Constraining the Rubber Sleeve

You define the contact between the sleeve and the nozzle, and the contact between the sleeve and the connector, using a single surface segment constraint. This constraint prevents the sleeve from penetrating the nozzle and the connector.

To define the constraint:
  1. Right-click the Regions > Sleeve > Segments node and select Create Segment > Surface Segment.
  2. Rename Segments > Surface Segment 1 to Contact.
  3. Select the Contact node and set the following properties:
    PropertyValue
    Surfaces
    • Back
    • Front
    • Inner
    • Outer
    TypeConstraint
  4. Select the Contact > Physics Conditions > Solid Stress Constraints node and set Method to Rigid Contact.
  5. Select the Physics Conditions > Rigid Contact Obstacle node and set Contact Obstacle to Tessellated Geometry Parts.
    This option allows you to specify the geometry parts that act as rigid obstacles.. The tessellated surfaces of the geometry parts constrain the sleeve deformation.
  6. Expand the Contact > Physics Values node and set the following properties:
    Node Property Value
    Penalty Contact Enforcement Penalty Parameter 1.0E10 Pa/m
    Tessellated Geometry Parts Tessellated Geometry Parts
    • Connector
    • Nozzle
    The penalty parameter mitigates non-physical penetrations without causing convergence issues. Generally, a larger penalty parameter leads to smaller non-physical penetrations. However, a larger parameter can also result in slower convergence or no convergence.
To ensure that the contact is not closed during the application of the pressure load, you can visualize the contact gap on the rubber sleeve:
  1. Right-click Scenes and select New > Scalar.
  2. Rename the Scalar Scene 1 node to Contact Gap.
  3. Expand the Contact Gap node and set the following properties:
    Node Property Setting
    Outline 1 Outline Deactivated
    Scalar 1
    Parts Parts Parts > Sleeve
    Scalar Field Function Contact Gap
  4. Save the simulation.