3.

Bolt preload at a critical nterface needs to be modelled, but does ngjl0ge{ the bolt to be
modelled with any more detail than as a "bar" or'beam" element. A@4.n be used to
connect the end node of the'bolt'to the multple nodes which represenfthe washer area
over whch the bolt load acts.

The Concise Guide to Nastran Rigid Elements

Prease ivofe.'
The nfomaton contaned hre s a useful free gude to sore basc infomaton on Finite Element Analyss.

4, Masses are usd to represent passenger/seating loads in a tran or bus structure. The
seating and passengers are assumed not to contribute any strength to th:sktcture. A mass
element could be used to represent one set of passengers/seat. tBBE3-ment can be

Subscribe to EnDunsm's CAE emal Newsreffer Crbk Suscnbe.

Tnnng: You may be interested n EnDureSm's Pctcal FEA Coue for Enainee & Manaqe.

used to connect the mass element to the relevant area of the structure over which you wish
to dstribute the effect of the mass.

Seryices: lf you have a Ime-ctcal prcject and need fast expertse to dagnose prcblems wth your model,
or need advce on how lo corectly model a paillar stuaton, then EnDurasim Seruices s an effectve
opton.

Prefeed model fomats: Femap (.mod or .neu) and/or all types of Nastn (.bdf, .dat, .nas). A large number
of other formats a avalable on request.
Zpped models and quesfions can be sent drcctly to nfo@endwasm.com. or va Secure logn to aur
for us to prcvde a free quote.

ftp site

We can include phone and/or intective web meetng wth our engners for real-tme understanding n the
shoftest time, at your opton-

What s the difference between RBE2 and RBE3 elements?

Both elements "looK'th same, n that they have a sngle node connected to one or (usually) multple
other nodes. The differen is that the RBEz element adds (nfinte) sttrness to the structure, while
RBES elements "dstrbute forces" around the connected nodes, wthout adding any stffness.

A rigd element can be as smple as two nodes connected at coincdent locations (although it would
be very unusual to use an RBE3 n that confguration), through to the more common appearance of a
"spider" or'sea urchn" connecton, or any arbitrary connection of one to multple nodes.

The Nastran group of elements often descrbed as the "Rgid Elements" are very useful engineering
analyss tools.

'Rigid Element" s a slght msnomr, but the trm is still used to descrbe the most commonly used
items: the "RBE2" and the'RBE3".
Ths artcle descrbes some of th common uses and lips for using these

tools. The gude is ntended

to be more practical than theoretcal; however some bsc theory is used to help better understnd
ther practcal use.

Firstly, what ar rgd elements, and why might you want to use them?

.6

A rigid element

a3

s a link from one node to another (or multiple nodes), where the motion of the
node(s) s governed by the "degrees of freedom" you choose to connect. A rigid element is actually a
constraint equation rather than an actua element, but for practcal purposes that matters little, except
for the tips to avoid common erors with rgd elements (descrbed later in ths article).

Contact lntlaco

r&

Plo-loaded boll conneded o/r

eleclive washer area using FtsE2
risd element (tho rsd'spd6f')

A few examples of useful applcatons of rgd elements include the following:

1. To model the dynamic beb+rqrur of a vehicle, the engne can be modelled as a mass
element connected by ar(RBE2 dd element to the engine's multiple mounting locatons.
This makes the reasonablfufumpton that the engne s "very stiff compared to the body
structure and so the engine does not need to e modelled n deta|. The mass s located at
the centre of gravi of the engine, and the rigd element links the engine mass to the rubber
mounts whose stffnesses are typically much more relevant.

116

943

...&,x

\,

"

a.td

oil 5d: mE_LN. ffiD tNS d

Dd0253* fdl'dl.b
tu
sdv Md S!.r P.l

UNE

dtd

2. A large piece of rotatng mning equipment operates n an effectve "dynamc equilibrium' -

the weght of the equpment and its ore is balanced by the pressure at the bearng
pads. Standard constraints at the bearing journal could over-constran the area, so the
bearng reacton can be modelled as a pressure load. Smilarly if the load s going to be
rotted, thn standard conslrants would requre a separate bearing constraint to match each

rotation of load, resulting n excessive runtimes. lf loaded rrectly, the equipment s

"balanced'algJqlits only nomnal constraint (ie. constraints whch produce negligible

reactionsk"n R3jnent connecting a ring of nodes at the bearing ioumal support to a

single noddre rotatng axs, alows a sngle constraint set to be used in conjunction wth
all of the rotating loads sets.

Which DOF you connect is obviously dependent on the job whch needs to be performed.

It is crjtcal to note that because of the "lever arm" effect of any dstance between the independent
node and trs dependent nodes, rotations at the independent node produce tanslatons at the

Ei{usif

www.endurasm.com

For an RBE2 rgid element, the single nod is lhe "independent node". lt has 6 deorees of freedom,
regardless of what your FEA graphcal interfa looks lke, The other node(s) are the dependent
nodes. You decide whch of their degrees of freedom you wish to connect. Note that t s important
to understand the sgnfican of your choices. Typical choces for the connected DOF would be
either TX, TY, TZ. OR all 6 DOF (e. translations and rotations).

Australia:1300790661

lnternatonal:+6L294A47A37

EnDurasimPtyLtd.

I 'utfu"os'r,

www.endurasim.com

Australa: 1300790661

lnternatonal;+67294847837

EnDurasm PtyLtd.

dependent nodes and, therefore, translatons

at the dependent nodesaffect rotatons at

the

ndependent node.
Rigid Elomenl

The followng fgures show an example of a rgid element (RBE2) used to connect a cntral node to
the nodes on the edge of a hol.

lndpodenl Node

ln the first case, only translations at the dependent nodes (the ones on the edge of the hole) are

wilh enfod rotalim

connected,

aboutZ

ln the second case, all 6 DOF are connected at the dependent nodes.

