MPC184-Translational
Multipoint
Constraint Element: Translational Joint
MPC184 Translational Joint Element Description
The MPC184 translational joint element is a two-node element that has one relative displacement degree of freedom. All other relative degrees of freedom are fixed.
MPC184 Translational Joint Input Data
Set KEYOPT(1) = 10 to define a two-node translational joint element.
Figure 184tran.1: MPC184 Translational Joint Geometry shows the geometry and node locations for this element. Two nodes (I and J) define the element.
A local Cartesian coordinate system must be specified at the first node, I, of the element. The local coordinate system specification at the second node is optional. The second node J is constrained to move along the e1 axis specified at node I. The local coordinate system specified at node I evolves with the rotations at node I. Use the SECJOINT command to specify the identifiers of the local coordinate systems.
The constraints imposed on a translational joint element are easily described by referring to Figure 184tran.1: MPC184 Translational Joint Geometry. At any given instant of time, the constraints imposed are as follows:
Where, xI and xJ are the positional vectors of nodes I and J in the current configuration, and XI and XJ are the position vectors of nodes I and J in the reference configuration. Essentially these constraints force the node J to move along the e1 axis of the local coordinate system specified at node I. eI are in the current configuration, while EI are specified in the initial configuration.
The change in the relative position of the nodes I and J is given by:
The constitutive calculations use the following definition of the joint displacement:
where:
 = reference length,
length1, specified on SECDATA command |
If the reference length is not specified, the initial offset is used.
Other input data that are common to all joint elements (material behavior, stops and limits, locks, etc.) are described in "Joint Input Data" in the MPC184 element description.
MPC184 Translational Joint Input Summary
This input summary applies to the translational joint element option of MPC184: KEYOPT(1) = 10.
- Nodes
I, J
Note: For a grounded joint element, specify either node I or node J in the element definition and leave the other node (the grounded node) blank.
- Degrees of Freedom
UX, UY, UZ, ROTX, ROTY, ROTZ
- Real Constants
None
- Material Properties
Use the JOIN label on the TB command to define stiffness, damping, and Coulomb friction behavior. (See MPC184 Joint in the Material Reference for detailed information on defining joint materials.)
- Surface Loads
None
- Body Loads
- Temperatures --
T(I), T(J)
- Element Loads
None
- Special Features
- KEYOPT(1)
Element behavior:
- 10 --
Translational joint element
- KEYOPT(2)
Element constraint imposition method:
- 0 --
Lagrange multiplier method (default)
- 1 --
Penalty-based method
MPC184 Translational Joint Output Data
The solution output associated with the element is in two forms:
Nodal displacements included in the overall nodal solution
Additional element output as shown in Table 184tran.1: MPC184 Translational Joint Element Output Definitions and Table 184tran.2: MPC184 Translational Joint Element - NMISC Output.
These tables use the following notation:
A colon (:) in the Name column indicates the item can be accessed by the Component Name method (ETABLE, ESOL). The O column indicates the availability of the items in the file Jobname.out. The R column indicates the availability of the items in the results file.
In either the O or R columns, Y indicates that the item is always available, a number refers to a table footnote that describes when the item is conditionally available, and a - indicates that the item is not available.
Table 184tran.1: MPC184 Translational Joint Element Output Definitions
| Name | Definition | O | R |
|---|---|---|---|
| EL | Element number | - | Y |
| NODES | Element node numbers (I, J) | - | Y |
| FY | Constraint force in Y direction | - | Y |
| FZ | Constraint force in Z direction | - | Y |
| MX | Constraint moment in X direction | - | Y |
| MY | Constraint moment in Y direction | - | Y |
| MZ | Constraint moment in Z direction | - | Y |
| CSTOP1 | Constraint force if stop is specified on DOF 1 | - | Y |
| CLOCK1 | Constraint force if lock is specified on DOF 1 | - | Y |
| CSST1 | Constraint stop status[1] | - | Y |
| CLST1 | Constraint lock status[2] | - | Y |
| JRP1 | Joint relative position | - | Y |
| JCD1 | Joint constitutive displacement | - | Y |
| JEF1 | Joint elastic force | - | Y |
| JDF1 | Joint damping force | - | Y |
| JFF1 | Joint friction force | - | Y |
| JRU1 | Joint relative displacement | - | Y |
| JRV1 | Joint relative velocity | - | Y |
| JRA1 | Joint relative acceleration | - | Y |
| JTEMP | Average temperature in the element[3] | - | Y |
| JFST1 | Slip/stick status when friction is specified[4] | - | Y |
| JFNF1 | Normal moment in friction calculations | - | Y |
0 = stop not active, or deactivated 1 = stopped at minimum value 2 = stopped at maximum value 0 = lock not active 1 = locked at minimum value 2 = locked at maximum value Average temperature in the element when temperatures are applied on the nodes of the element using the BF command, or when temperature are applied on the element using the BFE command.
