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2.3.ConnectingMultibodyComponentswithJointElements
TheMPC184familyofelementsservestoconnecttheflexibleand/orrigidcomponentsto
eachotherinamultibodymechanism.
AnMPC184jointelementisdefinedbytwonodeswithsixdegreesoffreedomateachnode
(foratotalof12DOFs).Therelativemotionbetweenthetwonodesischaracterizedbysix
relativedegreesoffreedom.Dependingontheapplication,youcanconfiguredifferentkinds
ofjointelementsbyimposingappropriatekinematicconstraintsonanyorsomeofthesesix
relativedegreesoffreedom.Forexample,tosimulatearevolutejoint,thethreerelative
displacementdegreesoffreedomandtworelativerotationaldegreesoffreedomare
constrained,leavingonlyonerelativedegreeoffreedomavailable(therotationaroundthe
revoluteaxis).Similarly,constrainingthethreerelativedisplacementdegreesoffreedom
andonerelativerotationaldegreeoffreedomcansimulateauniversaljoint.Tworotational
degreesoffreedomareunconstrainedinthisjoint.
ThekinematicconstraintsinthejointelementsareimposedusingtheLagrangemultiplier
method.BecausetheLagrangemultipliermethodisusedtoimposetheconstraints,the
constraintforcesareavailableforoutputpurposes.
Thefollowingtopicsaboutusingjointelementsinamultibodyanalysisareavailable:
JointElementTypes
MaterialBehaviorofJointElements
ReferenceLengthsandAnglesforJointElements
BoundaryConditionsforJointElements
ConnectingBodiestoJoints

2.3.1.JointElementTypes
AlljointelementsareclassifiedasMPC184elements.Thevariouselementsareavailablevia
theMPC184element'sKEYOPT(1)settingand,insomecases,theKEYOPT(4)setting.
Thefollowingtableliststhedifferenttypesofjointelementsandtherequiredkeyoption
settings.TherelevantelementsectionintheElementReferenceisalsoindicated.
JointElement
Type

KEYOPT(1) KEYOPT(4) MPC184Element

Revolute

Zaxisrevolute

Universal

Slot

Constraints

RevoluteJoint

UniversalJoint

SlotJoint

Pointinplane

PointinPlaneJoint 1

Translational

10

TranslationalJoint

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Cylindrical

11

Zaxiscylindrical

11

Spherical

Planar

12

Zaxisplanar

12

Weld

13

Orient

14

CylindricalJoint

SphericalJoint

PlanarJoint

WeldJoint

OrientJoint

3
Dependson
numberof
fixedrelative
DOFs

General

16

GeneralJoint

Minimum
constraints=
0(NoDOFis
fixed)
Maximum
constraints=
6(AllDOFs
arefixed)
5

Screw

17

ScrewJoint

Relativeaxial
motionand
rotational
motionare
linkedviathe
pitchofthe
screw

Followingaresomeexamplesofjointelementtypes:
RevoluteJointConstraineddegreesoffreedom:UX,UY,UZ,ROTX,ROTY

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UniversalJointConstraineddegreesoffreedom:UX,UY,UZ,ROTY

SlotJointConstraineddegreesoffreedom:UY,UZ

TranslationalJointConstraineddegreesoffreedom:UY,UZ,ROTX,ROTY,ROTZ

CylindricalJointConstraineddegreesoffreedom:UX,UY,ROTX,ROTY

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SphericalJointConstraineddegreesoffreedom:UX,UY,UZ

PlanarJointConstraineddegreesoffreedom:UZ,ROTX,ROTY

2.3.1.1.JointElementConnectivityDefinition
Ajointelementistypicallydefinedbyspecifyingtwonodes,IandJ.Thesenodesmaybe
arbitrarilylocatedinspace.Thereareinstances,however,whenoneofthenodesneedsto
beconsideredasagroundednode.Insuchcases,specifyeithernodeIornodeJ
appropriately.Incaseswhenthenodeisgrounded,thelocationofthegroundednodeis
takentobethatoftheotherspecifiednode.
Example
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Ifthefirstnodeofthejointelementisagroundednode,thentheelementdefinitionis:E,,J
orEN,ElementNumber,,J
Similarly,ifthesecondnodeisthegroundednode,thentheelementdefinitionis:E,I,or
EN,ElementNumber,I

