Defining Default Interaction Parameters for the Interaction Wizard

When you have finished defining the search parameters (see Defining Search Parameters for the Interaction Wizard), Abaqus for CATIA V5 opens the Step 2 dialog box for the interaction wizard. In the second step of the interaction wizard you specify the default parameters that are used to create interactions between faces detected by the search. If you opted to only manage existing interactions in Step 1, the Step 2 dialog box is skipped, and the interaction wizard proceeds directly to Step 3 (see Reviewing and Creating Interactions Using the Interaction Wizard).

The default parameters include the type of interaction (contact pair or fastened pair), the interaction behavior, the sliding formulation, surface adjustment settings, and formulation options. The specified default parameters are assigned to all newly detected interactions. However, you will have the opportunity to modify the parameters on individual interactions before adding them to the model.

This task shows you how to create contact pairs for all detected interactions. To create fastened pairs, see the task immediately following this one. For more information about contact pairs, see Contact Pairs.

  1. Select Contact as the Interaction Type.

  2. Select a Mechanical or Thermal Connection Behavior from the specification tree.

    The Interaction behavior field is updated to reflect your selection.

  3. Specify the Sliding formulation:

    • Choose Finite sliding to allow for arbitrary separation, sliding, and rotation of the two surfaces.

    • Choose Small sliding if there will be relatively little sliding of one surface along the other. The small-sliding formulation is less expensive computationally than the finite-sliding formulation.

    For a more detailed discussion of the different contact sliding options, refer to Contact formulations in Abaqus/Standard in the Abaqus Interactions Guide, and Contact constraint enforcement methods in Abaqus/Explicit in the Abaqus Interactions Guide.

  4. To automatically reposition slave nodes precisely onto the master surface during an analysis, toggle on Adjust slave nodes, and specify an adjustment option:

    • Choose Adjust overclosed nodes only to reposition only those slave nodes that are initially penetrating the master surface.

    • Choose Adjust nodes within, and enter a distance to reposition all slave nodes that initially lie within the specified distance from the master surface.

    For a more detailed discussion of slave node adjustment options, refer to Adjusting initial surface positions and specifying initial clearances in Abaqus/Standard contact pairs in the Abaqus Interactions Guide, and Adjusting initial surface positions and specifying initial clearances for contact pairs in Abaqus/Explicit in the Abaqus Interactions Guide.

  5. Specify the contact formulation:

    • Choose Surface to Surface to use the surface-to-surface contact formulation. Toggle on Include shell element thickness to account for the shell thickness when creating surface-to-surface interactions.

    • Choose Node to Surface to use the node-to-surface contact formulation.

    The Node to Surface option can sometimes be more computationally efficient than the Surface to Surface option. For more information on the contact formulation types, see Contact Properties.

  6. Click Run to perform the interaction detection and to proceed to the next dialog box in the interaction wizard.

  7. Before the next dialog box appears, a status bar indicates the progress of the interaction detection. If the progress is excessively slow, click Stop to abort the search and return to the Step 2 dialog box. You should modify the search parameters (see Defining Search Parameters for the Interaction Wizard) before performing the search again.

This task shows you how to create fastened pairs for all detected interactions. To create contact pairs, see the task above. For more information about fastened pairs, see Creating Fastened Pairs.

  1. Select Fastened as the Interaction Type.

  2. To automatically reposition slave nodes precisely onto the master surface during an analysis, toggle on Adjust slave nodes. For a more detailed discussion of slave node adjustment options, refer to Mesh tie constraints in the Abaqus Constraints Guide.

  3. Click Run to perform the interaction detection and to proceed to the next dialog box in the interaction wizard.

  4. Before the next dialog box appears, a status bar indicates the progress of the interaction detection. If the progress is excessively slow, click Stop to abort the search and return to the Step 2 dialog box. You should modify the search parameters (see Defining Search Parameters for the Interaction Wizard) before performing the search again.