Contact Model Assignment Table (CMAT)
The Contact Model Assignment Table (CMAT) controls the assignment of contact models and their
associated properties to newly created contacts and also provides the detection distances
used by the contact-creation procedure. The CMAT consists of an ordered set of slots
(populated with contact cmat add
command) along with a default slot for each contact type
(set with the contact cmat default
command). Each slot contains a contact model and its
properties and methods [1] , and each non-default slot also contains a
PFC range. Whenever a contact is created, it is mapped into one of the slots in the CMAT, and
the information in that slot is used to assign the contact model and its associated properties
and methods. The slot mapping proceeds as follows:
- Each non-default slot is visited in order, and if the contact is within its range, then that slot is selected.
- If no slot has been selected, then the default slot corresponding with the contact type is selected.
The CMAT can also be applied to a range of existing contacts with the contact cmat apply
command.
CMAT entries can be modified with the contact cmat modify
command and removed with the contact cmat remove
command.
The tutorial example “Using the CMAT” demonstrates basic and advanced usage of the CMAT to construct complex systems.
Endnotes
[1] | If contact methods are used, they supersede the property assignment, and property inheritance may be turned off depending on the specifics of the contact model implementation. |
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