2.3.1.2.JointElementSectionDefinition
Eachjointelementmusthaveanassociatedsectiondefinition.UsetheSECTYPEcommand
todefinethesectiontypeandsubtype.
Example
Theuniversaljointsectiondefinitionis:SECTYPE,JOINT,UNIV,UNIV01

2.3.1.3.LocalCoordinateSystemSpecificationforJointElements
Localcoordinatesystemsatthenodesarerequiredtodefinethekinematicconstraintsofa
jointelement.UsetheSECJOINTcommandtodoso.
Thelocalcoordinatesystemsandtheirrequiredorientationvaryfromonejointelementto
another.Inputdatarequirementsforeachjointelementdiffer.Typically,thelocal
coordinatesystemisalwaysdefinedatthefirstnodeofajointelement.
Thelocalcoordinatesystematthesecondnodemaybeoptional.Ifitisnotspecified,then
thelocalcoordinatesystematthefirstnodeisusuallyassumed.
Therotationalcomponentsoftherelativemotionbetweenthetwonodesofthejoint
elementsarequantifiedintermsofBryant(orCardan)anglesthatareevaluatedbasedon
thesecoordinatesystems.
Example
Thefollowingfigureillustratesthespecificationofthelocalcoordinatesystemforauniversal
jointelement:
Figure2.8:MPC184UniversalJointGeometry

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eI
1

e3
eI

eJ

eI

eJ

eI

eI

e3

eJ

Y
X

I,JCoincidentnodes

eI

eJ

eI

e3

eI

eJ

Thelocalcoordinatesystemspecificationis:
LOCAL,11,0
...
LOCAL,12,0
...
SECJOINT,LSYS,11,12

2.3.1.4.StopsorLimitswithJointElements
Stopsorlimitconstraintsinjointsareimposedontheavailablecomponentsofrelative
motionbetweenthetwonodesofajointelement.TheLagrangemultipliermethodisused
toimplementtheseconstraints.Forstaticanalysis,thestopconstraintsarebasedonthe
relativedisplacements(orrelativerotations)ofthefreedegreesoffreedom.
Caution:Usejointstopssparingly.Theprogramtreatsastopconstraint
internallyasa"mustbeimposed"or"hard"constraint,andnocontactlogic
isused.Asaresult,duringthegiveniterationofasubstep,thestop
constraintsactivateimmediatelyiftheprogramdetectsaviolationofastop
limit.
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Dependinguponthenatureoftheproblem,thestopconstraint
implementationmaycausethesolutiontotrendtowardsanequilibriated
statethatmaynotbereadilyapparenttoyou.Inaddition,donotusestops
tosimulatezerodisplacementboundaryconditions.Youshouldalsoavoid
specifyingstopsonmultiplejoints.
Finally,donotusejointstopsasasubstituteforcontactmodeling.Whenever
possible,usenodetonodeornodetosurfacecontactmodelingtosimulate
limitconditions.
StopsinTransientDynamicAnalysis
Inatransientdynamicanalysis,ifrelativedisplacementbased(orrotationbased)stop
constraintsareused,thentherelativevelocitiesandrelativeaccelerationsbecome
inconsistent(oscillatoryvelocityand/oraccelerationsareobservedinmanycases),implying
thattheenergyandmomentumduetotheimpactlikenatureofthestopsisnotconserved.
Theseinconsistenciesarereasonablysuppressedbyimposinganumericaldamping.
However,numericaldampingdoesnotworkappropriatelyinsomecases.Thus,forthe
transientdynamiccase,anenergymomentumconservationschemeisadopted.Bythis
method,theuserspecifiedrelativeDOFstopvaluesaretakenintoaccount,andconstraints
basedontherelativevelocityareimposedinsuchawaythattheoverallenergyand
momentumbalanceisachievedinafiniteelementsense.
Irrespectiveoftheintegrationschemespecifiedforthetransientdynamicanalysis,the
Newmarkmethodisusedforthejointelementwhenstopsarespecified.
Theenergymomentumconservationschemeforstopsisimplementedforalljointsexcept
thescrewjoint.Inthecaseofthescrewjoint,thestopsareimposedbasedontherelative
displacements(orrotations).
DefiningStopsforJointElements
Youcanimposestopsorlimitsontheavailablecomponentsofrelativemotionbetweenthe
twonodesofajointelement.Thestopsorlimitsessentiallyconstrainthevaluesofthefree
DOFswithinacertainrange.Tospecifyminimumandmaximumvalues,issuetheSECSTOP
command.
Thefollowingfigureshowshowstopscanbeimposedonarevolutejointsuchthatthe
motionisconstrained.Theaxisoftherevoluteisassumedtobeperpendiculartotheplane
ofpaperandisalongthee3direction.
Figure2.9:StopsImposedonaRevoluteJoint

