Figure. Shell configured with Chamfer = 0.0 and Fillet = 0.0
A shell configurator references a surface region, which in turn always references the underlying volume region. Namely, a surface region can only be defined as a whole or partial boundary surface of some volume region.
The shell configurator declares the whole referenced volume region as permanently void, except in the vicinity of the referenced surface, where a shell-like design is enforced. As a consequence, the optimizer can only change the structural topology within the shell thickness limits imposed by the configurator.
The following obligatory data has to be provided.
Surface region
Defines the surface region and the underlying volume region to be configured by this configurator.
Thickness limits
Range Min: [0.0, ~]
Range Max: [>Min, ~]
These parameters define the minimal and maximal allowed value of the shell thickness. Note that the Max parameter must always be greater than the Min parameter.
Edge shape parameters
Range Chamfer: [0.0, +1.0]
Range Fillet: [0.0, +1.0]
These two parameters define the geometry of the shell edges. The Chamfer parameter defines the shape of the edge and Fillet defines the extent of rounding.
Initial thickness
Range: [-1.0, +1.0]
This parameter defines the initial relative thickness of the shell. A value of -1.0 corresponds to minimal thickness and a value of +1.0 corresponds to maximal thickness.
Figure. Shell configured with Chamfer = 0.0 and Fillet = 0.0
Figure. Shell configured with Chamfer = 0.5 and Fillet = 0.0
Figure. Shell configured with Chamfer = 0.5 and Fillet = 1.0