A self-contact definition can be used as an alternative to general
contact to model contact interactions between different areas of a single
surface.
Certain interaction behaviors can be defined only by using
self-contact. For a brief overview of self-contact and other types of
interactions available in
Abaqus,
see
Understanding interactions,
and
About contact interactions.
You can define self-contact in any step, including the initial step.
Select
InteractionCreate
from the main menu bar and select the surface. You can define self-contact
between an edge of a wire, a face of a solid, or a face of a shell. Certain
connectivity restrictions apply to contact surfaces depending on the type of
contact formulation. You can deactivate a self-contact interaction in a step
and, if desired, reactivate this interaction in a subsequent step. You can also
deactivate the interaction in a step if it will no longer be needed in the
analysis.
You can obtain contact data for a specific self-contact interaction by
using the field and history output request editors in the
Step module.
In the Domain section of the editors, select
Interaction and choose the name of the self-contact
interaction from the menu that appears. For more information, see
Creating an output request.
The procedure for defining self-contact depends on whether you are
performing an analysis using
Abaqus/Standard
or
Abaqus/Explicit.
This section provides instructions for using the interaction editor to define
the different surface-to-surface contact options.