how to select surface (master and slave) after partitioning to define general contact interaction

[Wonder_Women]

I am trying to define a general contact interaction at a specific location in my model. To do that I was creating partition at the desired location but I am not able to select the surface after creating a partition. Can I do that?? or I have to create 2 part? creating two parts and then selecting surface is working. But I can't create 4-5 parts It's tedious and time-consuming, plus my model is already ready. I just want to make small modifications to improve the results. I have attached an image with one partition. Based on the results, I will have to create one or two more partitions to define the general contact. Please help me with how to do that.

Background: I am doing cyclic analysis and CDP model is not able to capture the pinching behaviour of hysteris curve. To improve the results I want to insert a crack at the location with maximum tensile stresses and to do that I need define general contact at the location with maximum tensile stresses.

 

[FEA way]

Is the default general contact domain (all with self) not applicable here for some reason ? Usually, it's sufficient. If not, you can use surface inclusions and define the GC domain like regular contact pairs. It should work for partitions as well.

 

[Wonder_Women]

Actually, for all contact, i have defined general contact with penalty friction as 0.3 and hard contact. but at partition I want to define contact with friction as 1 and hard contact. So for this i have define two interaction properties. So while defining contact at partition , I need to select surfaces, which I am not able to do. I am trying the surface-to-surface contact available in abaqus

 

[FEA way]

To apply different contact properties to selected surface pairs, you should create the surfaces based on those partitions first, then go to GC settings, choose Individual property assignments, select two predefined surfaces and corresponding property and press the >>> button.

 

[Wonder_Women]

I can share my model too. Maybe it will help in understand the issue i am facing. But i am not able to upload cae file here. Model has 3 parts. Its basically a composite columns with end steel plates. Its basically a steel tube filled with concrete.

 

[Wonder_Women]

So thats the problem. I am not able to create surfaces. I created partition and after that when i am trying to create surface i am not able to select the surface i want.

 

[Wonder_Women]

I want to select this face(marked as random lines) but at the location where i have created partition.

 

[FEA way]

I see, so it's an internal surface. If it's a single part then the mesh is continuous and contact is not necessary. So you have to create multiple parts as you did.

 

[Wonder_Women]

oh okay.. Creating a multiple part is only option then..
Thanks for the insight.