select Read FRANC3D File from FRANC3D
39
MAIN MENU and the case file with cplr.fys extension. The model should be displayed
in the main modeling window after a few second. To read in the responses, select
Read/Write Analysis Files from FRANC3D MAIN MENU then Read COUPLER
response set. A list of available response files will display on the screen. Select the
desired one to map the displacement field, stress resultant field, and stress intensity
factors into FRANC3D. To display the responses, select Visualize/Analyze Results
from FRANC3D MAIN MENU so that you can examine the deformed shape, the stress
contour, the line plot, the point information, and so on. For example, you can select
Deformation & Contour then enter the magnification factor to display the deformed
shape. The deformed shape of the panel with the magnification factor equal to 20 is
shown in Figure 8.1.
Figure 8.1 The deformed shape.
9 Growing a Crack
The crack is ready to be propagated based on the stress intensity factors that have been
computed by using the modified crack closure integral method. To do this, first get a
view that is zoomed in close on the crack location. Select Develop Model from the
DEVELOP MODEL then select Modify Geometry, then Nucleate Crack, then Shell
Cracks. Turn on the display of the vertices in the model and select crack virgin
material. Point and click a crack tip vertex to get a dialog box including stress intensity
factors, the propagation angle based on the maximum tangential stress theory, and the
length of the crack growth increment. The default values will be used in our example so
select Accept to propagate a one inch crack extension from the crack tip vertex as shown
in Figure 9.1. Repeat this for the other crack tip vertex.
40
New Crack
Figure 9.1 A one inch crack growth.
10 Rebuilding a Mesh
Since the geometry around the crack has been changed after the propagation, we need to
rebuild the finite element mesh in this region. Figure 10.1 shows the regions that need to
be remeshed.
Figure 10.1 The regions to be remeshed.
Procedures to rebuild a mesh are the same as those described in the "creating a mesh"
section. We summarize them as follows:
Select the Subdivide Edges from DEVELOP MODEL;
Select the Active Subdivision Data option, and enter 2 as the number of
subdivisions;
Select the Subdivide Edges option, and then point and click on all crack edges
except the ones just propagated;
Select the Active Subdivision Data option again. Set the number of subdivisions
to 4, and set the first and last segment lengths to 1 and 4;
41
Select the Subdivide Edges option, and then point and click on the new crack
edges. If the nodes are graded so that largest space is at the crack tip, select
Reverse Ratio, and click on the edge again.
These finish the necessary nodal density assignment. Now, we can mesh the panel.
Select the Mesh Surfaces option from the DEVELOP MODEL menu.
Select the Arbitrary Region option and the automatically generate internal
points suboption;
Point and click on the regions containing the crack tip;
Select the Finish button;
Select Bi-linear Mapping option and the No Corner Points suboption;
Point and click on the tear strap regions containing the crack edge; and
Select the Finish button;
The resulting mesh is shown in Figure 10.2.
Congratulations! You have finished all the training for this tutorial problem. You can
now perform another STAGS analysis by following the procedures described in the
"performing a stags analysis" section.
Figure 10.2 The mesh around the crack tip regions.
42
APPENDIX A MRP files (Version 1.15 Format)

E1.mrp
%+%+ Edge 1 data \n

20 21 6 0 0
1 0 1846 1847
2 0 1847 1848
3 0 1848 1849
4 0 1849 1850
5 0 1850 1851
6 0 1851 1852
7 0 1852 1853
8 0 1853 1854
9 0 1854 1855
10 0 1855 1856
11 0 1856 1857
12 0 1857 1858
13 0 1858 1859
14 0 1859 1860
15 0 1860 1861
16 0 1861 1862
17 0 1862 1863
18 0 1863 1864
19 0 1864 1865
20 0 1865 1866
1846 0.000e+00 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
1847 0.000e+00 1.272e+01 -7.290e+01
1848 0.000e+00 1.158e+01 -7.309e+01
1849 0.000e+00 1.043e+01 -7.326e+01
1850 0.000e+00 9.721e+00 -7.336e+01
1851 0.000e+00 9.275e+00 -7.342e+01
1852 0.000e+00 8.828e+00 -7.347e+01
1853 0.000e+00 8.120e+00 -7.355e+01
1854 0.000e+00 6.964e+00 -7.367e+01
1855 0.000e+00 5.806e+00 -7.377e+01
1856 0.000e+00 4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
1857 0.000e+00 3.486e+00 -7.392e+01
1858 0.000e+00 2.324e+00 -7.396e+01
1859 0.000e+00 1.162e+00 -7.399e+01
1860 0.000e+00 4.500e-01 -7.400e+01
1861 0.000e+00 -7.427e-10 -7.400e+01
1862 0.000e+00 -4.500e-01 -7.400e+01
1863 0.000e+00 -1.162e+00 -7.399e+01
1864 0.000e+00 -2.324e+00 -7.396e+01
1865 0.000e+00 -3.486e+00 -7.392e+01
1866 0.000e+00 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
1846 -1.361e-02 1.337e-02 -2.138e-01 5.434e-04 -5.495e-05 -2.244e-05

