3.1.10.79. SimpleContact3D Element

This command constructs a three-dimensional contact element between a primary quadrilateral surface (four nodes) and a secondary node using a Lagrange multiplier node. Use with -ndm 3.

element SimpleContact3D $eleTag $iNode $jNode $kNode $lNode $secondaryNode $lambdaNode $matTag $tolGap $tolForce

Argument	Type	Description
$eleTag	integer	unique element tag
$iNode $jNode $kNode $lNode	integer	four nodes defining the primary contact surface
$secondaryNode	integer	secondary (slave) node
$lambdaNode	integer	Lagrange multiplier node
$matTag	integer	tag of a contact ND material
$tolGap	float	gap tolerance for contact detection
$tolForce	float	force tolerance for contact equilibrium

Note

Valid Element Recorder queries include forces and force.

Example

1. Tcl Code

element SimpleContact3D 1 1 2 3 4 10 11 1 1.0e-6 1.0e-6

2. Python Code

element('SimpleContact3D', 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 1, 1.0e-6, 1.0e-6)

Code developed by: Kathryn Petek, Pedro Arduino, and Peter Mackenzie-Helnwein, University of Washington