{"id":157941,"date":"2022-06-06T09:58:07","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T09:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/"},"modified":"2022-06-06T09:58:07","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T09:58:07","slug":"please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass","status":"publish","type":"topic","link":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/","title":{"rendered":"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When a Point Mass is inserted in the model, a Remote Point is created at the position input as the Point Mass definition. The Remote Point is affected with the added mass through a MASS21 element, and is attached to the scoped geometry through Constraint Equations. When a Distributed Mass is inserted in the model, SURF154 surface elements are added on top of the scoped geometry. These surface elements are affected with the distributed mass through Real Constant n\u00b06 defining an added mass per unit area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-157941","topic","type-topic","status-publish","hentry","topic-tag-distributed-mass","topic-tag-point-mass"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.10 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When a Point Mass is inserted in the model, a Remote Point is created at the position input as the Point Mass definition. The Remote Point is affected with the added mass through a MASS21 element, and is attached to the scoped geometry through Constraint Equations. When a Distributed Mass is inserted in the model,\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 4.9.10\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ansys Knowledge | Ansys Innovation Space\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass. | Ansys Knowledge\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When a Point Mass is inserted in the model, a Remote Point is created at the position input as the Point Mass definition. The Remote Point is affected with the added mass through a MASS21 element, and is attached to the scoped geometry through Constraint Equations. When a Distributed Mass is inserted in the model,\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-06T09:58:07+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-06T09:58:07+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass. | Ansys Knowledge\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"When a Point Mass is inserted in the model, a Remote Point is created at the position input as the Point Mass definition. The Remote Point is affected with the added mass through a MASS21 element, and is attached to the scoped geometry through Constraint Equations. When a Distributed Mass is inserted in the model,\" \/>\n\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"aioseo-schema\">\n\t\t\t{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/forums\\\/topic\\\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\\\/#breadcrumblist\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge#listItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/topics\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Topics\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/topics\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Topics\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/topics\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/forums\\\/topic-tag\\\/point-mass\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Point Mass\"},\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge#listItem\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/forums\\\/topic-tag\\\/point-mass\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Point Mass\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/forums\\\/topic-tag\\\/point-mass\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/forums\\\/topic\\\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass.\"},\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/topics\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Topics\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/forums\\\/topic\\\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass.\",\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/forums\\\/topic-tag\\\/point-mass\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Point Mass\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ansys Knowledge\",\"description\":\"Ansys Innovation Space\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/forums\\\/topic\\\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\\\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/forums\\\/topic\\\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\\\/\",\"name\":\"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass. | Ansys Knowledge\",\"description\":\"When a Point Mass is inserted in the model, a Remote Point is created at the position input as the Point Mass definition. The Remote Point is affected with the added mass through a MASS21 element, and is attached to the scoped geometry through Constraint Equations. When a Distributed Mass is inserted in the model,\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/forums\\\/topic\\\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\\\/#breadcrumblist\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-06T09:58:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-06T09:58:07+00:00\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ansys Knowledge\",\"description\":\"Ansys Innovation Space\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/innovationspace.ansys.com\\\/knowledge\\\/#organization\"}}]}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO -->\n\n","aioseo_head_json":{"title":"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass. | Ansys Knowledge","description":"When a Point Mass is inserted in the model, a Remote Point is created at the position input as the Point Mass definition. The Remote Point is affected with the added mass through a MASS21 element, and is attached to the scoped geometry through Constraint Equations. When a Distributed Mass is inserted in the model,","canonical_url":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/","robots":"max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"miscellaneous":""},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge#listItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/topics\/#listItem","name":"Topics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/topics\/#listItem","position":2,"name":"Topics","item":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/topics\/","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic-tag\/point-mass\/#listItem","name":"Point Mass"},"previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge#listItem","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic-tag\/point-mass\/#listItem","position":3,"name":"Point Mass","item":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic-tag\/point-mass\/","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/#listItem","name":"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass."},"previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/topics\/#listItem","name":"Topics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/#listItem","position":4,"name":"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass.","previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic-tag\/point-mass\/#listItem","name":"Point Mass"}}]},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/#organization","name":"Ansys Knowledge","description":"Ansys Innovation Space","url":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/","name":"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass. | Ansys Knowledge","description":"When a Point Mass is inserted in the model, a Remote Point is created at the position input as the Point Mass definition. The Remote Point is affected with the added mass through a MASS21 element, and is attached to the scoped geometry through Constraint Equations. When a Distributed Mass is inserted in the model,","inLanguage":"en-US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/#breadcrumblist"},"datePublished":"2022-06-06T09:58:07+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-06T09:58:07+00:00"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/#website","url":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/","name":"Ansys Knowledge","description":"Ansys Innovation Space","inLanguage":"en-US","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/#organization"}}]},"og:locale":"en_US","og:site_name":"Ansys Knowledge | Ansys Innovation Space","og:type":"article","og:title":"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass. | Ansys Knowledge","og:description":"When a Point Mass is inserted in the model, a Remote Point is created at the position input as the Point Mass definition. The Remote Point is affected with the added mass through a MASS21 element, and is attached to the scoped geometry through Constraint Equations. When a Distributed Mass is inserted in the model,","og:url":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/","article:published_time":"2022-06-06T09:58:07+00:00","article:modified_time":"2022-06-06T09:58:07+00:00","twitter:card":"summary_large_image","twitter:title":"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass. | Ansys Knowledge","twitter:description":"When a Point Mass is inserted in the model, a Remote Point is created at the position input as the Point Mass definition. The Remote Point is affected with the added mass through a MASS21 element, and is attached to the scoped geometry through Constraint Equations. When a Distributed Mass is inserted in the model,"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"157941","title":null,"description":null,"keywords":null,"keyphrases":null,"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"og_object_type":"default","og_image_type":"default","og_image_url":null,"og_image_width":null,"og_image_height":null,"og_image_custom_url":null,"og_image_custom_fields":null,"og_video":null,"og_custom_url":null,"og_article_section":null,"og_article_tags":null,"twitter_use_og":false,"twitter_card":"default","twitter_image_type":"default","twitter_image_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_fields":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"schema":{"blockGraphs":[],"customGraphs":[],"default":{"data":{"Article":[],"Course":[],"Dataset":[],"FAQPage":[],"Movie":[],"Person":[],"Product":[],"ProductReview":[],"Car":[],"Recipe":[],"Service":[],"SoftwareApplication":[],"WebPage":[]},"graphName":"","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[]},"schema_type":"default","schema_type_options":null,"pillar_content":false,"robots_default":true,"robots_noindex":false,"robots_noarchive":false,"robots_nosnippet":false,"robots_nofollow":false,"robots_noimageindex":false,"robots_noodp":false,"robots_notranslate":false,"robots_max_snippet":null,"robots_max_videopreview":null,"robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":null,"frequency":null,"local_seo":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"created":"2025-10-17 17:57:57","updated":"2026-07-29 03:46:41","ai":null,"breadcrumb_settings":null,"seo_analyzer_scan_date":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/topics\/\" title=\"Topics\">Topics<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic-tag\/point-mass\/\" title=\"Point Mass\">Point Mass<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\tPlease explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass.\n\t\t<\/span><\/div>","aioseo_breadcrumb_json":[{"label":"Home","link":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge"},{"label":"Topics","link":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/topics\/"},{"label":"Point Mass","link":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic-tag\/point-mass\/"},{"label":"Please explain the difference between Point Mass and Distributed Mass.","link":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/please-explain-the-difference-between-point-mass-and-distributed-mass\/"}],"acf":[],"custom_fields":[{"0":{"_wp_page_template":["default"],"_bbp_last_active_time":["06-06-2022 20:20"],"_bbp_forum_id":["27789"],"_btv_view_count":["10526"],"_bbp_likes_count":["0"]},"test":"articlesansys-com"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics\/157941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/topic"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics\/157941\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}