1847 -1.358e-02 1.224e-02 -2.144e-01 1.497e-04 -7.138e-05 -2.666e-05
1848 -1.355e-02 1.105e-02 -2.147e-01 -4.557e-05 -6.952e-05 -2.788e-05
1849 -1.353e-02 9.923e-03 -2.152e-01 8.788e-04 -2.980e-05 -2.439e-05
1850 -1.352e-02 9.501e-03 -2.171e-01 4.126e-03 2.565e-06 -1.964e-05
1851 -1.353e-02 9.172e-03 -2.182e-01 4.976e-04 2.825e-05 -1.264e-05
1852 -1.353e-02 8.629e-03 -2.176e-01 -3.148e-03 3.390e-05 -1.026e-05
1853 -1.354e-02 7.835e-03 -2.166e-01 1.710e-05 9.395e-06 -1.322e-05
1854 -1.356e-02 6.714e-03 -2.173e-01 8.643e-04 -2.714e-05 -1.955e-05
1855 -1.359e-02 5.582e-03 -2.183e-01 5.797e-04 -4.247e-05 -2.304e-05
1856 -1.361e-02 4.403e-03 -2.188e-01 6.644e-05 -4.012e-05 -2.478e-05
1857 -1.364e-02 3.183e-03 -2.186e-01 -4.406e-04 -2.807e-05 -2.591e-05
43
1858 -1.368e-02 1.946e-03 -2.180e-01 -6.969e-04 -1.655e-05 -2.698e-05

1859 -1.371e-02 7.455e-04 -2.176e-01 2.691e-04 -1.573e-05 -2.804e-05
1860 -1.373e-02 9.176e-05 -2.190e-01 3.644e-03 -2.028e-05 -3.093e-05
1861 -1.374e-02 -3.753e-04 -2.199e-01 7.328e-05 -1.016e-06 -3.337e-05
1862 -1.375e-02 -8.441e-04 -2.191e-01 -3.534e-03 1.262e-05 -3.528e-05
1863 -1.377e-02 -1.502e-03 -2.177e-01 -3.026e-04 2.810e-05 -3.832e-05
1864 -1.380e-02 -2.701e-03 -2.180e-01 6.097e-04 5.670e-05 -3.969e-05
1865 -1.382e-02 -3.932e-03 -2.185e-01 3.321e-04 7.248e-05 -4.073e-05
1866 -1.384e-02 -5.143e-03 -2.185e-01 -2.016e-04 7.645e-05 -4.110e-05
E2.mrp
%+%+ Edge 2 data \n
40 41 6 0 0
1 0 1866 1927
2 0 1927 1988
3 0 1988 2049
4 0 2049 2110
5 0 2110 2171
6 0 2171 2232
7 0 2232 2293
8 0 2293 2354
9 0 2354 2415
10 0 2415 2476
11 0 2476 2537
12 0 2537 2598
13 0 2598 2659
14 0 2659 2720
15 0 2720 2781
16 0 2781 2842
17 0 2842 2903
18 0 2903 2964
19 0 2964 3025
20 0 3025 3086
21 0 3086 3147
22 0 3147 3208
23 0 3208 3269
24 0 3269 3330
25 0 3330 3391
26 0 3391 3452
27 0 3452 3513
28 0 3513 3574
29 0 3574 3635
30 0 3635 3696
31 0 3696 3757
32 0 3757 3818
33 0 3818 3879
34 0 3879 3940
35 0 3940 4001
36 0 4001 4062
37 0 4062 4123
38 0 4123 4184
39 0 4184 4245
40 0 4245 4306
1866 0.000e+00 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01

1927 7.500e-01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
1988 2.000e+00 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2049 3.000e+00 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2110 4.000e+00 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2171 5.000e+00 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2232 6.000e+00 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2293 7.000e+00 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
44
2354 8.000e+00 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01

2415 9.250e+00 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2476 1.000e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2537 1.075e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2598 1.200e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2659 1.300e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2720 1.400e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2781 1.500e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2842 1.600e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2903 1.700e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
2964 1.800e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3025 1.925e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3086 2.000e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3147 2.075e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3208 2.200e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3269 2.300e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3330 2.400e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3391 2.500e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3452 2.600e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3513 2.700e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3574 2.800e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3635 2.925e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3696 3.000e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3757 3.075e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3818 3.200e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3879 3.300e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
3940 3.400e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
4001 3.500e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
4062 3.600e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
4123 3.700e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
4184 3.800e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
4245 3.925e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
4306 4.000e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
1866 -1.384e-02 -5.143e-03 -2.185e-01 -2.016e-04 7.645e-05 -4.110e-05

