<!DOCTYPE html
  PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">

<!--
Copyright (c) 2006 UGS Corp.

All Rights Reserved.

This software and related documentation are proprietary to UGS Corp.
-->
<html>
   <head>
      <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
      <title>CTRIA3</title>
      <script language="javaScript">
        abridged="false";
        displayConditions=new Array();
      </script>
      <link type="text/css" href="../css/main_styles.css" rel="stylesheet">
   </head>
   <body class="bodydocs" onload="top.pageLoader()" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
      <hr noshade="true">
      <div class="title_refTopic" id="xps10_pagetitle">CTRIA3 </div>
      <hr noshade="true">
      <h4 class="refClassification">Triangular Plate Element Connection </h4>
      <p class="para_refTopic">Defines an isoparametric membrane-bending or plane strain triangular plate element. </p>
      <div class="title_refCategory">Format: </div>
      <div class="refCategoryContent">
         <table border="1" width="100%" align="center">
            <colgroup span="1">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
            </colgroup>
            <thead>
               <tr>
                  <th align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th">1 </p>
                  </th>
                  <th align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th">2 </p>
                  </th>
                  <th align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th">3 </p>
                  </th>
                  <th align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th">4 </p>
                  </th>
                  <th align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th">5 </p>
                  </th>
                  <th align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th">6 </p>
                  </th>
                  <th align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th">7 </p>
                  </th>
                  <th align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th">8 </p>
                  </th>
                  <th align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th">9 </p>
                  </th>
                  <th align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th">10 </p>
                  </th>
               </tr>
            </thead>
            <tbody>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">CTRIA3 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">EID </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">PID </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">G1 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">G2 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">G3 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">THETA or MCID </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">ZOFFS </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" bgcolor="gray" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" bgcolor="gray" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">TFLAG </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">T1 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">T2 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">T3 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" bgcolor="gray" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" bgcolor="gray" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" bgcolor="gray" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" bgcolor="gray" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
            </tbody>
         </table><br></div>
      <div class="title_refCategory">Example: </div>
      <div class="refCategoryContent">
         <table border="1" width="100%" align="center">
            <colgroup span="1">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
               <col span="1" width="10*">
            </colgroup>
            <tbody>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">CTRIA3 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">111 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">203 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">31 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">74 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">75 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">3.0 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">0.98 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">1.77 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">2.04 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">2.09 </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_td">&nbsp; </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
            </tbody>
         </table><br></div>
      <div class="title_refCategory">Fields:</div>
      <div class="refCategoryContent">
         <table cellpadding="9" width="100%" align="center">
            <colgroup span="1">
               <col span="1" width="16*">
               <col span="1" width="84*">
            </colgroup>
            <thead>
               <tr>
                  <th align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th"><b class="uiTerm">Field </b></p>
                  </th>
                  <th align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
                     <p class="para_th"><b class="uiTerm">Contents </b></p>
                  </th>
               </tr>
            </thead>
            <tbody>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">EID </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">Element identification number.  (Integer &gt; 0) </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">PID </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">Property identification number of a PSHELL, PCOMP or PLPLANE entry.  (Integer &gt; 0; Default = EID) </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">Gi </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">Grid point identification numbers of connection points.  (Integers &gt; 0, all unique) </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">THETA </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">Material property orientation angle in degrees.  THETA is ignored for hyperelastic elements.  (Real; Default = 0.0) </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">MCID </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">Material coordinate system identification number.  The x-axis of the material coordinate system is determined by projecting the x-axis of the MCID coordinate system (defined by the CORDij entry or zero for the basic coordinate system) onto the surface of the element.  MCID is ignored for hyperelastic elements.  (Integer &ge; 0; if blank, then THETA = 0.0 is assumed.) </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
