*PRE-TENSION SECTION

Keyword type: model definition

This option is used to define a pre-tension in a bolt or similar structure. There are three parameters: SURFACE, ELEMENT and NODE. The parameter NODE is required as well as one of the parameters SURFACE and ELEMENT. The latter two parameters are mutually exclusive.

With the parameter SURFACE an element face surface can be defined on which the pre-tension acts. This is usually a cross section of the bolt. This option is used for volumetric elements. Alternatively, the bolt can be modeled with just one linear beam element (type B31). In that case the parameter ELEMENT is required pointing to the label of the beam element.

The parameter NODE is used to define a reference node. This node should not be used elsewhere in the model. In particular, it should not belong to any element. The coordinates of this node are immaterial. The first degree of freedom of this node is used to define a pre-tension force with *CLOAD or a differential displacement with *BOUNDARY. The force and the displacements are applied in the direction of the normal on the surface. The user must specify the normal underneath the *PRE-TENSION SECTION keyword. If the normal is specified away from the elements to which the surface belongs (volumetric case) or in the direction going from node 1 to node 2 in the element definition (for the beam element), a positive force or positive displacements correspond to tension in the underlying structure.

Notice that in the volumetric case the surface must be defined by element faces, it cannot be defined by nodes. Furthermore, the user should make sure that

• the surface does not contain edges or vertices of elements which do not have a face in common with the surface. Transgression of this rule will lead to unrealistic stress concentrations.
• the surface is not adjacent to quadratic elements adjacent to a slave or master contact surface. The latter elements are remeshed into linear elements. This remeshing is not taken into account in the definition of the pre-tension multiple point constraint and will lead to unrealistic stress concentrations.

Internally, the nodes belonging to the element face surface are copied and a linear multiple point constraint is generated between the nodes expressing that the mean force is the force specified by the user (or similarly, the mean differential displacement is the one specified by the user). Therefore, if the user visualizes the results with CalculiX GraphiX, a gap will be noticed at the location of the pre-tension section.

For beam elements a linear multiple point constraint is created between the nodes belonging to the beam element.

First line:

• *PRE-TENSION SECTION
• Enter the NODE and the SURFACE or ELEMENT parameter and their values

Following line:

• First component in global coordinates of the normal on the surface
• Second component in global coordinates of the normal on the surface
• Third component in global coordinates of the normal on the surface

Example:

*PRE-TENSION SECTION,SURFACE=SURF1,NODE=234
1.,0.,0.

defines a pre-tension section consisting of the surface with the name SURF1 and reference node 234. The normal on the surface is defined as the positive global x-direction.

Example files: pret1, pret2.