1927 -1.409e-02 -5.212e-03 -2.194e-01 -2.063e-04 2.079e-03 -1.671e-04
1988 -1.446e-02 -5.894e-03 -2.297e-01 -2.229e-04 8.493e-03 -5.708e-04
2049 -1.474e-02 -6.295e-03 -2.356e-01 -2.441e-04 3.564e-03 -2.589e-04
2110 -1.502e-02 -6.449e-03 -2.376e-01 -2.740e-04 8.654e-04 -8.766e-05
2171 -1.530e-02 -6.507e-03 -2.380e-01 -3.213e-04 9.272e-05 -3.783e-05
2232 -1.558e-02 -6.531e-03 -2.378e-01 -3.827e-04 -6.680e-04 1.148e-05
2293 -1.586e-02 -6.456e-03 -2.360e-01 -4.767e-04 -3.477e-03 1.904e-04
2354 -1.615e-02 -6.117e-03 -2.300e-01 -6.607e-04 -8.713e-03 5.223e-04
2415 -1.653e-02 -5.489e-03 -2.193e-01 -9.743e-04 -2.416e-03 1.229e-04
2476 -1.678e-02 -5.452e-03 -2.184e-01 -1.030e-03 3.902e-04 -5.527e-05
2537 -1.704e-02 -5.554e-03 -2.199e-01 -1.083e-03 3.190e-03 -2.326e-04
2598 -1.742e-02 -6.360e-03 -2.318e-01 -9.819e-04 9.759e-03 -6.481e-04
2659 -1.770e-02 -6.842e-03 -2.388e-01 -8.913e-04 4.500e-03 -3.127e-04
2720 -1.795e-02 -7.048e-03 -2.416e-01 -8.771e-04 1.566e-03 -1.245e-04
2781 -1.820e-02 -7.137e-03 -2.426e-01 -8.947e-04 5.744e-04 -6.056e-05
2842 -1.845e-02 -7.169e-03 -2.428e-01 -9.068e-04 -4.431e-04 3.086e-06
2903 -1.869e-02 -7.085e-03 -2.412e-01 -8.956e-04 -3.219e-03 1.763e-04
2964 -1.893e-02 -6.748e-03 -2.357e-01 -8.681e-04 -7.947e-03 4.716e-04
3025 -1.924e-02 -6.146e-03 -2.260e-01 -8.471e-04 -1.575e-03 6.410e-05
3086 -1.947e-02 -6.108e-03 -2.254e-01 -8.533e-04 3.567e-06 -3.804e-05
3147 -1.970e-02 -6.150e-03 -2.261e-01 -8.480e-04 1.583e-03 -1.404e-04
3208 -2.001e-02 -6.759e-03 -2.357e-01 -8.725e-04 7.950e-03 -5.483e-04
3269 -2.025e-02 -7.102e-03 -2.412e-01 -9.014e-04 3.222e-03 -2.542e-04
3330 -2.049e-02 -7.191e-03 -2.428e-01 -9.152e-04 4.479e-04 -8.268e-05
3391 -2.073e-02 -7.165e-03 -2.426e-01 -9.058e-04 -5.643e-04 -2.136e-05
3452 -2.098e-02 -7.081e-03 -2.417e-01 -8.901e-04 -1.549e-03 3.973e-05
3513 -2.124e-02 -6.881e-03 -2.389e-01 -9.024e-04 -4.482e-03 2.254e-04
3574 -2.152e-02 -6.405e-03 -2.319e-01 -9.849e-04 -9.763e-03 5.599e-04
3635 -2.190e-02 -5.604e-03 -2.199e-01 -1.065e-03 -3.251e-03 1.464e-04
45
3696 -2.215e-02 -5.502e-03 -2.185e-01 -9.991e-04 -4.525e-04 -3.103e-05

3757 -2.241e-02 -5.540e-03 -2.193e-01 -9.323e-04 2.362e-03 -2.093e-04
3818 -2.279e-02 -6.173e-03 -2.300e-01 -6.024e-04 8.718e-03 -6.103e-04
3879 -2.308e-02 -6.518e-03 -2.360e-01 -4.120e-04 3.498e-03 -2.768e-04
3940 -2.336e-02 -6.599e-03 -2.378e-01 -3.162e-04 6.852e-04 -9.485e-05
4001 -2.364e-02 -6.580e-03 -2.380e-01 -2.573e-04 -8.374e-05 -4.236e-05
4062 -2.392e-02 -6.528e-03 -2.377e-01 -2.137e-04 -8.619e-04 1.015e-05
4123 -2.420e-02 -6.380e-03 -2.357e-01 -1.875e-04 -3.563e-03 1.834e-04
4184 -2.448e-02 -5.984e-03 -2.298e-01 -1.683e-04 -8.492e-03 4.970e-04
4245 -2.484e-02 -5.308e-03 -2.195e-01 -1.552e-04 -2.076e-03 9.441e-05
4306 -2.510e-02 -5.242e-03 -2.186e-01 -1.528e-04 -7.377e-05 -3.123e-05
E3.mrp
%+%+ Edge 3 data \n
20 21 6 0 0
1 0 4286 4287
2 0 4287 4288
3 0 4288 4289
4 0 4289 4290
5 0 4290 4291
6 0 4291 4292
7 0 4292 4293
8 0 4293 4294
9 0 4294 4295
10 0 4295 4296
11 0 4296 4297
12 0 4297 4298
13 0 4298 4299
14 0 4299 4300
15 0 4300 4301
16 0 4301 4302
17 0 4302 4303
18 0 4303 4304
19 0 4304 4305
20 0 4305 4306
4286 4.000e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
4287 4.000e+01 1.272e+01 -7.290e+01
4288 4.000e+01 1.158e+01 -7.309e+01
4289 4.000e+01 1.043e+01 -7.326e+01
4290 4.000e+01 9.721e+00 -7.336e+01
4291 4.000e+01 9.275e+00 -7.342e+01
4292 4.000e+01 8.828e+00 -7.347e+01
4293 4.000e+01 8.120e+00 -7.355e+01
4294 4.000e+01 6.964e+00 -7.367e+01
4295 4.000e+01 5.806e+00 -7.377e+01
4296 4.000e+01 4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
4297 4.000e+01 3.486e+00 -7.392e+01
4298 4.000e+01 2.324e+00 -7.396e+01
4299 4.000e+01 1.162e+00 -7.399e+01
4300 4.000e+01 4.500e-01 -7.400e+01
4301 4.000e+01 -7.427e-10 -7.400e+01
4302 4.000e+01 -4.500e-01 -7.400e+01
4303 4.000e+01 -1.162e+00 -7.399e+01
4304 4.000e+01 -2.324e+00 -7.396e+01
4305 4.000e+01 -3.486e+00 -7.392e+01
4306 4.000e+01 -4.646e+00 -7.385e+01
4286 -2.527e-02 1.330e-02 -2.136e-01 5.048e-04 5.064e-05 -3.763e-05

