Module 3 Dr. J.C.

Tan, Jan 2010

Quasi-static Contact Mechanics Problem

Type of solver: ABAQUS CAE/Standard

Adapted from: ABAQUS v6.8 Online Documentation, Getting Started with ABAQUS: Interactive Edition

C.1 Overview

During the tutorial you will create an assembly composed of a hinge held together by a pin. The
assembled part instances and the final mesh are illustrated in Figure C1.

Figure C1 Model
used in the hinge
tutorial.

This tutorial consists of the following 12 sections:-

1. Creating the first hinge piece, Section C.2

2. Assigning section properties to the hinge part, Section C.3
3. Creating and modifying a second hinge piece, Section C.4
4. Creating the pin, Section C.5
5. Assembling the model, Section C.6
6. Defining analysis steps, Section C.7
7. Creating surfaces to use in contact interactions, Section C.8
8. Defining contact between regions of the model, Section C.9
9. Applying boundary conditions and loads to the assembly, Section C.10
10. Meshing the assembly, Section C.11
11. Creating and submitting a job, Section C.12
12. Viewing the results of your analysis, Section C.13

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C.2 Creating the first hinge piece

To start the tutorial, you create the first parthalf of the hinge. Abaqus/CAE models are composed of features; you
create a part by combining features. This portion of the hinge is composed of the following features:

A cubethe base feature, since it is the first feature of the part.

A flange that extends from the cube. The flange also includes a large-diameter hole through which the pin
is inserted.
A small lubrication hole in one corner of the flange.

C.2.1 Creating the cube

To create the cube (the base feature), you create a solid, three-dimensional, extruded part and name it. You then
sketch its profile (0.04 m 0.04 m) and extrude the profile over a specified distance (0.04 m) to produce the base
feature of the first half of the hinge. The desired cube is shown in Figure C2.

Figure C2 The base feature (a cube) is created first.

Note: The default render style used throughout Abaqus/CAE is Shaded. For clarity, many of the figures in this
tutorial use the wireframe or hidden line render styles.

To create the cube:

1. Start Abaqus/CAE, and create a new model database.

Abaqus/CAE enters the Part module and displays the Model Tree in the left side of the main window.

2. In the Model Tree, double-click the Parts container to create a new part.

The Create Part dialog box appears.

The text in the prompt area asks you to fill out the Create Part dialog. Abaqus/CAE always displays
prompts in the prompt area to guide you through a procedure.

3. Name the part Hinge-hole. Accept the following default settings:

A three-dimensional, deformable body
A solid extrusion base feature

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4. In the Approximate size text field, type 0.2. You will be modeling the hinge using meters for the unit of
length, and its overall length is 0.14 meters; therefore, 0.2 meters is a sufficiently large approximate size
for the part. Click Continue to create the part.

The Sketcher starts and displays the toolbox between the canvas and the Model Tree. Abaqus/CAE uses the
approximate size of the part to compute the default sheet size0.2 meters in this example. In addition, in
this example the Sketcher draws 40 grid lines on the sheet, and the distance between each grid line is 0.005
meters. (You probably see fewer than 40 grid lines because the sheet extends beyond your viewport.)

5. From the Sketcher toolbox, select the rectangle tool .

6. Sketch an arbitrary rectangle, and click mouse button 2 in the viewport to exit the rectangle tool.
7. Dimension the top and left edges so that each is 0.04 m long.

Important: To complete this tutorial successfully, it is important that you use the dimensions
stated and do not deviate from the example; otherwise, you will find it difficult to assemble the
model.

8. Click mouse button 2 to exit the Sketcher.

Tip: Clicking mouse button 2 in the viewport has the same effect as clicking the default button in
the prompt areaDone in this instance.

Abaqus/CAE displays the Edit Base Extrusion dialog box.

9. In the dialog box, type a Depth of 0.04 and press [Enter].

Abaqus/CAE exits the Sketcher and displays the base feature, a cube, as shown in Figure C2. The triad in
the lower-left corner of the viewport indicates the orientation of the X-, Y-, and Z-axes. You can turn off
this triad by selecting Viewport Viewport Annotation Options from the main menu bar and toggling
off the Show triad option. (The triad is sometimes turned off for clarity in the figures in this tutorial.)

Note: By default, Abaqus/CAE uses the alphabetical option, x-y-z, for labeling the view
orientation triad. In general, this manual adopts the numerical option, 1-2-3, to permit direct
correspondence with degree of freedom and output labeling.

C.2.2 Adding the flange to the base feature

You will now add a solid featurethe flangeto the base feature. You select one face of the cube to define the
sketch plane and extrude the sketched profile through half the depth of the cube. The cube and flange are shown in
Figure C3.

Figure C3 The flange is added to the base feature.

To add the flange to the base feature:

1. From the main menu bar, select Shape Solid Extrude.

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2. Select the face at the front of the cube to define the sketching plane, as shown in Figure C4.

Figure C4 Select the gridded face to define the sketching plane.

Select the indicated edge to position the part correctly in the
Sketcher.

When you stop moving the cursor during a selection procedure, Abaqus/CAE highlights the edges of the
entity that it would select at the current cursor position. This highlighting behavior is called preselection.

Note: Two forms of preselection are available in Abaqus/CAE: one for object selection from the
viewport and the other for selection from the Sketcher.

Select an edge that will appear vertical and on the right side of the sketch, as shown in Figure C4.

Again, Abaqus/CAE uses preselection to aid you in selecting the desired edge.

The Sketcher starts and displays the outline of the base feature as reference geometry. Abaqus/CAE
magnifies the view to fit the sketch plane; the sheet size and grid spacing are also recalculated based on the
size of the sketch plane. To change the sheet size and grid spacing back to their original settings and
disable their automatic recalculation for the current session, use the options tool , located in the
Sketcher toolbox. On the General tabbed page, toggle off Auto next to the sheet size text field and set the
value to 0.2; toggle off Auto next to the grid spacing text field and set the value to 0.005.

Tip: To retain the original sheet size and grid spacing for all sketches in a part, you can select the
options tool while sketching the base featurethe cubeand toggle off both Auto settings.

The sketch of the flange that you will create is illustrated in Figure C5. To duplicate the view in the
figure, use the options tool again to double the grid spacing.

Figure C5 Use the Sketcher to create the

flange profile.

3. Zoom out to view the area where

you will sketch the flange:
a. From the View
Manipulation toolbar,
select the magnify tool .
b. Position the cursor near the center of the viewport.

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c. Click mouse button 1 and drag to the left until the cube occupies approximately half of the visible
Sketcher space.

Reducing the view is necessary because the flange is created beyond the edges of the selected sketch plane.

4. As before, the approximate shape of the new feature will be sketched first. From the Sketcher toolbox,
select the connected lines tool .
5. Sketch the rectangular portion of the flange by drawing three lines as follows:
a. Starting at any point to the right of the cube, connect the line to the top-right corner of the cube.
b. Continue the next line to the bottom-right corner of the cube. This line is automatically assigned a
vertical constraint.
c. The final line extends from the bottom-right corner of the cube to any point to the right of the cube.

Tip: If you make a mistake while sketching, use the Sketcher undo or delete tools to
correct your error.

6. Click mouse button 2 in the viewport to exit the connected lines tool.
7. Refine the sketch by defining the following constraints and dimension:
a. Use the constraints tool to constrain the top and bottom lines of the sketch so that each is
horizontal.
b. Assign an equal length constraint to these two lines (use [Shift]+Click to select both lines).
c. Dimension either line so that it is 0.02 m long.

The sketch appears as shown in Figure C6.

Figure C6 Draw the rectangular portion of the flange.

8. Close the profile by adding a semicircular arc using the 3-points circle tool .
a. Select the two vertices at the open end of the rectangle as the endpoints of the arc, starting with the
top one. Select any point to the right of the sketch as a point that lies on the arc.
b. Define tangent constraints between the ends of the arc and the horizontal lines to refine the sketch.
9. Click mouse button 2 in the viewport to exit the 3-points circle tool.

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The resulting arc is shown in Figure C7.

Figure C7 Add the curved portion of the

flange.

10. From the Sketcher toolbox, select the center-perimeter circle tool to sketch the flange hole.
a. Place the center of the circle to coincide approximately with the center of the arc created
previously. The perimeter point should be placed to the right of the center point. Apply a
concentric constraint between the two circular regions.
b. Use the dimension tool to change the value of the radius to 0.01 m.
c. Dimension the vertical distance between the center of the circle and the perimeter point. Edit this
dimension so that the distance is 0. (If the distance is already 0, you cannot add a vertical
dimension.) This will adjust the location of the perimeter point so that it is on the same horizontal
plane as the center point.

Note: When you mesh a part, Abaqus/CAE places nodes wherever vertices appear along
an edge; therefore, the location of the vertex on the circumference of the circle influences
the final mesh. Placing it on the same horizontal plane as the center point results in a high-
quality mesh.

11. The final sketch is shown in Figure C8.

Figure C8 Final sketch.

