21.6.2 Defining materials for gaskets

You can create two types of materials to include in gasket section definitions: materials with gasket-specific behaviors and general-use materials. The type of material that you create depends on your requirements for the gasket behavior.

Create a material using the special gasket behaviors if you want the thickness-direction, transverse shear, and membrane behaviors to be uncoupled. Gasket behavior materials are valid only for gasket sections. For detailed information on this approach to defining gasket behavior, see “Defining the gasket behavior directly using a gasket behavior model,” Section 26.6.6 of the ABAQUS Analysis User's Manual.
Create a general-use material if you want to consider only the thickness-direction behavior. General-use materials are valid in gasket sections as well as in other types of sections. For detailed information on this approach to defining gasket behavior, see “Defining the gasket behavior using a material model,” Section 26.6.5 of the ABAQUS Analysis User's Manual.

You create a gasket-specific material by entering data for one or more of the behaviors found in the OtherGasket submenu. Data entered for any other behavior in the material editor are ignored, with the following exceptions:

You can include the Expansion behavior (located in the Mechanical menu) in a gasket behavior material definition.
You can include the Creep behavior (located in the MechanicalPlasticity menu) in a gasket behavior material definition.
You can include the Depvar and User Output Variables behaviors (located in the General menu) in a gasket behavior material definition.

You create a general-use material by entering data for any behaviors that are valid for gasket sections except those found in the OtherGasket submenu. (If you enter data for a behavior found in the OtherGasket submenu, you automatically create a gasket behavior material.) For information on which material behaviors are valid for general-use materials included in gasket section definitions, see “Gasket elements,” Section 26.6 of the ABAQUS Analysis User's Manual.