Welding Connection Properties

Welding connection properties are used to specify the boundary interaction between bodies in an assembled product that are welded together along a point, line, or surface. The following sections discuss the welding connection properties available in Nonlinear Structural Analysis:

Creating Spot Welding Connection Properties: Models spot weld connections between surfaces of two parts.

Creating Seam Welding Connection Properties: Models seam weld connections between surfaces of two parts.

Creating Surface Welding Connection Properties: Models surface weld connections between surfaces of two parts.

Creating Spot Welding Connection Properties

A spot weld is modeled by a connection that passes through a point and connects two surfaces. The surfaces can lie on separate parts or within a single part (for example, between overlapping faces). The parts can be meshed with either compatible or incompatible meshes. If you have a compatible mesh, a spot weld connects a node on the first surface directly to a node on the second surface. If you have an incompatible mesh, a spot weld distributes the connection between the surfaces among several nodes.

After you create a spot welding connection property, Nonlinear Structural Analysis creates a spot welding connection mesh. Table 6–9 summarizes the constraints that can be used to define a spot welding connection property in Nonlinear Structural Analysis.

Table 6–9 Spot welding connection properties.

Nonlinear Structural Analysis
Point Analysis Connection Point Analysis Connection Within One Part

In Nonlinear Structural Analysis the connection between the surfaces can be one of the following:

Rigid

A rigid spot weld is modeled by a rigid beam connector between surfaces, as described in Table 6–10.

Table 6–10 Rigid spot weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
Rigid beam connector Distributing couplings and a rigid beam connector


Spring-Rigid-Spring

A spring-rigid-spring spot weld is modeled by two zero-length springs between surfaces, as described in Table 6–11. The springs have identical elastic properties and are joined by a rigid beam connector.

Table 6–11 Spring-rigid-spring spot weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
CARDAN and CARTESIAN connectors with elastic behavior and a rigid beam connector Distributing couplings, CARDAN and CARTESIAN connectors with elastic behavior, and a rigid beam connector


Rigid-Spring-Rigid

A rigid-spring-rigid spot weld is modeled by two rigid beam connectors between surfaces, as described in Table 6–12. The rigid beam connectors are joined by a zero-length spring.

Table 6–12 Rigid-spring-rigid spot weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
Rigid beam connectors and a CARDAN and CARTESIAN connector with elastic behavior Distributing couplings, rigid beam connectors and a CARDAN and CARTESIAN connector with elastic behavior


Beam

A beam spot weld is modeled by a beam element between surfaces, as described in Table 6–13.

Table 6–13 Beam spot weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
Beam element Distributing couplings and a beam element
See Creating Mesh Properties for a description of the CATIA V5 beam profiles supported by Nonlinear Structural Analysis.

You must select a user material that provides the material properties (CATIA V5 or Nonlinear) of the beam elements. The material must define the following:

  • Young's modulus

  • Coefficient of thermal expansion

If the material uses Nonlinear properties, either Young's modulus or the coefficient of thermal expansion can be temperature dependent, but not both. For more information, see Specifying Material Properties.

Hexahedron

A hexahedron spot weld is modeled by a hexahedral connector between surfaces, as described in Table 6–14. You must select the user material that provides the material properties of the hexahedral elements. The material properties for a hexahedron spot weld must meet the same requirements as the requirements for a beam spot weld.

Table 6–14 Hexahedron spot weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
Not supported N/A Distributing couplings (with DOFs 1, 2, and 3 constrained) and a hexahedral element


You can request history output of relative displacements and rotations and of total, elastic, viscous, and reaction forces and moments from a spot welding connection property. The support for the history output request is the connection mesh.

This task shows you how to create a spot welding connection property between surfaces.

  1. Click the Spot Welding Connection Property icon .

    The Spot Welding Connection Property dialog box appears. A Spot Welding Connection Property object appears in the specification tree under the Properties objects set, and a Spot Welding Connection Mesh object appears under the Nodes and Elements objects set.

  2. You can change the identifier of the spot weld connection property by editing the Name field.

  3. In the specification tree, select an existing Point Analysis Connection object or Point Analysis Connection within one Part object.

    The Supports field is updated to reflect your selection.

  4. Select the type of spot weld.

  5. By default, any springs in a spot weld have no stiffness in either the translational or rotational degrees of freedom. In addition, by default a spot welding connection property is associated with the global, rectangular Cartesian axis system. To change the default behavior, click the Component Editor icon and do the following from the Spot Welding Definition dialog box that appears:

    1. Change the translational and rotational stiffness.

    2. Specify a local coordinate system for the degrees of freedom. Local coordinate systems are defined in the CATIA Part Design workbench.

    3. Click OK to accept your changes and to close the Spot Welding Definition dialog box.

  6. If you selected a beam or a hexahedron type of spot weld, click the Component Editor icon and do the following from the Spot Welding Definition dialog box that appears:

    1. From the specification tree, choose a user material with the required material properties.

    2. Specify a local coordinate system for the degrees of freedom. Local coordinate systems are defined in the CATIA Part Design workbench.

    3. Click OK to accept your changes and to close the Spot Welding Definition dialog box.

  7. Click OK in the Spot Welding Connection Property dialog box.

    Symbols representing the spot weld connection property appear at the location of the corresponding spot welding connection mesh.

  8. If necessary, double-click on the Spot Welding Connection Mesh object in the specification tree and enter the following:

    • Whether the mesh is compatible or incompatible.

    • The maximum gap between the nodes that are modeling the spot weld connection. The value is the radius of a sphere that intersects nodes on both of the parts that are being welded.

    • The diameter of a hexahedron spot weld.

  9. Right-click on the spot welding connection mesh object in the specification tree, and select Update Mesh from the menu that appears.

Creating Seam Welding Connection Properties

A seam weld is modeled by a line of connections between surfaces of two parts. The surfaces can lie on separate parts or within a single part (for example, between overlapping faces). The parts can be meshed with either compatible or incompatible meshes. If you have a compatible mesh, a seam weld connects a line of nodes on the first surface directly to a line of nodes on the second surface. If you have an incompatible mesh, a spot weld distributes the connection between the surfaces among several nodes.

After you create a seam welding connection property, Nonlinear Structural Analysis creates a seam welding connection mesh. Table 6–15 summarizes the constraints that can be used to define a seam welding connection property in Nonlinear Structural Analysis.

Table 6–15 Seam welding connection properties.

Nonlinear Structural Analysis
Line Analysis Connection Line Analysis Connection Within One Part

In Nonlinear Structural Analysis the connection between the surfaces can be one of the following:

Shell

A shell seam weld is modeled by a line of shell elements between surfaces, as described in Table 6–16.

Table 6–16 Shell seam weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
Shell element Distributing couplings and a shell element


Rigid

A rigid seam weld is modeled by a line of rigid beam connectors between surfaces, as described in Table 6–17.

Table 6–17 Rigid seam weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
Rigid beam connector Distributing couplings and a rigid beam connector


Spring-Rigid-Spring

A spring-rigid-spring seam weld is modeled by a line of two zero-length springs between surfaces, as described in Table 6–18. The springs have identical elastic properties and are joined by a rigid beam connector.

Table 6–18 Spring-rigid-spring seam weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
CARDAN and CARTESIAN connectors with elastic behavior and a rigid beam connector Distributing couplings, CARDAN and CARTESIAN connectors with elastic behavior, and a rigid beam connector


Rigid-Spring-Rigid

A rigid-spring-rigid seam weld is modeled by a line of two rigid beam connectors between surfaces, as described in Table 6–19. The rigid beam connectors are joined by a zero-length spring.

Table 6–19 Rigid-spring-rigid seam weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
Rigid beam connectors and a CARDAN and CARTESIAN connector with elastic behavior Distributing couplings, rigid beam connectors, and a CARDAN and CARTESIAN connector with elastic behavior


Beam

A beam seam weld is modeled by a line of beam elements between surfaces, as described in Table 6–20.

Table 6–20 Beam seam weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
Beam element Distributing couplings and a beam element
See Creating Mesh Properties for a description of the CATIA V5 beam profiles supported by Nonlinear Structural Analysis.

You must select a user material that provides the material properties (CATIA V5 or Nonlinear) of the beam elements. The material must define the following:

  • Young's modulus

  • Coefficient of thermal expansion

If the material uses Nonlinear properties, either Young's modulus or the coefficient of thermal expansion can be temperature dependent, but not both. For more information, see Specifying Material Properties.

Hexahedron

A hexahedron seam weld is modeled by a line of hexahedral connectors between surfaces, as described in Table 6–21. You must select the user material that provides the material properties of the hexahedral elements. The material properties for a hexahedron seam weld must meet the same requirements as the requirements for a beam seam weld.

Table 6–21 Hexahedron seam weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
Not supported N/A Distributing couplings (with DOFs 1, 2, and 3 constrained) and a hexahedral element


You can request history output of relative displacements and rotations and of total, elastic, viscous, and reaction forces and moments from a seam welding connection property. The support for the history output request is the connection mesh.

This task shows you how to create a seam welding connection property between two parts.

  1. Click the Seam Welding Connection Property icon .

    The Seam Welding Connection Property dialog box appears. A Seam Welding Connection Property object appears in the specification tree under the Properties objects set, and a Seam Welding Connection Mesh appears under the Nodes and Elements object.

  2. You can change the identifier of the seam weld connection property by editing the Name field.

  3. In the specification tree, select an existing Line Analysis Connection object or Line Analysis Connection within one Part object.

    The Supports field is updated to reflect your selection.

  4. Select the type of seam weld.

  5. By default, any springs in a seam weld have no stiffness in either the translational or rotational degrees of freedom. In addition, by default a seam welding connection property is associated with the global, rectangular Cartesian axis system. To change the default behavior, click the Component Editor icon and do the following from the Seam Welding Definition dialog box that appears:

    1. Change the translational and rotational stiffness.

    2. Specify a local coordinate system for the degrees of freedom. Local coordinate systems are defined in the CATIA Part Design workbench.

    3. Click OK to accept your changes and to close the Seam Welding Definition dialog box.

  6. If you selected a beam or a hexahedron type of seam weld, click the Component Editor icon and do the following from the Seam Welding Definition dialog box that appears:

    1. From the specification tree, choose a user material with the required material properties.

    2. Specify a local coordinate system for the degrees of freedom. Local coordinate systems are defined in the CATIA Part Design workbench.

    3. Click OK to accept your changes and to close the Seam Welding Definition dialog box.

  7. Click OK in the Seam Welding Connection Property dialog box.

    Symbols representing the seam weld connection property appear at the location of the corresponding seam welding connection mesh.

  8. If necessary, double-click on the Seam Welding Connection Mesh object in the specification tree and enter the following:

    • Whether the mesh is compatible or incompatible.

    • The maximum gap between the nodes that are modeling the seam weld connection. The value is the radius of a sphere that intersects nodes on both of the parts that are being welded.

    • The spacing of the connector elements.

    • The width of a hexahedron seam weld.

  9. Right-click on the seam welding connection mesh object in the specification tree, and select Update Mesh from the menu that appears.

Creating Surface Welding Connection Properties

A surface weld is modeled by an array of hexahedral connections between surfaces of two parts. The surfaces can lie on separate parts or within a single part (for example, between overlapping faces). The parts must be meshed with an incompatible mesh, and the surface weld distributes the connection between the surfaces among several nodes.

After you create a surface welding connection property, Nonlinear Structural Analysis creates a surface welding connection mesh. Table 6–22 summarizes the constraints that can be used to define a surface welding connection property in Nonlinear Structural Analysis.

Table 6–22 Surface welding connection properties.

Nonlinear Structural Analysis
Surface Analysis Connection Surface Analysis Connection Within One Part

A surface weld is modeled by a line of hexahedral connectors between surfaces. In Nonlinear Structural Analysis the connection between the surfaces is shown in Table 6–23.

Table 6–23 Surface weld.

Compatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent Incompatible Mesh Abaqus Equivalent
Not supported N/A Distributing couplings (with DOFs 1, 2, and 3 constrained) and a hexahedral element


You can request history output of relative displacements and rotations and of total, elastic, viscous, and reaction forces and moments from a surface welding connection property. The support for the history output request is the connection mesh. You must select a user material that provides the material properties (CATIA V5 or Nonlinear) of the hexahedral elements. The material must define the following:

  • Young's modulus

  • Coefficient of thermal expansion

If the material uses Nonlinear properties, either Young's modulus or the coefficient of thermal expansion can be temperature dependent but not both. For more information, see Specifying Material Properties.

This task shows you how to create a surface welding connection property between two parts.

  1. Click the Surface Welding Connection Property icon .

    The Surface Welding Connection Property dialog box appears. A Surface Welding Connection Property object appears in the specification tree under the Properties objects set, and a Surface Welding Connection Mesh appears under the Nodes and Elements object.

  2. You can change the identifier of the surface weld connection property by editing the Name field.

  3. In the specification tree, select an existing Surface Analysis Connection object or Surface Analysis Connection within one Part object.

    The Supports field is updated to reflect your selection.

  4. Nonlinear Structural Analysis supports only Hexahedron surface welds. Click the Component Editor icon and do the following from the Surface Welding Definition dialog box that appears:

    1. From the specification tree, choose a user material with the required material properties.

    2. Specify a local coordinate system for the degrees of freedom. Local coordinate systems are defined in the CATIA Part Design workbench.

    3. Click OK to accept your changes and to close the Surface Welding Definition dialog box.

  5. Click OK in the Surface Welding Connection Property dialog box.

    Symbols representing the surface weld connection property appear at the location of the corresponding surface welding connection mesh.

  6. If necessary, double-click on the Surface Welding Connection Mesh object in the specification tree and enter the following:

    • Whether the mesh is compatible or incompatible.

    • The maximum gap between the nodes that are modeling the surface weld connection. The value is the radius of a sphere that intersects nodes on both of the parts that are being welded.

    • The spacing of the hexahedral elements.

  7. Right-click on the surface welding connection mesh object in the specification tree, and select Update Mesh from the menu that appears.