12. Click mouse button 2 to exit the Sketcher.

Abaqus/CAE displays the part in an isometric view showing the base extrusion, your sketched profile, and
an arrow indicating the extrusion direction. The default extrusion direction for a solid is always out of the
solid. Abaqus/CAE also displays the Edit Extrusion dialog box.
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Tip: Use the auto-fit view manipulation tool to fit the sketched flange profile and the base
extrusion in the viewport.

13. In the Edit Extrusion dialog box:

a. Accept the default Type selection of Blind to indicate that you will provide the depth of the
extrusion.
b. In the Depth field, type an extrusion depth of 0.02.
c. Click Flip to reverse the extrusion direction, as shown in Figure C9.

Figure C9 Completed flange sketch showing the

extrusion direction.

d. Toggle on Keep internal boundaries. When you toggle this option on, Abaqus/CAE maintains the
face that is generated between the extruded solid feature and the existing part. As a result, the
extruded flange is maintained as a second cell and is not merged with the cube. (When you mesh
the model at the end of the tutorial, the internal boundary allows you to mesh the flange without
having to first partition the cell and flange into separate cells.)
e. Click OK to create the solid extrusion.

Abaqus/CAE displays the part composed of the cube and the flange. Use the auto-fit view
manipulation tool again to resize the part to fit in the viewport.

C.2.3 Modifying a feature

Each part is defined by a set of features, and each feature in turn is defined by a set of parameters. For example, the
base feature (the cube) and the second feature (the flange) are both defined by a sketch and an extrusion depth. You
modify a part by modifying the parameters that define its features. For the hinge example you will change the
radius of the hole in the sketch of the flange from 0.01 m to 0.012 m.

To modify a feature:

1. In the Model Tree, expand the Hinge-hole item underneath the Parts container. Then expand the Features
container that appears.

A list showing each feature's Name appears. In this example you have created two solid extrusion features:
the base feature (the cube), Solid extrude-1, and the flange, Solid extrude-2.
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2. Click mouse button 3 on Solid extrude-2 (the flange) in this list.

Abaqus/CAE highlights the selected feature in the viewport.

3. From the menu that appears, select Edit.

Abaqus/CAE displays the feature editor. For an extruded solid you can change the extrusion depth, the
twist or draft (if specified when the feature was created), and the profile sketch.

4. From the feature editor, click Edit Section Sketch.

Abaqus/CAE displays the sketch of the second feature, and the feature editor disappears.

5. From the edit tools in the Sketcher toolbox, select the edit dimension value tool .
6. Select the radial dimension of the circle (0.010).
7. In the Edit Dimension dialog box, type a new radius of 0.012 and click OK.

Abaqus/CAE closes the dialog box and changes the radius of the circle in the sketch only.

8. Click mouse button 2 to exit the edit dimension value tool. Click mouse button 2 again to exit the Sketcher.

Abaqus/CAE again displays the feature editor.

9. Click OK to regenerate the flange with the modified radius and to exit the feature editor.

The flange hole is enlarged to the new radius dimension.

Note: In some circumstances regenerating a feature causes dependent features to fail. In such a
case Abaqus/CAE asks if you want to save your changes and suppress the features that failed to
regenerate, or if you want to revert to the unmodified feature and lose your changes.

C.2.4 Creating the sketch plane

The flange includes a small hole used for lubrication, as shown in Figure C10.

Figure C10 Isometric shaded view of the hinge with the

lubrication hole.

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Creating the hole in the desired location requires an appropriate datum plane on which to sketch the profile of the
extruded cut, as shown in Figure C11.

Figure C11 Two-dimensional view of the datum plane's

position with respect to the hinge piece.

You sketch a circle on the datum plane, which is tangent to the flange, and Abaqus/CAE extrudes the circle normal
to the datum plane and normal to the flange to create the lubrication hole.

There are three operations involved in creating the datum plane:

Creating a datum point on the circumference of the flange.

Creating a datum axis running between two datum points.
Creating a datum plane through the datum point on the circumference and normal to the datum axis.

To create the sketch plane:

1. From the main menu bar, select Tools Datum.

Abaqus/CAE displays the Create Datum dialog box.

2. Create a datum point along the curved edge of the flange through which the datum plane will pass. From
the Create Datum dialog box, choose the Point datum type.
3. From the list of methods, click Enter parameter.
4. Select the curved edge, as shown in Figure C12. Note the direction of the arrow indicating an increasing
edge parameter from 0.0 to 1.0. You cannot change the direction of this arrow.

Figure C12 Create a datum point along the

curved edge of the flange.

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5. In the text box in the prompt area, enter a normalized edge parameter and press [Enter]. If the arrow
direction is the same as in Figure C12, enter 0.75 as the normalized edge parameter; if the arrow points
in the opposite direction, enter 0.25 as the normalized edge parameter.

Abaqus/CAE creates a datum point along the selected edge.

6. Create a datum axis that will define the normal to the datum plane. From the Create Datum dialog box,
choose the Axis datum type. Click the 2 points method.

Abaqus/CAE highlights the points that can be used to create the datum axis.

7. Select the point at the center of the hole (created when you sketched the hole's profile) and the datum point
on the curved edge.

Abaqus/CAE displays a datum axis passing through the two points, as shown in Figure C13.

Figure C13 Create a datum axis defined by two datum

points.

8. The final step is to create the datum plane normal to the datum axis. From the Create Datum dialog box,
choose the Plane datum type. Click the Point and normal method.
9. Select the datum point on the curved edge as the point through which the datum plane will pass.
10. Select the datum axis as the edge that will be normal to the datum plane.

Abaqus/CAE creates the datum plane, as shown in Figure C14.

Figure C14 Create a datum plane normal to the datum

axis.

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C.2.5 Sketching the lubrication hole

The next operation creates the lubrication hole on the flange by extruding a circle from the datum plane that you
just created. First, you need to create a datum point on the flange that indicates the center of the hole, as illustrated
in Figure C15.

Figure C15 A datum point indicates the center of

the lubrication hole.

To create the datum point at the center of the lubrication hole:

1. If it is not open already, display the Create Datum dialog box by selecting Tools Datum from the main
menu bar.
2. Create a datum point along the second curved edge of the flange. From the Create Datum dialog box,
choose the Point datum type.
3. From the list of methods, click Enter parameter.
4. Select the second curved edge of the flange, as shown in Figure C16.

Figure C16 Select the second edge.

5. Note the direction of the arrow indicating an increasing edge parameter from 0.0 to 1.0. Enter a normalized
edge parameter of 0.75 (or 0.25 if the sense of the arrow is opposite that shown in Figure C16), and
press [Enter].

Abaqus/CAE creates a datum point along the selected edge.

6. From the list of methods in the Create Datum dialog box, select Midway between 2 points.
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7. Select the datum point along the first curved edge.

8. Select the datum point along the second curved edge.

Abaqus/CAE creates a datum point halfway across the flange.

9. Close the Create Datum dialog box.

This exercise illustrates how you can use feature-based modeling to capture your design intent. The datum
point is a feature that Abaqus/CAE defines to be midway between the datum points along the edges of the
flange. As a result, if you change the thickness of the flange, the lubrication hole remains in the center.

To sketch the lubrication hole:

1. From the main menu bar, select Shape Cut Extrude.

2. Click the boundary of the datum plane to select it as the plane on which to sketch.
3. Select the top rear edge of the cube as the edge that will appear vertical and on the right side of the sketch,
as shown in Figure C17.

Figure C17 Select the indicated edge to position the part

correctly in the Sketcher grid.

The Sketcher starts with the vertices, datums, and edges of the part projected onto the sketch plane as
reference geometry.

Tip: If you are unsure of the relative orientation of the sketch plane and the part, use the view
manipulation tools to rotate and pan them. Use the reset view tool to restore the original view.

4. From the Sketcher toolbox, select the circle tool .

5. Select the datum point on the center of the flange to indicate the center of the circle.
6. Select any other point, and click mouse button 1.
7. Dimension the radius of the hole. The radius of the circle should be changed to 0.003 m.
8. Dimension the vertical distance between the circle's center and perimeter points. Set this distance to zero.
As noted earlier, this will improve the quality of the mesh.
9. Exit the Sketcher.

Abaqus/CAE displays the hinge in an isometric view showing the base part and flange, your sketched hole
profile, and an arrow indicating the direction for the extruded cut. Abaqus/CAE also displays the Edit Cut
Extrusion dialog box.

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10. From the Type menu in the Edit Cut Extrusion dialog box, select Up to Face and click OK.
11. Select the cylindrical inner surface of the hole in the part to indicate the face to which to extrude, as
illustrated in Figure C18. (Because you can select at most only one face, Abaqus/CAE does not ask you to
indicate that you have finished selecting.)

Abaqus/CAE extrudes the sketch from the datum plane to the hole in the flange.

Figure C18 Select the face to which to extrude.

12. From the Render Style toolbar, select the shaded display tool if necessary, and use the rotation tool
to see how the part and its features are oriented, as shown in Figure C19. (For clarity, the datum
geometry has been removed from the view in Figure C19 by selecting View Part Display
Options Datum.)

