Chapter 2: 3-D Punch (Rounded Edges) Contact

3-D Punch (Rounded

2 Edges) Contact


Summary 70

Introduction 71

Requested Solutions 71

FEM Solutions 71

Results 74

General Analysis Tips 77

Input File(s) 78

Video 78
70 MD Demonstration Problems
CHAPTER 2

Summary
Title Chapter 2: 3-D Punch (Rounded Edges) Contact
Contact features • Axisymmetric/3-D contact
• Analytical deformable body contact
• Friction along deformable-deformable contact plane
• Comparison of linear and parabolic elements
Geometry Axisymmetric and 3-D continuum elements (units: mm)
• Punch Diameter = 100
• Punch Height = 100
• Foundation Diameter = 200
• Foundation Height = 200
• Fillet radius at edge of punch contact = 10
Material properties E punch = 210kN  mm 2 E foundation = 70kN  mm 2   punch =  foundation = 0.3

Analysis type • Linear elastic material

• Geometric nonlinearity
• Nonlinear boundary conditions
Boundary conditions • Symmetry displacement constraints in 3-D model (quarter symmetry)
• Noncontacting surface of the foundation is fixed u x = u y = u z = 0
Applied loads A uniform pressure (distributed load) is applied to the punch in the axial direction,
P = 100N  mm 2

Element type Axisymmetric 3-D continuum

• 4-node linear elements • 8-node linear elements
• 8-node parabolic elements
Contact properties Coefficient of friction  = 0.0 and  = 0.1
FE results 1. Plot of contact pressure versus radius
2. Plot of contact normal force and friction force versus radius
3. Plot of radial displacement and relative tangential slip versus radius

0.005 Radial Displacement (mm)

Radius (mm)
0 20 40 60 80 100
0.000

Friction
-0.005

-0.010

-0.015 No Friction

-0.020 NAFEMS Friction No Friction

 CHAPTER 2 71
3-D Punch (Rounded Edges) Contact

Introduction
An axisymmetric steel punch is compressed on an aluminium cylinder. It is assumed that the material behavior is linear
elastic. The punch is loaded by a uniform pressure with magnitude P = 100N  mm 2 in the axial direction. The effect of
friction is studied along the contact zone. Axisymmetric 2-D solutions are used to serve as a target solution for a 3-D
analysis. For the 3-D solutions, one quarter of the assembly is modeled, using symmetry conditions. (Ref: NAFEMS,
2006, Advanced Finite Element Contact Benchmarks, Benchmark 2, 3-D Punch (Rounded Edges) Contact)

Requested Solutions
Both 2-D (axisymmetric) and 3-D solutions are requested. Two solutions, one frictionless and the other using a friction
coefficient of 0.1 between the punch and foundation, are requested. The displacement, force, and stress fields in the
contact zone (contacting surface of the punch and contacted surface of the foundation) are of interest and are obtained
with both linear and parabolic elements in the axisymmetric case and with linear elements in the 3-D case. The SOL
400 elements specified through suitable extensions to the PLPLANE or PSOLID entries are demonstrated. In the 3-D
case, solutions obtained with these elements are also compared to those obtained using existing HEX elements.
The solutions presented include:
• Radial displacement of top contact surface of punch as function of coordinate.
• Contact force, friction force, and contact pressure distributions as a function of coordinate.

FEM Solutions
Numerical solutions have been obtained with MD Nastran’s solution sequence 400 for multiple 2-D axisymmetric and
3-D cases. The axisymmetric cases include linear and parabolic elements, with and without friction. The 3-D case
includes linear elements with and without friction.
The contact, material, geometry, convergence, and other parameters are explained below - primarily with respect to
the axisymmetric linear element case and are representative for both 2-D and 3-D cases.

Contact Parameters
The element mesh using axisymmetric linear elements is shown in Figure 2-1 and is further described as follows: Two
contact bodies, one identified as the punch and the other identified as the foundation, are used. Pressure is applied at
the top of the punch in the axial direction. The bottom of the punch, in turn, compresses the foundation. Typical
element length along the punch and foundation is 4 mm and 3.5 mm, respectively. Contact body ID 4 is used to identify
the punch and body ID 5 is used to identify the foundation.
BCBODY 4 2D DEFORM 4 0 .1 -1
BSURF 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
........

BCBODY 5 2D DEFORM 5 0 .1
BSURF 5 229 230 231 232 233 234 235
..........
72 MD Demonstration Problems
CHAPTER 2

BCBODY with ID 4 is identified as a two-dimensional deformable body with BSURF ID 4 and friction coefficient of
0.1. Furthermore, -1 on the 8th field indicates that BCBODY 4 is described as an analytical body, wherein the discrete
facets associated with the element edges are internally enhanced by using cubic splines. Since the punch has rounded
edges in the contact zone, using an enhanced spline representation of the punch yields better accuracy. The minus sign
indicates that the nodal locations defining the spline discontinuities are automatically determined. Note that since the
foundation is a rectangular shape with sharp angles, using the spline option with this body is not necessary since it
would only increase the computational cost without an associated improvement in accuracy.