4287 -2.530e-02 1.216e-02 -2.142e-01 1.261e-04 5.443e-05 -3.685e-05
4288 -2.532e-02 1.097e-02 -2.144e-01 -5.469e-05 3.003e-05 -4.001e-05
46
4289 -2.534e-02 9.838e-03 -2.150e-01 8.807e-04 -3.380e-05 -4.758e-05

4290 -2.535e-02 9.416e-03 -2.168e-01 4.130e-03 -7.695e-05 -5.491e-05
4291 -2.535e-02 9.087e-03 -2.179e-01 4.967e-04 -7.766e-05 -5.921e-05
4292 -2.535e-02 8.543e-03 -2.174e-01 -3.156e-03 -6.553e-05 -6.075e-05
4293 -2.534e-02 7.747e-03 -2.164e-01 -6.500e-07 -2.833e-05 -5.854e-05
4294 -2.533e-02 6.623e-03 -2.171e-01 8.527e-04 2.443e-05 -5.142e-05
4295 -2.531e-02 5.489e-03 -2.180e-01 5.792e-04 4.559e-05 -4.802e-05
4296 -2.529e-02 4.310e-03 -2.185e-01 7.727e-05 4.105e-05 -4.665e-05
4297 -2.526e-02 3.090e-03 -2.184e-01 -4.191e-04 1.880e-05 -4.589e-05
4298 -2.523e-02 1.854e-03 -2.178e-01 -6.659e-04 -1.099e-05 -4.493e-05
4299 -2.520e-02 6.539e-04 -2.174e-01 3.076e-04 -3.313e-05 -4.360e-05
4300 -2.519e-02 8.792e-08 -2.189e-01 3.682e-03 -3.152e-05 -4.042e-05
4301 -2.518e-02 -4.672e-04 -2.197e-01 1.091e-04 -3.362e-05 -3.780e-05
4302 -2.517e-02 -9.363e-04 -2.190e-01 -3.500e-03 -2.072e-05 -3.664e-05
4303 -2.516e-02 -1.594e-03 -2.176e-01 -2.680e-04 -3.163e-05 -3.468e-05
4304 -2.513e-02 -2.795e-03 -2.179e-01 6.493e-04 -4.982e-05 -3.357e-05
4305 -2.511e-02 -4.029e-03 -2.185e-01 3.768e-04 -6.572e-05 -3.235e-05
4306 -2.510e-02 -5.242e-03 -2.186e-01 -1.528e-04 -7.377e-05 -3.123e-05
E4.mrp
%+%+ Edge 4 data \n
40 41 6 0 0
1 0 1846 1907
2 0 1907 1968
3 0 1968 2029
4 0 2029 2090
5 0 2090 2151
6 0 2151 2212
7 0 2212 2273
8 0 2273 2334
9 0 2334 2395
10 0 2395 2456
11 0 2456 2517
12 0 2517 2578
13 0 2578 2639
14 0 2639 2700
15 0 2700 2761
16 0 2761 2822
17 0 2822 2883
18 0 2883 2944
19 0 2944 3005
20 0 3005 3066
21 0 3066 3127
22 0 3127 3188
23 0 3188 3249
24 0 3249 3310
25 0 3310 3371
26 0 3371 3432
27 0 3432 3493
28 0 3493 3554
29 0 3554 3615
30 0 3615 3676
31 0 3676 3737
32 0 3737 3798
33 0 3798 3859
34 0 3859 3920
35 0 3920 3981
36 0 3981 4042
37 0 4042 4103
38 0 4103 4164
39 0 4164 4225
47
40 0 4225 4286
1846 0.000e+00 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01

1907 7.500e-01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
1968 2.000e+00 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2029 3.000e+00 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2090 4.000e+00 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2151 5.000e+00 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2212 6.000e+00 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2273 7.000e+00 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2334 8.000e+00 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2395 9.250e+00 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2456 1.000e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2517 1.075e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2578 1.200e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2639 1.300e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2700 1.400e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2761 1.500e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2822 1.600e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2883 1.700e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
2944 1.800e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3005 1.925e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3066 2.000e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3127 2.075e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3188 2.200e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3249 2.300e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3310 2.400e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3371 2.500e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3432 2.600e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3493 2.700e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3554 2.800e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3615 2.925e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3676 3.000e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3737 3.075e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3798 3.200e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3859 3.300e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3920 3.400e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
3981 3.500e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
4042 3.600e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
4103 3.700e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
4164 3.800e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
4225 3.925e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
4286 4.000e+01 1.387e+01 -7.269e+01
1846 -1.361e-02 1.337e-02 -2.138e-01 5.434e-04 -5.495e-05 -2.244e-05