Figure C19 Isometric view of the first hinge.

Tip: After you rotate the part, use the cycle views tool to step through the previous views (up
to a maximum of eight) and to restore the original view.

13. Now that you have created the first part of your model, it is a good idea to save your model in a model
database:
a. From the main menu bar, select File Save. The Save Model Database As dialog box appears.
b. Type a name for the new model database in the File Name field, and click OK. You do not need to
include the file extension; Abaqus/CAE appends .cae automatically to the file name.

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Abaqus/CAE stores the model database in a new file and returns to the Part module. The name of
your model database appears in the main window title bar.

14. If you find you need to interrupt this tutorial, you can save the model database at any time and exit
Abaqus/CAE. You can then start a new Abaqus/CAE session and open the saved model database by
selecting Open Database from the Start Session dialog box. The model database will contain any parts,
materials, loads, etc. that you created, and you will be able to continue the tutorial.

C.3 Assigning section properties to the hinge part

The process of assigning section properties to a part is divided into three tasks:

Creating a material.
Creating a section that includes a reference to the material.
Assigning the section to the part or to a region of the part.

C.3.1 Creating a material

You will create a material named Steel that has a Young's modulus of 209 GPa and a Poisson's ratio of 0.3.

To define the material:

1. In the Model Tree, double-click the Materials container to create a new material.

The Edit Material dialog box appears.

2. Name the material Steel.

3. From the editor's menu bar, select Mechanical Elasticity Elastic.

Abaqus/CAE displays the Elastic data form.

4. In the respective fields in the Elastic data form, type a value of 209.E9 for Young's modulus and a value
of 0.3 for Poisson's ratio.
5. Click OK to exit the material editor.

C.3.2 Defining a section

Next, you will create a section that includes a reference to the material Steel.

To define the section:

1. In the Model Tree, double-click the Sections container to create a section.

The Create Section dialog box appears.

2. In the Create Section dialog box:

a. Name the section SolidSection.
b. In the Category list, accept Solid as the default selection.
c. In the Type list, accept Homogeneous as the default selection, and click Continue.

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The section editor appears.

3. In the editor, accept Steel as the material selection and click OK.

If you had defined other materials, you could click the arrow next to the Material text box to see a list of
available materials and to select the material of your choice.

C.3.3 Assigning the section

You will now assign the section SolidSection to the hinge part.

To assign the section to the hinge part:

1. In the Model Tree, expand the Hinge-hole item underneath the Parts container and double-click Section
Assignments in the list that appears.
2. Drag a rectangle around the hinge piece to select the entire part.

Abaqus/CAE highlights all the regions of the part.

3. Click mouse button 2 to indicate that you have finished selecting the regions to be assigned the section.

The Edit Section Assignment dialog box appears containing a list of existing sections. SolidSection
is selected by default since there are no other sections currently defined.

4. In the Edit Section Assignment dialog box, accept the default selection of SolidSection, and click
OK.

Abaqus/CAE assigns the section to the part and colors the entire part aqua to indicate that the region has a
section assignment.

C.4 Creating and modifying a second hinge piece

The model contains a second hinge piece similar to the first except that the lubrication hole is not present. You will
create a copy of the first hinge piece and delete the features that form the lubrication hole.

C.4.1 Copying the hinge

First you will create an exact copy of the hinge piece.

To copy the hinge:

1. In the Model Tree, click mouse button 3 on Hinge-hole underneath the Parts container and select Copy
from the menu that appears.

Abaqus/CAE displays the Part Copy dialog box.

2. In the text box in the Part Copy dialog box, type Hinge-solid, and click OK.

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Abaqus/CAE creates a copy of the hinge piece and names the copy Hinge-solid. The copy of the hinge
piece includes the section from the original hinge piece.

C.4.2 Modifying the copy of the hinge

Now you will create a solid hinge piece by deleting the features that form the lubrication hole.

To modify the copy of the hinge:

1. In the Model Tree, double-click Hinge-solid underneath the Parts container to make it current.

Abaqus/CAE displays the part in the current viewport. Look at the viewport title bar to see which part is
being displayed.

2. Expand the Features container underneath Hinge-solid.

3. Click mouse button 3 on Datum pt-1 in the list of part features.

Abaqus/CAE highlights the point, as shown in Figure C20.

Figure C20 Delete the datum point and its

children.

4. From the menu that appears, select Delete. When you delete a selected feature, Abaqus/CAE asks whether
you also want to delete any features that depend on the feature being deleted. The feature being deleted is
called the "parent" feature, and its dependent features are called "children." Abaqus/CAE highlights all the
features that it will delete if the parent feature is deleted. From the buttons in the prompt area, click Yes to
delete the datum point and all its children.

Abaqus/CAE deletes the datum point. Because they were dependent on the datum point, Abaqus/CAE also
deletes the datum axis, the datum plane, and the lubrication hole.

Important: You cannot recover deleted features; however, you can temporarily remove a feature
by suppressing it.

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C.5 Creating the pin

The final assembly consists of instances of the two hinge pieces that are free to rotate about a pin. You will model
the pin as a three-dimensional, revolved analytical rigid surface. First you create the pin and assign the rigid body
reference point; then you constrain the pin by applying constraints to this rigid body reference point.

C.5.1 Creating the pin

You will now create the pina three-dimensional, revolved analytical rigid surface.

To create the pin:

1. In the Model Tree, double-click the Parts container to create a new part.

The Create Part dialog box appears.

2. Name the part Pin. Choose a three-dimensional body as before, but change the type to Analytical rigid
and the base feature shape to Revolved shell.
3. Accept the approximate size of 0.2, and click Continue.

The Sketcher starts and displays the axis of revolution as a green dashed line with a fixed position
constraint; your sketch cannot cross this axis.

4. From the Sketcher toolbox, select the connected lines tool . Sketch a vertical line to the right of the
axis.
5. Dimension the horizontal distance from the line to the axis, and change the distance to 0.012.
6. Dimension the vertical length of the line, and change the length to 0.06.
7. Click mouse button 2 to exit the Sketcher.

The sketch and the resulting shaded part are shown in Figure C21.

Figure C21 Create the pin

by revolving an analytical
rigid surface about an axis.

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C.5.2 Assigning the rigid body reference point

You need to assign a rigid body reference point to the pin. Because you will not assign mass or rotary inertia to the
pin, the rigid body reference point can be placed anywhere in the viewport. You use the Load module to apply
constraints to the reference point or to define its motion. Motion or constraints that you apply to the rigid body
reference point are applied to the entire rigid surface.

You can either select the reference point from the part in the viewport, or you can enter its coordinates. For the
tutorial you will select the reference point from the viewport, as shown in Figure C22.

Figure C22 Create a rigid body reference point on the pin.

To assign the reference point:

1. From the main menu bar, select Tools Reference Point.

2. Select one of the vertices on the circumference of the pin.

Abaqus/CAE labels the vertex RP to indicate that the reference point has been assigned to it.

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C.6 Assembling the model

Your next task is to create instances of your parts. A part instance can be thought of as a representation of the
original part; an instance is not a copy of a part. You can then position these part instances in a global coordinate
system to create the assembly.

An instance maintains its association with the original part. If the geometry of a part changes, Abaqus/CAE
automatically updates all instances of the part to reflect these changes. You cannot edit the geometry of a part
instance directly. The assembly can contain multiple instances of a single part; for example, a rivet that is used
repeatedly in a sheet metal assembly.

An instance may be independent or dependent. Independent part instances are meshed individually, while the mesh
of a dependent part instance is associated with the mesh of the original part. Part meshing is discussed further in
Meshing the assembly, Section C.11. By default, part instances are dependent.

When you create a part instance, Abaqus/CAE positions it so that the origin of the sketch that defined the base
feature overlays the origin of the assembly's global coordinate system. In addition, the sketch plane is aligned with
the XY plane of the global coordinate system.

When you create the first part instance, the Assembly module displays a graphic indicating the origin and the
orientation of the global coordinate system. You can use this graphic to help you decide how to position a selected
instance relative to the global coordinate system. For the tutorial you will keep the hinge with the lubrication hole
fixed and move the second hinge and the pin relative to it.

C.6.1 Creating instances of your parts

First, you need to create the following instances:

An instance of the hinge piece with the lubrication hole: Hinge-hole.

An instance of the hinge piece with the lubrication hole removed: Hinge-solid.
An instance of the pin: Pin.

To create an instance of the hinge piece with the lubrication hole:

1. In the Model Tree, expand the Assembly container. Then double-click Instances in the list that appears to
create a new part instance.

The Create Instance dialog box appears containing a list of all the parts in the current modelthe two
hinge pieces and the pin in this example.

2. In the dialog box, select Hinge-hole.

Abaqus/CAE displays a temporary image of the selected part.

