I would like to simulate the stress distribution on the surface of a composite laminate with multiple plies when it is lifted using vacuum cups in SIMULIA.

The entire model was created using surfaces rather than solid geometry.

First, I created a rectangular surface and drew circular regions representing the vacuum cup contact areas. Using Grid Definition, I separated the circular regions from the rest of the rectangle by creating two different cells. Then, I generated separate surface triangular meshes for each grid and assigned a Composite Shell Section to them.

In the Structural Model Creation app, I created a Static Step. I applied Fixed Displacement to the edges of the rectangular surface, Pressure to the circular grid representing the vacuum cup contact area, and Gravity to the entire grid.

However, I keep encountering analysis errors during the simulation.

Could you please let me know if there is anything fundamentally wrong with my modeling approach? Also, is there a better or more realistic way to model the stress generated on a composite laminate by vacuum cups during lifting?