Defining Couplings

You can create a coupling connection to join two supports using either a rigid or a spring-loaded connection behavior.

See Also
About Couplings
  1. From the Model section of the assistant, expand the Connections list and select Coupling.
  2. Select a face, edge, or point from the model.
  3. Optional: Enter a descriptive Name.
  4. Optional: Change the supports.

    Support 2 is not needed if Support 1 is a face or an edge. In this case, the simulation couples the face or edge to a reference point located at the centroid of the face or edge of Support 1. For 3D solid parts, you can select faces from more than two parts.

    Warning:
    • You cannot create a coupling from a face or an edge to another face or an edge.
    • you cannot couple a shell to a solid.
    • Supports cannot include faces that are defined as analytical rigid surfaces. You can use the context menu in the Connection Manager to reuse supports from an existing connection. However, supports can be reused only if they meet the requirements of the current connection type.
    • For couplings between any supports other than single points, for instance between a face and an edge, a handler point is created midway between the first and second supports at each end. By default, the handler points are connected rigidly; an elastic connection is used if you specify spring behavior.
  5. Specify the Coupling type.
    OptionDescription
    Rigid Directly couples the motion of the edges or faces to the rigid body motion of the reference point.
    Flexible Couples the motion of the edges/faces to the motion of the reference point, but the coupling is averaged with weight factors controlling the transmission of forces from the reference point to the other supports. A continuum distributing coupling couples the translation and rotation of the reference point to the average translation of the coupling nodes. No moments are distributed at the coupling nodes.