Figure 2-1 Element Mesh used for Axisymmetric Case in MD Nastran (Benchmark 2)

The BCTABLE bulk data entries shown below identify the touching conditions between the bodies:
BCTABLE 0 1
SLAVE 4 0. 0. .1 0. 0 0.
0 0 0
MASTERS 5
BCTABLE 1 1
SLAVE 4 0. 0. .1 0. 0 0.
0 0 0
MASTERS 5

BCTABLE with ID 0 is used to define the touching conditions at the start of the analysis. It should be noted that this is
a required option that is required in SOL 400 for contact analysis. It is flagged in the case control section through the
optional BCONTACT = 0 option. Note that BCTABLE 0 and other contact cards with ID 0 (e.g., BCPARA 0) would be
applied at the start of the analysis even without the BCONTACT = 0 option. For later increments in the analysis,
 CHAPTER 2 73
3-D Punch (Rounded Edges) Contact

BCONTACT = 1 in the case control section indicates that BCTABLE with ID 1 is to be used to define the touching
conditions between the punch and the foundation.
The BCPARA bulk data entry shown below for the frictional linear axisymmetric case defines the general contact
parameters to be used in the analysis:
BCPARA 0 NBODIES 2 MAXENT 84 MAXNOD 84
FTYPE 6 BIAS 9.0E-01 ISPLIT 3 RVCNST 1.0E-04

Note that ID 0 on the BCPARA option indicates that the parameters specified herein are applied right at the start of the
analysis and are maintained through the analysis unless some of these parameters are redefined through the BCTABLE
option. Important entries under BCPARA option include FTYPE - the friction type, RVCNST - the slip-threshold value
and the BIAS - the distance tolerance bias. As per general recommendation, BIAS is set to 0.9 (note that the default
value of BIAS is 0.9). For the frictional case, FTYPE is set to 6 (bilinear Coulomb model) and RVCNST is set to 1e-4
(this is a non-default value that is used in this particular problem - the need for a non-default value is discussed in more
detail later). Note that when other parameters on the BCPARA option like ERROR (distance tolerance), FNTOL
(separation force) are not specified, left as blank or specified as 0, program calculated defaults are used. It should also
be noted that while the BCPARA parameters generally apply to all the bodies throughout the analysis, some of the
parameters like ERROR, BIAS, FNTOL can be redefined via the BCTABLE option for specific body combinations and
for specific times through the analysis.

Material/Geometry Parameters
The two material properties used herein for the punch and foundation are isotropic and elastic with Young’s modulus
and Poisson’s ratio defined as
$ Material Record : steel
MAT1 1 210000. .3
$ Material Record : aluminum
MAT1 2 70000. .3

For the 2-D case, axisymmetric elements are chosen via the CQUADX option pointing to a PLPLANE entry which in
turn, points to an auxiliary PSHLN2 entry as shown below.
PLPLANE 1 1
PSHLN2 1 1 1 +
+ C4 AXSOLID L +
+ C8 AXSOLID Q

where the C4 entries indicate that linear 4-noded full integration axisymmetric solid elements are to be used and the
C8 entries indicate that parabolic 8-noded full integration axisymmetric solid elements are to be used. Note that the
PSHLN2 entry enables SOL 400 to access a robust 2-D element library featuring linear and parabolic plane stress,
plane strain or axisymmetric elements. Multiple element topologies (4-noded, 6-noded, 8-noded) can be defined as
plane stress, plane strain, or axisymmetric through the PSHLN2 options. These elements which can be used for
isotropic/orthotropic/ anisotropic elastic/elasto-plastic applications augment previous SOL 400 hyperelastic element
technology that could be used in conjunction with the PLPLANE and MATHP options.
For the 3-D case, hex elements are chosen via the CHEXA option pointing to a PSOLID entry. For elastic or small strain
applications, the user has two choices: Use existing 3-D solid elements with just the PSOLID option or use 3-D solid
element technology accessed by the PSOLID entry pointing to an auxiliary PSLDN1 entry. For large strain elasto-
plastic applications, the user should always use the 3-D solid elements; i.e., the primary usage of the 3-D solid
74 MD Demonstration Problems
CHAPTER 2

elements is for large strain elasto-plasticity for which the PSLDN1 + NLMOPTS,LRGSTRN,1 bulk data entry is
recommended. However, as in the current example, these elements can also be used for elastic applications when used
in conjunction with PSLDN1 and with NLMOPTS,ASSM,ASSUMED entry.