3. In the dialog box, click Apply.

Note: What is the difference between the OK and Apply buttons? When you click OK, the
Create Instance dialog box closes once the part is instanced. When you click Apply, the Create
Instance dialog box remains open while you create the instance and is available for you to create
the next instance. Click OK if you want to create only a single part instance; click Apply if you
want to create several part instances before moving on to a new procedure.
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Abaqus/CAE creates a dependent instance of the hinge piece and displays a graphic indicating the origin
and orientation of the global coordinate system. Abaqus/CAE names the instance Hinge-hole-1 to
indicate that it is the first instance of a part called Hinge-hole.

Note: The default position of a part instance is such that the origin and the X- and Y-axes of the
sketch of the base feature align with the origin and the X- and Y-axes of the global coordinate
system. For example, the base feature of the hinge piece is the original cube you created.
Abaqus/CAE positions instances of the hinge piece so that the origin of the cube sketch is located
at the origin of the global coordinate system and the X- and Y-axes align.

C.6.2 Creating an instance of the solid hinge piece

You will now create an instance of the solid hinge piece. To separate the solid hinge piece from the instance of the
hinge piece with the lubrication hole, you ask Abaqus/CAE to offset the new instance along the X-axis.

To create an instance of the solid hinge piece:

1. From the Create Instance dialog box, toggle on Auto-offset from other instances.

The auto-offset function prevents new part instances from overlapping existing instances.

2. From the Create Instance dialog box, select Hinge-solid and click OK.

Abaqus/CAE closes the dialog box, creates the new dependent instance, and applies an offset along the X-
axis that separates the two hinges, as shown in Figure C23. (For clarity the datum geometry has been
removed from the shaded view in Figure C23 and subsequent figures by selecting View Assembly
Display Options Datum.)

Figure C23 Create an instance of each hinge piece, and

apply an offset to position them in the viewport.

C.6.3 Positioning the solid hinge piece

In addition to the simple translate and rotate procedures, the Assembly module provides a set of tools that allow
you to position a selected part instance by defining the relationship between selected faces or edges. You can select
a face (or an edge) of the instance to move, called the movable part instance, and a face (or an edge) of the instance
that remains fixed, called the fixed part instance, and choose one of the following position constraints:

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Parallel Face
The movable instance moves until the two selected faces are parallel.
Face to Face
The movable instance moves until the two selected faces are parallel and a specified clearance from each other.
Parallel Edge
The movable instance moves until the two selected edges are parallel.
Edge to Edge
The movable instance moves until the two selected edges are colinear or a specified distance from each other.
Coaxial
The movable instance moves until the two selected faces are coaxial.
Coincident Point
The movable instance moves until the two selected points are coincident.
Parallel CSYS
The movable instance moves until the two selected datum coordinate systems are parallel.

Abaqus/CAE stores position constraints as features of the assembly, and they can be edited, deleted, and
suppressed. In contrast, translations and rotations are not stored and do not appear in the list of features. Although
position constraints are stored as features, they have no knowledge of each other; as a consequence, a new position
constraint may override a previous position constraint.

In this example you will move the solid hinge piece while the hinge piece with the lubrication hole will remain
fixed. You will apply three types of position constraints to position the two hinge pieces correctly.

To position the solid hinge piece:

1. First, constrain the solid hinge piece so that the two flanges face each other. From the main menu bar,
select Constraint Face to Face.
2. From the movable part instance, select the face of the solid hinge piece shown in Figure C24.

Figure C24 Select a face on the movable part

instance

3. From the fixed part instance, select the face of the hinge piece with the lubrication hole shown in Figure C
25. Abaqus/CAE highlights the face on the movable part instance in red and the face on the fixed part
instance in magenta.

Figure C25 Select a face on the fixed instance.

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Abaqus/CAE displays red arrows on each selected face; the movable instance will be positioned so that the
arrows point in the same direction. You can change the direction of the arrow on the movable instance if
necessary.

4. From the prompt area, click Flip to change the direction of the arrow. Click OK when the arrows point
toward each other.
5. In the text box that appears in the prompt area, type the clearance (0.04) that will remain between the two
parts, as measured along the normal to the selected face of the fixed part, and press [Enter].

Abaqus/CAE rotates the solid hinge piece so that the two selected faces are parallel to each other and 0.04
meters apart, as shown in Figure C26.

Figure C26 Position 1: Constrain the flange of the solid

hinge piece to face the flange of the hinge piece with the
lubrication hole.

The two pieces overlap because the position of the solid hinge piece is not fully determined by the position
constraint you have applied. You will need to apply two more position constraints to obtain the desired
position.

6. Next, align the two flange holes. From the main menu bar, select Constraint Coaxial.
7. Select the flange hole on the solid hinge piece, as shown in Figure C27. (You may find it helpful to
display the wireframe view of the two pieces.)

Figure C27 Select a cylindrical face on the movable

instance.

8. Select the flange hole on the hinge piece with the lubrication hole, as shown in Figure C28.

Abaqus/CAE displays red arrows on each selected face.

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Figure C28 Select a cylindrical face on the fixed

instance.

9. From the prompt area, click Flip to change the direction of the arrow on the movable part instance. Click
OK when the arrow points downward.

Abaqus/CAE positions the two hinge pieces so that the two flange holes are coaxial.

10. Use the rotate tool to look at the top view of the two pieces. Notice that the two flanges are now
overlapping, as shown in Figure C29.

Figure C29 Position 2: Constrain the two flange holes to lie

along the same axis.

11. Finally, add a constraint to eliminate the overlap between the two flanges. From the main menu bar, select
Constraint Edge to Edge.
12. Select the straight edge on the solid hinge piece shown in Figure C30.

Figure C30 Select a straight edge on the movable

instance.

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13. Select the corresponding edge of the hinge piece with the lubrication hole, as shown in Figure C31.

Figure C31 Select a straight edge on the fixed instance.

Abaqus/CAE displays red arrows on each selected face.

14. If necessary, flip the arrows so they point in the same direction; then click OK to apply the constraint.

Abaqus/CAE positions the two hinge pieces so that the two selected edges are colinear, as shown in Figure
C32.

Figure C32 Final position: Constrain an edge

of each hinge piece to lie along the same line.

C.6.4 Creating and positioning an instance of the pin

You will now create an instance of the pin and position it symmetrically in the flange holes using constraints and
translation vectors. To define the translation vector, you can select vertices from the assembly or you can enter the
coordinates. You can determine the translation vector using the Query tool.

To position the pin:

1. In the Model Tree, double-click Instances underneath the Assembly container.

2. In the Create Instance dialog box, toggle off Auto-offset from other instances and create an instance of
the pin.
3. Constrain the pin to lie along the same axis as the two flange holes. Use the Constraint Coaxial menu
as you did when you aligned the two flange holes in the previous section. (You can select either of the
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flange holes as the cylindrical surface of the fixed instance, and the direction of the arrows is not
important.)

Abaqus/CAE will position the pin as shown in Figure C33.

Figure C33 Align the pin to be coaxial with the two

flange holes.

4. From the main menu bar, select Tools Query.

The Query dialog box appears.

5. Select Distance from the list of General Queries.

6. The Distance query allows you measure the X-, Y-, and Z-components of the vector connecting two
selected points. You need to determine the distance between the end of the pin and the hinge containing the
lubrication hole; the two points to select are illustrated in Figure C34.

Figure C34 Determining the position of the pin.

a. To define one end of the vector, select a point on the circumference of the hole in the flange
containing the lubrication hole.
b. To define the other end of the vector, select the vertex on the pin that is inside the hinge containing
the lubrication hole.

Abaqus/CAE displays the vector distance between the two selected points along with the X-, Y-,
and Z-components of the vector in the message area. You will translate the pin along the Z-axis;
the Z-component of the distance is 0.01 meters. You want to position the pin symmetrically
between the hinges, so you will translate it 0.02 meters.
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7. From the main menu bar, select Instance Translate.

8. Select the pin as the part instance to move, and click Done to indicate that you have finished selecting
instances to move.
9. In the text boxes in the prompt area, enter a start point for the translation vector of 0,0,0 and an end point
of 0,0,0.02.

Abaqus/CAE translates the pin a distance of 0.02 along the Z-axis and displays a temporary image of the
new position of the pin.

Note: If the position of a temporary image (colored red) is not correct, you can use the buttons in
the prompt area to correct the problem. Click either the Cancel button ( ) to cancel the procedure
or the Previous button ( ) to step back through the procedure.

10. From the prompt area, click OK.

The finished assembly is shown in Figure C35.

Figure C35 Shaded view of the finished assembly.

11. Before proceeding, convert all position constraints to absolute positions. From the main menu bar, select
Instance Convert Constraints. Select all part instances, and click Done in the prompt area.

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C.7 Defining analysis steps

Before you apply loads or boundary conditions to the model or define contact within the model, you must define
the different steps in the analysis. Once the steps are created, you can specify in which steps loads, boundary
conditions, and interactions should be applied.

When you create a step, Abaqus/CAE selects a default set of output variables corresponding to the analysis
procedure and selects a default rate at which the variables are written to the output database. In this tutorial you will
edit the default output frequency for the first step and edit the list of default output variables for the second step.

