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AdvancedSettings

AdvancedSettings
TheAdvancedcategoryprovidesthefollowingproperties.
Formulation
DetectionMethod
PenetrationTolerance
ElasticSlipTolerance
NormalStiffness
ConstraintType
UpdateStiffness
StabilizationDampingFactor
ThermalConductance
PinballRegion
PinballRadius
TimeStepControls
ElectricConductance
RestitutionFactorRigidBodyDynamicsSolverOnly

Formulation
FormulationoptionsallowyoutospecifywhichalgorithmthesoftwareusesforaparticularContactpaircomputation.
Propertyoptionsinclude:

Property

Description

ProgramControlled

Thisisthedefaultsetting.Forthissetting,theapplicationselectsthePurePenaltyproperty
forcontactbetweentworigidbodiesandtheAugmentedLagrangepropertyforallother
contactsituations.

PurePenalty

BasiccontactformulationbasedonPenaltymethod.

Alsoapenaltybasedmethod.ComparedtothePurePenaltymethod,thismethodusually
leadstobetterconditioningandislesssensitivetothemagnitudeofthecontactstiffness
AugmentedLagrange
coefficient.However,insomeanalyses,theAugmentedLagrangemethodmayrequire
additionaliterations,especiallyifthedeformedmeshbecomestoodistorted.

MAPDL

KEYOPT(2)=1
KEYOPT(2)=0

AvailableforBondedandforNoSeparationcontactTypes.MultipointConstraint
equationsarecreatedinternallyduringtheMechanicalAPDLapplicationsolvetotiethe
bodiestogether.Thiscanbehelpfuliftrulylinearcontactisdesiredortohandlethenonzero
modeissueforfreevibrationthatcanoccurifapenaltyfunctionisused.Notethatcontact
basedresults(suchaspressure)willbezero.
MPC

NormalLagrange

Note:WhenmodelingShellSolidassemblieswiththeMPCcontact
Formulation,thecontactsurface/edgemustbeontheshellsideandthe
targetsurfacemustbeonthesolidside.However,youcanoverridethis
requirementtosupportcertainspecialcases,suchasacoustics.Pleaseseethe
ModelingaShellSolidAssemblysectionoftheMechanicalAPDLContact
TechnologyGuideforadditionalinformation.
EnforceszeropenetrationwhencontactisclosedmakinguseofaLagrangemultiplieronthe
normaldirectionandapenaltymethodinthetangentialdirection.NormalStiffnessisnot
applicableforthissetting.NormalLagrangeaddscontacttractiontothemodelasadditional

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KEYOPT(2)=2

KEYOPT(2)=3
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degreesoffreedomandrequiresadditionaliterationstostabilizecontactconditions.Itoften
increasesthecomputationalcostcomparedtotheAugmentedLagrangesetting.TheIterative
setting(underSolverType)cannotbeusedwiththismethod.
AvailableforBondedTypeonly.Thisformulationworksby"stitching"thecontacttopologies
togetherusingmasslesslinearBeamElements.

Beam

ForadditionalMAPDLspecificinformation,seeKEYOPT(2)intheMechanicalAPDLContactTechnologyGuide.
Note:Casesinvolvinglargegapsandfacesbondedtogethercanresultinfictitiousmomentsbeingtransmittedacrossaboundary.

DetectionMethod
DetectionMethodallowsyoutochoosethelocationofcontactdetectionusedintheanalysisinordertoobtainagoodconvergence.Itisapplicableto
3Dfacefacecontactsand2Dedgeedgecontacts.
Propertyoptionsinclude:

Property

Description

ProgramControlled

Thisisthedefaultsetting.TheapplicationusesGaussintegrationpoints(OnGaussPoint)whentheformulationis
settoPurePenaltyandAugmentedLagrange.Itusesnodalpoint(NodalNormaltoTarget)forMPCandNormal
Lagrangeformulations.

OnGaussPoint

ThecontactdetectionlocationisattheGaussintegrationpoints.ThisoptionisnotapplicabletocontactswithMPC
orNormalLagrangeformulation.

NodalNormalFrom
Contact

Thecontactdetectionlocationisonanodalpointwherethecontactnormalisperpendiculartothecontactsurface.

NodalNormalTo
Target

Thecontactdetectionlocationisonanodalpointwherethecontactnormalisperpendiculartothetargetsurface.

