Applying Shell Edge Loads

You can use a shell edge load to specify a force acting on the edge of a shell.

This feature lets you apply a force along the edge of shell elements, including surfaces with nonuniform mesh density.

See Also
In Other Guides
About Step-dependent Actions
Creating Simulation Features
Support Selection
  1. From the Loads section of the action bar, click Shell Edge Load .
  2. Optional: Enter a descriptive Name.
  3. Select the geometry supports.

    You can select geometric edges directly in the model. To select mesh element edges as the support, you must first create a group containing the mesh edges and then select the group as the support for this load.

    A shell edge load can be applied only to regions defined with shell sections. You cannot apply a shell edge load to the edges of a continuum shell section.

    A shell edge load can be applied only to the free edges of a shell; a free edge is an edge that is not shared by two or more adjacent faces.

  4. Choose the Traction type:
    OptionDescription
    Normal Acts in the normal direction of the shell in a geometrically linear step. A positive normal traction acts in the plane of the shell in the inward direction.
    Transverse Acts in the transverse direction of the shell in a geometrically linear step. A positive transverse traction acts in a sense opposite to the facet normal.
    Shear Acts in the shear direction of the shell in a geometrically linear step. A positive shear traction acts in the positive direction of the shell edge (as determined by the element connectivity).

    See About Shell Edge Loads for more details about the direction in which each traction type acts.

    In a geometrically nonlinear step, the normal, transverse, and shear tractions rotate with the shell edge so they always act in the normal, transverse, and tangential directions of the shell.

  5. Enter the Magnitude of the force.

    The units of a shell edge load are force per unit length.

  6. Optional: Enter a Scale factor that is applied to the magnitude in each step.
  7. Select an Amplitude that defines the magnitude during the step.
  8. Click OK.