C.7.1 Creating the analysis steps

The analysis that you perform on the hinge model will consist of an initial step and two general analysis steps:

In the initial step you apply boundary conditions to regions of the model and define contact between
regions of the model.
In the first general analysis step you allow contact to become established.
In the second general analysis step you modify two of the boundary conditions applied to the model and
apply a pressure load to one of the hinge pieces.

Abaqus/CAE creates the initial step by default, but you must create the two analysis steps.

To create the analysis steps:

1. In the Model Tree, double-click the Steps container to create a new step.

The Create Step dialog box appears.

2. In the Create Step dialog box:

a. Name the step Contact.
b. Accept the default procedure type (Static, General), and click Continue.

The step editor appears.

3. In the Description field, type Establish contact.

4. Click the Incrementation tab, and delete the value of 1 that appears in the Initial text field. Type a value
of 0.1 for the initial increment size.
5. Click OK to create the step and to exit the editor.

The Contact step appears underneath the Steps container in the Model Tree.

6. Use the same technique to create a second general, static step named Load. Enter Apply load in the
description field and an initial increment size of 0.1.

The Load step appears underneath the Steps container in the Model Tree.

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C.7.2 Requesting output

You use field output requests to request output of variables that should be written at relatively low frequencies to
the output database from the entire model or from a large portion of the model. Field output is used to generate
deformed shape plots, contour plots, and animations from your analysis results. Abaqus/CAE writes every
component of the variables to the output database at the selected frequency.

You use history output requests to request output of variables that should be written to the output database at a high
frequency from a small portion of the model; for example, the displacement of a single node. History output is used
to generate XY plots and data reports from your analysis results. When you create a history output request, you
must select the individual components of the variables that will be written to the output database.

The default field output variables for the Contact and Load steps include the following:

S (Stress components)
PE (Plastic strain components)
PEEQ (Equivalent plastic strain)
PEMAG (Plastic strain magnitude)
LE (Logarithmic strain components)
U (Translations and rotations)
RF (Reaction forces and moments)
CF (Concentrated forces and moments)
CSTRESS (Contact stresses)
CDISP (Contact displacements)

By default, Abaqus/CAE writes the default field output variables from a static, general procedure to the output
database after every increment of a step. In the following procedure you will change the output frequency during
the Contact step so that data are written to the output database onceat the last increment of the step. In
addition, you will delete the request for CDISP during the Load step, since it is not needed for postprocessing.

To edit an output request and to specify the output frequency during the Load step:

1. In the Model Tree, click mouse button 3 on the Field Output Requests container and select Manager
from the menu that appears.

The Field Output Requests Manager appears. The Field Output Requests Manager is a step-dependent
manager. The types of objects that appear in step-dependent managers are those that you can create,
modify, and deactivate in particular analysis steps. Step-dependent managers display information
concerning the history of each object listed in the manager. In this example Abaqus/CAE named the default
field output request that you created in the Contact step F-Output-1. In addition Abaqus/CAE
propagated the output request into the Load step.

From the Field Output Requests Manager, select the F-Output-1 output request in the Contact step.
From the buttons on the right side of the manager, click Edit.

The Edit Field Output Request editor appears for the Contact step.

2. Select Last increment as the output frequency to generate output only during the last increment of the
step.
3. Click OK to modify the output request.

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4. From the Field Output Requests Manager, select the F-Output-1 output request in the Load step and
click Edit.

The Edit Field Output Request editor appears for the Load step.

5. Set the output frequency to 1 to generate output during every increment of the step.
6. From the list of output categories, click the arrow to the left of Contact.

A list of the contact output variables available appears along with a description of each.

7. Click the check box next to CDISP to deselect this variable for output.

The check box next to Contact remains light gray with a dark gray check mark to indicate that not all
variables in this category will be output. The Edit Field Output Request editor also indicates the
following:

Output will be generated for the whole model.

Output will be generated at default section points.
Output will include local coordinate transformations (when available).
8. Click OK to modify the output request.

In the Field Output Requests Manager the status of the output request changes to Modified for the Load
step.

9. At the bottom of the Field Output Requests Manager, click Dismiss to close the dialog box.

C.7.3 Selecting a degree of freedom to monitor

You can define particular element or node sets that contain only selected portions of your model. Once you create a
set, you can use it to perform the following tasks:

Assign section properties in the Property module.

Create contact pairs with contact node sets and surfaces in the Interaction module.
Define loads and boundary conditions in the Load module.
Request output to either the output database or the status file from specific regions of the model in the Step
module. Output to the status file is also reported back to the Job module in the form of a continuously
updated XY plot.
Display results for specific regions of the model in the Visualization module.

In this example you will define a node set consisting of a single node. You will then be able to monitor the results
for one degree of freedom at that node when you submit your job for analysis later in this tutorial.

To create a set and monitor a particular degree of freedom:

1. In the Model Tree, expand the Assembly container and double-click the Sets item.

The Create Set dialog box appears.

2. Name the set Monitor, and click Continue.

3. Select the vertex of the solid hinge piece shown in Figure C36.

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Figure C36 Monitor a degree of freedom on the solid hinge

piece.

4. Click Done to indicate that you have finished selecting the geometry for the set.

Abaqus/CAE creates a node set with the name Monitor that contains the node you selected.

5. From the main menu bar of the Step module, select Output DOF Monitor.

The DOF Monitor dialog box appears.

6. Toggle on Monitor a degree of freedom throughout the analysis.

7. Click Edit, then click Points in the prompt area and choose the node set Monitor from the Region
Selection dialog box.
8. Type 1 in the Degree of freedom text field, and click OK.

C.8 Creating surfaces to use in contact interactions

Now you will define contact between regions of the model. There are two approaches that can be adopted to define
contact interactions. The first is a manual approach that requires you to identify which surfaces will form part of the
contact interactions and to define the individual contact pairs. An alternative approach is to let Abaqus/CAE
automatically identify and define all potential contact pairs. The latter approach is desirable for complicated models
containing many contact interactions. The automatic contact definition option is available only for three-
dimensional Abaqus/Standard models.

In Defining contact between regions of the model, Section C.9, you will be given the option to define the contact
interactions either manually (where you will use the surfaces defined in the following instructions) or automatically
(in which case the surfaces defined below are not used; Abaqus/CAE will choose the surfaces automatically). For
instructional purposes, however, you are encouraged to complete the surface definition instructions that follow
regardless of the approach you choose to define the contact interactions.

When manually defining contact interactions, the first step is to create the surfaces that you will include later in
interactions. It is not always necessary to create your surfaces in advance; if the model is simple or the surfaces
easy to select, you can indicate the master and slave surfaces directly in the viewport as you create the interactions.
However, in this tutorial it is easier to define the surfaces separately and then refer to the names of those surfaces
when you create the interactions. You will define the following surfaces:

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A surface named Pin that includes the outside surface of the pin.
Two surfaces named Flange-h and Flange-s that include the two flange faces that contact each other.
Two surfaces named Inside-h and Inside-s that include the inside surfaces of the flanges that
contact the pin.

C.8.1 Defining a surface on the pin

In this section you will define the outside surface of the pin. You will find it helpful to display only one part at a
time while you select the surfaces to be defined.

To display only a single part instance in the assembly:

1. From the main menu bar, select View Assembly Display Options.

The Assembly Display Options dialog box appears.

2. Click the Instance tab.

The part instances that you have created are listed with check marks in the Visible column. All the part
instances are visible by default.

3. Click in the Visible column next to Hinge-hole-1 and Hinge-solid-1, and click Apply.

The hinge pieces disappear from the view.

To define a surface on the pin:

1. In the Model Tree, expand the Assembly container and double-click the Surfaces item.

The Create Surface dialog box appears.

2. In the dialog box, name the surface Pin and click Continue.
3. In the viewport, select the pin.
4. Click mouse button 2 in the viewport to indicate that you have finished selecting regions for the surface.

Each side of the hollow cylinder representing the pin has a different color associated with it. In Figure C
37 the outside of the pin is colored brown and the inside of the pin is colored purple. The colors may be
reversed on your model, depending on how you created the original sketch for the pin.

Figure C37 Select the region to be defined as the surface

Pin.

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5. You must choose whether the surface consists of the inside or the outside of the cylinder. The outside
surface contacts the two hinges and is the desired choice. From the buttons in the prompt area, click the
color (Brown or Purple) associated with the outside surface.

Abaqus/CAE creates the desired surface called Pin and displays it underneath the Surfaces container in
the Model Tree.

C.8.2 Defining the surfaces on the hinge pieces

In this section you will define the surfaces on the hinge pieces needed to define contact between the two hinge
pieces and between the hinge pieces and the pin.

To define the surfaces on the hinge pieces:

1. From the Assembly Display Options dialog box, change the visibility settings so that only
Hinge-hole-1 is visible.

Abaqus/CAE displays only the hinge piece with the lubrication hole in the viewport.

2. In the Model Tree, double-click Surfaces underneath the Assembly container.

The Create Surface dialog box appears.

