To create or edit damping:

Display the connector section editor using one of the following methods:

To create a new connector section, follow the procedure outlined in “Creating connector sections,” Section 15.11.6.

To edit an existing connector section, select ConnectorSectionManager from the main menu bar, select the connector section from the list that appears, and click Edit.

In the Edit Connector Section dialog box, do one of the following:

To define a new damping behavior, click Add and select Damping from the menu that appears.

To edit an existing damping behavior, select the behavior from the Behavior Options list to display the associated data fields for that behavior.

Choose the Definition.

Choose Linear to define linear damping coefficients.

Choose Nonlinear to define forces/moments as tabular functions of the relative velocities.

If you are defining linear damping behavior,

In the Force/Moment field, toggle on the forces or moments consistent with the relative velocities for which you are defining damping behavior.

In the Coupling field, choose one of the following:

Choose Uncoupled to specify the individual damping coefficients associated with the relative velocities; for example, C11, C22, and C33, as determined by Force/Moment selections. You can use a single damping option to specify all of the coefficients, even if the values are different for each relative velocity.

Choose Coupled to specify damping coefficients coupled associated with the relative velocities; for example, C11, C12, and C13, as determined by Force/Moment selections.

If you are defining nonlinear, uncoupled behavior,

In the Force/Moment field, toggle on the forces or moments that are consistent with the relative velocities for which you are defining damping behavior. If the behavior is the same for multiple components, you can define a single damping behavior that will use this one function. If the behavior is different for multiple components, you must define separate damping behaviors.

Choose Uncoupled in the Coupling field to specify forces/moments as a tabular function of their respective available components of relative motion.

If you are defining nonlinear, coupled behavior,

In the Force/Moment field, toggle on the forces or moments that are consistent with the relative velocities for which you are defining damping behavior.

Choose Coupled on position or Coupled on motion in the Coupling field to specify forces/moments as functions of one or more relative position or velocity components, respectively.

In the Independent components field, toggle on the available components of relative position or constitutive motion for which you are defining coupled damping behavior. You may need to use the unsymmetric equation solver in the step editor to improve convergence.

To define behavior data that depend on frequency, temperature, or field variables, do the following:

If available, toggle on Use frequency-dependent data to define behavior data that vary with frequency. A column labeled Frequency appears in the tabular data area.

Toggle on Use temperature-dependent data to define behavior data that vary with temperature. A column labeled Temp appears in the tabular data area.

To define behavior data that depend on field variables, click the arrows to the right of the Number of field variables field to increase or decrease the number of field variables. Field variable columns appear in the tabular data area.

Enter damping data in the table. You can enter data into the table using the keyboard. Alternatively, you can click mouse button 3 anywhere in the table to view a list of options for specifying tabular data. For detailed information on each option, see “Entering tabular data,” Section 3.2.7.

Select one of the following:

If you want to continue defining behaviors, click Add, select the desired behavior, and continue the connector section definition. For instructions on defining other behaviors, see “Using the connector section editors,” Section 15.15.

If you want to view or edit an existing behavior, select it from the Behavior Options list. For instructions on editing behaviors, see “Using the connector section editors,” Section 15.15.

If you want to save your connector section definition and exit the editor, click OK.