*FASTENER

Optional parameters

ADJUST ORIENTATION

Set ADJUST ORIENTATION=YES (default) to have Abaqus adjust the user-defined orientation such that the local z-axis for each fastener is normal to the surface that is closest to the reference node for that fastener.

Set ADJUST ORIENTATION=NO to define the local directions precisely.

ATTACHMENT METHOD

Set this parameter equal to the projection method to be used to find the fastening points for the fastener.

Set ATTACHMENT METHOD=FACETOFACE (default) to select the default projection method of locating fastening points on the specified surface or surfaces. The positioning point is projected onto the nearest surface to create the first fastening point, and normal projection is used to find subsequent fastening points.

Set ATTACHMENT METHOD=FACETOEDGE to find the first fastening point by projecting the normal on the nearest surface and to find subsequent fastening points at the closest points on the specified surface or surfaces.

Set ATTACHMENT METHOD=EDGETOFACE to find the closest point on the nearest surface as the first fastening point and to find subsequent fastening points via normal projections on the remaining surfaces.

Set ATTACHMENT METHOD=EDGETOEDGE to find the closest fastening points on the specified surface or surfaces.

Set ATTACHMENT METHOD=CONNECTORDIRECTION to establish fastening points on the respective surfaces based on the axial direction of the connector element associated with the fastener. This option is valid only if the ELSET parameter is specified without the REFERENCE NODE SET parameter and the specified nodal positions for the connector element are not co-located.

COUPLING

Set this parameter equal to the coupling method used to couple the displacement and rotation of each fastening point to the average motion of the surface nodes within the radius of influence from the fastener projection point.

Set COUPLING=CONTINUUM (default) to couple the displacement and rotation of each fastening point to the average displacement of the surface nodes within the radius of influence.

Set COUPLING=STRUCTURAL to couple the displacement and rotation of each fastening point to the average displacement and rotation of the surface nodes within the radius of influence.

NUMBER OF LAYERS

Set this parameter equal to the number of layers for each fastener. If this parameter is omitted and no surface is specified by the user or a single surface is specified by the user, Abaqus will form the maximum possible number of layers for each fastener.

This parameter is ignored if multiple surfaces are specified on the data lines.

ORIENTATION

Set this parameter equal to the name of an orientation definition (see Orientations) that defines the orientation of the fastener. If this parameter is omitted, the orientation of each fastener is determined from the default local directions of the surface (see Conventions) that is closest to the reference node for that fastener.

Fasteners support only rectangular, cylindrical, and spherical orientation definitions. Additional rotations defined as part of the orientation definition are ignored.

RADIUS OF INFLUENCE

Set this parameter equal to the maximum distance from the projection point on a connected surface within which the nodes on that surface must lie to contribute to the motion of the projection point. If this parameter is omitted, Abaqus will compute a default value of the radius of influence internally, based on the fastener diameter and the surface facet lengths.

SEARCH RADIUS

Set this parameter equal to the distance from the reference nodes within which the connected points must lie. If this parameter is omitted and no surface is specified by the user or a single surface is specified by the user, Abaqus will compute a default search radius based on the facet thickness (for shell element facets) or characteristic facet length (for non-shell element facets) in the vicinity of each positioning point.

UNSORTED

If this parameter is omitted, the connectivity of the fastening points is defined by the relative positions of their associated surfaces along the fastener projection direction.

If this parameter is included, the connectivity of the fastening points is defined by the order in which their associated surfaces appear on the data lines.

This parameter is ignored if no surfaces are specified on the data lines.

WEIGHTING METHOD

Set this parameter equal to the weighting scheme to be used to weight the contribution of the displacements of the surface nodes within the radius of influence to the motion of the fastener projection point.

Set WEIGHTING METHOD=UNIFORM (default) to select a uniform weight distribution.

Set WEIGHTING METHOD=LINEAR to select a linear decreasing weight distribution.

Set WEIGHTING METHOD=QUADRATIC to select a quadratic polynomial decreasing weight distribution.

Set WEIGHTING METHOD=CUBIC to select a cubic polynomial monotonic decreasing weight distribution.