Creating Smooth Spring Virtual Parts

This task shows how to create a Spring Smooth Virtual Part between a point and a geometry support.

A Spring Smooth Virtual Part is an elastic body connecting a specified point to a specified  geometry, behaving as a 6-degree of freedom spring in series with a mass-less rigid body which will softly transmit actions (masses, restraints and loads) applied at the handle point, without stiffening the deformable body or bodies to which it is attached.

The Spring Smooth Virtual Part does approximately take into account the elastic deformability of the parts to which it is attached.

The program proceeds as follows:

  • a node is created in coincidence with the specified handle point.

  • a second node, offset from the first node, is created in a user-specified direction. 

  • the offset node is connected by a user-specified spring element to the handle node.

  • all nodes of the specified geometry supports meshes are connected by a kinematical spider element to the offset node. 

  • a set of mean (constr-n) relations is generated between the offset node degree of freedom  and the connected nodes degree of freedom. 

The Spring Smooth Virtual Part is built with Smooth Spider and Spring elements.

To know more about those elements, see Smooth Spider and Spring in the Finite Element Reference Guide.

Spring Smooth Virtual Parts can be applied to the following types of supports:

Geometrical Feature

Mechanical Feature

Analysis Feature

Spatial Groups

Geometrical Groups

Groups by Neighborhood

Groups by Boundary

Others

Edge
Face

 

 

 

 

 

Open the sample28.CATAnalysis document from the samples directory.
A Part Design point was created in the pointed .CATPart document.

  • Go to View > Render Style > Customize View and make sure the Shading, Outlines and Materials options are active in the Custom View Modes dialog box.

  1. Click Smooth Spring Virtual Part in the Virtual Parts toolbar.

    The Smooth Spring Virtual Part dialog box appears.

  2. Select the cylindrical face of the hole as a geometry support.

  3. Position the cursor on the Handler field in the Smooth Spring Virtual Part dialog box and select a point for the handler point (the handler point symbol appears as your cursor passes over it). 

    • If you do not specifically select a point, the centroid will be used as the handler point
    • When several virtual parts share a same handler point, only one finite element node is generated.

    The Axis System Type combo box allows you to choose between Global and User-defined Axis systems, for entering components of the resultant moment vector.

    • Global: if you select the Global Axis system, the components of the resultant moment vector will be interpreted as relative to the fixed global rectangular coordinate system.   
    • User-defined:  if you select a User-defined Axis system, the components of the resultant moment vector will be interpreted as relative to the specified rectangular coordinate system.

      To select a User Axis system, you must activate an existing Axis by clicking it in the features tree. Its name will then be automatically displayed in the Current Axis field.

  4. Set the Axis system.

  5. Enter values for the 6-degree of freedom spring constants.

  6. Click OK to create the Smooth Spring Virtual Part.

    The symbol appearing at the handler point represents the Smooth Spring Virtual Part.

    Both Spring Smooth Virtual Mesh.1 and Smooth Spring Virtual Part.1 appear in the specification tree.
  • You can select several geometry supports.
  • The Smooth Spring Virtual Part will connect all supports to the handler point and softly transmit all actions as a spring in series with a rigid body.