Hi,

I need to simulate the mechanical response of a cable, which is composed of several helical wires. Considering there is no need to look into the detail of each wire in the cable, to simplify the model, I'd like to model the cable with general beam element by prescribing directly the equivalent section properties. The most interested cable deformation includes tension, compression and bending. The actual cable's tensile or bending stiffness are deformation dependent. e.g. the compression stiffness is different from the tensile stiffness. Is it possible to apply the deformation dependent section properties for the general beam element? If not, any suggestion about alternative way of modeling the cable is appreciated. Thanks!

Best regards,

Wenbin

Abaqus ​​​​​​​