Contact Conditions
Contact conditions specify the type of mechanical interaction for a connection between parts.
A regular connection is always associated with a contact condition. By default, bonded contact condition is assigned to all the connections, except for bolts and nuts where sliding without friction is applied to the shank region. Contact condition editing is not allowed in such special cases.
Types
- Bonded
- Used to connect parts that act as if they were bonded and stuck together. Loads between the parts are fully transferred, and bonded components never separate from each other during the analysis. Graphic icons for bonded contact are colored red.
- Sliding Without Friction
- Allows the parts to slide relative to each other in the local tangential plane, while not allowing either inter-penetration or separation of the connected surfaces. Only normal to the surface forces are transferred between the parts. This assumes a frictionless sliding surface. Graphic icons for sliding contact are colored yellow.
- Separating
- The parts may partially or completely separate from each other under the
load. The forces transfer only through the connected regions. Friction
coefficient defines the sticking/sliding threshold. The friction
coefficient must be between 0.0 and 1.0, typical values are 0.1 to 0.2.
Value of 0 indicates sliding and 1 indicates bonded. This is a
non-linear solution and takes more time than simple bonded or sliding
contact. Graphic icons for separating contact are colored
green.
Separating contact can also be applied to parts with initial gap/penetration. In such cases, the parts can be separated but cannot be closed. The final gap between the parts is always either equal to or greater than the initial gap between the parts.
- Separating/closing
- The parts may either separate from each other or the existing gap may
close with separating/closing condition. Note that this does not work
outside of the contact connection area. Only regions in the contact area
can open or close. Graphic icons for separating/closing contact are
colored blue.
Separating/closing can only be applied to parts with initial gap.
- Disable Contact
- The parts act as if they were disconnected; They may separate from each other or even penetrate into each other under the load. The applied forces do not transfer through the disabled contact. Graphic icons for disabled contact are colored black.
- Alignment
- The parts connected by alignment tend to align with each other during the analysis. Loads are applied internally to bring the parts close to each other. Graphics icon for alignment is pink.
Comments
- In thermal analysis, bonded contacts have no resistance and disabled contacts are insulated.