ThelocalcoordinatesystemspecifiedatnodeIisassumedtobefixedinitsinitial
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configuration.However,thelocalcoordinatesystemspecifiedatnodeJevolveswiththe
rotationofthatnode.Therelativeangleofrotationisgivenby:

LetthelinkwithnodeJrotatewithrespecttothelinkwithnodeI.Thischaracteristicimplies
thatthelocalcoordinatesystematnodeJrotateswithrespecttothelocalcoordinate
systematnodeI.
Fortheconfigurationshown,theinitialrelativeangleofrotationiszerodegrees.A
counterclockwisemotionresultsinpositiveanglesofrotation.Clockwisemotionresultsin
negativeanglesofrotation.
IfstopslimitthemovementofthelinkwithnodeJ(asshown),thestopconditionsare
specifiedasfollows:
SECSTOP,6,PHImin,PHImax
Thenextfigureshowshowstopscanbeimposedinaslotjointwhichinvolves
displacementsinthelocaleI1axisofnodeI.TherelativedistancebetweennodeJandnode
Iisgivenby:

wherexIandxJarethepositionvectorsofnodesIandJ.Theinitialdistancebetweenthe
nodesIandJisl0andisapositivevalue.
Figure2.10:StopsImposedonaSlotJoint

Thestopsaredefinedas:
SECSTOP,1, min, max
where

Thestopsaredefinedas:
SECSTOP,1, min, max
where

minand max arebothpositive.

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minisnegativeand max ispositive.

2.3.1.5.JointMechanismLocks
Locksorlockinglimitsmayalsobeimposedontheavailablecomponentsofrelativemotion
betweenthetwonodesofajointelement.Locksarebasicallyusedinjointmechanismsto
freezethejointinadesiredconfigurationduringthecourseofdeformation.Whenthe
locksareactivatedonaparticularcomponentofrelativemotion,thatcomponentremains
lockedfortherestoftheanalysis.IssuetheSECLOCKcommandtodefinelocklimits.
ReferringtoFigure2.9:StopsImposedonaRevoluteJoint,thelocksforarevolutejointare
specifiedasSECLOCK,6,Phi_Min,Phi_Max
ReferringtoFigure2.10:StopsImposedonaSlotJoint,thelocksfortheslotjointare
specifiedasSECLOCK,1,l_Min,l_Max

2.3.2.MaterialBehaviorofJointElements
Thefollowingtopicsrelatedtothematerialbehaviorofjointelementsinamultibody
analysisareavailable:
StiffnessandDampingBehaviorofJointElements
FrictionalBehavior
Formoreinformation,seeMPC184JointintheMaterialReference.

