36.3.3 Assigning contact properties for contact pairs in Abaqus/Standard
Products: Abaqus/Standard Abaqus/CAE
References
Overview
Contact properties:
define the mechanical and thermal surface interaction models that govern the behavior of surfaces when they are in contact; and
are assigned to individual contact pairs.
Assigning a surface interaction definition to a contact pair
A surface interaction definition specifies the constitutive contact properties and the constraint enforcement methods used by a contact pair. Every contact pair in a model must refer to a surface interaction definition, even if the contact pair uses the default contact property models. See “Mechanical contact properties: overview,” Section 37.1.1, for information on defining contact properties. A non-default constraint enforcement method can be specified as part of a surface interaction definition, as described in “Contact constraint enforcement methods in Abaqus/Standard,” Section 38.1.2.
Multiple contact pairs can refer to the same surface interaction definition.
The surface interaction definition is also used to provide a non-default value for the surface out-of-plane thickness in the following cases:
a two-dimensional model, or
a contact pair involving a node-based surface to provide a non-default cross-sectional area at every node in the node-based surface.
| Input File Usage: | Use both of the following options: |
*CONTACT PAIR, INTERACTION=interaction_property_name *SURFACE INTERACTION, NAME=interaction_property_name |
| Abaqus/CAE Usage: | Interaction module: |
Create Interaction Property: Name: interaction_property_name, Contact Interaction editor: Contact interaction property: interaction_property_name |
Example
Figure 36.3.3–1 shows the mesh used in this example. For purposes of this example, the surface ASURF is the slave surface of the contact pair. The property definition for the contact pair (GRATING) uses the finite-sliding, node-to-surface formulation with a friction model with 
=0.4 and uses the default “hard” contact model for the behavior normal to the surfaces.
*HEADING … *SURFACE, NAME=ASURF ESETA, *SURFACE, NAME=BSURF ESETB, *CONTACT PAIR, INTERACTION=GRATING ASURF, BSURF *SURFACE INTERACTION, NAME=GRATING *FRICTION 0.4 *NSET, NSET=SNODES 101, 102, 103 *STEP, NLGEOM … *END STEP