#1 2023-03-13 13:30:52

trilbytim

Member

Registered: 2023-03-08

Posts: 13

Variable stiffness

Hi, I'm after suggestions for how to tackle a problem. I have a Python script which is able to calculate the fibre directions in a composite material filament winding process across arbitrary geometries (including non-axisymmetric geometries, for which filament winding is rarely used currently). For these parts the stiffness and the thickness of the shell varies across the area. I can use my Python script to calculate the thickness and the ply orientations at every point on the mesh, but I want to import these properties into a Code Aster (eventually I want to use the output from Code Aster to optimise the filament winding directions).

I'm not sure the best way to achieve this, so any suggestions are welcome. I have two ways I have thought of which might apply:
- Is there any file format that Code Aster can read that I could write that would include both geometrical and material data (as I believe the .bdf format does in Nastran and I think some other packages)? In this case I could write my script to generate this file outside of Code Aster and then send to Code Aster to run.

-Alternatively, if that is not possible then I will save the geometrical and material data within my own format file. Then within Salome Meca I could write a script to generate 'Groups' of 1 element (so each element is it's own Group). I could then write a function that would read  that my format file and assign the material properties (and orientation) to each 'group' of 1 element.

Can anyone comment on these approaches, or suggest any others? Also can you recommend any good tutorials showing scripting within Salome Meca?