Contactsurfs Panel

Location: Analysis page > Safety module

The contactsurf entity, used in most crash solvers, is defined using elements (1D, 2D, 3D) and their respective face codes. A contactsurf is displayed as an arrow on the selected element faces. The direction of the arrow is along the element normal that defines contactsurfs.

A contactsurf has the following parameters:

Name
Color
Card image
Elements

Elems Subpanel

Option	Action
name	Enter a name for the entity.
card image	Select a valid card image. Options depend on the current solver interface.
elems selector	Select the elements to include in the contactsurf entity. Use the switch to change the selection mode. elems Select individual elements, or select all of the elements contained by a component or on a surface. Figure 1. Example: Elems Selection 2D faces Select all of the elements on a 2D face. If there are discontinuities on a face, then only the elements in-between the discontinuities will be selected. Figure 2. Example: 2D Faces Selection 2D faces ext Select all of the elements on a 2D face that contain discontinuities. Figure 3. Example: 2D Faces Ext Selection Note: Changing the selection mode will clear your current selection. Use the Entity Editor to select elements using multiple selection modes.
reverse normals	Set the direction of the contactsurf to be opposite of the elements normal.
color	Select a color for the entity.
face angle / individual selection	Face angle Value used to determine which of the selected elements are to have contact surfaces applied. For contact surfaces applied to faces, once the starting face has been identified, the normals of the adjacent remaining faces are tested. If the angle between the normals is less than the face angle, a contact surface is applied to the adjacent element. This process continues until all of the free faces have been tested. For a contact surface applied to edges, the process is similar except that the angle between edges is used instead of the angle between faces. Note: Only available when the selection mode is set to 2d faces or 2d faces ext. Individual Selection Select individual elements on a face or select individual free edges of elements. Note: Only available when the selection mode is set to 2d faces.

Solid Faces Subpanel

Option	Action
name	Enter a name for the entity.
card image	Select a valid card image. Options depend on the current solver interface.
elems selector	Select the elements to include in the contactsurf entity. Use the switch to change the selection mode. elems Select individual elements, or select all of the elements contained by a component or on a surface. Figure 4. Example: Elems Selection 3D faces Select all of the elements on a 3D face. Figure 5. Example: 3D Faces Selection free edges Select all of the free edges of elements. If there are discontinuities on an edge, then only the free edges of elements inbetween the discontinuities will be selected. Important: Only valid for SHELL elements. Figure 6. Example: Free Edges Selection Note: Changing the selection mode will clear your current selection. Use the Entity Editor to select elements using multiple selection modes.
nodes on face / nodes on edge	Nodes on edge is valid for 1D and 2D elements only.
nodes	Select nodes that denote a face or an edge to define contactsurf.
reverse normals	Set the direction of the contactsurf to be opposite of the elements normal.
color	Select a color for the entity.
face angle / individual selection	Face angle Value used to determine which of the selected elements are to have contact surfaces applied. For contact surfaces applied to faces, once the starting face has been identified, the normals of the adjacent remaining faces are tested. If the angle between the normals is less than the face angle, a contact surface is applied to the adjacent element. This process continues until all of the free faces have been tested. For a contact surface applied to edges, the process is similar except that the angle between edges is used instead of the angle between faces. Note: Only available when the selection mode is set to 3d faces or free edges. Individual Selection Select individual elements on a face or select individual free edges of elements. Note: Only available when the selection mode is set to 3d faces or free edges.
Edge angle	Split edges that belong to a given face. When the edge angle is 180 degrees, edges are the continuous boundaries of faces. For smaller values, these same boundary edges are split wherever the angle between segments exceeds the specified value. A segment is the edge of a single element. Note: Only available when the selection mode is set to free edges.

Remove Elems Subpanel

Option	Action
contactsurf selector	Select the contactsurf that has the elements that need to be removed.
elems selector	Select the elements that should be removed from the contactsurf entity. Use the switch to change the selection mode. elems Select individual elements, or select all of the elements contained by a component or on a surface. Figure 7. Example: Elems Selection faces Select all of the elements on 2D and 3D faces. If there are discontinuities on a 2D face, then only the elements in between the discontinuities will be selected. Figure 8. Example: Faces Selection 2D faces ext Select all of the elements on a 2D face that contain discontinuities. Figure 9. Example: 2D Faces Ext Selection free edges Select all of the free edges of elements. If there are discontinuities on an edge, then only the free edges of elements inbetween the discontinuities will be selected. Important: Only valid for SHELL elements. Figure 10. Example: Free Edges Selection Note: Changing the selection mode will clear your current selection. Use the Entity Editor to select elements using multiple selection modes.
face angle / individual selection	Face angle Value used to determine which of the selected elements are to have contact surfaces applied. For contact surfaces applied to faces, once the starting face has been identified, the normals of the adjacent remaining faces are tested. If the angle between the normals is less than the face angle, a contact surface is applied to the adjacent element. This process continues until all of the free faces have been tested. For a contact surface applied to edges, the process is similar except that the angle between edges is used instead of the angle between faces. Note: Only available when the selection mode is set to faces, 2d faces ext, or free edges. Individual Selection Select individual elements on a face or select individual free edges of elements. Note: Only available when the selection mode is set to faces or free edges.
edge angle	Split edges that belong to a given face. When the edge angle is 180 degrees, edges are the continuous boundaries of faces. For smaller values, these same boundary edges are split wherever the angle between segments exceeds the specified value. A segment is the edge of a single element. Note: Only available when the selection mode is set to free edges.

Adjust Normals Subpanel

The normal of a contactsurf defines all the faces/edges that will eventually define contact interface with an adjacent part. For pressures/forces/temperatures, it is the direction in which they act.

Option	Action
contactsurf selector	Select the contactsurf for which the normal is to be changed.
all elems / by elems	all elems Modify all of the elements that define the selected contactsurf. by elems Modify the contactsurf normal for the selected elements only. Use the switch to change the selection mode. elems Select individual elements, or select all of the elements contained by a component or on a surface. Figure 11. Example: Elems Selection faces Select all of the elements on 2D and 3D faces. If there are discontinuities on a 2D face, then only the elements in between the discontinuities will be selected. Figure 12. Example: Faces Selection 2D faces ext Select all of the elements on a 2D face that contain discontinuities. Figure 13. Example: 2D Faces Ext Selection free edges Select all of the free edges of elements. If there are discontinuities on an edge, then only the free edges of elements inbetween the discontinuities will be selected. Important: Only valid for SHELL elements. Figure 14. Example: Free Edges Selection Note: Changing the selection mode will clear your current selection. Use the Entity Editor to select elements using multiple selection modes.
face angle / individual selection	Face angle Value used to determine which of the selected elements are to have contact surfaces applied. For contact surfaces applied to faces, once the starting face has been identified, the normals of the adjacent remaining faces are tested. If the angle between the normals is less than the face angle, a contact surface is applied to the adjacent element. This process continues until all of the free faces have been tested. For a contact surface applied to edges, the process is similar except that the angle between edges is used instead of the angle between faces. Note: Only available when the entity selector is set to by elems and the selection mode is set to faces, 2d faces ext, or free edges. Individual Selection Select individual elements on a face or select individual free edges of elements. Note: Only available when the entity selector is set to by elems and the selection mode is set to faces or free edges.
edge angle	Split edges that belong to a given face. When the edge angle is 180 degrees, edges are the continuous boundaries of faces. For smaller values, these same boundary edges are split wherever the angle between segments exceeds the specified value. A segment is the edge of a single element. Note: Only available when the selection mode is set to free edges.