Discussion Forum

Hi all,

Are there methods in COMSOL for creating laminated thin elements (length to height ratio > 1000) that will allow large deformations? I am working with electrostrictive and magnetically active materials and I would like to layer them on top of each other in my model (in a cantilever configuration), which is why I have been looking into shell elements recently (I had another thread about shell elements).

I have tried using electromagnetics (mf) and electromechanics (emi) modules before with solid elements but the solutions failed to converge as the structure was too thin and the deformations were too large. Now I am looking into creating internal stresses within the electrostrictive layer (such as through a body load in shell elements) and a distributed moment for magnetically active layers (also through body loads). However, I cannot find a way to create multilayered shell elements. The closest option to a solution I have found within shells was the z-offset but I am still figuring out how it works. Are there any COMSOL example that uses this feature?

Any other relevant COMSOL examples would be useful too.

Thank you,
Anil Erol
Penn State University