Attributes for a general contact interaction, such as contact properties, are specified independently of the contact domain in the Attribute Assignments portion of the interaction editor. Contact properties can be assigned globally to a general contact interaction or individually to particular regions within a general contact domain. For a brief overview of general contact, see “Understanding interactions,” Section 15.3.
To specify contact property assignments:
Display the general contact interaction editor using one of the following methods:
To create a new general contact interaction, follow the instructions in “Defining general contact,” Section 15.12.5.
To edit an existing general contact interaction, select Interaction
Editinteraction name from the main menu bar.
Click the Contact Properties tab in the Attribute Assignments portion of the interaction editor (if it is not already selected).
If necessary, click Create in the Contact Properties portion of the interaction editor to create a contact interaction property; see “Defining a contact interaction property,” Section 15.13.1, for more information.
Specify the contact property assignments for the interaction using either of the following methods:
To assign a contact property globally to the entire contact domain, select a property from the list next to Global property assignment.
To assign different contact properties to individual surface pairs:
Click Edit next to Individual property assignments.
The Edit Individual Contact Property Assignments dialog box appears. By default, when you select a surface from the list or the table, ABAQUS/CAE highlights the surface in the viewport; however, highlighting does not apply for (Global) and (Self). You can toggle off Highlight selected regions at the bottom of the dialog box to turn off selection highlighting.
Select one or more surfaces from the list of existing surfaces in the first column on the left side. Select (Global) to assign a contact property between the entire contact domain and an individual surface.
Select the second surface or surfaces from the list of existing surfaces in the second column to define the surface pairings.
When multiple surfaces are selected in either column, all possible combinations will be generated.
To assign a property for self-contact, select either the same surface name or (Self) in the second column.
Any contact property assignments for regions that fall outside of the contact domain will be ignored.
From the list of existing interaction properties in the third column, select the property to assign.
Click the arrows 
in the middle of the dialog box to transfer your selections to the list of property assignments.
The table on the right side of the dialog box is updated to reflect your selections.
Repeat the above steps as needed to complete the contact property assignments. If you want to delete contact property assignments, select the rows and click Delete Selected Rows.
Note: The order of assignments may be relevant; when property assignments overlap, the last assignment will take precedence.
Click OK to save your selections and to close the Edit Individual Contact Property Assignments dialog box.
The interaction editor reappears with updated information on the number of individual contact property assignments.
Note: Individual contact property assignments take precedence over the global assignment.
Click OK to create the interaction and to close the editor.
To modify a contact property assignment:
From the main menu bar, select InteractionEditinteraction name.
The Edit Interaction dialog box appears.
Click the Contact Properties tab in the Attribute Assignments portion of the interaction editor (if it is not already selected).
Click Edit next to Individual property assignments.
The Edit Individual Contact Property Assignments dialog box appears. By default, when you select a surface from the list or the table, ABAQUS/CAE highlights the surface in the viewport; however, highlighting does not apply for (Global) and (Self). You can toggle off Highlight selected regions at the bottom of the dialog box to turn off selection highlighting.
Select the row or rows containing the property assignment to be modified from the table on the right side of the Edit Individual Contact Property Assignments dialog box.
Select a new interaction property from the list in the third column on the left side of the dialog box.
Click the arrow 
in the middle of the dialog box to replace the interaction property with your new selection.
Click OK to save your selections and to close the Edit Individual Contact Property Assignments dialog box.
The interaction editor reappears.
Click OK to save your changes and to close the interaction editor.
