The contact detection tool in
Abaqus/CAE
provides a fast and easy way to define contact interactions and tie constraints
in a three-dimensional model.
Instead of individually selecting surfaces and defining the
interactions between them, you can instruct
Abaqus/CAE
to automatically locate all surfaces in a model that are likely to interact
based on initial proximity. You can tune the proximity settings and specify a
variety of options that control the active search domain, the definitions of
surfaces, and the default interaction or constraint settings. The search works
for both geometry and meshed models.
Each detected interaction or constraint involves two identified surfaces,
also known as a contact pair candidate. The contact detection dialog box lists
each contact pair candidate and its default parameters in a tabular format. The
default contact pair candidate parameters are slightly different than the
default parameters used in the traditional
Abaqus/CAE
interaction editors; in particular, the contact detection tool initially
assigns surface-to-surface discretization to each contact pair candidate
instead of node-to-surface discretization.
Using the tabular interface, you can review the contact pair candidates to
ensure that the surface definitions are comprehensive, the master and slave
assignments are appropriate, and the parameters are correct. If necessary, you
can modify parameters or surface assignments in the table, and you can create
new contact pairs where appropriate. Once the contact pair candidates are
configured to your specifications,
Abaqus/CAE
defines all of the contact interactions and tie constraints simultaneously.