Keyword type: model definition
This option is used to define surfaces made up of nodes or surfaces made up of element faces. A mixture of nodes and element faces belonging to one and the same surface is not possible. There are two parameters: NAME and TYPE. The parameter NAME containing the name of the surface is required. The TYPE parameter takes the value NODE for nodal surfaces and ELEMENT for element face surfaces. Default is TYPE=ELEMENT.
At present, surfaces are used to establish cyclic symmetry conditions and to define contact (including tied contact). The master and slave surfaces in cyclic symmetry conditions must be nodal surfaces. For contact, the slave surface can be a nodal or element face surface, while the master surface has to be a element face surface.
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 hexahedral elements the faces are numbered as follows (numbers are node numbers):
for tetrahedral elements:
for quadrilateral plane stress, plane strain and axisymmetric elements:
for triangular plane stress, plane strain and axisymmetric elements:
for quadrilateral shell elements:
for triangular shell elements:
for beam elements:
First line:
Following line for nodal surfaces:
Following line for element face surfaces:
Example: *SURFACE,NAME=left,TYPE=NODE part, 1, 8
assigns the nodes with number 1, and 8 and the nodes belonging to node set part to a surface with name left.
Example: *SURFACE,NAME=new 38,S6
assigns the face 6 of element 38 to a surface with name new.
Example files: segment, fullseg.