Two special element types are available:
You can combine existing linear elements into a superelement (or substructure) named MATRIX50. This capability is especially useful when you are repeating the same action many times in the model, or using the same group of elements over a large number of load steps. In such cases, using superelements typically results in greater solution efficiency.
For further information, see:
Benefits of Substructuring in the Substructuring Analysis Guide to learn how to perform an analysis using superelements
Substructuring Analysis in the Mechanical APDL Theory Reference for a discussion of the substructure matrix procedure
You can create a custom element, of virtually any type, named USER300.
For more information, see the documentation for the USER300 element. For detailed instructions, see Creating a New Element via the User-Defined Element API in the Mechanical APDL Programmer's Reference.