Analysis of a shell structure

The example used to describe the shell analysis will be an spacial shell calculated with double simmetry.

For basic reference, this example can be found in the distribution, directory Examples/RamSeries and with the name manual-shell-ex2.gid

The first step is to create the geometry. It can be defined using the GiD preprocessing commands described in the GiD manual. The following commands can be useful:

            Geometry->Create->Line

            Geometry->Create->Arc

            Utilities->Copy->Rotate (Do extrude lines)

            Geometry->Create->NURBS surface->By contour

The final model will be composed of 1 surface, 4 lines and all of its connecting points (only one fourth of the total structure, by symmetry and without the supports). Be careful to position the structure related to the global axes as seen in the picture. Then, it will be easier to follow the example. The four points are the following:

A

0.000000 -25.000000 25.000000

B

16.069690 -25.000000 19.151111

C

16.069690 0.000000 19.151111

D

0.000000 0.000000 25.000000

After creating the geometry, the GiD window will be similar to this one: