contact analysis

Today, the linear static analysis of single components is day-to-day business in simulation. However, the isolated simulation of single parts often is not realistic due to the missing interaction with neighboring components. For this, complex numerical simulations of assemblies (contact analyses) are conducted. The description of mutual interaction corresponds to a nonlinear boundary condition because the state between the contact zones (open or closed) can vary during the calculation. This technical-physical effect appears in nearly every technical system (for example in gear pairings, chain drives, etc.), which is why its consideration is crucial for the result quality.

Z88Aurora

The contact module of Z88Aurora® uses three numerical solvers and has the following properties:

  • Solver
    • Two different preconditioned iterative solvers (SICCG, SORCG) with sparse storage for big finite element structures
    • One direct multicore-solver (PARDISO) with sparse storage for medium- to large-sized finite element structures
  • Available element types
    • Hexahedron No. 1 (linear) & No. 10 (quadratic)
    • Tetrahedron No. 16 (quadratic) & No. 17 (linear)
  • Definition of contact properties
    • Contact type: bonded or frictionless
    • Contact discretization: Node – Surface or Surface – Surface
  • Constraint enforcement methods
    • Lagrange method
    • Perturbed Lagrange method
    • Penalty method
  • Arbitrary component operations (translation, rotation, scaling, duplication) for generating and positioning assemblies
  • Calculation of stresses via three different stress hypotheses:
    • von Mises
    • Rankine
    • Tresca

Z88OS

The use of the contact module is limited to the linear static strength analysis of Z88Aurora®. Z88OS does not have the possibility to conduct contact calculations.