## *CHANGE SOLID SECTION

Keyword type: step

This option is used to change material properties within a step for 3D, plane stress, plane strain or axisymmetric element sets. The parameters ELSET and MATERIAL are required, the parameter ORIENTATION is optional. The parameter ELSET defines the element set to which the material specified by the parameter MATERIAL applies. The parameter ORIENTATION allows to assign local axes to the element set. If activated, the material properties are applied to the local axis. This is only relevant for non isotropic material behavior.

It is not allowed to change the thickness, which is important for plane stress and plane strain elements. This is because these elements are expanded in three dimensional elements within the first step. So no second line is allowed.

Changing material properties may be used to activate or deactivate elements by assigning properties close to those of air to one material and the real properties to another material and switching between these.

First line:

• *CHANGE SOLID SECTION
• Enter any needed parameters.

Example:

*CHANGE SOLID SECTION,MATERIAL=EL,ELSET=Eall,ORIENTATION=OR1


reassigns material EL with orientation OR1 to all elements in (element) set Eall.

Example files: changesolidsection.