Specifying geometric properties for mechanical contact property options

You can define additional geometric properties that will be accounted for in surface contact interactions.

  1. From the main menu bar, select InteractionPropertyCreate.
  2. In the Create Interaction Property dialog box that appears, do the following:

  3. Click Continue to close the Create Interaction Property dialog box.
  4. From the menu bar in the contact property editor, select MechanicalGeometric Properties.
  5. If you are performing an Abaqus/Standard analysis, you can specify an out-of-plane surface thickness for two-dimensional models or a cross-sectional area for every node on a node-based surface. Enter this value in the Out-of-plane surface thickness or cross-sectional area (Standard) field.
  6. If you are performing an Abaqus/Explicit analysis, you can specify the thickness of an interfacial layer between the two interacting surfaces. Toggle on Thickness of interfacial layer (Explicit), and enter the thickness.
  7. If desired, toggle on Thickness to determine the contacting surfaces to be tracked, and enter the thickness.
  8. If desired, select the Surface interaction model type.

    • Select Default if the surface interaction model is not defined in a user subroutine.
    • Select User to define the surface interaction model in user subroutine UINTER in an Abaqus/Standard analysis or in user subroutine VUINTER in an Abaqus/Explicit analysis.
    • Select User Interaction to define the surface interaction model in user subroutine VUINTERACTION in an Abaqus/Explicit analysis.

  9. If you selected User or User Interaction as the model type:

    • Specify the number of State-dependent variables required in the user subroutine. The default is 0.
    • Specify the Number of property values needed as data to define the surface interaction model in the user subroutine. The default is 0.

  10. If you are performing an Abaqus/Standard analysis and if you selected User or User Interaction as the model type, toggle on Use unsymmetric equation solution procedures (Standard) to use unsymmetric equation solution procedures.
  11. Click OK to create the contact property and to exit the Edit Contact Property dialog box. Alternatively, you can select another contact property option to define from the menus in the Edit Contact Property dialog box.