Convergence Parameters
The nonlinear procedure used is defined through the NLPARM entry:
NLPARM 1 10 PFNT 0 25 UP YES

where 10 indicates the total number of increments; PFNT represents Full Newton-Raphson Technique, wherein the
stiffness is reformed at every iteration; KSTEP = 0 in conjunction with PFNT indicates that the program
automatically determines whether the stiffness needs to be reformed after the previous load increment is completed
and the next load increment is commenced. The maximum number of allowed recycles is 25 for every increment and
if this were to be exceeded, the load step would be cut-back and the increment repeated. UP indicates that convergence
will be checked using both displacements (U) and residual criteria (P). YES indicates that intermediate output will be
produced after every increment (note that this has been turned to NO for the 3-D case due to voluminous output). The
second line of NLPARM is omitted here, which implies that default convergence tolerances of 0.01 will be used for U
and P. It should be noted that the PFNT iterative method used conducts checking over incremental displacements and
is generally more stringent than for the FNT iterative method which convergence is checked over weighted total
displacements.

Case Control Parameters

Some of the case control entries to conduct these analyses are highlighted as follows: SUBCASE 1 indicates the case
being considered. There are no STEP entries in this analysis since a single loading sequence is being considered. For
multiple loading sequences that follow one another, STEP entries can be used within a single SUBCASE to identify
each sequence. BCONTACT = 1 is used to indicate the contact parameters for SUBCASE 1. NLPARM = 1 is used to flag
the nonlinear procedure for SUBCASE 1. In addition to regular output requests like DISPLACEMENTS, STRESSES,
the option that is required for contact related output in the F06 file is BOUTPUT. It should be noted that with the
BOUTPUT option, one can obtain normal contact forces, frictional forces, contact normal stress magnitudes, and
contact status for the contact nodes.

Results
The radial displacements obtained for the frictionless and frictional cases for the linear axisymmetric element case are
compared in Figure 2-2. The results match very well with the corresponding NAFEMS results (Benchmark 2 of
NAFEMS 2006).
It is noteworthy to study the effect of the slip threshold value, RVCNST, on the friction results. The radial
displacements for two different values of RVCNST are compared in Figure 2-3. It is seen that RVCNST has a significant
influence on the radial displacements. It should be noted that the default value of RVCNST is calculated as 0.0025 times
the average edge length of all elements that can participate in contact. For the linear axisymmetric problem, the default
RVCNST is of the order of 0.015. Relative radial displacements which are smaller than this value imply a transition
 CHAPTER 2 75
3-D Punch (Rounded Edges) Contact

zone and the frictional force linearly increases from 0 to the peak value within this zone. In order to capture the
frictional force and the relative sliding more accurately, a smaller value of RVCNST (= 1e-4) is required in this
problem. In general, for friction problems, a good check to be made from the f06 file or by postprocessing is whether
the friction force is of the order of F n , where  is the friction coefficient and F n is the nodal contact normal force.

0.005 Radial Displacement (mm)

Radius (mm)
0 20 40 60 80 100
0.000

Friction
-0.005

-0.010

-0.015 No Friction

-0.020 NAFEMS Friction No Friction

Figure 2-2 Radial Displacement as Function of the Radial Coordinate (friction coefficient =0.0 and 0.1)
Obtained with Linear Axisymmetric Elements

Radial Displacement (mm)

0.005
Distance (mm)
0 20 40 60 80 100
0.000
μ = 0.1 RVCNST=1e-4
-0.005

-0.010
μ = 0.1
RVCNST=default
-0.015
No Friction
-0.020
Figure 2-3 Effect of slip threshold value, RVCNST, on Radial Displacement

The contact normal force and friction force along the punch for the linear axisymmetric element is plotted in
Figure 2-4. It is instructive to check that equilibrium is well-maintained (the sum of the contact forces transmitted via
the punch should be equal to the total force being applied to the punch). It can be shown that the sum of all contact
forces at the punch-foundation interface is within .03% of the total force applied on the punch
2
=PR punch = 10050 2 = 7.85e5N . Also, the friction forces are about 0.1 times the contact normal forces.
76 MD Demonstration Problems
CHAPTER 2

The contact pressure is plotted for the contacting nodes for both the linear and parabolic axisymmetric elements of the
punch in Figure 2-5. The parabolic solution shows a rather oscillating type of behavior. Also, as may be expected, the
parabolic solution shows a more localized stress peak. These trends are consistent with the NAFEMS benchmark 2
results. The oscillatory behavior can be improved by refining the mesh in the contact zone (and the surrounding part
assuring connection with the remaining part of the structures).

