Spring

Regains its undeformed shape after a compression or extension load is removed.

Additional Related Information

Object Properties

The Details Pane properties for this object include the following.

Category	Properties/Options/Descriptions
Graphics Properties	Visible
Definition	Material: Selects a material to define a material-dependent damping ratio. The material-dependent damping ratio is to be included in modal damping calculations for use in MSUP analyses. Type: Read-only field that describes the spring - Longitudinal Spring Behavior: For Rigid Dynamics and Explicit Dynamics analyses, the options include Both (default), Compression Only, and Tension Only. For all other analysis types, Both is the only option and the field is read-only. Longitudinal Stiffness: Entry field. Longitudinal Damping: Entry field. Preload: Options include None (default), Load, and Free Length. Suppressed Spring Length: Read-only indication. Element APDL Name: Optional property that enables you to manually define an APDL parameter (in the input file) and assign the parameter value as the element of the Spring. This facilitates easy programmatic identification of the element of the Spring for later use/reference in a Commands (APDL) object.
Scope	Scope: Options include Body-Body or Body-Ground.
Reference	Scoping Method: Specify as Geometry Selection, Named Selection, or Remote Point. Applied By: Displays for Body-Body scoping. Specify as Remote Attachment or Direct Attachment. The default for this property can differ if you first select geometry or a mesh node. Based on the selection made for the Scoping Method property of this category, the next property is: Scope: Appears if Scope (under Scope group) is set to Body-Body and Scoping Method is set to Geometry Selection. Choose geometry entity then click Apply. Reference Component: Appears if Scope (under Scope group) is set to Body-Body and Scoping Method is set to Named Selection. Remote Points: Appears if Scope (under Scope group) is set to Body-Body and Scoping Method is set to Remote Point. This property provides a drop-down list of available user-defined Remote Points. This property is not available when the Applied By property is specified as Direct Attachment. Body: Appears if the Scope property (under Scope category) is set to Body-Body. This property is a read-only indication of scoped geometry. The following options appear if Scope (under Scope group) is set to Body-Ground or if Scope is set to Body-Body and Applied By is specified as Remote Attachment. Coordinate System Reference X Coordinate Reference Y Coordinate Reference Z Coordinate Reference Location Behavior Material:Available when the Behavior property is set to Beam. Select a material to define material properties for the beams used in the connection. Density is excluded from the material definition. Radius: Available when the Behavior property is set to Beam. Specify a radius to define the cross section dimension of the circular beam used for the connection. Pinball Region
Mobile	Scoping Method: Specify as Geometry Selection, Named Selection, or Remote Point. Applied By: Specify as Remote Attachment or Direct Attachment. The default for this property can differ if you first select geometry or a mesh node. Based on the selection made for the Scoping Method property of this category, the next property is: Scope: Appears if Scoping Method is set to Geometry Selection. Choose geometry entity then click Apply. Mobile Component: Appears if Scoping Method is set to Named Selection. Remote Points: Appears if the Scoping Method is set to Remote Point. This property provides a drop-down list of available user-defined Remote Points. This property is not available when the Applied By property is specified as Direct Attachment. Body: Read-only indication of scoped geometry. The following options appear if Scope (under Scope group) is set to Body-Ground and Applied By is specified as Remote Attachment or if Scope is set to Body-Body and Applied By is specified as Remote Attachment. Coordinate System Mobile X Coordinate Mobile Y Coordinate Mobile Z Coordinate Mobile Location Behavior Material: Available when the Behavior property is set to Beam. Select a material to define material properties for the beams used in the connection. Density is excluded from the material definition. Radius: Available when the Behavior property is set to Beam. Specify a radius to define the cross section dimension of the circular beam used for the connection. Pinball Region

Tree Dependencies

Valid Parent Tree Object: Connections.
Valid Child Tree Objects: Commands, Comment, Figure, and Image.

Insertion Methods

Use any of the following methods after highlighting Connections object:

Select Spring > Body-Ground or Body-Body, as applicable on the Connections Context Tab.
Right-click the Connections object or in the Geometry window Insert > Spring.

Right-click Options

In addition to common right-click options, relevant right-click options for this object include:

Enable/Disable Transparency - similar behavior to feature in Contact Region.
Promote to Remote Point (Remote Attachment Only)
Promote to Named Selection

API Reference

See the Spring section of the ACT API Reference Guide for specific scripting information.