In what ways would refining my study speed up solving for contact constraints? Does it take that much longer if you have a couple gaps bonded?
In what ways would refining my study speed up solving for contact constraints? Does it take that much longer if you have a couple gaps bonded?
What do you mean by, "refining"? Are you talking about mesh (ie increasing element density)? There are a couple ways that the type of contact can effect your model:
What do you mean by, "refining"? Are you talking about mesh (ie increasing element density)? There are a couple ways that the type of contact can effect your model:
The most basic way is done with node sharing, which causes nodes at the interface to be merged together. For example, if you have two 1" cube blocks of steel that are butted up against one another and you define a Bonded interface, then the model will behave (and be meshed) as one 1"x1"x2" block of steel. If you look at where the interface is, you'll notice the element edges from one block will go to nodes that fit with element edges from the other block. This method does not impact the solution time, but is a little more difficult for the meshing engine to do, as it has to ensure nodal compatibility at the interface.
Another method involves using something called multipoint constraint equations to "link" the two surfaces together. If you look at where the interface is, you'll notice the element edges from one block will go to nodes that most likely won't fit with element edges from the other block. This method does not require the nodes at the interface to line up, but the downside is that stress results at the interface are inherently inaccurate, and that the multipoint constraint equations are computationally "expensive" for the solver.