To create connector sections, select ConnectorSectionCreate from the main menu bar. A Create Connector Section dialog box appears in which you can specify a name for the connector section and the connection type that you want to create. When you select a connection type, the available and constrained components of relative motion (CORM) for that connection type are displayed in the dialog box. In addition, you can click Show to see a schematic drawing of the connection type along with the ABAQUS idealization of the connection. Once you have specified the name and connection type, click Continue in the Create Connector Section dialog box to display the connector section editor.

The connector section editor allows you to add the connector behaviors available in ABAQUS/Standard and ABAQUS/Explicit. When you click Add in the editor, a list of behaviors appears. After you select a behavior, the name of the behavior appears in the Behavior Options list at the top of the editor, and the behavior becomes part of your connector section definition. The option definition area in the lower half of the editor changes to provide fields in which you can specify information for the currently selected behavior. If you want to remove a behavior from a connector section definition, you can select it from the Behavior Options list and then click Delete.

You can define multiple behaviors of the same type, such as elasticity. Only forces or moments that are consistent with the available components of relative motion for the chosen connection type can be selected to define behaviors. For example, the Behavior Options list in Figure 15–8 reflects that two Elasticity behaviors and a Reference Length behavior have been included in the connector section definition. The highlighted Elasticity behavior defines elastic behavior in the same direction as the selected moment.

You can display help on a particular feature of the editor by selecting HelpOn Context from the main menu bar and then clicking the feature of interest. For detailed instructions on creating connector sections and defining behaviors, see “Creating connector sections,” Section 15.11.6, and “Using the connector section editors,” Section 15.15.