3. In the dialog box, name the surface Flange-h and click Continue.
4. On the instance with the lubrication hole, select the face of the flange that contacts the other flange, as
shown by the gridded face in Figure C38. (You may need to rotate the view to see this face clearly.)

Figure C38 Select the region to be defined as the surface

Flange-h.

5. When you have selected the desired face, click mouse button 2 to confirm your selection.

Abaqus/CAE creates the desired surface called Flange-h and displays it underneath the Surfaces
container in the Model Tree.

6. Create a surface called Inside-h that includes the cylindrical inner surface of the hinge piece with the
lubrication hole, as shown in Figure C39. (You may need to zoom in on the view to select this face.)

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Figure C39 Select the region to be defined as the surface

Inside-h.

7. Change the visibility settings so that only Hinge-solid-1 is visible.

8. Use similar techniques to create a surface called Flange-s that contains the corresponding face of the
solid hinge piece's flange.
9. Finally, create a surface called Inside-s that includes the cylindrical inner surface of the solid hinge
piece.
10. In the Assembly Display Options dialog box, click Defaults to return to the default visibility settings and
click OK to close the dialog box.

C.9 Defining contact between regions of the model

Interactions are objects that you create to model mechanical relationships between surfaces that are in contact or
closely spaced. Mere physical proximity of two surfaces on an assembly is not enough to indicate any type of
interaction between the surfaces.

You will define the following interactions:

An interaction called HingePin-hole that defines the contact between the part instance Hinge-
hole-1 and the pin.
An interaction called HingePin-solid that defines the contact between the part instance Hinge-
solid-1 and the pin.
An interaction called Flanges that defines the contact between the two flanges.

Each of these interactions requires a reference to an interaction property. Interaction properties are collections of
information that help you to define certain types of interactions. You will create a mechanical interaction property
that describes the tangential and normal behavior between all surfaces as frictionless. You will name this property
NoFric and use it in all three of the interactions.

C.9.1 Creating an interaction property

In this procedure you will create a mechanical contact interaction property.

To create the interaction property:

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1. In the Model Tree, double-click the Interaction Properties container to create a contact property.

The Create Interaction Property dialog box appears.

2. In the Create Interaction Property dialog box:

a. Name the property NoFric.
b. In the Type list, accept Contact as the default selection.
c. Click Continue.

The Edit Contact Property dialog box appears.

3. From the dialog box's menu bar, select Mechanical Tangential Behavior and accept Frictionless for
the friction formulation.
4. Click OK to save your settings and to close the Edit Contact Property dialog box.

C.9.2 Creating the interactions

In this section you will create three mechanical surface-to-surface contact interactions. Each interaction will refer to
the interaction property that you just created. You are given the option to define the interactions either
automatically or manually. Please follow the instructions for one method or the other. If you choose to try both, be
sure to delete or suppress any duplicate contact interactions that result.

1. In the Model Tree, click mouse button 3 on the Interactions container and select Manager from the menu
that appears.

The Interaction Manager appears.

2. From the lower-left corner of the Interaction Manager, click Create.

The Create Interaction dialog box appears.

3. In the dialog box:

a. Name the interaction HingePin-hole.
b. Select Initial from the list of steps.
c. In the Types for Selected Step list, accept the default selection of Surface-to-surface contact
(Standard).
d. Click Continue.

The Region Selection dialog box appears containing a list of the surfaces that you defined earlier.

Note: If the Region Selection dialog box does not appear automatically, click the Surfaces button on the
far right side of the prompt area.

4. In the Region Selection dialog box, select Pin as the master surface, and click Continue.
5. From the buttons in the prompt area, select Surface as the slave type.
6. In the Region Selection dialog box, select Inside-h as the slave surface, and click Continue.

The Edit Interaction dialog box appears.

7. In the dialog box:

a. Accept the default Sliding formulation selection of Finite sliding.
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b. Accept the default Slave Node Adjustment selection of No adjustment.

c. Accept NoFric as the interaction property. (If more properties were defined, you could click the
arrow next to the Contact interaction property field to see the list of available properties and
select the property of your choice.)
d. Click OK to save the interaction and to close the dialog box.

The interaction that you created appears in the Interaction Manager.

8. Use the same techniques explained in the previous steps to create a similar interaction called HingePin-
solid. Use Pin as the master surface, Inside-s as the slave surface, and NoFric as the interaction
property.
9. Create a similar interaction called Flanges. Use Flange-h as the master surface, Flange-s as the
slave surface, and NoFric as the interaction property.
10. From the Interaction Manager, click Dismiss to close the manager.

C.10 Applying boundary conditions and loads to the assembly

You will apply the following boundary conditions and load to the hinge model:

A boundary condition called Fixed that constrains all degrees of freedom at the end of the hinge piece
with the lubrication hole, as shown in Figure C40.

Figure C40 One end of the hinge is constrained.

A boundary condition called NoSlip that constrains all degrees of freedom of the pin while contact is
established during the first analysis step. You will modify this boundary condition in the second analysis
step (the step in which the load is applied) so that degrees of freedom 1 and 5 are unconstrained. Figure
C-41 illustrates this boundary condition applied at the reference point.

Figure C41 The pin is constrained.

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A boundary condition called Constrain that constrains all degrees of freedom of a point on the solid
hinge piece during the first analysis step. You will modify this boundary condition in the second analysis
step so that degree of freedom 1 is unconstrained when the load is applied.
A load called Pressure that you apply to the end of the solid hinge piece during the second analysis step.
Figure C42 illustrates the constraint and the pressure load applied to the solid hinge.

Figure C42 The second hinge is constrained and

loaded.

C.10.1 Constraining the hinge piece with the lubrication hole

You will apply a boundary condition to the face at the end of the hinge piece with the lubrication hole to fix the
hinge piece in place during the analysis.

To constrain the hinge piece with the lubrication hole:

1. In the Model Tree, click mouse button 3 on the BCs container and select Manager from the menu that
appears.

The Boundary Condition Manager dialog box appears.

2. In the Boundary Condition Manager, click Create.

The Create Boundary Condition dialog box appears.

3. In the Create Boundary Condition dialog box:

a. Name the boundary condition Fixed.
b. Accept Initial from the list of steps.
c. Accept Mechanical as the default Category selection.
d. Select Displacement/Rotation as the type of boundary condition for the selected step.
e. Click Continue.

The Region Selection dialog box appears.

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f. From the right side of the prompt area, click Select in Viewport to select the object directly from
the viewport.

The Region Selection dialog box closes.

4. Select the gridded face shown in Figure C43 as the region where the boundary condition will be applied.

Figure C43 Apply a boundary condition to the end of the

hinge piece with the lubrication hole.

By default, Abaqus/CAE selects only objects that are closest to the front of the screen, and you cannot
select the desired face unless you rotate the hinge. However, you can use the selection options to change
this behavior.

a. From the Selection toolbar, toggle off the closest object tool .
b. Click over the desired face.

Abaqus/CAE displays Next, Previous, and OK buttons in the prompt area.

c. Click Next and Previous until the desired face is highlighted.

d. Click OK to confirm your choice.
5. Click mouse button 2 to indicate that you have finished selecting regions.

The Edit Boundary Condition dialog box appears.

6. In the dialog box:

a. Toggle on the buttons labeled U1, U2, and U3 to constrain the end of the hinge in the 1-, 2-, and 3-
directions. You do not need to constrain the rotational degrees of freedom of the hinge because
solid elements (which have only translational degrees of freedom) will be used to mesh the hinge.
b. Click OK to close the dialog box.

The boundary condition that you just created appears in the Boundary Condition Manager, and arrows
appear on the nodes of the face indicating the constrained degrees of freedom. The Boundary Condition
Manager shows that the boundary condition remains active in all steps of the analysis.

Tip: You can suppress the display of boundary condition arrows in the same way that you
suppress the visibility of part instances. Click the Attribute tab in the Assembly Display Options
dialog box to see the boundary condition display options.

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C.10.2 Constraining the pin

In the first general step of the analysis you will establish contact between the two hinge pieces and between the
hinge pieces and the pin. To fix the pin during this step, you must apply a boundary condition to the pin that
constrains all its degrees of freedom.

To apply a boundary condition to the pin:

1. In the Boundary Condition Manager, click Create.

The Create Boundary Condition dialog box appears.

2. In the Create Boundary Condition dialog box:

a. Name the boundary condition NoSlip.
b. Accept Initial in the Step text field.
c. Accept Mechanical as the default Category selection.
d. Select Displacement/Rotation as the type of boundary condition for the selected step.
e. Click Continue.
3. In the viewport, select the rigid body reference point on the pin as the region where the boundary condition
will be applied.
4. Click mouse button 2 to indicate that you have finished selecting regions.

The Edit Boundary Condition dialog box appears.

5. In the dialog box:

a. Toggle on all the buttons to constrain all the degrees of freedom of the pin.
b. Click OK.

The new boundary condition appears in the Boundary Condition Manager.

C.10.3 Modifying the boundary condition applied to the pin

Objects that you can create and modify in certain stepssuch as boundary conditions, loads, and interactions
have special managers that allow you to modify objects and change their status in different analysis steps.