1907 -1.386e-02 1.350e-02 -2.145e-01 5.170e-04 1.698e-03 3.129e-04
1968 -1.420e-02 1.536e-02 -2.243e-01 4.617e-04 8.124e-03 1.544e-03
2029 -1.447e-02 1.643e-02 -2.299e-01 4.553e-04 3.379e-03 6.416e-04
2090 -1.474e-02 1.677e-02 -2.317e-01 4.565e-04 7.255e-04 1.392e-04
2151 -1.500e-02 1.680e-02 -2.319e-01 4.335e-04 -1.211e-04 -1.698e-05
2212 -1.527e-02 1.671e-02 -2.315e-01 3.832e-04 -9.792e-04 -1.742e-04
2273 -1.555e-02 1.630e-02 -2.294e-01 2.890e-04 -3.826e-03 -7.098e-04
2334 -1.584e-02 1.510e-02 -2.230e-01 1.138e-04 -9.075e-03 -1.703e-03
2395 -1.622e-02 1.302e-02 -2.120e-01 -1.267e-04 -2.379e-03 -4.106e-04
2456 -1.649e-02 1.289e-02 -2.111e-01 -1.620e-04 1.841e-04 8.374e-05
2517 -1.677e-02 1.318e-02 -2.123e-01 -2.777e-04 2.782e-03 5.865e-04
2578 -1.720e-02 1.537e-02 -2.230e-01 -4.027e-04 8.772e-03 1.760e-03
2639 -1.757e-02 1.672e-02 -2.292e-01 -5.213e-04 3.858e-03 8.421e-04
2700 -1.795e-02 1.745e-02 -2.317e-01 -8.597e-04 1.900e-03 4.823e-04
2761 -1.833e-02 1.819e-02 -2.339e-01 -1.223e-03 2.855e-03 6.609e-04
2822 -1.870e-02 1.931e-02 -2.376e-01 -1.183e-03 4.665e-03 9.792e-04
2883 -1.902e-02 2.073e-02 -2.426e-01 -2.150e-04 4.952e-03 9.923e-04
2944 -1.925e-02 2.194e-02 -2.464e-01 1.737e-03 2.376e-03 4.657e-04
3005 -1.936e-02 2.262e-02 -2.472e-01 4.163e-03 1.463e-03 2.656e-04
48
3066 -1.943e-02 2.277e-02 -2.477e-01 4.237e-03 -1.714e-06 -2.924e-05

3127 -1.951e-02 2.262e-02 -2.472e-01 4.159e-03 -1.464e-03 -3.238e-04
3188 -1.962e-02 2.193e-02 -2.464e-01 1.724e-03 -2.396e-03 -5.283e-04
3249 -1.984e-02 2.071e-02 -2.425e-01 -2.342e-04 -4.971e-03 -1.056e-03
3310 -2.017e-02 1.929e-02 -2.375e-01 -1.209e-03 -4.672e-03 -1.043e-03
3371 -2.054e-02 1.816e-02 -2.338e-01 -1.254e-03 -2.842e-03 -7.229e-04
3432 -2.093e-02 1.742e-02 -2.317e-01 -8.953e-04 -1.869e-03 -5.434e-04
3493 -2.130e-02 1.670e-02 -2.292e-01 -5.595e-04 -3.828e-03 -9.063e-04
3554 -2.167e-02 1.535e-02 -2.230e-01 -4.423e-04 -8.776e-03 -1.833e-03
3615 -2.210e-02 1.314e-02 -2.122e-01 -3.101e-04 -2.827e-03 -6.692e-04
3676 -2.238e-02 1.285e-02 -2.110e-01 -1.862e-04 -2.227e-04 -1.656e-04
3737 -2.265e-02 1.296e-02 -2.118e-01 -1.420e-04 2.352e-03 3.311e-04
3798 -2.304e-02 1.504e-02 -2.228e-01 1.132e-04 9.089e-03 1.633e-03
3859 -2.333e-02 1.624e-02 -2.292e-01 2.914e-04 3.861e-03 6.465e-04
3920 -2.360e-02 1.665e-02 -2.313e-01 3.830e-04 1.014e-03 1.135e-04
3981 -2.387e-02 1.675e-02 -2.318e-01 4.275e-04 1.448e-04 -4.349e-05
4042 -2.414e-02 1.671e-02 -2.316e-01 4.446e-04 -7.143e-04 -2.000e-04
4103 -2.441e-02 1.638e-02 -2.298e-01 4.384e-04 -3.375e-03 -7.021e-04
4164 -2.468e-02 1.530e-02 -2.241e-01 4.400e-04 -8.121e-03 -1.603e-03
4225 -2.502e-02 1.343e-02 -2.143e-01 4.836e-04 -1.691e-03 -3.710e-04
4286 -2.527e-02 1.330e-02 -2.136e-01 5.048e-04 5.064e-05 -3.763e-05
E5.mrp
%+%+ Edge 5 data \n
8 9 6 0 0
1 0 14846 14907
2 0 14907 14968
3 0 14968 15029
4 0 15029 15090
5 0 15090 15151
6 0 15151 15212
7 0 15212 15273
8 0 15273 15334
14846 9.000e+00 1.365e+01 -7.154e+01

14907 9.500e+00 1.365e+01 -7.154e+01
14968 1.000e+01 1.365e+01 -7.154e+01
15029 1.000e+01 1.353e+01 -7.092e+01
15090 1.000e+01 1.341e+01 -7.031e+01
15151 1.000e+01 1.329e+01 -6.969e+01
15212 1.000e+01 1.318e+01 -6.908e+01
15273 1.050e+01 1.318e+01 -6.908e+01
15334 1.100e+01 1.318e+01 -6.908e+01
14846 -1.555e-02 1.790e-03 -1.761e-01 4.762e-04 3.366e-02 6.220e-03

