Chapter 4: Element Support for Material Models

Following is a list of element types that support various material constitutive properties. To take advantage of the many material properties available, use current-technology (rather than legacy) elements in your analysis.

Material models are specified via the TB,Lab command, where Lab represents the material model label (shortcut name). For more information about each material model, see the Material Reference.

For a list of material models and the elements that support them, see Material Model Element Support in the Mechanical APDL Material Reference.

ElementDescription Supported Material Properties
SOLID5 (legacy)3-D Coupled-Field SolidAnisotropic elasticity, Magnetic, Piezoelectric matrix
PLANE13 (legacy)2-D Coupled-Field SolidAnisotropic elasticity, Magnetic, Piezoelectric matrix
FLUID30 3-D Acoustic Fluid Johnson-Champoux-Allard Equivalent Fluid Model of a Porous Media
SOLID65 (legacy)3-D Reinforced Concrete SolidAnisotropic plasticity, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Concrete, Classic Drucker-Prager plasticity, Creep, Multilinear elasticity, State variables (user-defined), User-defined
SOLID96 3-D Magnetic Scalar Solid Magnetic
SOLID98 (legacy)Tetrahedral Coupled-Field SolidAnisotropic elasticity, Magnetic, Piezoelectric matrix
FLUID116 Coupled Thermal-Fluid PipeState variables (user-defined), User-defined
LINK160 (explicit)Explicit 3-D Spar (or Truss)Bilinear kinematic hardening, Plasticity laws
BEAM161 (explicit)Explicit 3-D BeamBilinear kinematic hardening, Viscoelasticity, Plasticity laws
PLANE162 (explicit)Explicit 2-D Structural SolidBilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Composite damage, Viscoelasticity, Foam, Honeycomb, Mooney-Rivlin hyperelasticity, Plasticity laws
SHELL163 (explicit)Explicit Thin Structural ShellBilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Composite damage, Mooney-Rivlin hyperelasticity, Plasticity laws
SOLID164 (explicit)Explicit 3-D Structural SolidAnisotropic elasticity, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Composite damage, Concrete damage, Viscoelasticity, Foam, Geological cap, Honeycomb, Mooney-Rivlin hyperelasticity, Plasticity laws
COMBI165 (explicit)Explicit Spring-Damper Explicit spring-damper (discrete)
SOLID168 (explicit)Explicit 3-D 10-Node Tetrahedral Structural SolidAnisotropic elasticity, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Composite damage, Concrete damage, Viscoelasticity, Foam, Geological cap, Honeycomb, Mooney-Rivlin hyperelasticity, Plasticity laws
CONTA171 2-D 2-Node Surface-to-Surface ContactCohesive zone, Coefficient of friction, User-defined friction, Contact interaction, Contact surface wear

Orthotropic friction (TB,FRIC,,,,ORTHO) is not applicable to the 2-D contact elements CONTA171 and CONTA172.

Contact surface wear is not available for CONTA176 and CONTA177.

Contact interaction for general contact definitions is not applicable to CONTA176.

CONTA172 2-D 3-Node Surface-to-Surface Contact
CONTA173 3-D 4-Node Surface-to-Surface Contact
CONTA174 3-D 8-Node Surface-to-Surface Contact
CONTA175 2-D/3-D Node-to-Surface Contact
CONTA176 3-D Line-to-Line Contact
CONTA177 3-D Line-to-Surface Contact

CONTA178

3-D Node-to-Node Contact

Coefficient of friction, User-defined friction, Contact interaction

Orthotropic friction (TB,FRIC,,,,ORTHO) is not applicable to CONTA178.

Contact interaction for general contact definitions does not apply to CONTA178.

LINK180 3-D Spar (or Truss)Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Elasticity, Hill anisotropy, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, State variables (user-defined), User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
SHELL181 4-Node Structural ShellAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Mullins effect, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Elasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Material-dependent alpha and beta damping (Rayleigh Damping), Material-dependent structural damping, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shape memory alloy (SMA), Shift function for viscoelastic materials, State variables (user-defined), Swelling, User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
PLANE182 2-D 4-Node Structural SolidAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Cam-clay, Cast iron, Mullins effect, Crack growth fracture criterion, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Drucker-Prager concrete, Elasticity, Extended Drucker-Prager, Gurson pressure-dependent plasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Jointed rock, Material-dependent alpha and beta damping (Rayleigh damping), Material-dependent structural damping, Microplane, Mohr-Coulomb, Porous elasticity, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy, State variables (user-defined), Swelling, Uniaxial stress-strain relation, User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
PLANE183 2-D 8-Node or 6-Node Structural Solid
MPC184 Multipoint ConstraintJoint (linear and nonlinear elastic stiffness, linear and nonlinear damping, and frictional behavior)
SOLID185 3-D 8-Node Structural SolidAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Cam-clay, Cast iron, Mullins effect, Crack growth fracture criterion, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Drucker-Prager concrete, Elasticity, Extended Drucker-Prager, Gurson pressure-dependent plasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Jointed rock, Material-dependent alpha and beta damping (Rayleigh damping), Material-dependent structural damping, Microplane, Mohr-Coulomb, Porous elasticity, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy, State variables (user-defined), Swelling, Uniaxial stress-strain relation, User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
SOLID186 3-D 20-Node Structural SolidAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Cast iron, Mullins effect, Cam-clay, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Drucker-Prager concrete, Elasticity, Extended Drucker-Prager, Gurson pressure-dependent plasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Jointed rock, Material-dependent alpha and beta damping (Rayleigh damping), Material-dependent structural damping, Microplane, Mohr-Coulomb, Porous elasticity, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy, State variables (user-defined), Swelling, Uniaxial stress-strain relation, User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
SOLID187 3-D 10-Node Tetrahedral Structural Solid
BEAM188 3-D 2-Node BeamBilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Elasticity, Hill anisotropy, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy (SMA), State variables (user-defined), User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
BEAM189 3-D 3-Node Beam
SOLSH190 3-D 8-Node Structural Solid ShellAnisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Cast iron, Mullins effect, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Extended Drucker-Prager, Elasticity, Gurson pressure-dependent plasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Material-dependent alpha and beta damping (Rayleigh damping), Material-dependent structural damping, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy, State variables (user-defined), Swelling, Uniaxial stress-strain relation, User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
INTER192 2-D 4-Node Gasket Gasket
INTER193 2-D 6-Node Gasket
INTER194 3-D 16-Node Gasket
INTER195 3-D 8-Node Gasket
INTER202 2-D 4-Node Cohesive Cohesive zone
INTER203 2-D 6-Node Cohesive
INTER204 3-D 16-Node Cohesive
INTER205 3-D 8-Node Cohesive
SHELL208 2-Node Axisymmetric ShellAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Mullins effect, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Elasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Material-dependent alpha and beta damping (Rayleigh damping), Material-dependent structural damping, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy (SMA), State variables (user-defined), Swelling, User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
SHELL209 3-Node Axisymmetric ShellAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Mullins effect, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Elasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Material-dependent alpha and beta damping (Rayleigh damping), Material-dependent structural damping, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy (SMA), State variables (user-defined), Swelling, User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
CPT212 2-D 4-Node Coupled Pore-Pressure Mechanical SolidBilinear isotropic hardening, Cam-clay, Cast iron, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Coupled Pore-Fluid Diffusion and Structural Model of Porous Media, Density, Drucker-Prager concrete, Elasticity, Extended Drucker-Prager (excluding Cap yield surface), Gurson pressure-dependent plasticity, Hill anisotropy (with TB,BISO or TB,PLAS,,,,MISO only), Hyperelasticity, Jointed rock, Microplane, Mohr-Coulomb, Multilinear isotropic hardening, Nonlinear isotropic hardening, Porous elasticity, Swelling, Thermal, Coefficient of thermal expansion
CPT213 2-D 8-Node Coupled Pore-Pressure Mechanical Solid
CPT215 3-D 8-Node Coupled Pore-Pressure Mechanical Solid
CPT216 3-D 20-Node Coupled Pore-Pressure Mechanical Solid
CPT217 3-D 10-Node Coupled Pore-Pressure Mechanical Solid
FLUID220 3-D Acoustic Fluid 20-Node Solid Element Johnson-Champoux-Allard Equivalent Fluid Model of a Porous Media
FLUID221 3-D Acoustic Fluid 10-Node Solid Element Johnson-Champoux-Allard Equivalent Fluid Model of a Porous Media
PLANE222 2-D 4-Node Coupled-Field SolidAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Cast iron, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Extended Drucker-Prager, Elasticity, Gurson pressure-dependent plasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Mullins effect, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Material structural damping, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy, Uniaxial stress-strain relation, Voce isotropic hardening law
PLANE223 2-D 8-Node Coupled-Field SolidAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Cast iron, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Anisotropic electric permittivity, Extended Drucker-Prager, Elasticity, Gurson pressure-dependent plasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Migration model, Mullins effect, Piezoelectric matrix, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Piezoresistivity, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Material structural damping, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy, Uniaxial stress-strain relation, Voce isotropic hardening law

