Weld (Imprint)

The Weld (Imprint) realization models a spotweld by pre/paring a circled shell mesh from a specified number of elements and diameter.

The Weld (Imprint) realization creates a node that represents the spotweld’s position between the links. Using the specified thickness and diameter, it creates a constraint entity.

The constraint that is created uses the *CONSTRAINTED_SPOTWELD_INTERPOLATION keyword.
Restriction: The Weld (Imprint) realization is only available in LS-DYNA.
Figure 1. Weld (Imprint) All Available Realizations


Realization Options

Option Action
Quad Number Select one of the mesh patterns to be created.
  • 1, 4, 8, 12, or 32 quads
  • 6 quads and 6 trias
  • 16 quads and simple sym, 16 quads and double sym
Diameter Option Select one of the methods to define the diameter value.
  • Diameter (constant value)
  • Diameter mapping file
Thickness Option Select one of the methods to define the thickness of the weld.
  • Shell gap
  • Shell thickness
  • Constant thickness

Notes

  • The Weld (Imprint) realization may have only one link for the case of self-connection with two layers.
  • The maximum allowed number of links is two. The connector will fail otherwise.
  • The Weld (Imprint) realization can be used to connect solid elements. The Imprinting option is only available for shell mesh.
  • The constraints will be realized in Weld configuration.
  • It is recommended to use the shell thickness option to calculate the weld thickness.
  • The Weld (Imprint) realization can be used with hm_getvalue and the dependentnodeids dataname to extract the IDs of the nodes that are dependent on the constraint.