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    SimScale DocumentationSimulation SetupBoundary ConditionsRemote Force

    Remote Force

    The Remote force boundary condition is used to apply a force to a face (or set of faces) of a structure from a remote point. This boundary condition is analogous to the Remote displacement boundary condition for forces.

    In addition to what is possible with a standard force boundary condition, a remote force boundary condition has the following advantages:

    • A deformation behavior can be added to the assigned entity.
    • A moment load can also be applied.

    There are also some limitations. The fact that this is a linear boundary condition, it is valid only if small displacements and rotations occur in the area of the applied entity and the remote point itself.

    The settings for Remote force boundary condition, in the Workbench, are described below:

    Remote force boundary condition
    Figure 1: Remote force boundary condition parameters panel in the SimScale Workbench

    Force

    The user defines, for each global coordinate directions, the force that should be applied. Each value can either be defined by a scalar value, a function, or a table. For function or table data the value may depend on time (or frequency in case of a harmonic analysis) or the spatial coordinates.

    Moment

    For each rotational direction the user can define a moment (torque) that is applied to the assigned entities. The input methods and possible dependencies are the same as for the forces.

    applying force and torque in simscale with a remote force boundary condition
    Figure 2: General force and moment (torque) components for the remote point, located at the centroid of the beam face

    Remote Point

    Here the user defines the coordinates of the external point on which the forces and moments are applied. The coordinates are given in the global coordinate system of the domain.

    Deformation Behavior

    This property defines if the applied associated entities (edges or faces) may deform or if they are assumed to be rigid.

    When set to Deformable, no additional stiffness is generated on the applied entities due to the displacement restrictions. The remote point is connected to the entities by an RBE3-constraint. This means that the forces of the remote point are distributed to the nodes proportionally with the distance to the center of gravity of the assigned entities.

    When set to Undeformable, the entity behaves like a rigid part. The connection of the point and the entities is a multi-point constraint which blocks all relative displacements between the affected nodes.

    Example

    Following is the contour plot of von Mises stress on a structure subjected to Remote force boundary condition:

    Result deformation and stress plot
    Figure 3: Resulting deformed shape and stress contour plots on application of remote force

    Hint

    If the deformable option is used and the number of nodes of the assigned entities is large (>1000), it is advised to use either the MUMPS or PETSC solver instead of Multfront since the performance of Multfront is not optimal for this kind of equations.

    Validation Case

    Please refer to the following validation case for more information:

    Validation Case: Static Analysis of an I-Beam Under Remote Force

    Last updated: August 23rd, 2022

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