An enforced rotation s applied at the cenlral node (the independent node).

SimplySuppoded
Edgc

Note the effect on the "local slope" al the ring of dependent nodes when all DOF are connected
compared to just the lranslatonal DOF.

Dpsndor nodss
on d0 ol hol

Rigd Elemenl

Rigid Element (RBE2) with all DOF

connected at dependent nodes.
Note the slope continuity at the edge of the hole

0@s*wNIWbl
Dld.406 IdT

lndependenl Node
wilh nforced rolalion
aboul Z

Thus, be careful choosing the DOF to be connected at the dependent nodes, particularly for plate
and beam models.

Smply Supported

Edge
Dependent nodes
on cdgo ol hole
'^

:i

O@SdUNINCel
0&.{B81 Td lrllb

Note that for "typical" FEA if the dependent nodes are on solid etements, then nnecting ony the
translatons vs all DOF wll produce the same result - as most FEA packages, basic solid elements
only have trnslatonal stifdesses al each node .

A typical RBE2 rigd element s created as follows. in ths case, only translational DOF at the
dependent nods are connected. (Note fhaf ftris user interface s Femap, but the concept is similar for
other systems if rigd elements are available).

:l

efe RI6IO emeaitt -

Rigid Element (RBE2) with only translations

connected at dependent nodes.
Note: local rotation not imposed at edge nodes.

lti

tr ,

"r'

fi-

pro,

lndpendat

lrfpdtin

Nodc

l
'rr

17

if
ll

lx

I lq,, l*
o.r

ry T

rr

TZ

r,,. Tr,rl

Thml Erpesirn

c.r.rr

lo]-.-.-

'il

Mldit...

i,Lr l.

Dcrd6r

OcHc

R"..i

,,',,:' I l--- or ---l

c-,"e

The RBE3 "rgd" element s not actually 'rigid", however, t also is used to 'connect" lhe DOF'S at one
or (typically) multple independent nodes to sngle dependent node. The motion of the single
) :!ti0Rsi
www.endurasim.com

,
Australia:130079O661 lnternatonal:+6L294A47A37 EnDurasmptyLtd.

,{uuRSr}r

www.endurasim.com

Australa;1300790661

lnternational:+6f294847837

EnDurasimptyLtd.

dependent node is a "factored interpolaton" of the moton at the independent nodes

- based on lhe
DOF you choose to connect and the interpolation factor(s) you choose for the independent nodes.

ln pEctce, the RBE3 is used to dstribute th effect of a forc o mass (actng at the dependent
node) over a number of other nodes (the independent nodes), without adding stffness to the

For further informaton includng Engineering Analysis Services, contact EnDura5im:

structure.
A typcal RBE3 eement looks as follows. ln this case, the dependent (Reference) node has 6 DOF,
governed by the interpolation of only the translations from the independent nodes (Nodes to
Avemge), where the interpolation factor used for the independent nodes is 1.0 for each node:

Defne RIGT lsqift lD

li*-

praj-

I tldqe

oo

rr

lT-t"

FX

lY l

BY

DoF l? TX

i7

vrzvE
'I

hsmd

ter

vft
,v

..

tz

lT*

f----*-I

]}"Iry',,

130CI 790 661

fnternational +6lA 9484 7t37

Nodcs

li:*-

,,,

DOF {7 TX

lE-

arau..

In ^Australia:

www.endurasim.com

ll od. ll

FX

FY

64, TXZ,

Dete

Bcr

rp.

pansion

codfidar

l.-

Mds'l..

,
I

,.,,:,,,

QK

crcd

Again, this image s from Femap, but the concept is simlar for other FEA packages if rgd etements
are availableA few ky points when usng rgid eloments:
(Note thal there are exceptions to the guidelines below, however, ths gude is drected towards
general/common usage rather than to cover every stuaton for the exprt user).
'1. lf you have multiple rigid elements, do not have any node(s) as the dependent node(s) of
more than one rigd element. Rigd elements can be nested (ie. the dependent node of one
rgid element can be the ndependent node for another rigid element), however you should
avoid a full circular dependency. (User Fatal 5289)

2. Do not apply constrants to the dependent nodes of a rigid elemeni. lf you do, you need to
be sure that the OOFS that you constrain are not the same DOF'S affected/connected in the
element. (User Fatal 2101)
3. An important remnder s that rgd elements operate usng small dsplacement theory. For
example, f you use an RBE2 to rctate some structure, the intial (infintesimal) vector of
displacement at each dependent node does not change its directon inespective of the
magntude of rotation at the independent node. ln the case of basic nonjnear analysis, this
condition remains true. (Note, however, that in the case of eg. NX Nastran Advanced Non-

Linear option, RBE2S operate as large displacement elements which can be used to produce
large scale rotatons). However, for basc non-lnear analysis t is trival (n Femap at least) to
convert multi-pont rgid elements nto multiple non-lnear "stiff beams".
4. Also note that the connected degrees of freedom from the dependenl nodes relate to ther
"output coordnate system" (if used) rather than the global coordinate system, as mpled by
some documentaton. However, we strongly recommend, as wth any capablty that you may
be trying out, that you run test model(s) to lully understand the principles that are described
herein.
.i

ETUESi}

www.endurasm.com

Australa: 1300790661

lnternatonal:+67294A47837

EnDurasmptyLtd

www.enduGsim.com

AustGla:1300790661

lnternationa:+67294A47A37

EnDurasimptyLtd.