2.3.2.1.StiffnessandDampingBehaviorofJointElements
Linearornonlinearstiffnessanddampingbehaviorcanbeassociatedwiththefreeor
unrestrainedcomponentsofrelativemotionofthejointelements.Inthecaseoflinear
stiffnessorlineardamping,thevaluesarespecifiedascoefficientsofa6x6elasticitymatrix
usingtheTB,JOINcommandwithTBOPT=STIForTBOPT=DAMP.Thestiffnessand
dampingvaluescanbetemperaturedependent.Dependingonthejointelementinuse,only
theappropriatecoefficientsofthestiffnessordampingmatrixareusedinthejointelement
constitutivecalculations.
ThenonlinearstiffnessanddampingbehaviorisspecifiedusingtheTB,JOINcommandwith
anappropriateTBOPTlabel.Inthecaseofnonlinearstiffness,relativedisplacement
(rotation)versusforce(moment)valuesarespecifiedusingtheTBPTcommand.For
nonlineardampingbehavior,velocityversusforcebehaviorisspecifiedusingtheTBPT
command.(SeeFigure2.11:NonlinearStiffnessandDampingBehaviorforJointsfora
representationofthenonlinearstiffnessordampingcurve.)Ineithercase,thesevaluesmay
betemperaturedependentusetheTBTEMPcommandtodefinethetemperatureforthe
datatable.
Figure2.11:NonlinearStiffnessandDampingBehaviorforJoints
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Youcanspecifythelinearornonlinearstiffnessordampingbehaviorindependentlyforeach
componentofrelativemotion.However,ifyouspecifylinearstiffnessforanunrestrained
componentofrelativemotion,youcannotspecifynonlinearstiffnessbehavioronthesame
componentofrelativemotion.Thedampingbehaviorissimilarlyrestricted.Ifajoint
elementhasmorethanonefreeorunrestrainedcomponentofrelativemotionforexample,
theuniversaljointhastwofreecomponentsofrelativemotionthenyoucanindependently
specifythestiffnessordampingbehavioraslinearornonlinearforeachoftheunrestricted
componentsofrelativemotion.

2.3.2.2.FrictionalBehavior
Frictionalbehavioralongtheunrestrainedcomponentsofrelativemotioninfluencesthe
overallbehaviorofthejoints.YoucanmodelCoulombfrictionforjointelementsviathe
TB,JOINcommandwithanappropriateTBOPTlabel.Frictionalbehaviorcanbespecifiedonly
forthefollowingjoints:
RevoluteJoint(xaxisandzaxis)
SlotJoint
TranslationalJoint
Thelawsgoverningthefrictionalbehaviorofthejointaredescribedbelow.
CoulombsLaw
TheclassicalCoulombfrictionmodelisimplementedforjointsusingapenaltyformulation.
TheCoulombfrictionmodelforjointsisdefinedas:

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Where,Fsistheequivalenttangentialforce(ormoment),Fnisthenormalforce(or
moment)inthejoint,andisthecurrentvalueofthecoefficientoffriction.Thecalculation
ofthenormalforcedependsonthejointunderconsideration.
IftheequivalenttangentialforceFsislessthanFlim,thestateisknownasthestickingstate.
IfFsexceedsFlim,slidingoccursandthestateisknownastheslidingstate.The
sticking/slidingcalculationsdeterminewhenapointtransitionsfromstickingtoslidingor
viceversa.
Figure2.12:Coulomb'sLaw
Fs
Sliding

Flim

Fn

ExponentialFrictionLaw
Theexponentialfrictionlawisusedtosmooththetransitionbetweenthestaticcoefficientof
frictionandthedynamiccoefficientoffrictionaccordingtotheformula(Bensonand
Hallquist):

where:
Vrel=therelativesliprate
s=thecoefficientoffrictioninthestaticregime(stiction)
d=thecoefficientoffrictioninthedynamicregime
c=decaycoefficient
Figure2.13:ExponentialFrictionLaw

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2.3.2.2.1.GeometryspecificationsforCoulombfrictioninJoints
ThemodelingofCoulombfrictioninjointsrequiressomegeometryspecifications,depending
onthetypeofjointunderconsideration.Thesequantitiesareusedinthecomputationofthe
normalforce(ormoment)forCoulombfrictioncalculations.TheSECJOINTcommandis
usedtospecifythesequantities.Thefollowingtableoutlinestherequiredgeometric
quantities:
Table2.2:RequiredGeometricQuantities

JointType

GeometricQuantities

RevoluteJoint(xaxisandzaxis)

Outerradius,Innerradius,EffectiveLength

SlotJoint

Nonerequired

TranslationalJoint

EffectiveLength,EffectiveRadius

Ifappropriategeometricquantitiesarenotspecified,thenthecorrespondingnormalforce
contributionswillnotbeconsidered.Thefollowingsectionexplainsthenormalforce
calculationsandthegeometricquantitiesrequired.

