Basic contact/meshing problem

[StructuresDan]

Hi all,

Working in Workbench 11 - static linear analysis.

I have a steel tube with an aluminium sheet sitting tangentially on top. I am applying a distributed load to the sheet which means I am essentially starting to wrap the Al sheet around the steel tube.

The initial contact is between my outer cylindrical surface and the face of the plate. My question is, how do I best define the contact and how do I mesh the solids so that I adequately represent the 'line' contact?

Many thanks!

Dan

 

[flash3780]

From what you described, I would apply a non-symmetric contact between the aluminum sheet and the steel tube (to accurately capture the contact force distribution). You could probably evoke symmetry if I'm envisioning your problem correctly. Make sure to restrain your parts axially to keep them from floating away.

Make sure that you have a sufficiently fine mesh in the contact region.

You may be able to get good results to this problem using a 2D rather than a 3D analysis.