I could do with some advice on a large mixed mesh analysis I'm working on.

I've bonded edges to faces, but some of the loads aren't transferring properly and I don't know why.

If I render the mesh to show the shell thickness, the edges and faces are in contact, but with an incompatible mesh.

For some reason, at the locations of the assembly where the loads aren't transferring, I have to extend the surface into the flat face.

When the parts are rendered, they interfere with each other, but this seems to be the only way to transfer the load but I don't know why.

Is there a reason why the the parts won't bond normally with a gap between them?

Is there something I'm missing?