This option is used to define initial clearance values and/or contact directions precisely at contact slave nodes. In an ABAQUS/Standard analysis it can also be used to define overclosure values. The *CLEARANCE option can be used with small-sliding contact only (*CONTACT PAIR, SMALL SLIDING). In ABAQUS/Explicit it can be used only in the first step of an analysis.
Products: ABAQUS/Standard ABAQUS/Explicit
Type: Model data in ABAQUS/Standard; History data in ABAQUS/Explicit
Level: Model in ABAQUS/Standard; Step in ABAQUS/Explicit
This parameter applies only to ABAQUS/Explicit analyses.
Set this parameter equal to the name of the contact pair set name to associate these clearance data with the appropriate contact pairs.
This parameter applies only to ABAQUS/Standard analyses.
Set this parameter equal to the name of the master surface of the contact pair.
This parameter applies only to ABAQUS/Standard analyses.
Set this parameter equal to the name of the slave surface of the contact pair.
Include this parameter to specify the slave nodes or the node sets and their corresponding initial clearance/overclosure values (and, if required, contact directions) on the data lines of this option. In an ABAQUS/Explicit analysis only initial clearances are allowed.
Set this parameter equal to the initial clearance/overclosure for the entire set of slave nodes. In ABAQUS/Standard a positive value specifies an initial clearance, and a negative value specifies an initial overclosure. In an ABAQUS/Explicit analysis this value must be positive since only initial clearances are allowed.
Set this parameter equal to the name of the alternate input file containing the data lines for this option. See “Input syntax rules,” Section 1.2.1 of the ABAQUS Analysis User's Manual, for the syntax of such file names. The data lines in the alternate input file should be in the same format as that for the TABULAR parameter.
If this parameter is omitted and the TABULAR parameter is included, it is assumed that the data follow the keyword line.
First line:
Node number or node set label.
Clearance value. (In an ABAQUS/Standard analysis a positive value indicates an opening between the surfaces and a negative value indicates overclosure.) If this field is left blank, the clearance value automatically calculated will not be modified.
First component of the normal.
Second component of the normal.
Third component of the normal.
Repeat the above data line as often as necessary to define the clearance value and the direction in which ABAQUS tests for contact between the slave node and the corresponding closest point on the master surface. The specification of the normal is optional. If the normal is given, it should be in the direction of the master surface's outward normal. If the normal is not given, ABAQUS calculates it from the geometry of the master surface (see “Common difficulties associated with contact modeling in ABAQUS/Standard,” Section 21.2.9 of the ABAQUS Analysis User's Manual, and “Common difficulties associated with contact modeling using the contact pair algorithm in ABAQUS/Explicit,” Section 21.4.6 of the ABAQUS Analysis User's Manual).