I'm using the Simulation premium 2011 X64 SP3, and have the non-linear study setup. When I tried to add components contacts, the only options available is 1) bonded and 2) allow penetration. On the static study, I could select the "no penetration option". Is this a bug?
see the screenshot below.
Go to simulation tab-- select options- in default setting --select to mesh-click the check box for show advanced option for contact set definitions
No its not a bug. Generally in NL analysis node to node contact is not used as it has issues with large displacements.
To further explain this:
You are setting options for the software to allow or disallow entire bodies to either stay "glued" together or to pass through each other. FEA doesn't care one bit whether two meshes pass through each other as a general rule.
With small displacements the assumption can be made that node to node contact or separation will prevail and the software simply maps the nodes on either side of an area where two bodies come together and places node to node contact pairs there or bonds the nodes together.
But small displacements is not a valid assumption for non-linear so it is therefore up to the practitioner to judge which faces will contact and place individual contact surfaces there on a case by case basis. So the software is correct in removing that option in non-linear.
I see the same in SP5 when specifying component contact, however I can apply No Penetration conditions when doing so as a Contact Set. Would using a Contact Set be a valid solution to your problem?