14907 -1.591e-02 4.931e-03 -1.928e-01 4.765e-04 3.275e-02 6.046e-03
14968 -1.625e-02 7.755e-03 -2.078e-01 1.894e-04 2.600e-02 4.762e-03
15029 -4.148e-03 7.514e-03 -2.078e-01 1.949e-04 1.211e-02 2.069e-03
15090 -7.746e-04 7.244e-03 -2.078e-01 1.969e-04 -1.376e-03 -5.930e-04
15151 -6.011e-03 6.976e-03 -2.078e-01 1.915e-04 -1.493e-02 -3.271e-03
15212 -2.003e-02 6.745e-03 -2.079e-01 1.857e-04 -2.892e-02 -6.277e-03
15273 -2.041e-02 3.297e-03 -1.916e-01 3.412e-04 -3.474e-02 -7.387e-03
15334 -2.081e-02 -4.095e-04 -1.740e-01 2.820e-04 -3.544e-02 -7.523e-03
E6.mrp
%+%+ Edge 6 data \n
8 9 6 0 0
49
1 0 15395 15456
2 0 15456 15517
3 0 15517 15578
4 0 15578 15639
5 0 15639 15700
6 0 15700 15761
7 0 15761 15822
8 0 15822 15883
15395 2.900e+01 1.365e+01 -7.154e+01

15456 2.950e+01 1.365e+01 -7.154e+01
15517 3.000e+01 1.365e+01 -7.154e+01
15578 3.000e+01 1.353e+01 -7.092e+01
15639 3.000e+01 1.341e+01 -7.031e+01
15700 3.000e+01 1.329e+01 -6.969e+01
15761 3.000e+01 1.318e+01 -6.908e+01
15822 3.050e+01 1.318e+01 -6.908e+01
15883 3.100e+01 1.318e+01 -6.908e+01
15395 -2.301e-02 1.877e-03 -1.763e-01 3.946e-04 3.331e-02 6.032e-03

15456 -2.337e-02 4.928e-03 -1.928e-01 4.330e-04 3.236e-02 5.850e-03
15517 -2.370e-02 7.653e-03 -2.076e-01 1.691e-04 2.544e-02 4.533e-03
15578 -1.204e-02 7.420e-03 -2.076e-01 1.748e-04 1.133e-02 1.824e-03
15639 -9.189e-03 7.159e-03 -2.076e-01 1.766e-04 -2.183e-03 -8.334e-04
15700 -1.489e-02 6.904e-03 -2.076e-01 1.707e-04 -1.555e-02 -3.475e-03
15761 -2.917e-02 6.686e-03 -2.077e-01 1.646e-04 -2.911e-02 -6.416e-03
15822 -2.956e-02 3.187e-03 -1.914e-01 3.137e-04 -3.462e-02 -7.468e-03
15883 -2.995e-02 -5.522e-04 -1.738e-01 2.428e-04 -3.523e-02 -7.587e-03
E7.mrp
%+%+ Edge 7 data \n
8 9 6 0 0
1 0 14866 14927
2 0 14927 14988
3 0 14988 15049
4 0 15049 15110
5 0 15110 15171
6 0 15171 15232
7 0 15232 15293
8 0 15293 15354
14866 9.000e+00 -4.573e+00 -7.268e+01

14927 9.500e+00 -4.573e+00 -7.268e+01
14988 1.000e+01 -4.573e+00 -7.268e+01
15049 1.000e+01 -4.534e+00 -7.206e+01
15110 1.000e+01 -4.494e+00 -7.143e+01
15171 1.000e+01 -4.455e+00 -7.081e+01
15232 1.000e+01 -4.416e+00 -7.019e+01
15293 1.050e+01 -4.416e+00 -7.019e+01
15354 1.100e+01 -4.416e+00 -7.019e+01
14866 -1.657e-02 -5.561e-03 -1.731e-01 -4.877e-04 3.800e-02 -2.761e-03

14927 -1.702e-02 -6.889e-03 -1.920e-01 -4.691e-04 3.681e-02 -2.687e-03
14988 -1.741e-02 -8.088e-03 -2.087e-01 -7.867e-04 2.838e-02 -2.150e-03
15049 -4.973e-03 -7.760e-03 -2.087e-01 -7.802e-04 1.133e-02 -1.043e-03
15110 -2.952e-03 -7.439e-03 -2.086e-01 -7.783e-04 -4.854e-03 3.252e-05
15171 -1.091e-02 -7.122e-03 -2.086e-01 -7.850e-04 -2.055e-02 1.031e-03
15232 -2.863e-02 -6.807e-03 -2.087e-01 -7.921e-04 -3.607e-02 1.703e-03
15293 -2.914e-02 -5.819e-03 -1.888e-01 -6.973e-04 -4.230e-02 2.098e-03
15354 -2.967e-02 -4.731e-03 -1.673e-01 -9.066e-04 -4.310e-02 2.144e-03
50
E8.mrp
%+%+ Edge 8 data \n
8 9 6 0 0
1 0 15415 15476
2 0 15476 15537
3 0 15537 15598
4 0 15598 15659
5 0 15659 15720
6 0 15720 15781
7 0 15781 15842
8 0 15842 15903
15415 2.900e+01 -4.573e+00 -7.268e+01

15476 2.950e+01 -4.573e+00 -7.268e+01
15537 3.000e+01 -4.573e+00 -7.268e+01
15598 3.000e+01 -4.534e+00 -7.206e+01
15659 3.000e+01 -4.494e+00 -7.143e+01
15720 3.000e+01 -4.455e+00 -7.081e+01
15781 3.000e+01 -4.416e+00 -7.019e+01
15842 3.050e+01 -4.416e+00 -7.019e+01
15903 3.100e+01 -4.416e+00 -7.019e+01
15415 -2.299e-02 -5.770e-03 -1.737e-01 -5.157e-04 3.742e-02 -2.590e-03

