Surface definition for coupling

1

Hey everyone,

I’m struggling to define a surface in order to use it later on for a *COUPLING-Card.

Here’s the breakdown of my approach:

I have pre-defined surfaces from my pre-processor (gmsh):

*ELEMENT, type=CPS6, ELSET=Surface712

The elements in these surfaces are grouped together by a different ELSET:

*ELSET,ELSET=HP1SURFACE

I’d like to derive a surface from this ELSET. To do so, I have the following card-definition:

*SURFACE,NAME=HP1Surf,TYPE=ELEMENT
HP1SURFACE

I use the surface in a coupling-card:

*COUPLING,REF NODE=53257,SURFACE=HP1Surf,CONSTRAINT NAME=COUPLING_HP1
*DISTRIBUTING
1,3

When I run ccx, I get the follwoing error:

*ERROR reading *SURFACE. Card image:
HP1SURFACE

I run CalculiX Version 2.23 under Windows.

I’m looking foreward to any advice here. Thy in advance!

2

Check this thread: Calculix Contact Surface

You also have to specify facet numbers:

Element faces are identified by the surface label Sx where x is the number of the face. The numbering depends on the element type.

for triangular plane stress, plane strain and axisymmetric elements:

  • Face 1: 1-2
  • Face 2: 2-3
  • Face 3: 3-1
  • Face N: in negative normal direction (only for plane stress)
  • Face P: in positive normal direction (only for plane stress)

IMG_9841
IMG_98411113×885 45.2 KB

2 Likes
3

Thanks a lot! That solves my error.