Force (N)
350000
300000
250000 Contact Normal
200000 Force

150000
Contact Friction
100000 Force
50000
Distance (mm)
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Figure 2-4 Contact Normal Force and Friction Force at Punch as a Function of Radial Coordinate Along
Punch-Foundation Contact Interface

Contact Normal Stress (N/mm 2)

800
Parabolic Elements
700
600
Linear Elements
500
400
300
200
100 Distance (mm)
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Figure 2-5 Variation of Contact Normal Stress Along Radial Coordinate of Punch for Linear and
Parabolic Axisymmetric Elements

The displacement contours in the punch for the 3-D frictional case are shown in Figure 2-6. The left-hand side shows
the solution for the 3-D solid elements identified through the PSOLID + PSLDN1 options. The right-hand side shows
 CHAPTER 2 77
3-D Punch (Rounded Edges) Contact

the solution for the existing 3-D solid elements identified through the PSOLID options only. As seen, the solutions are
very close to each other.

Figure 2-6 Comparison of Punch Displacement Contours in Two different Solid Elements Available in
SOL 400

General Analysis Tips

• While the contact checking algorithm in SOL 400 provides a number of options for the searching order via the
ISEARCH parameter on the BCTABLE option, the user should be aware of a few recommendations regarding
the touching (slave) body and the touched (master) body: The touching body should be convex, generally be
less stiff, and be more finely meshed than the touched body. This allows for better conditioning of the
matrices and provides for better nodal contact. Note that these recommendations may not all be satisfied at the
same time; for example, in this benchmark, the punch which has been identified as the first body is convex
and smaller than the foundation but has a slightly coarser mesh and is somewhat stiffer than the foundation.
• The accuracy of the friction solution should be judged by checking that the frictional forces at the nodes are
generally equal to F n . If this is violated, the slip-threshold value, RVCNST, may need to be adjusted. Note
also that to ensure a quality solution with friction, in general, the incremental displacements need to converge
well. This can be ensured by using PFNT on the NLPARM option and checking on U.
• The PSHLN2 entry in conjunction with PLPLANE entries allows the users to flag 2-D elements for plane
stress, plane strain, or axisymmetric applications with isotropic/orthotropic/ anistropic elastic/elasto-plastic
materials. Similarly, PSLDN1 entries in conjunction with PSOLID entries allows the users to flag nonlinear
3-D solid continuum elements. The 2-D elements offer a range of abilities for small strain and large strain
elastic/elasto-plastic analysis. The fundamental application of the 3-D elements is for large strain elasto-
plastic applications, wherein use should be made of the NLMOPTS,LRGSTRN,1 option to flag appropriate
element behavior. It should be noted that the 3-D elements can also be used in the elastic regime (as in this
current example - see nug_02em.dat). In such situations, it is highly recommended that one not use
NLMOPTS,LRGSTRN,1 but use NLMOPTS,ASSM,ASSUMED to ensure better behavior in elastic bending.
Existing 3-D element technology for SOL 400 can be used for elastic applications too (see nug_02en.dat
for example). In this case, one simply uses PSOLID without the PSLDN1 addition.
78 MD Demonstration Problems
CHAPTER 2

• For the axisymmetric case, the pressure load is applied through PLOADX1. It should be noted that the pressure
value to be specified on the PLOADX1 option is not the force per unit area  100N  mm 2  but the pressure over a
circular ring of angle 2 Accordingly, on the LOAD bulk data entry, the pressure load is scaled by a value of
2 

Input File(s)
File Description
nug_02am.dat Axisymmetric Linear Elements Without Friction
nug_02bm.dat Axisymmetric Linear Elements With Friction
nug_02cm.dat Axisymmetric Parabolic Elements Without Friction
nug_02dm.dat Axisymmetric Parabolic Elements With Friction
nug_02em.dat 3-D Linear Elements Without Friction - PSLDN1 used along with PSOLID to flag nonlinear
HEX elements
nug_02en.dat 3-D Linear Elements Without Friction - existing HEX element technology flagged through
PSOLID
nug_02fm.dat 3-D Linear Elements With Friction - PSLDN1 used along with PSOLID to flag nonlinear
HEX elements
nug_02fn.dat 3-D Linear Elements With Friction - existing HEX element technology flagged through
PSOLID

Video
Click on the image or caption below to view a streaming video of this problem; it lasts approximately 18 minutes and
explains how the steps are performed.

0.005 Radial Displacement (mm)

Radius (mm)
0 20 40 60 80 100
0.000

Friction
-0.005

-0.010

-0.015 No Friction

-0.020 NAFEMS Friction No Friction

Figure 2-7 Video of the Above Steps