Products: ABAQUS/Standard ABAQUS/Explicit ABAQUS/CAE
Concentrated loads:
apply concentrated forces and moments to nodal degrees of freedom; and
either are fixed in direction or rotate as the node rotates.
Multiple concentrated load cases can be defined in random response analysis (see “Random response analysis,” Section 6.3.11, for details).
Concentrated loads are also used to apply the pressure-conjugate at nodes with pressure degree of freedom in acoustic analysis. See “Acoustic loads,” Section 19.4.5.
Actuation loads in connector elements can be defined as connector loads, applied similarly to concentrated loads. See “Connector actuation,” Section 17.1.3, for more detailed information.
The procedures in which these loads can be used are outlined in “Prescribed conditions: overview,” Section 19.1.1. See “Applying loads: overview,” Section 19.4.1, for general information that applies to all types of loading.
Concentrated forces or moments can be applied at any nodal degree of freedom.
| Input File Usage: | *CLOAD |
| ABAQUS/CAE Usage: | Load module: Create Load: choose Mechanical for the Category and Concentrated force, Moment, or Generalized plane strain for the Types for Selected Step |
You can specify that the direction of a concentrated force should rotate with the node to which it is applied. This specification should be used only in large-displacement analysis and can be used only at nodes with active rotational degrees of freedom (such as the nodes of beam and shell elements or, in ABAQUS/Explicit, tie nodes on a rigid body). If you specify follower forces, the components of the concentrated force must be specified with respect to the reference configuration.
| Input File Usage: | *CLOAD, FOLLOWER |
| ABAQUS/CAE Usage: | Load module: Create Load: choose Mechanical for the Category and Concentrated force, Moment, or Generalized plane strain for the Types for Selected Step: Follow nodal rotation |
The prescribed magnitude of a concentrated load can vary with time during a step according to an amplitude definition, as described in “Prescribed conditions: overview,” Section 19.1.1. If different variations are needed for different loads, each load can refer to its own amplitude.
Concentrated loads can be added, modified, or removed as described in “Applying loads: overview,” Section 19.4.1.
When concentrated follower forces are specified in static and dynamic analysis, the unsymmetric matrix storage and solution scheme should normally be used. See “Procedures: overview,” Section 6.1.1, for more information on the unsymmetric matrix storage and solution scheme.