Applies to all structural analyses except Event Simulation.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Bonded | The two bodies are perfectly bonded together where they meet, with no relative movement allowed throughout the analysis. |
| Offset Bonded | Bodies that are not touching each other are bonded together, as if they were in direct bonded contact. In the Edit Contacts dialog, specify a large enough Max Activation Distance to ensure that proper Offset Bonded contact is established. The recommended minimum value is (the gap between the two bodies + ~ 1/2 of the mesh size). |
| Separation | Contacting bodies cannot penetrate each other, but they can partially or fully separate from each other. When touching, the bodies can slide freely relative to each other in the face-tangential direction. Optionally, you can choose to include a Coefficient of Static Friction to impose tangential friction forces, which must be overcome for sliding to occur. This contact type is not available for Modal Frequencies analysis. |
| Sliding | Contacting bodies cannot penetrate each other or separate from each other. However, the surfaces can freely slide in the face-tangential direction relative to each other. This contact type is not available for Modal Frequencies analysis. |
| Rough | Contacting bodies cannot penetrate each other, but they can partially or fully separate from each other. While in contact, they cannot slide relative to each other. This contact type is analogous to Separation contact with very high friction values. Rough contact is not available for Modal Frequencies analysis. |
| Free (nonlinear static stress) | Contact interaction is prevented between selected entities. If you assign entities to a Free contact pair, the Automatic Contacts routines will not generate contact interaction between those entities. |
| Self-contact | This is not an actual Contact Type. Select a contact type from the list, then assign the same body as both the Primary Body and the Secondary Body. Self-contacts are used when a body has a hinge-like feature and so can contact itself, for example a clam-shell container. |
Important: You must define self-contact within a single part manually. The Manual Contacts dialog enables you to specify the same body as both the Primary Body and the Secondary Body. Automatic Contacts only detect contact between two different bodies.