Controlling contact steps (Abaqus)

Use the Abaqus Contact Step Controls Parameters modeling object to define additional solution controls for models that include contact between bodies. These additional controls allow you to control automatic stabilization of rigid body motions in contact problems that use viscous damping. For example, you can control:

• The damping coefficient to use at the contact interface.

• The fraction of the damping that remains at the end of the step.

• The clearance at which the damping becomes zero.

You can create Abaqus Contact Step Controls Parameters modeling objects that apply parameters to different contact pairs active in the solution step. You can also apply multiple Abaqus Contact Step Controls Parameters modeling objects to the solution step to control different aspects of the contact and the different contact pairs. For example, you can create three Abaqus Contact Step Controls Parameters modeling objects, one to control all the contact pairs active in the step and the second and third to define parameters for specific contact pairs.

Modeling object	Applies to contact pairs	Sets the parameters
1	All	Absolute Penetration Tolerance= 3.000000E+00
2	Master – Region 1Slave – Region 2	Lagrange Multiplier = No
3	Master – Region 3Slave – Region 4	Tangential Damping Fraction = 1.450000+00 Stabilize

You use the Controls option in the Contact Controls group in the Solution Step dialog box to include those options in the solution step.

• Select Apply specific controls to select the Abaqus Contact Step Controls Parameters modeling object to reference in the solution step. Clear the selection of the Single Contact Control check box to specify more than one modeling object. When you export or solve your model, the software writes out the *CONTACT CONTROLS keyword.

• Select Retain controls from previous step if you want to use the specified contact controls from the previous solution step. When you export or solve your model, the software does not write out the *CONTACT CONTROLS keyword.

• Select Reset all controls to default values to reset all contact controls to their default values. When you export or solve your model, the software writes out the *CONTACT CONTROLS, RESET keyword.

Reusing modeling objects in different analyses

You can reuse Abaqus Contact Step Controls Parameters modeling objects in both Structural and Coupled Thermal-Structural analyses because surfaces (regions) are the same in both types of analyses. You cannot, however, reuse Abaqus Contact Step Controls Parameters modeling objects from axisymmetric structural analyses in non-axisymmetric solutions because the master and slave parameters do not map between the two types of analyses.

Where do I find it?

Application	Pre/Post
Prerequisites	A FEM or Simulation file active with Abaqus as the specified solverThe following analysis types and steps:Structural with the following stepsGeneralViscoImplicit DynamicDirect CyclicCoupled Thermal-Structural with the following steps:Steady-State Coupled Thermal-Stress Transient Coupled Thermal-StressAxisymmetric Structural with the following steps:GeneralViscoImplicit DynamicDirect Cyclic
Simulation Navigator	Right-click Modeling Objects
Location in the dialog box	Insert→Modeling Objects Manager dialog box→Type list→Contact Step Control Parameters

How do I

Change the value of friction properties in a solution step (Abaqus)

Create multiple contact step controls (Abaqus)

Learn more

Defining contact pairs (Abaqus Structural and Thermal analyses)

Defining contact properties (Abaqus Dynamic Explicit analyses)

Defining contact properties for general contacts (Abaqus)

Modifying friction properties between steps (Abaqus)

Contact interference (Abaqus)

Automatic face pairing

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Controlling contact steps (Abaqus), Simcenter 3D 2021.1 Series

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