Stick/slip status when friction is active:
0 = friction is not activated 1 = sticking 2 = slipping or sliding
The following table shows additional non-summable miscellaneous (NMISC) output available for the translational joint element.
Note: This output is intended for use in the Ansys Workbench program to track the evolution of local coordinate systems specified at the nodes of joint elements.
Table 184tran.2: MPC184 Translational Joint Element - NMISC Output
| Name | Definition | O | R |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1X-I, E1Y-I, E1Z-I | X, Y, Z components of the evolved e1 axis at node I | - | Y |
| E2X-I, E2Y-I, E2Z-I | X, Y, Z components of the evolved e2 axis at node I | - | Y |
| E3X-I, E3Y-I, E3Z-I | X, Y, Z components of the evolved e3 axis at node I | - | Y |
| E1X-J, E1Y-J, E1Z-J | X, Y, Z components of the evolved e1 axis at node J | - | Y |
| E2X-J, E2Y-J, E2Z-J | X, Y, Z components of the evolved e2 axis at node J | - | Y |
| E3X-J, E3Y-J, E3Z-J | X, Y, Z components of the evolved e3 axis at node J | - | Y |
| JFX, JFY, JFZ | Constraint forces expressed in the evolved coordinate system specified at node I | - | Y |
| JMX, JMY, JMZ | Constraint moments expressed in the evolved coordinate system specified at node I | - | Y |
Table 184tran.3: MPC184 Translational Joint Item and Sequence Numbers - SMISC Items and Table 184tran.4: MPC184 Translational Joint Item and Sequence Numbers - NMISC Items list output available via the ETABLE command using the Sequence Number method. See The General Postprocessor (POST1) in the Basic Analysis Guide and The Item and Sequence Number Table for further information. The table uses the following notation:
- Name
output quantity as defined in the Element Output Definitions table.
- Item
predetermined Item label for ETABLE command
- E
sequence number for single-valued or constant element data
Table 184tran.4: MPC184 Translational Joint Item and Sequence Numbers - NMISC Items
| Output Quantity Name | ETABLE and ESOL Command Input | |
|---|---|---|
| Item | E | |
| E1X-I | NMISC | 1 |
| E1Y-I | NMISC | 2 |
| E1Z-I | NMISC | 3 |
| E2X-I | NMISC | 4 |
| E2Y-I | NMISC | 5 |
| E2Z-I | NMISC | 6 |
| E3X-I | NMISC | 7 |
| E3Y-I | NMISC | 8 |
| E3Z-I | NMISC | 9 |
| E1X-J | NMISC | 10 |
| E1Y-J | NMISC | 11 |
| E1Z-J | NMISC | 12 |
| E2X-J | NMISC | 13 |
| E2Y-J | NMISC | 14 |
| E2Z-J | NMISC | 15 |
| E3X-J | NMISC | 16 |
| E3Y-J | NMISC | 17 |
| E3Z-J | NMISC | 18 |
| JFX | NMISC | 19 |
| JFY | NMISC | 20 |
| JFZ | NMISC | 21 |
| JMX | NMISC | 22 |
| JMY | NMISC | 23 |
| JMZ | NMISC | 24 |
MPC184 Translational Joint Assumptions and Restrictions
Boundary conditions cannot be applied on the nodes forming the translational joint.
Rotational degrees of freedom are activated at the nodes forming the element. When these elements are used in conjunction with solid elements, the rotational degrees of freedom must be suitably constrained. Since boundary conditions cannot be applied to the nodes of the translational joint, a beam or shell element with very weak stiffness may be used with the underlying solid elements at the nodes forming the joint element to avoid any rigid body modes.
If both stops and locks are specified, then lock specification takes precedence. That is, if the degree of freedom is locked at a given value, then it will remain locked for the rest of the analysis.
In a nonlinear analysis, the components of relative motion are accumulated over all the substeps. It is essential that the substep size be restricted such that these rotations in a given substep are less than π for the values to be accumulated correctly.
The element currently does not support birth or death options.
For the Lagrange multiplier element formulation (KEYOPT(2) = 0) and the penalty-based element formulation (KEYOPT(2) = 1), the equation solver (EQSLV) must be the sparse or the PCG solver.
Lagrange multiplier-based joint elements (KEYOPT(2) = 0) and penalty-based joint elements (KEYOPT(2) = 1) cannot be connected to each other.
The element coordinate system (/PSYMB,ESYS) is not relevant.