2.3.2.2.2.CalculationofNormalForcesforCoulombFrictionalBehavior
Thenormalforce(ormoment)thatisusedintheCoulombfrictionalbehaviorisbasedon
thefollowingforcesthatariseinajoint:
LagrangeMultiplierforces(ormoments)duetotheconstraints
Interferencefitforces(ormoments)
RevoluteJoint
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Inordertocomputethenormalmomentinarevolutejoint,therevolutejointisvisualizedas
acylinderpinassembly(forexample,adoorhingeconsistingofapinwithaheadinserted
intoacylinder).
Thefollowinggeometricquantitiesarerequiredinthecalculationsbelow.Notethatthe
specificationofthesequantitiesisoptional.Ifsomeofthesegeometricquantitiesarenot
specified,thenthecorrespondingcontributiontothenormalmomentcalculationsisignored.
Router=Outerradiusofthecylinder
Rinner=Innerradiusofthecylinderoroutsideradiusofpin
Leff=Theeffectivelengthisthelengthoverwhichthecylinderandpinarein
contactwitheachother
Thecontributionstothenormalmomentinanxaxisrevolutejointareasfollows:
AnaxialmomentduetotheaxialcomponentoftheconstraintLagrangeMultiplier
force(1).
Thisforceactsinsuchawayastopushthecylinderagainstthepinhead,thereby
causingafrictionalmomenttodevelop.

where,

AtangentialmomentduetotheconstraintLagrangeMultiplierforces,2and3:

AbendingmomentthatisgeneratedasaconsequenceoftheconstraintLagrange
Multipliermoments(5and6):

Leadingtoabendingmoment:

Additionally,ifinterferencefitmoment(Minterference)isdefined,thenormalmomentfor
frictionalcalculationsisgivenby:
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Asimilarcalculationiscarriedoutforthezaxisrevolutejointbychoosingtheappropriate
constraintLagrangemultiplierforcesintheaboveequations.
SlotJoint
ThetwodisplacementconstraintLagrangeMultiplierforces(2and3)intheslotjoint
contributetoatangentialforceasfollows:

Additionally,ifinterferencefitforce(Finterference)isdefined,thenormalforceforfrictional
calculationsisgivenby:

Geometricquantitiesarenotrequiredfortheslotjoint.
TranslationalJoint
Thegeometricquantitiesrequiredforthetranslationjointare:
Leff=Effectivelength.Theeffectivelengthisthelengthoverwhichthetwoparts
ofthetranslationjointoverlap.Itisassumedthatthechangeinthislengthis
small.
Reff=Effectiveradius.Tosimplifycalculations,aneffectiveradiusisusedin
torsionalmomentcalculations,eventhoughthecrosssectioninatranslational
jointisrectangular.Theeffectiveradiusisusedincomputingtheforcethatarises
duetothetorsionalmoment.
Thenormalforceusedinfrictionalcalculationsiscomputedasfollows:
Aneffectiveradialforceduetotheconstraintforces(2and3):

Bendingforceduetoinplaneconstraintmoments(5and6):

Leadingtoabendingforce

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Forceduetothetorsionalconstraintmoment,4:

Additionally,ifinterferencefitforce(Finterference)isdefined,thenormalforceforfrictional
calculationsisgivenby:

2.3.3.ReferenceLengthsandAnglesforJointElements
Theinitialconfigurationofthejointelementmaybesuchthatnonzeroforcesormomentsis
necessary.Insuchcases,youcandefinetheconstitutivebehaviorwithrespecttoa
referenceconfigurationsuchthattheseforcesormomentsarezero.Todoso,definea
referenceangleorareferencelength(SECDATA).
Ifyoudonotdefinereferencelengthsandangles,MechanicalAPDLcalculatesthevalues
fromtheinitialconfigurationofthejoints.ANSYSusesthereferencelengthsandanglesin
thestiffnessandfrictionalbehaviorcalculations.

2.3.4.BoundaryConditionsforJointElements
IssuetheDJcommandtoimposeboundaryconditionsontheavailablecomponentsof
relativemotionofthejointelement.YoucanlisttheimposedvaluesviatheDJLIST
command.Todeletethevalues,issuetheDJDELEcommand.
Toapplyconcentratedforcesontheavailablecomponentsofrelativemotionofthejoint
element,issuetheFJcommand.YoucanlisttheimposedvaluesviatheFJLISTcommand.
Todeletethevalues,issuetheFJDELEcommand.

