Constraints

Restriction: Only available in Abaqus, LS-DYNA, and Radioss.

Abaqus Cards

Card	Description
*COUPLING	Coupling constraint between a part and a reference node or a reference node set. Reference node sets can have more than one node. More than one reference node in a set requires the influence radius option.
*KINEMATIC	To be used along with *COUPLING for kinematic constraints that may include translational and/or rotation degrees of freedom. Provides a rigid constraint between independent node and dependent nodes or surface.
*DISTRIBUTING	To be used with *COUPLING that may include translational and/or rotational degrees of freedom. Provides a distributed connection between dependent node and independent nodes or surface based on a weighing factor.

Additional options are available in the Entity Editor for kinematic and distributing coupling constraints:

Influence Radius: Radius within which the nodes are connected to the reference node
Orientation: Local coordinate system for the constraint DOF
Alpha: Thermal expansion coefficient
Coupling: Continuum or Structural for rotational and translational DOFs
Weighting method: Uniform/Linear/Quadratic/Cubic weighing methods for distribution
Distribution Type: Uniform value or non-uniform values at distribution nodes
Free nodes: Treatment of free nodes, such as remove, error, or allow