            </tbody>
         </table><br><a name="ref76135"></a><div class="figure">
            <p align="center"><img align="bottom" src="graphics/bulkc2-fig30.gif"></p>
         </div>
         <div class="title_figure">Figure. MCID Coordinate System Definition </div>
         <table cellpadding="9" width="100%" align="center">
            <colgroup span="1">
               <col span="1" width="16.37*">
               <col span="1" width="83.63*">
            </colgroup>
            <tbody>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">ZOFFS </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">Offset from the surface of grid points to the element reference plane.  See Remark <a class="links" href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="top.openFile('QRG/14topic_33.html#ref38439');return(false);">53-3</a>. ZOFFS is ignored for hyperelastic elements. (Real) 
                     </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">TFLAG </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">Integer Flag which specifies how Ti is used to define membrane thickness of element (0, 1, or blank). </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
               <tr>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">Ti </p>
                  </td>
                  <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top">
                     <p class="para_td">Membrane thickness of element at grid points G1 through G4 if TFLAG=0 or blank. If TFLAG=1, membrane thickness becomes a product of Ti and the thickness on the PSHELL card. Ti is ignored for hyperelastic elements.  (Real &ge; 0.0 or blank, not all zero.  See Remark <a class="links" href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="top.openFile('QRG/14topic_33.html#ref20683a');return(false);">53-2</a> for default.) 
                     </p>
                  </td>
               </tr>
            </tbody>
         </table><br></div>
      <div class="title_refCategory">Remarks: </div>
      <div class="refCategoryContent">
         <ol type="1" start="1">
            <li>
               <p class="para_item">Element identification numbers should be unique with respect to all other element identification numbers. </p>
            </li>
            <li><a name="ref20683a"></a><p class="para_item">The continuation is optional.  If it is not supplied, then T1 through T3 will be set equal to the value of T on the PSHELL entry. </p>
            </li>
            <li><a name="ref38439"></a><p class="para_item">Elements may be offset from the connection points by means of the ZOFFS field.  Other data, such as material matrices and stress fiber locations, are given relative to the reference plane.  A positive value of ZOFFS implies that the element reference plane is offset a distance of ZOFFS along the positive Z-axis of the element coordinate system.  If the ZOFFS field is used, then both the MID1 and MID2 fields must be specified on the PSHELL entry referenced by PID. </p>
               <p class="para_item">The specification of offset vectors gives wrong results in solution sequences that compute differential stiffness:  linear buckling analysis provided in SOLs 5, 16, 105 and 200, and geometric nonlinear analysis provided in SOLs 106, 129, 153, and 159 with PARAM,LGDISP,1. </p><a name="ref35802"></a><div class="figure">
                  <p align="center"><img align="bottom" src="graphics/bulkc2-fig31.gif"></p>
               </div>
               <div class="title_figure">Figure. CTRIA3 Element Geometry and Coordinate Systems </div>
            </li>
            <li>
               <p class="para_item">The reference coordinate system for the output of stress, strain and element force depends on the element type. </p>
               <ul>
                  <li>
                     <p class="para_item">For CTRIA3 elements, which are not p-elements and not hyperelastic, the reference coordinate system for output is the element coordinate system. </p>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                     <p class="para_item">For CTRIA3 elements referenced by a PSET of PVAL entry, the stresses, strains and element forces are output in the local tangent plane of the element.  The local tangents are oriented in a user defined direction which is uniform across a set of elements.  By default, the local tangent x-direction is oriented in the positive x-direction of the basic coordinate system. </p>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                     <p class="para_item">For hyperelastic elements, the stress and strain are output according to CID on the PLPLANE entry. </p>
                  </li>
               </ul>
            </li>
            <li>
               <p class="para_item">For hyperelastic elements, the plot codes are specified under the CTRIAFD element name in <a class="links" href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="top.openFile('QRG/09ref75809_1.html');return(false);">&ldquo;Item Codes&rdquo;</a>. 
               </p>
            </li>
            <li>
               <p class="para_item">SYSTEM(218), alias T3SKEW, allows the user to control the minimum vertex angle for TRIA3 elements at which USER WARNING MESSAGE 5491 is issued.  The default value is 10.0 degrees. </p>
            </li>
            <li>
               <p class="para_item">If a CTRIA3 element is referenced by a PSET or PVAL entry, then a p-version formulation is used and the element can have curved edges. </p>
               <ul>
                  <li>
                     <p class="para_item">If a curved edge of a p-element is shared by an h-element CTRIA3, the geometry of the edge is ignored and set straight. </p>
                  </li>
               </ul>
            </li>
            <li>
               <p class="para_item">By default, all of the three edges of the element are considered straight unless the element is a p-element and the edges are associated to curved geometry with FEEDGE or FEFACE Bulk Data entries. </p>
            </li>
         </ol>
      </div>
      <div class="title_refCategory">Remarks related to SOLs 601 and 701: </div>
      <div class="refCategoryContent">
         <p class="para_refCategory">ZOFFS is ignored. </p>
      </div>
   </body>
</html>