15476 -2.342e-02 -7.018e-03 -1.923e-01 -4.733e-04 3.621e-02 -2.515e-03
15537 -2.381e-02 -8.136e-03 -2.087e-01 -7.501e-04 2.772e-02 -1.975e-03
15598 -1.181e-02 -7.825e-03 -2.087e-01 -7.425e-04 1.059e-02 -8.295e-04
15659 -1.026e-02 -7.521e-03 -2.086e-01 -7.390e-04 -5.579e-03 2.894e-04
15720 -1.865e-02 -7.225e-03 -2.086e-01 -7.437e-04 -2.117e-02 1.297e-03
15781 -3.669e-02 -6.935e-03 -2.087e-01 -7.486e-04 -3.645e-02 1.954e-03
15842 -3.721e-02 -5.830e-03 -1.886e-01 -7.201e-04 -4.252e-02 2.338e-03
15903 -3.774e-02 -4.628e-03 -1.671e-01 -9.975e-04 -4.329e-02 2.380e-03
E9.mrp
%+%+ Edge 9 data \n
1 2 6 0 0
1 0 11650 13344
11650 0.000e+00 9.721e+00 -7.336e+01

13344 0.000e+00 9.598e+00 -7.243e+01
11650 -1.352e-02 9.501e-03 -2.171e-01 4.126e-03 3.664e-08 1.981e-05

13344 -1.350e-02 9.560e-03 -2.168e-01 -4.170e-03 4.170e-06 -1.391e-04
E10.mrp
%+%+ Edge 10 data \n
1 2 6 0 0
1 0 11892 13465
11892 0.000e+00 8.828e+00 -7.347e+01

13465 0.000e+00 8.717e+00 -7.254e+01
11892 -1.353e-02 8.629e-03 -2.176e-01 -3.148e-03 -3.243e-05 1.423e-05

13465 -1.348e-02 7.605e-03 -2.175e-01 5.244e-03 3.187e-05 3.367e-06
51
E11.mrp
1 2 6 0 0
1 0 12013 13586
12013 0.000e+00 4.500e-01 -7.400e+01

13586 0.000e+00 4.443e-01 -7.306e+01
12013 -1.373e-02 9.176e-05 -2.190e-01 3.644e-03 2.047e-05 3.080e-05

13586 -1.373e-02 9.914e-04 -2.188e-01 -5.328e-03 -2.303e-05 -7.408e-05
E12.mrp
1 2 6 0 0
1 0 12255 13707
12255 0.000e+00 -4.500e-01 -7.400e+01

13707 0.000e+00 -4.443e-01 -7.306e+01
12255 -1.375e-02 -8.441e-04 -2.191e-01 -3.534e-03 -1.284e-05 3.521e-05

13707 -1.373e-02 -1.745e-03 -2.188e-01 5.317e-03 1.294e-05 -2.683e-05
E13.mrp
1 2 6 0 0
1 0 11690 13384
11690 4.000e+01 9.721e+00 -7.336e+01

13384 4.000e+01 9.598e+00 -7.243e+01
11690 -2.535e-02 9.416e-03 -2.168e-01 4.130e-03 8.350e-05 4.433e-05

13384 -2.544e-02 9.467e-03 -2.166e-01 -4.153e-03 -8.400e-05 3.494e-05
E14.mrp
1 2 6 0 0
1 0 11932 13505
11932 4.000e+01 8.828e+00 -7.347e+01

13505 4.000e+01 8.717e+00 -7.254e+01
11932 -2.535e-02 8.543e-03 -2.174e-01 -3.156e-03 7.231e-05 5.250e-05
13505 -2.543e-02 7.527e-03 -2.173e-01 5.228e-03 -6.160e-05 -5.524e-05
E15.mrp
1 2 6 0 0
52
1 0 12053 13626
12053 4.000e+01 4.500e-01 -7.400e+01

13626 4.000e+01 4.443e-01 -7.306e+01
12053 -2.519e-02 8.792e-08 -2.189e-01 3.682e-03 3.177e-05 4.022e-05

13626 -2.523e-02 8.700e-04 -2.186e-01 -5.296e-03 -3.364e-05 2.337e-05
E16.mrp
1 2 6 0 0
1 0 12295 13747
12295 4.000e+01 -4.500e-01 -7.400e+01

13747 4.000e+01 -4.443e-01 -7.306e+01
12295 -2.517e-02 -9.363e-04 -2.190e-01 -3.500e-03 2.050e-05 3.677e-05

13747 -2.520e-02 -1.881e-03 -2.187e-01 5.367e-03 -1.254e-05 -6.270e-05
APPENDIX B RunStags script

#!/bin/csh
# Will execute the sequence of operations necessary to
# carry out a STAGS analysis via employing the *.rqst.cplr
# file generated by FRANC3D
#
# Locate appropriate paths for COUPLER and STAGS

set CP = ~/MainCp/cplr
set ST = ~/stags/prc/stags
echo "======================================================== "

echo " FRANC3D/COUPLER/STAGS INTERFACE "
echo "======================================================== "
if ($#argv < 1) then
# Print option list.