2.3.5.ConnectingBodiestoJoints
Otherthaninidealizedgeometry(suchasthatshowninFigure2.1:FESliderCrank
Mechanism),anMPC184jointelementisdefinedbyoneortwonodesinspaceandrequires
specialmodelingtechniquestoconnectthejointtothebodyappropriately.
Figure2.14:PinnedJointGeometryshowsa3Dmodelofapinnedjointwherethe
geometryofthejoint(thepin)isexplicitlymodeled.Toperformamultibodyanalysis,the
pingeometryisignoredandthebehaviorreplacedbytheappropriateMPC184jointelement.
Figure2.14:PinnedJointGeometry

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Figure2.15:PinnedJointMeshandRevoluteJointshowsthemeshedmodelincludingthe
revolutejoint.Toconnectthebodiestothejoint,youmustuseeitherelements(suchas
beams)orconstraintequations.Theeasiestwaytodosoistousecontactelementsto
createsurfacebasedconstraints(multipointconstraints,orMPCs),asfollows:
1. Defineapilotnodeatoneendofthejoint.Thepilotnodeconnectsthejointtothe
restofthebody.
2. Selectthenodesonthesurfaceofthebodythatyouwanttoconnecttothispilot
node.
3. Createcontactsurfaceelementsonthissurface.Bysharingthesamerealconstant
number(REAL,N),MPCsbetweenthesurfacenodesandthepilotnodeare
generatedduringthesolution.
Repeatthestepsforeachbodyjointconnection.
Figure2.15:PinnedJointMeshandRevoluteJoint
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Figure2.16:PinnedJointContactElementsshowsthecontactelementsand
Figure2.17:PinnedJointConstraintEquationsshowstheMPCs(constraintequations)
createdduringthesolutionforthelowerbody.
CreatethepilotnodeusingtheTARGE170elementsettingKEYOPT(2)=1soasnotto
allowtheprogramtoconstrainanyDOFsandissuingtheTSHAP,PILOcommand.
Ifyoumeshthebodywithelementshavingnomidsidenodes(suchasSOLID185),use
CONTA173astheelementtypeforthesurfacemesh.Forelementswithmidsidenodes
(suchasSOLID186orSOLID187),useCONTA174.Setthefollowingelementkeyoptionsto
createthenecessaryconstraints:
KEYOPT(2)=2

Constraint(MPC)option.

KEYOPT(4)=2

GeneraterigidMPCconstraints.

KEYOPT(12)=5

Bondedbehaviorbetweenthepilotnodeandthecontact
surface.

Figure2.16:PinnedJointContactElements

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Figure2.17:PinnedJointConstraintEquations

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Insteadoftherigidoption,youcanalsochooseaflexible(forcedistributedorRBE3type)
constraintoptionbysettingKEYOPT(4)=1.Thefollowingfiguresillustratethedifferencein
behaviors:
Figure2.18:RigidConstraint(KEYOPT(4)=2)
ImposeddisplacementatPilotnode
(UX,UY)

Constraintsurface
remainsrigid

Contactelements

Figure2.19:FlexibleConstraint(KEYOPT(4)=1)

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ImposeddisplacementatPilotnode
(UX,UY)

Deformedconstraintsurface

Contactelements

TypicalCommandSequence
Followingisatypicalcommandsequenceforconnectingbodiestojoints:
!Step1:Defineapilotnodeatthejointnode
et,59,170!typeID=59isanavailableID
keyopt,59,2,1!donotallowprogramtoconstrainDOFs
real,59!realID=59isanavailableID
tshap,pilot
e,9536!9536isthejointnode
!Step2:Selectthenodesofthecorrespondingsurface
csys,15!CSatcenterofpin
nsel,s,loc,x,15!nodesatr=15
!Step3:Createthecontactelementsonthesurface
et,60,173
keyopt,60,2,2!constraint(MPC)option
keyopt,60,4,2!rigidMPC
keyopt,60,12,5!bondedalwayscontact
type,60
real,59!samerealID:thisconnectsthepilot
!tothissurface
esurf!generatethecontactelementsonthesurface
nsel,all

AdditionalInformation
Formoreinformationaboutusingcontactelementstogenerateconstraints,seeSurface
BasedConstraintsintheContactTechnologyGuide.
Release16.2SASIP,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

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