NodalProjected
NormalFromContact

Thecontactdetectionlocationisatcontactnodalpointsinanoverlappingregionofthecontactandtargetsurfaces
(projectionbasedmethod).

ForadditionalMAPDLspecificinformation,seeSelectingLocationofContactDetection(specifically,KEYOPT(4)relatedinformation)intheMechanical
APDLContactTechnologyGuide.

PenetrationTolerance
ThePenetrationTolerancepropertyallowsyoutospecifythePenetrationToleranceValueorthePenetrationToleranceFactorforacontact
whentheFormulationpropertyissettoProgramControlled,PurePenalty,orAugmentedLagrange.
Note:TheUpdateStiffnesspropertymustbesettoeitherProgramControlled,EachIteration,orEachIteration,Aggressive
forthePenetrationTolerancepropertytobedisplayedwhenFormulationissettoPurePenalty.
Propertyoptionsinclude:

Property

Description

ProgramControlled

Thisisthedefaultsetting.ThePenetrationToleranceiscalculatedbytheprogram.

Value

EnterthePenetrationToleranceValuedirectly.Thisentryisalengthmeasurement(foot,meter,etc.).Only
nonzeropositivevaluesarevalid.

Factor

EnterthePenetrationToleranceFactordirectly.Thisentrymustbeequaltoorgreaterthanzerobutmustalso
belessthan1.0.Thisentryhasnounit.

PenetrationToleranceValue

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ThePenetrationToleranceValuepropertydisplayswhenPenetrationToleranceissettoValue.YouenteraValue.
PenetrationToleranceFactor
ThePenetrationToleranceFactorpropertydisplayswhenPenetrationToleranceissettoFactor.YouenteraFactor.
Note:WhenviewingtheConnectionsWorksheet,aValuedisplaysasanegativenumberandaFactordisplaysasapositivenumber.
Foradditionalinformation,seetheDeterminingContactStiffnessandAllowablePenetration,specificallyUsingFKNandFTOLN,sectionoftheMechanical
APDLContactTechnologyGuide(SurfacetoSurfaceContact).

ElasticSlipTolerance
TheElasticSlipTolerancepropertyallowsyoutosettheallowableelasticslipvalueforacontactwhentheFormulationissettoNormalLagrangeor
whenthecontactstiffnessissettoupdateeachiteration(UpdateStiffnessissettoEachIterationorEachIteration,Aggressive).
Note:ElasticSlipToleranceisnotapplicablewhenthecontactTypeissettoFrictionlessorNoSeparation.
Propertyoptionsinclude:

Property

Description

ProgramControlled

Thisisthedefaultsetting.TheElasticSlipToleranceValueiscalculatedbytheapplication.

Value

EntertheElasticSlipToleranceValuedirectly.Thisentryisalengthmeasurement(foot,meter,etc.).Onlynon
zeropositivevaluesarevalid.

Factor

EntertheElasticSlipToleranceFactordirectly.Thisentrymustbeequaltoorgreaterthanzerobutmustalso
belessthan1.0.Thisentryhasnounit.

ElasticSlipToleranceValue
TheElasticSlipToleranceValuepropertydisplayswhenElasticSlipToleranceissettoValue.YouenteraValue.
ElasticSlipToleranceFactor
TheElasticSlipToleranceFactorpropertydisplayswhenElasticSlipToleranceissettoFactor.YouenteraFactor.
Note:WhenviewingtheConnectionsWorksheet,aValuedisplaysasanegativenumberandaFactordisplaysasapositivenumber.
Foradditionalinformation,seetheDeterminingContactStiffnessandAllowablePenetration,specificallyUsingFKTandSLTO,sectionoftheMechanical
APDLContactTechnologyGuide(SurfacetoSurfaceContact).