These material properties do not apply to piezoelectric analyses (TB,PIEZ) where KEYOPT(1) = 1001 or 1011.

Magnetic properties are available for PLANE223 only.

SOLID226 3-D 20-Node Coupled-Field Solid
SOLID227 3-D 10-Node Coupled-Field Solid
PLANE233 2-D 8-Node Electromagnetic Solid Magnetic
SOLID2363-D 20-Node Electromagnetic Solid
SOLID237 3-D 10-Node Electromagnetic Solid
HSFLD241 2-D Hydrostatic Fluid Fluid
HSFLD242 3-D Hydrostatic Fluid
REINF263 2-D Smeared ReinforcingBilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Density, Elasticity, Hill anisotropy, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, State variables (user-defined), Swelling, User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
REINF264 3-D Discrete Reinforcing
REINF265 3-D Smeared Reinforcing
SOLID272 General Axisymmetric Solid with 4 Base NodesAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Cast iron, Mullins effect, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Extended Drucker-Prager, Shape memory alloy (SMA)
SOLID273 General Axisymmetric Solid with 8 Base Nodes
SOLID278 3-D 8-Node Thermal SolidThermal properties, State variables (user-defined), User-defined
SOLID279 3-D 20-Node Thermal Solid
SHELL281 8-Node Structural ShellAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Mullins effect, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Elasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Material-dependent alpha and beta damping (Rayleigh damping), Material-dependent structural damping, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy (SMA), State variables (user-defined), Swelling, User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
SOLID285 3-D 4-Node Tetrahedral Structural Solid with Nodal PressuresAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Cast iron, Mullins effect, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Extended Drucker-Prager, Elasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Material-dependent alpha and beta damping (Rayleigh damping), Material-dependent structural damping, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy, State variables (user-defined), Swelling, Uniaxial stress-strain relation, User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
PIPE288 3-D 2-Node PipeAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Cast iron, Mullins effect, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Extended Drucker-Prager, Elasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, Shape memory alloy (SMA), State variables (user-defined), User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law
PIPE289 3-D 3-Node Pipe
ELBOW290 3-D 3-Node ElbowAnisotropic hyperelasticity, Anisotropic elasticity, Bergstrom-Boyce, Bilinear isotropic hardening, Bilinear kinematic hardening, Mullins effect, Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening, Creep, Coefficient of thermal expansion, Damage evolution law, Damage initiation criteria, Density, Extended Drucker-Prager, Elasticity, Hill anisotropy, Hyperelasticity, Prony series constants for viscoelastic materials, Rate-dependent plasticity (viscoplasticity), Rate-independent plasticity, Material structural damping, Shift function for viscoelastic materials, State variables (user-defined), User-defined, Voce isotropic hardening law

Release 18.2 - © ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.