Required field
Required field
Required field

## Documentation

In the Surface Load boundary condition, a distributed load per unit area is applied on a face (or set of faces). It is useful to model the loads applied through the surface in contact with fluids or other solids, where the direction of application of the load is known beforehand, in terms of the global coordinate system components.

The parameters of the boundary condition are:

1. Load: The components of the applied load, expressed in the global coordinate system directions of the model $$(t_x, t_y, t_z)$$.
2. Assignment: Set of faces where the surface load will be applied.

## Supported Analysis Types

The following analysis types support the usage of this boundary condition:

## Resultant Force Magnitude and Direction

The traction vector is defined by the components of the load:

$$\vec{t} = (t_x, t_y, t_z)$$

Each component has units of force ($$N$$, $$lb.$$, etc) per unit of surface area ($$m^2$$, $$sq. in.$$, etc). Thus the traction has the units of pressure ($$Pa$$, $$psi$$, etc). The total applied force vector over the assignment set depends on the surface area of the assigned faces:

$$\vec{F} = \int \vec{t} dA$$