echo "Synopsis: RunStags [casename] [options]"
echo ""
echo " [casename] - name of STAGS case"
echo ""
echo "Available options:"
echo ""
echo " none or -0 - run model and analysis processor (default)"
echo " -1 - run model processor only"
echo " -2 - run analysis processor only"
echo " -ext # - extract responses (#: loadstep number)"
53
echo " -exlast - extract responses of the last step"

echo ""
# Query for casename.
echo -n "Enter a STAGS case name: "
set CASE = $<
if !(-e ${CASE}.new.cplr) then
echo "ERROR: ${CASE}.new.cplr file does not exist."
exit 1
endif
# Query for option.
echo -n "Enter option (0, 1, 2, ext, or exlast): "
set OPTION = $<
set GETLOADSTEP = 0
set LOADSTEP = 0
else if ($#argv >= 1) then

# Set defaults for command-line options.
set OPTION = 0
set GETLOADSTEP = 0
set LOADSTEP = 0
# Parse case name.

if (`expr $argv[1] : '-[a-z0-9]*'` != `expr $argv[1] : $argv[1]`) then
set CASE = $argv[1]
if !(-e ${CASE}.new.cplr) then
echo "ERROR: ${CASE}.new.cplr file does not exist."
exit 1
endif
shift
endif
# Parse command-line arguments.
while ($#argv)
switch ($argv[1])
case "-1":
set OPTION = 1
breaksw
case "-2":
set OPTION = 2
breaksw
case "-ext":
set OPTION = ext
breaksw
case "-exlast":
set OPTION = exlast
breaksw
default:
54
set GETLOADSTEP = 1
set LOADSTEP = $argv[1]
breaksw
endsw
shift
end # while
endif
if (${OPTION} == '0' || ${OPTION} == '1') then

echo "Now exucuting COUPLER preparation"
$CP -batch -new $CASE
echo "Now executing s1 the STAGS model processor"

$ST $CASE -1
echo "Now executing COUPLER request function"

$CP -batch -rqst < $CASE.rqst.cplr
endif
if (${OPTION} == '0' || ${OPTION} == '2') then

echo "Now executing s2 the STAGS solution processor"
$ST $CASE -2 &
endif
if (${OPTION} == 'ext') then

if ( $GETLOADSTEP == '0') then
# Query for loadstep.
echo -n "Enter LoadStep : "
set LOADSTEP = $<
endif
echo "Now extract responses from STAGS"
$CP -batch -restart $CASE $CASE -exrsp $LOADSTEP
rm -f $CASE
rm -f ${CASE}.sot.*
endif
if (${OPTION} == 'exlast') then

echo "Now extract responses from STAGS"
$CP -batch -restart $CASE $CASE -exlast
rm -f $CASE
rm -f ${CASE}.sot.*
endif
55

F3D Thin Shell Tutorial CFG V2.6

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

F3D Thin Shell Tutorial CFG V2.6

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

FRANC3D &

2 Creating Model Geometry Using OSM

stringer shear clip

Figure 2.1 Fuselage section to be modeled.

Figure 2.2 Coordinate orientation used for the model.

2.2 Stringer Cross Section

0.88 skin 0.934

Figure 2.4 Keypoints for the stringer cross-section.

Table 2.1 Keypoints for the stringer cross-section.

R (in) angle (degrees) X Y

A 74.000 0.34842 0.45000 -73.99863

R = 74 .0 1. 154 = 72. 846

select Create New Model to create a new modeling window;

2.3 Placing the Stringer Cross Section

Select All, to select the entire cross section;

2.4 Sweeping the Stringer and Skin Cross Sections

2.5 Creating the Frame

Figure 2.8 A schematic of the frame cross section.

Table 2.2 Frame keypoint coordinates.

select Create New Model;

Select All, to select the cross section lines and points;

2.6 Creating the Shear Clip

Figure 2.9 Keypoints for creating the shear clip.

2.7 Completing the Model

Select All, to select the whole model;

You can now select end to exit OSM.

3 Specifying Material and Geometry

3.1 Surface Coordinate Systems

Figure 3.1 A typical face coordinate system.

Figure 3.4 Surface normal orientations for the shear clip.

3.2 Material and Geometrical Properties

3.2.1 Material Properties

3.2.2 Geometrical Properties

geom_set_2 Layer 1 (skin) Layer 2 (doubler)

geom_set_3 Layer 1 (skin) Layer 2 (doubler) Layer 3 (stringer)

Figure 3.6 Faces assigned geometrical property set 3.

geom_set_6 Layer 1 (frame) Layer 2 (clip)

Then the angular "hat" faces on the tops of the legs:

geom_set_9 Layer 1 (stringer) Layer 2 (clip)

Finally, the legs of the clip (faces 1, 2, 4, and 5 in Figure 2.11):

4 Assigning Boundary Conditions

4.1 MRP File Description

14846 9.000e+00 1.365e+01 -7.154e+01

14846 -1.555e-02 1.790e-03 -1.761e-01 4.762e-04 3.366e-02 6.220e-03

15334 15273 15212

14968 14907 14846

Figure 4.2 The MRP mesh for edge 5.

4.2 Assigning MRP Boundary Conditions

Table 4.1 Summary of the MRP file locations.

4.3 Assigning Pressure Boundary Conditions

select Reset from the modeling window's View menu;

Figure 5.1 The location of the initial crack.

Table 5.1 Keypoint coordinates for the initial crack.

A 18.50 2.549 -73.956

select the Add Vertex option, and the to an Edge suboption;

select the Add Edge option, and the to a Face suboption;

Repeat these steps for the other edge.

select the Add Edge option, and the to a Face suboption;

Repeat these steps for the remaining edge.

Figure 5.3 The highlighted face and new vertex.

6.1 Meshing the Crack Panels

The resulting nodal distribution is shown in Figure 6.1a.

We can now mesh the panel.

Select the Finish button.