The crush can Analysis on Prepomax

General Questions
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1

I was working on the crush can analysis on Prepomax 2.4.0
There are multiple doubts I need to ask
Since it’s a “crush can”, I have 3 parts velocity plate, crush can, fixed plate
Can just give the steps to follow in FE Model
I only need guidance with surface contact , contact pairs

2

CalculiX is not so good for crush simulations. OpenRadioss would be better. In CalculiX, it would be very problematic to set it up using the explicit dynamics procedure, which is the best choice for such problems. However, you can try using an implicit step.

Fix the immobile plate (or better, apply a rigid body constraint to it and fix its reference point). Apply the prescribed displacement boundary condition to the movable plate and fix all its other DOFs. Define contact between all parts. If the can is going to fold significantly, you may also need self-contact for it. In fact, you could try applying a tie constraint between the can and one plate.

Make sure to utilize symmetry (axial or planar) if the geometry and setup allow for that. This way, it will also be easier to constrain all parts properly. Keep in mind that the can may need some BCs too (symmetry will be particularly helpful) before it comes into contact with the plates. Otherwise, unconstrained rigid body motions may prevent static analysis from running.

Look for some YouTube tutorials showing similar analyses, e.g., in Abaqus or research papers. There’s a similar case here as well: https://classes.engineering.wustl.edu/2009/spring/mase5513/abaqus/docs/v6.5/books/gsx/default.htm?startat=ch06s04.html

3

I will refer the link & will try as you have suggested, Thanks!

4

is there any good open-source software rather than OpenRadioss.

5

IMO CalculiX used by PrePoMax is the best open-source solver for structural analyses. However, it has some weaknesses such as no true 1D and 2D elements or underdeveloped and limited explicit dynamics procedure. That’s where OpenRadioss can be very helpful as most likely the best open-source explicit dynamics solver. It doesn’t have as good free GUI as PrePoMax but there is a converter from CalculiX’s input files to OpenRadioss files and even some macros/workbenches to do pre- and postprocessing of OpenRadioss analyses in FreeCAD.

6

Thanks a lot for the help