ConstraintType
ControlsthetypeofMPCconstrainttobecreatedforbondedcontact.ThissettingisdisplayedonlyifFormulationissettoMPCandifeitherContact
BodiesorTargetBodiesarescopedtoasurfacebody.
Propertyoptionsinclude:

Property

Description

Thisisthedefaultsetting.Representsthemostcommontypeofsurfacebodycontact.Constraintsareconstructed
tocouplethetranslationalandrotationalDOFs.Inmosttypesofsurfacebodycontact,anoffsetwillexist.Dueto
TargetNormal,CoupleU
thisoffsettherewillbeamomentcreated.Togetthecorrectmoment,therotation/displacementDOF'smustbe
toROT
coupledtogether.Iftheprogramcannotdetectanycontactinthetargetnormaldirection,itwillthensearch
anywhereinsidethepinballforcontact.
TargetNormal,
UncoupleUtoROT

Therotationalanddisplacementconstraintswillnotbecoupledtogether.Thisoptioncanmodelsituationswhere
thesurfacebodyedgeslineupwellandamomentisnotcreatedfromthephysicalsurfacebodypositions.Thusit
ismostaccuratefortheconstraintstoleavethedisplacements/rotationsuncoupled.Thisprovidesananswerwhich
isclosertoamatchingmeshsolution.Usingacoupledconstraintcausesartificialconstraintstobeaddedcausing
aninaccuratesolution.

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InsidePinball,CoupleU
toROT

Constraintsarecoupledandcreatedanywheretobefoundinsidethepinballregion.Thusthepinballsizeis
importantasalargerpinballwillresultinalargerconstraintset.Thisoptionisusefulwhenyouwishtofully
constrainonecontactsidecompletelytoanother.

NormalStiffness
DefinesacontactNormalStiffnessfactor.Propertyoptionsinclude:
Option

Description

ProgramControlled

Thisisthedefaultsetting.TheNormalStiffnessFactoriscalculatedbytheprogram.IfonlyBondedorNo
Separationcontactexists,thevalueissetto10.Ifanyothertypeofcontactexists,alltheprogramcontrolled
regions(includingBondedorNoSeparation)willusetheMechanicalAPDLapplicationdefault(RealConstant
FKN).

Manual

TheNormalStiffnessFactorisinputdirectlybytheuser.

NormalStiffnessFactor
ThispropertyappearswhentheNormalStiffnessissettoManual.ItallowsyoutoinputtheNormalStiffnessFactor.Onlynonzeropositivevalues
areallowed.Theusualfactorrangeisfrom0.0110,withthedefaultselectedprogrammatically.Asmallervalueprovidesforeasierconvergencebutwith
morepenetration.Thedefaultvalueisappropriateforbulkdeformation.Ifbendingdeformationdominates,useasmallervalue(0.010.1).
ForadditionalMAPDLspecificinformation,seethe
DeterminingContactStiffnessandAllowablePenetrationsectionoftheMechanicalAPDLContactTechnologyGuide(SurfacetoSurface
Contact).
UsingFKNandFTOLNsectionoftheMechanicalAPDLContactTechnologyGuide(SurfacetoSurfaceContact).

UpdateStiffness
Allowsyoutospecifyiftheprogramshouldupdate(change)thecontactstiffnessduringthesolution.
Ifyouchooseanyofthesestiffnessupdatesettings,theprogramwillmodifythestiffness(raise/lower/leaveunchanged)basedonthephysicsofthe
model(thatis,theunderlyingelementstressandpenetration).ThischoiceisdisplayedonlyifyousettheFormulationtoAugmentedLagrangeor
PurePenalty,thetwoformulationswherecontactstiffnessisapplicable.
Anadvantageofchoosingeitheroftheprogramstiffnessupdatesettingsisthatstiffnessisautomaticallydeterminedthatallowsbothconvergenceand
minimalpenetration.Also,ifthissettingisused,problemsmayconvergeinaNewtonRaphsonsense,thatwouldnototherwise.
YoucanuseaResultTrackertomonitorachangingcontactstiffnessthroughoutthesolution.
Propertyoptionsinclude:

Property

Description

ProgramControlled

(DefaultassetinTools>Options).Internallysetbasedonthefollowingcriteria:settheUpdateStiffnessproperty
toNeverforcontactsbetweentworigidbodiesandtoEachIterationforallothercases.

Never

Thisisthedefaultsetting.Turnsofftheprogram'sautomaticUpdateStiffnessfeature.

EachIteration

Setstheprogramtoupdatestiffnessattheendofeachequilibriumiteration.Thischoiceisrecommendedifyouare
unsureofaNormalStiffnessFactortouseinordertoobtaingoodresults.

EachIteration,
Aggressive

Setstheprogramtoupdatestiffnessattheendofeachequilibriumiteration,butcomparedtotheEachIteration,
thisoptionallowsforamoreaggressivechangingofthevaluerange.

