Specifying ALE adaptive mesh constraints

You can define ALE adaptive mesh constraints on the motion of the mesh for an adaptive mesh domain. The ALE adaptive mesh constraint can either prescribe independent mesh motion for nodes in an adaptive mesh domain or specify nodes that must follow the material. For more information, see the following sections:

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In Other Guides
ALE adaptive meshing

  1. From the main menu bar, select OtherALE Adaptive Mesh ConstraintCreate.

    Abaqus/CAE displays the ALE adaptive mesh constraint editor.

  2. Enter a name for the ALE adaptive mesh constraint.

  3. Select the step in which you want to create the constraint.

  4. Choose the type of mesh motion, Displacement/Rotation or Velocity/Angular velocity, and click Continue.

  5. Use one of the following methods to select the region that you want to constrain:

    • Use an existing set to define the region. On the right side of the prompt area, click Sets. Select an existing set from the Region Selection dialog box that appears, and click Continue.

    • Use the mouse to select a region in the viewport. (For more information, see Selecting objects within the current viewport.) Click mouse button 2 to indicate you have finished making selections.

    Abaqus/CAE highlights the selected regions in red in the viewport.

    Note:

    The default selection method is based on the selection method you most recently employed. To revert to the other method, click Select in Viewport or Sets on the right side of the prompt area.

    The Edit ALE Adaptive Mesh Constraint dialog box appears.

  6. If you are editing an existing mesh constraint you can edit the region to which the constraint is applied by clicking in the top part of the editor. Use the region selection techniques described in Step 5.

  7. If you want to change the coordinate system (CSYS) in which to apply the constraint, click and use one of the following methods:

    • Select an existing datum coordinate system in the viewport.

    • Select an existing datum coordinate system by name.

      1. From the prompt area, click Datum CSYS List to display a list of datum coordinate systems.

      2. Select a name from the list, and click OK.

    • Click Use Global CSYS from the prompt area to revert to the global coordinate system.

    This coordinate system editing option is available only in the step in which the constraint is created.

  8. Click the arrow to the right of the Motion field, and specify whether you want to prescribe mesh motions that are independent of the underlying material or define nodes that must follow the underlying material.

    If you are performing an Abaqus/Standard analysis, you can also choose to define mesh motion in user subroutine UMESHMOTION.

  9. If you selected Independent of underlying material in Step 8, toggle on the degrees of freedom that you want to constrain. The text field becomes available in which you can specify a value for the degree of freedom. Toggle off a degree of freedom to leave the degree of freedom unconstrained.

  10. If you selected Independent of underlying material in Step 8, click the arrow to the right of the Amplitude field, and select the amplitude of your choice from the list that appears. Alternatively, you can click Create to create a new amplitude. (See The Amplitude toolset,” for more information.)

  11. Click OK to save the named constraint and to close the editor.