Configuring the layout of the contact pair candidates table

Toggle on Show previously created interactions and ties to add any previously defined contact interactions and tie constraints to the contact pair candidates table. You can edit previously defined interactions and ties in the same manner as newly detected contact pairs.

To limit the table display to only those contact pair candidates whose name contains a particular string, type that string in the Name filter field and press Enter. Click to see examples of valid filtering syntax.

Abaqus/CAE still creates interactions and constraints for contact pair candidates that are hidden by a filter.

Add or remove columns from the table display as necessary:

1. Click mouse button 3 anywhere on the contact pair candidates table, and select Edit Visible Columns from the menu that appears.

   The Edit Visible Columns dialog box appears.

2. In the Edit Visible Columns dialog box, toggle on the columns you want to display; toggle off the columns you want to hide:

   Suppression

   Indicates whether the contact pair will be active or suppressed upon creation (see Creating suppressed interactions and constraints). This column is hidden by default.

   Name

   Displays the name of the contact pair. This column is displayed by default.

   Separation

   Displays the distance between the two surfaces in the contact pair (see Use of the contact detection algorithm). This column is displayed by default.

   Master surface name

   Displays the name of the surface acting as the master in the contact pair. This column is hidden by default.

   Slave surface name

   Displays the name of the surface acting as the slave in the contact pair. This column is hidden by default.

   Master instance name

   Displays the name of the part instance on which the master surface is located. This column is hidden by default.

   Slave instance name

   Displays the name of the part instance on which the slave surface is located. This column is hidden by default.

   Type

   Indicates whether Abaqus/CAE is creating a contact interaction or a tie constraint for the contact pair. This column is displayed by default.

   Sliding

   Indicates the tracking approach used in the contact interaction formulation. This column is displayed by default.

   Discretization

   Indicates the surface discretization used in the contact interaction or tie constraint formulation. This column is displayed by default.

   Property

   Indicates the contact interaction property used in the contact formulation. This column is displayed by default.

   Contact controls

   Indicates the contact controls used in the contact formulation. This column is hidden by default and is unavailable in the initial step.

   Adjust

   For contact interactions, displays the range within which slave nodes will be adjusted to lie precisely on the master surface. If nodes in a set are being adjusted, this column displays the name of the set.

   For tie constraints, indicates whether or not all tied slave nodes will be adjusted to lie precisely on the master surface.

   This column is displayed by default.

   Create step

   Displays the name of the step in which Abaqus/CAE is activating the contact interaction or tie constraint. This column is hidden by default.

   Surface smoothing

   Indicates whether or not surface smoothing is applied to axisymmetric or spherical surfaces in the contact pair (see Smoothing contact surfaces in Abaqus/Standard). This column is displayed by default.

3. Do one of the following:

   • Click OK to apply the settings and to close the Edit Visible Columns dialog box.

   • Click Apply to apply the settings and to leave the Edit Visible Columns dialog box open.

   • Click Cancel to ignore any changes and to close the Edit Visible Columns dialog box.

Sort the table contents according to parameter values by clicking the column heading for the parameter of interest. An up arrow in the column heading indicates the values are listed in ascending order; a down arrow indicates the parameter values are listed in descending order.