4.28 Surface Releases

Surface releases allow you to decouple the model at a surface or only transfer certain forces at surfaces. Unlike with contact solids, you do not need to model artificial distance between the surfaces.

You can enter the number of the relevant surface manually, select it from the list, or use to define it graphically in the work window.

In this table column or text box, you have to assign a release type that has been defined in Table 1.27 (see Chapter 4.27) to the surface. Use the button for the selection. You can also create a New Surface Release Type in the list. The dialog box shown in Figure 4.208 appears for this purpose.

The released Members, Surfaces, and Solids can be directly entered or graphically selected in the work window with .

At the same location that allows the released displacements, RFEM internally generates a copy of the surface. You can specify whether the release should be positioned at the Original surface or at the Released surface. This definition should not affect the results.

The number of the surface generated by RFEM for the surface release is displayed. In Table 1.4 Surfaces and in the navigator, this generated surface is marked by the surface type Copy.

For a funnel-shaped component, the cap should only act with compression forces. For this, you have to define a surface release type with the action Fixed if positive pz and then assign it to the conic boundary surfaces.