Contact Modeling
Overview
Situations where objects come into contact with each other occur frequently in mechanical simulations. Setting up and solving such contact problems can be a challenging task, and this section contains information about important aspects of creating models involving contact.
In a contact analysis, you solve for the contact state and the contact forces. The most fundamental quantity in a contact analysis is the distance between the objects which may come into contact, the gap. If the gap is positive then there is no interaction. The task of the contact algorithm is to ensure that the gap never becomes negative; that is, to avoid overclosure. In order to accomplish this task, contact forces must be introduced.
For normal contact, the state only consists of being in contact or not, and the force variable is the contact pressure in the normal direction. With friction included, there are two possible states for the relative tangential displacement when in contact: sticking or sliding. The tangential force vector is added as force variable.
The contact analysis functionality in COMSOL Multiphysics also includes the possibility to prescribe adhesion and decohesion between the contacting objects, and to model removal of material by wear when the objects are sliding relative to each other.
In this section: