interaction between bone and soft tissue surrounding it

[karius]

Hi everyone. I'm creating a 2D FEA model of 1st MTP joint and wanted to simulate load distribution from the sole through all layers of the foot components. From bottom, midsole, carbon plate, insole, soft tissue, bones and cartilages. My question is how do I create interaction between the bones and soft tissue surrounding it. Also my mesh here is looking very weird as the soft tissue overlaps the bones and cartilages. So how do I make the bones and cartilages to be on top of the soft tissue? I would appreciate any advice from you. Many thanks!

 

[FEA way]

You can't have such overlap between the parts unless you use the embedded region constraint. Otherwise, you would have to make cutouts in soft tissue for bones. If you want to account for the presence of soft tissue at this level but on the side of the bones, 2D model won't be appropriate. It's a significant approximation here anyway. Once you have soft tissue with cutouts and bones, you can merge the instances or use tie constraints to connect them.