StabilizationDampingFactor
Acontactyoudefinemayinitiallyhaveanearopenstatusduetosmallgapsbetweentheelementmeshesorbetweentheintegrationpointsofthe
contactandtargetelements.Thecontactwillnotgetdetectedduringtheanalysisandcancausearigidbodymotionofthebodiesdefinedinthecontact.
Thestabilizationdampingfactorprovidesacertainresistancetodamptherelativemotionbetweenthecontactingsurfacesandpreventsrigidbody
motion.Thiscontactdampingfactorisappliedinthecontactnormaldirectionanditisvalidonlyforfrictionless,roughandfrictionalcontacts.The
dampingisappliedtoeachloadstepwherethecontactstatusisopen.Thevalueofthestabilizationdampingfactorshouldbelargeenoughtoprevent
rigidbodymotionbutsmallenoughtoensureasolution.Avalueof1isusuallyappropriate.
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Propertyoptionsinclude:
Property

Description

StabilizationDamping
Factor

Ifthisfactoris0(default),thedampingisactivatedonlyinthefirstloadstep
(KEYOPT(15)=0,thedefault).Ifitsvalueisgreaterthan0,thedampingis
activatedforallloadsteps(KEYOPT(15)=2).

MAPDL
FDMN
KEYOPT(15)=2.
Dampingisactivatedforallload
steps.

ThermalConductance
Controlsthethermalcontactconductancevalueusedinathermalcontactsimulation.
Propertyoptionsinclude:
Property

Description

ProgramControlled

Thisisthedefaultsetting.Theprogramwillcalculatethevalueforthethermalcontactconductance.Thevaluewill
besettoasufficientlyhighenoughvalue(basedonthethermalconductivitiesandthemodelsize)tomodelperfect
contactwithminimalthermalresistance.NotethattheProgramControlledoptionisnotvalidforcomposite
materials.Fororthotropicmaterials,theapplicationonlyconsidersThermalConductivityintheXdirection.

Manual

TheThermalConductanceValueisinputdirectlybytheuser.

ThermalConductanceValue
AllowsinputoftheThermalConductanceValue.Onlypositivevaluesareallowed.ThischoiceisdisplayedonlyifManualisspecifiedforThermal
Conductance.TheUnitsforthisvaluearebasedonthetypesofcontactinvolved.For3Dfacesand2Dedges,theunitsareHEAT/(TIME*
TEMPERATURE*AREA).Forcontactbetween3Dedgesandvertices,theunitsareHEAT/(TIME*TEMPERATURE)withthevalueappliedtoeverynodein
thecontactside.Formoreinformationabouttheunitsusedforthermalcontactconductancecoefficient,seeTable78andTable79intheSolvingUnits
section.
ForadditionalMAPDLspecificinformation,seetheModelingThermalContact,specificallyModelingConduction>UsingTCC,sectionoftheMechanical
APDLContactTechnologyGuide(MultiphysicsContact).

PinballRegion
Thisoptionallowsyoutospecifythecontactsearchsize,commonlyreferredtoasthePinballRegion.Settingapinballregioncanbeusefulincases
whereinitially,bodiesarefarenoughawayfromoneanotherthat,bydefault,theprogramwillnotdetectthattheyareincontact.Youcouldthen
increasethepinballregionasneeded.Consideranexampleofasurfacebodythatwasgeneratedbyoffsettingafaceofasolidbody,possiblyleavinga
largegap,dependingonthethickness.Anotherexampleisalargedeflectionproblemwhereaconsiderablepinballregionisrequiredduetopossiblelarge
amountsofoverpenetration.Ingeneralthough,ifyouwanttworegionstobebondedtogetherthatmaybefarapart,youshouldspecifyapinballregion
thatislargeenoughtoensurethatcontactindeedoccurs.
Forbondedandnoseparationcontacttypes,youmustbecarefulinspecifyingalargepinballregion.Forthesetypesofcontact,anyregionsfoundwithin
thepinballregionwillbeconsideredtobeincontact.Forothertypesofcontact,thisisnotascriticalbecauseadditionalcalculationsareperformedto
determineifthetwobodiesaretrulyincontact.Thepinballregiondefinesthesearchingrangewherethesecalculationswilloccur.Further,alargegap
cantransmitfictitiousmomentsacrosstheboundary.
Propertyoptionsinclude:
Property

Description

ProgramControlled

Thisisthedefaultsetting.Thepinballregionwillbecalculatedbytheprogram.

AutoDetectionValue

Thisoptionisonlyavailableforcontactsgeneratedautomatically.Thepinballregionwillbeequaltothetolerance
valueusedingeneratingthecontacts.ThevalueisdisplayedasreadonlyintheAutoDetectionValuefield.Auto
DetectionValueistherecommendedoptionforcaseswheretheautomaticcontactdetectionregionislargerthan
aProgramControlledregion.Insuchcases,somecontactpairsthatweredetectedautomaticallymaynotbe
consideredincontactforasolution.

Radius

Theradiusvalueisinputdirectlybytheuser.

FortheRigidBodyDynamicssolver:IntheRigidBodyDynamicssolver,thepinballregionisusedtocontrolthetouchingtolerance.Bydefault,the
RigidBodyDynamicssolverautomaticallycomputesthetouchingtoleranceusingthesizesofthesurfacesinthecontactregion.Thesedefaultvaluesare
sufficientinmostofcases,butinadequatetouchingtolerancemayariseincaseswherecontactsurfacesareespeciallylargeorsmall(smallfilletfor
instance).Insuchcases,thevalueofthetouchingtolerancecanbedirectlyspecifiedusingthefollowingproperties:
Property

Description

ProgramControlled
(default)

ThetouchingtoleranceisautomaticallycomputedbytheRigidBodyDynamicssolverfromthesizesofthecontact
surfaces.

Radius

Thevalueofthetouchingtoleranceisdirectlygivenbyuser.

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PinballRadius
ThenumericalvalueforthePinballRadius.ThischoiceisdisplayedonlyifPinballRegionissettoRadius.

ElectricConductance
Controlstheelectriccontactconductancevalueusedinanelectriccontactsimulation.
Propertyoptionsinclude:
Property

Description

ProgramControlled

Thisisthedefaultsetting.Theprogramwillcalculatethevaluefortheelectriccontactconductance.Thevaluewill
besettoasufficientlyhighenoughvalue(basedontheelectricconductivitiesandthemodelsize)tomodelperfect
contactwithminimalelectricresistance.

Manual

TheElectricConductanceValueisinputdirectlybytheuser.

Note:TheElectricAnalysisresult,JouleHeat,whengeneratedbynonzerocontactresistanceisnotsupported.

ElectricConductanceValue
AllowsinputoftheElectricConductanceValue(inunitsofelectricconductanceperarea).Onlypositivevaluesareallowed.Thischoiceisdisplayedonlyif
ManualisspecifiedforElectricConductance.

TimeStepControls
Allowsyoutospecifyifchangesincontactbehaviorshouldcontrolautomatictimestepping.Thischoiceisdisplayedonlyfornonlinearcontact(Typeis
settoFrictionless,Rough,orFrictional).
Propertyoptionsinclude:
Property

Description

None

Thisisthedefaultsetting.Contactbehaviordoesnotcontrolautomatictimestepping.Thisoptionisappropriatefor
mostanalyseswhenautomatictimesteppingisactivatedandasmalltimestepsizeisallowed.

AutomaticBisection

Contactbehaviorisreviewedattheendofeachsubsteptodeterminewhetherexcessivepenetrationordrastic
changesincontactstatushaveoccurred.Ifso,thesubstepisreevaluatedusingatimeincrementthatisbisected
(reducedbyhalf).

PredictforImpact

PerformssamebisectiononthebasisofcontactastheAutomaticBisectionoptionandalsopredictstheminimal
timeincrementneededtodetectchangesincontactbehavior.Thisoptionisrecommendedifyouanticipateimpact
intheanalysis.

RestitutionFactorRigidBodyDynamicsSolverOnly
FortheANSYSRigidDynamicssolver,theAdvancedgrouphasonlyoneproperty,RestitutionValue.Thisvaluerepresentstheenergylostduring
shockandisdefinedastheratiobetweenrelativevelocitypriortotheshockandthevelocityfollowingtheshock.Thisvaluecanbebetween0and1.A
RestitutionFactorequalto1indicatesthatnoenergyislostduringtheshock,thatis,thereboundingvelocityequalstheimpactvelocity(aperfectly
elasticcollision).Thedefaultvalueis1.
Release16.2SASIP,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

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