In this section you will use the boundary condition manager to modify the boundary condition NoSlip so that
translation in the 1-direction and rotation about the 2-axis are unconstrained during the loading step.

Currently the Boundary Condition Manager displays the names of the two boundary conditions that you have
created as well as their status in each step: both boundary conditions are Created in the initial step and
Propagated through the following analysis steps.

To modify a boundary condition:

1. In the Boundary Condition Manager, click the cell labeled Propagated that lies in the row labeled
NoSlip and in the column labeled Load, as shown in Figure C44. That cell becomes highlighted.

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Figure C44 Select

boundary conditions to
edit in the Boundary
Condition Manager.

2. On the right side of the manager, click Edit to indicate that you want to edit the NoSlip boundary
condition in the Load step.

The Edit Boundary Condition dialog box appears, and Abaqus/CAE displays a set of arrows on the
model indicating where the boundary condition is applied and which degrees of freedom are constrained.

3. In the editor, toggle off the buttons labeled U1 and UR2 so that the pin is allowed to translate in the
1-direction and rotate about the 2-axis. Click OK to close the dialog box.

In the Boundary Condition Manager, the status of the NoSlip boundary condition in the Load step
changes to Modified.

C.10.4 Constraining the solid hinge piece

In the first analysis step, in which contact is established, you will constrain a single node of the solid hinge piece in
all directions. These constraints, along with contact with the pin, are enough to prevent rigid body motion of the
solid piece. In the second analysis step, in which the load is applied to the model, you will remove the constraint in
the 1-direction.

To constrain the solid hinge piece:

1. Create a displacement boundary condition in the Initial step, and call it Constrain.
2. Apply the boundary condition to the vertex selected from the solid hinge piece, as shown in Figure C45.

Figure C45 Apply a boundary condition to a vertex of the

solid hinge piece.

3. Constrain the vertex in the 1-, 2-, and 3-directions.

4. In the Load step, modify the boundary condition so that the hinge is unconstrained in the 1-direction.
5. When you have finished creating boundary conditions, click Dismiss to close the Boundary Condition
Manager.

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C.10.5 Applying a load to the solid hinge

Next, you apply a pressure load to the face at the end of the solid hinge. You apply the load in the 1-direction
during the second analysis step.

To apply a load to the solid hinge:

1. In the Model Tree, double-click the Loads container to create a new load.

The Create Load dialog box appears.

2. In the Create Load dialog box:

a. Name the load Pressure.
b. Accept Load as the default selection in the Step text field.
c. From the Category list, accept Mechanical as the default selection.
d. From the Types for Selected Step list, select Pressure.
e. Click Continue.
3. In the viewport, select the face at the end of the solid hinge piece as the surface to which the load will be
applied, as shown by the gridded surface in Figure C46.

Figure C46 Apply a load to the solid hinge piece.

4. Click mouse button 2 to indicate that you have finished selecting regions.

The Edit Load dialog box appears.

5. In the dialog box, enter a magnitude of 1.E6 for the load, and click OK.

Arrows appear on the face indicating the applied load. The arrows are pointing out of the face because you
applied a negative pressure.

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C.11 Meshing the assembly

Meshing the assembly is divided into the following operations:

Making sure the part instances can be meshed and creating additional partitions where necessary.
Assigning mesh attributes to the part instances.
Seeding the part instances.
Meshing the part instances.

C.11.1 Deciding what needs to be partitioned

When you enter the Mesh module, Abaqus/CAE color codes regions of the model according to the methods it will
use to generate a mesh:

Green indicates that a region can be meshed using structured methods.

Yellow indicates that a region can be meshed using sweep methods.
Orange indicates that a region cannot be meshed using the default element shape assignment (hexahedral)
and must be partitioned further. (Alternatively, you can mesh any model by assigning tetrahedral elements
to the model and using the free meshing technique.)

For the tutorial Abaqus/CAE indicates that the hinge with the lubrication hole needs to be partitioned to be meshed
using hexahedral-shaped elements. Specifically, areas surrounding the hole in the flange must be partitioned. The
partitioned hinges are shown in Figure C47.

Figure C47 The partitioned hinges.

Use the following techniques to help you select faces and vertices during the partitioning process:

Use a combination of the view manipulation tools, the display option tools in the View Options toolbar,
and the tools in the Views toolbar to resize and reposition the model as necessary. (To display the Views
toolbar, select View Toolbars Views from the main menu bar.)
Toggle off the closest object tool in the Selection toolbar to cycle through the possible selections using
the Next and Previous buttons in the prompt area.
You will probably find the 3D compass and/or the magnification tool and the rotation tool
especially useful.

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When necessary, click the Iso tool in the Views toolbox to return the model to its original size and position
in the viewport.
Recall that part instances are classified as dependent by default. All dependent instances of a part must
possess identical geometry (including partitions) and meshes. To satisfy this requirement, all partitions
must be created in the original part and all mesh attributes must be assigned to the original part. You will
need to examine the parts individually to determine what action (if any) needs to be taken to create a mesh
using hexahedral elements.

Note: The advantage of dependent part instances is that if you create multiple instances of the
same part, you need only manipulate and mesh the original part; these features are automatically
inherited by the dependent instances. Since you created only one instance of each part in this
tutorial, you could have created independent part instances and worked with them just as easily.
This would have allowed you to create partitions and assign mesh attributes at the assembly level
rather than at the part level. You can make a dependent part instance independent by clicking
mouse button 3 on its name underneath the Instances container in the Model Tree and selecting
Make independent. In what follows, we assume the part instances remain dependent.

To decide what needs to be partitioned:

1. In the Model Tree, expand Hinge-hole underneath the Parts container and double-click Mesh in the list
that appears.

Note: If the part instance were independent, you would instead expand the instance name
underneath the Instances container and click Mesh in the list that would appear.

Abaqus/CAE displays the hinge piece with the lubrication hole. The cube portion of the hinge piece is
colored green to indicate that it can be meshed using the structured meshing technique; the flange with the
lubrication hole is colored orange to indicate that it needs to be partitioned to be meshed using hexahedral
elements, as shown in Figure C48. The partitioning procedure is described in Partitioning the flange with
the lubrication hole, Section C.11.2.

Figure C48 The flange with the lubrication hole cannot be

meshed.

2. Use the Object field that appears in the context bar to display the solid hinge in the viewport. Abaqus/CAE
displays the solid hinge. As before, the cube portion of the solid hinge piece is colored green to indicate
that it can be meshed using the structured meshing technique. The flange without the lubrication hole is
colored yellow to indicate that it can be meshed using a swept mesh.
3. Select the pin from the Object field in the context bar. Abaqus/CAE displays the pin in orange because it is
an analytical rigid surface and cannot be meshed.

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Thus, the hinge piece with the lubrication hole needs to be partitioned to be meshed with hexahedral
elements; the solid hinge and the pin require no further action.

C.11.2 Partitioning the flange with the lubrication hole

For Abaqus/CAE to mesh the flange with the lubrication hole, it must be partitioned into the regions shown in
Figure C49.

Figure C49 Shaded view of the partitioned flange.

To partition the flange with the lubrication hole:

1. From the main menu, select Tools Partition.

The Create Partition dialog box appears.

2. You want to partition the entire cell that makes up the flange. From the Create Partition dialog box, select
Cell as the Type of partition and click Define cutting plane as the partition Method.
3. Select the flange of the hinge with the lubrication hole. Click Done to indicate you have finished selecting
cells.

Abaqus/CAE provides three methods for specifying the cutting plane:

Select a point and a normal. The cutting plane passes through the selected point, normal to the
selected edge.
Select three non-colinear points. The cutting plane passes through each point.
Select an edge and a point along the edge. The cutting plane passes through the selected point,
normal to the selected edge.

The cutting plane need not be defined in the cell being partitioned. The plane extends infinitely and
partitions the selected cell anywhere there is an intersection.

4. From the buttons in the prompt area, select 3 points.

Abaqus/CAE highlights points that you can select.

5. Select three points that cut the flanges in half with a vertical partition, as shown in Figure C50.
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Tip: You may find it easier to select the desired points if you magnify, rotate, and pan the model
to obtain a more convenient view.

Figure C50 Select three points to use in partitioning the

flanges.

6. From the prompt area, click Create Partition.

Abaqus/CAE creates the desired partitions.

The flange regions are colored yellow, indicating that no additional partitions are required to create a
hexahedral mesh. Thus, the partitioning operation is complete.

7. Select Assembly in the Object field of the context bar to display the model assembly in the viewport. The
model assembly with all the partitions is shown in Figure C51.

Figure C51 The partitioned model.

C.11.3 Assigning mesh controls

In this section you will use the Mesh Controls dialog box to examine the techniques that Abaqus/CAE will use to
mesh the parts and the shape of the elements that Abaqus/CAE will generate.

