Creating the PSHELL Card for Honeycomb Panels
Information needed:
-
T - Total facesheet thickness - this should include both facesheets (the value "t" in the figure above)
D - Total core thickness (the value "d" in the figure above)
Facesheet - Material properties
Honeycomb - Material properties, cell size, and gage
Format of the PSHELL Card:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 PSHELL PID MID1 T MID2 12I/T3 MID3 TS/T NSM
PSHELL and PID are self explanatory.
MID1, T
These terms are for in plane load of a honeycomb panel. Assume that the facesheets take all the load. Therefore:
- MID1 references the material for the facesheets.
T is the total thickness of the facesheets.
MID2, 12I/T3
These terms are for the bending load of a honeycomb panel. Assume the facesheets take all the load. Therefore:
- MID2 references the material for the facesheets.
12I/T3 is the inertia of a rectangular plate
I for Honeycomb is approximately TD2/4 for thin facesheets and a thick core.
If the facesheets are thicker relative to the core, then I is [2/3][(D/2)+(T/2)]3-[D3/12]
T is the total thickness of the facesheets.
D is the thickness of the honeycomb core.
MID3, TS/T
These terms are for the shear load of a honeycomb panel. Assume that the honeycomb core takes all the load. Therefore:
- MID3 references the material for the honeycomb core. The shear modulus and the poisson's ratio is required on the MATERIAL card for MID3 and is obtained from the HEXEL manuals. You need to know the cell size and gage, or the desired nominal density.
TS is the shear thickness, or for the case of honeycomb, it is the core thickness D.
T is the total thickness of the facesheets.
NSM
The non structural mass is required for honeycomb panels. The density (rho) is ignored on the MID3 card, however, the mass of the honeycomb core and bonding material must be included. The NSM, which is given in mass per unit area, is determined by:
- NSM = (rhonominal)(D),
where D is the thickness and rhonominal is often given in pcf, pounds per cubic foot. Be careful of your units when calculating NSM!
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