11.4.2 Part types

When you create a new part or import a part from a file containing geometry stored in a third-party format, you must choose the part's type. The three possible types are:

Deformable

Any arbitrarily shaped axisymmetric, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional part that you can create or import can be specified as a deformable part. A deformable part represents a part that can deform under load; the load can be mechanical, thermal, or electrical. By default, ABAQUS/CAE creates parts that are deformable.

Discrete rigid

A discrete rigid part is similar to a deformable part in that it can be any arbitrary shape. However, a discrete rigid part is assumed to be rigid and is used in contact analyses to model bodies that cannot deform.

Analytical rigid

An analytical rigid part is similar to a discrete rigid part in that it is used to represent a rigid surface in a contact analysis. However, the shape of an analytical rigid part is not arbitrary and must be formed from a set of sketched lines, arcs, and parabolas.

You can assemble deformable bodies, discrete rigid parts, and analytical rigid parts in the Assembly module. You can change the type of a part after you have created it by clicking mouse button 3 on the part in the Model Tree and selecting Edit from the menu that appears.

ABAQUS/CAE uses the following methods to determine the type of an imported part:


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