The contact detection dialog box

To use contact detection, select InteractionFind contact pairs or ConstraintFind contact pairs from the main menu bar. The contact detection dialog box appears as shown in Figure 1. Initially there are no identified contact pairs.

Related Topics
Understanding interactions
Understanding constraints
Managing objects in the Interaction module
Understanding contact and constraint detection
Figure 1. Initial view of the contact detection tool.

Using the contact detection tool is a two-step process: first Abaqus/CAE searches for surfaces in the model that are likely to interact; then you have a chance to review the identified surfaces and modify the default contact pair parameters before creating interactions and constraints. You provide some basic criteria to guide the search. These criteria include the search domain and the distance between surfaces that will likely be in contact.

After entering the necessary search criteria, click Find Contact Pairs to begin the search. Abaqus/CAE updates the contact pair candidates table, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The contact pair candidates table.

You can create either a contact interaction or a tie constraint for each contact pair candidate in the table. You can also modify the parameters of the interaction or constraint definition by clicking on the appropriate table cell (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Changing cell values in the contact pair candidates table.

Clicking mouse button 3 on the table displays a menu of extended options and allows you to manually add contact pairs to the table. When you toggle on Show previously created interactions and ties, any preexisting interactions and tie constraints are added to the contact pair candidates table; you can modify existing contact pairs in the same manner as newly detected contact pair candidates.

The interactions and constraints shown in the contact pair candidates table do not become part of the model until you click OK. When you have finished setting parameters for the contact pairs, click OK. Abaqus/CAE simultaneously creates contact interactions and tie constraints for every contact pair in the table according to the specified parameters. The created interactions and constraints are added to the Model Tree and the Interaction Manager; you can review, modify, suppress, and delete the created interactions using either of these interfaces.

For detailed instructions on using the automatic contact detection tool, see Using contact and constraint detection.