1. Introduction

Discrete elements are used to very simply model masses, springs or shock absorbers.

They are used to assign point properties to mesh nodes and define point masses, stiffness, and support damping.

These models can be used in linear and non-linear mechanics, under the hypothesis of small displacements.

Three categories of discrete elements are described in this document:

• mass,

• stiffness,

• shock absorber,

In the first part, we present the data on the properties of discrete elements with the various options available. In the second and third parts, the calculation and post-processing operators for the discrete elements are given. The last part gives a list of test cases, examples of the use of discretes.