You cannot mesh an analytical rigid surface. As a result you cannot apply mesh controls to an analytical rigid
surface; neither can you seed it or assign an element type to it. Thus, you need only concern yourself with the hinge
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pieces. Since the instances are dependent on the original part definition, you must assign mesh attributes (controls,
type, and seed size) to each hinge piece individually. For convenience, you will begin with the hinge piece with the
lubrication hole.

To assign the mesh controls:

1. Make the hinge piece with the hole current in the viewport. From the main menu bar, select
Mesh Controls.
2. Drag a square around the part to select all regions of the part, and click Done to indicate your selection is
complete.

The hinge piece appears red in the viewport to indicate that you have selected it, and Abaqus/CAE displays
the Mesh Controls dialog box.

3. In the dialog box, accept Hex as the default Element Shape selection.
4. Select Sweep as the meshing technique that Abaqus/CAE will apply.
5. Select Medial axis as the meshing algorithm.
6. Click OK to assign the mesh controls and to close the dialog box.

The entire hinge will appear in yellow, indicating that it will be meshed using the swept meshing
technique.

7. Click Done in the prompt area.

8. Repeat the above steps for the solid hinge piece.

C.11.4 Assigning the Abaqus element type

In this section you will use the Element Type dialog box to examine the element types that are assigned to each
part. For convenience, you will begin with the hinge piece with the lubrication hole.

To assign an Abaqus element type:

1. Make the hinge piece with the hole current in the viewport. From the main menu bar, select
Mesh Element Type.
2. Select the hinge piece using the same technique described in the mesh controls procedure, and click Done
to indicate your selection is complete.

Abaqus/CAE displays the Element Type dialog box.

3. In the dialog box, accept Standard as the Element Library selection.

4. Accept Linear as the Geometric Order selection.
5. Accept 3D Stress as the default Family of elements.
6. Click the Hex tab, and select Reduced Integration as the Element Controls method if it is not already
selected.

A description of the default element type, C3D8R, appears at the bottom of the dialog box. Abaqus/CAE
will now associate C3D8R elements with the elements in the mesh.

7. Click OK to assign the element type and to close the dialog box.
8. Click Done in the prompt area.
9. Repeat the above steps for the solid hinge piece.

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C.11.5 Seeding the part instances

The next step of the meshing process is to seed each of the part instances. Seeds represent the approximate
locations of nodes and indicate the target density of the mesh you would like to generate. You can select seeding
based on the number of elements to generate along an edge or on the average element size, or you can bias seed
distribution toward one end of an edge. For the tutorial you will seed the parts so that the hinge pieces have an
average element size of 0.004. For convenience, you will begin with the hinge piece with the lubrication hole.

To seed the parts:

1. Make the hinge piece with the hole current in the viewport. From the main menu bar, select Seed Part.
2. In the Global Seeds dialog box that appears, enter an approximate global element size of 0.004, and click
OK.

Seeds appear on all the edges.

3. Click Done in the prompt area.

4. Repeat the above steps for the solid hinge piece.

You are now ready to mesh the parts.

C.11.6 Meshing the assembly

In this section you will mesh the parts. For convenience, you will begin with the hinge piece with the lubrication
hole.

To mesh the assembly:

1. Make the hinge piece with the hole current in the viewport. From the main menu bar, select Mesh Part.
2. Click Yes in the prompt area to create the mesh.Abaqus/CAE meshes the part.
3. Repeat the above steps for the solid hinge piece.

The meshing operations are now complete. Display the model assembly in the viewport to see the final mesh, as
illustrated in Figure C52.

Figure C52 Final view of the meshed model.

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C.12 Creating and submitting a job

Now that you have configured your analysis, you will create a job that is associated with your model and submit
the job for analysis.

To create and submit an analysis job:

1. In the Model Tree, double-click the Jobs container to create a job.

The Create Job dialog box appears.

2. Name the job PullHinge, and click Continue.

The job editor appears.

3. In the Description field, type Hinge tutorial.

Click the tabs to see the contents of the job editor, and review the default settings. Click OK to accept all
the default job settings.

4. In the Model Tree, click mouse button 3 on the job named PullHinge and select Submit from the menu
that appears to submit your job for analysis.
5. In the Model Tree, click mouse button 3 on the job name and select Monitor from the menu that appears to
monitor the analysis as it runs.

A dialog box appears with the name of your job in the title bar and a status chart for the analysis. Messages
appear in the lower panel of the dialog box as the job progresses. Click the Errors and Warnings tabs to
check for problems in the analysis.

Once the analysis is underway, an XY plot of the values of the degree of freedom that you selected to
monitor earlier in the tutorial appears in a separate window in the viewport. (You may need to resize the
viewport windows to see it.) You can follow the progression of the node's displacement over time in the 1-
direction as the analysis runs.

6. When the job completes successfully, the status of the job appearing in the Model Tree changes to
Completed. You are now ready to view the results of the analysis with the Visualization module. In the
Model Tree, click mouse button 3 on the job name and select Results from the menu that appears.

Abaqus/CAE enters the Visualization module, opens the output database created by the job, and displays
the undeformed shape of the model.

Note: You can also enter the Visualization module by clicking Visualization in the Module list located in
the context bar. However, in this case Abaqus/CAE requires you to open the output database explicitly
using the File menu.

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C.13 Viewing the results of your analysis

You will view the results of your analysis by drawing a contour plot of the deformed model. You will then use
display groups to display one of the hinge pieces; by displaying just a portion of the model you can view results
that are not visible when you display the whole model.

C.13.1 Displaying and customizing a contour plot

In this section you will display a contour plot of the model and adjust the deformation scale factor.

To display a contour plot of the model:

1. From the main menu bar, select Plot Contours On Deformed Shape.

Abaqus/CAE displays a contour plot of von Mises stress superimposed on the deformed shape of the model
at the end of the last increment of the loading step, as indicated by the following text in the state block:

Step: Load, Apply load

Increment 6: Step Time = 1.000

By default, all surfaces with no results (in this case, the pin) are displayed in white.

The deformation is exaggerated because of the default deformation scale factor that Abaqus/CAE selects.

2. To remove the white surfaces from the display, do the following:

a. In the Results Tree, expand the Surface Sets container underneath the output database file named
PullHinge.odb.
b. Select all the surfaces that appear in the list.
c. Click mouse button 3, and select Remove from the menu that appears.

The white surfaces disappear from the view.

3. To reduce the deformation scale factor, do the following:

a. From the main menu bar, select Options Common.

The Common Plot Options dialog box appears.

b. From the Deformation Scale Factor options, choose Uniform.

c. In the Value text field, type a value of 100; and click OK.

Abaqus/CAE displays the contour plot with a deformation scale factor of 100, as shown in Figure
C53.

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Figure C53 Contour

plot of von Mises stress
with a reduced
deformation scale
factor.

4. Use the view manipulation tools to examine the deformed model. Note where the pin appears to be exerting
the most pressure against the insides of the flanges. Also note how the two flanges have twisted away from
each other.
5. By default, the contour plot displays the von Mises stresses in the model. You can view other variables by
selecting Result Field Output.

The Field Output dialog box appears.

6. Click the Primary Variable tab of the Field Output dialog box, and select S11 from the list of
Component options. Click Apply to see a contour plot of the stresses in the 1-direction.
7. From the Invariant option list, select Max. Principal, and click Apply to see the maximum principal
stresses on the model.
8. Select any other variables of interest from the Field Output dialog box.
9. From the Invariant option list, select Mises and click OK to display the von Mises stresses again and to
close the dialog box.

C.13.2 Using display groups

You will now create a display group that includes only the element sets that make up the hinge piece that includes
the lubrication hole. By removing all other element sets from the display, you will be able to view results for the
surface of the flange that contacts the other hinge.

To create the display group:

1. In the Results Tree, expand the Instances container.

2. From the list of available part instances, select HINGE-HOLE-1. Click mouse button 3, and select
Replace from the menu that appears to replace the current display group with the selected elements. Click
, if necessary, to fit the model in the viewport.

The contour plot of the entire model is replaced by a plot of only the selected hinge piece, as shown in
Figure C54.
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Figure C54 Use display groups to

view a contour plot of the von Mises
stress in the hinge piece with the
lubrication hole.

3. Use the view manipulation tools to view the hinge at different angles. You can now see results for surfaces
on the hinge that were hidden by the solid hinge.
4. From the main menu bar, select Result Field Output.
5. From the top of the Primary Variable tabbed page, toggle on List only variables with results: and
choose at surface nodes from the menu.
6. From the list of variables that appears, select CPRESS, and click Apply.

Abaqus/CAE displays a contour plot of the contact pressures in the flange hole.

TASKS
1. Investigate how sensitive the solutions are towards the choice of mesh size and element type,
especially in the vicinity of high stress concentrations.

2. We will need to account for plastic deformation if the applied pressure exceeds the yield strength of
the steel hinges. First, determine the maximum pressure (Pcrit) that can be applied without causing
any plastic deformation. Now, demonstrate how plastic deformation can be modelled for pressures
greater than Pcrit. The hinges are made of mild steel (plasticity data can be obtained from materials
handbook), also state any other assumptions made.

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