Offset
The Offset node can be used to modify the geometrical properties of its selected boundaries.
Contact Surface Offset and Adjustment
Enter a value or an expression for Offset from contact surface doff. The offset is subtracted from the geometric gap in the normal direction of the surface. Any specified offset will be considered on both source and destination of a contact mapping that includes the selected boundaries.
Select Force zero initial gap to compensate for any difference caused by irregularities in geometry or mesh when the two contacting boundaries should exactly coincide in the initial state. Gaps smaller than the tolerance Δgap are adjusted to be zero before any offset is added. By default, Δgap is set to 0, meaning that all initial penetration are removed.
The adjustment by Force zero initial gap is only made if enabled at both source and destination of a contact mapping.
Use Offset to adjust initial clearances (negative values) or interference fits (positive values) without having to modify the geometry.
When combined with Force zero initial gap, the offset will be exact in the sense that it is not affected by mesh irregularities.
The adjustment made by Force zero initial gap does not move any nodes in the mesh. Effectively, it adds an extra hidden offset that compensates for the initial distance between the source and destination boundaries.
Advanced
To display this section, click the Show More Options button () and select Advanced Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog.
Change Search distance list from the default From pair to override the search distance set by a General Contact Pair. This is sometimes necessary for complex assemblies to avoid false or unwanted contact detection.
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If Manual distance is selected, enter an absolute value for the search distance
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If Tolerance is selected, enter a dimensionless tolerance. The search distance is equal to the entered tolerance times a characteristic mesh elements size.
The Offset Node in the Structural Mechanics Modeling chapter.
Location in User Interface
Context Menus
Solid Mechanics > General Contact > Offset
Solid Mechanics, Explicit Dynamics > General Contact > Offset
Multibody Dynamics > General Contact > Offset
Ribbon
Physics tab with General Contact selected in the Model Builder tree:
Attributes > Offset