Finite Element Wear Modeling With Coupled Contact Iteration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer-based systems struggle to accurately and robustly model surface wear by simultaneously treating interdependencies among wear distances, contact stress, and contact slip in implicit finite element simulations, while maintaining contact constraint connectivity and minimizing code changes.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that involves obtaining a finite element mesh representing an object, associating a wear variable with each node, and performing a simulation of contact between objects to determine wear. This method iteratively calculates wear distance and updates node positions, using a Newton iteration scheme to ensure convergence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional finite element systems model surface wear, then wear can be calculated, but accuracy and robustness are insufficient due to inability to simultaneously treat interdependencies among wear distances, contact stress, and contact slip
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the treatment of wear distances, contact stress, and contact slip into a unified implicit finite element simulation framework. By simultaneously solving these interdependent variables within the same computational system rather than treating them separately, the method achieves accurate wear modeling while maintaining manageable system complexity through integrated formulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where wear distances influence contact stress distributions, which in turn affect contact slip, which then modifies wear distances in subsequent iterations. This closed-loop feedback approach within the implicit simulation framework allows the system to self-correct and converge to accurate wear predictions by continuously accounting for the interdependencies among all three variables.
2Adaptability or versatility
If surfaces capable of wear are treated as secondary surfaces with contact constraints, then constraint wear can be output as nodal wear, but this creates an artificial requirement that limits modeling flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the wear modeling capability universal by allowing any surface participating in contact to be modeled for wear, regardless of whether it is designated as a primary or secondary surface. The implicit formulation treats all contact surfaces equally, enabling wear calculation on any surface that experiences contact, thus eliminating the artificial restriction while maintaining ease of implementation through a unified approach.
3Reliability
If implicit finite element simulation is used to model wear, then interdependencies can be treated, but code flow requires significant changes to achieve robustness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates wear variables and their interdependencies into the fundamental formulation of the implicit finite element simulation from the beginning, rather than attempting to add wear modeling as an afterthought or post-processing step. By preliminarily establishing the coupled relationship between wear distances, contact stress, and contact slip in the core simulation framework, the method achieves robustness without requiring extensive code modifications later in the development process.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Embodiments determine wear. One such embodiment obtains, in memory associated with a processor, a finite element mesh representing a first object. For a given node of the obtained mesh, a wear variable is associated and linked to contact constraints associated with the node. A simulation of contact is performed, over movement increments, between the first object and a second object to determine wear at the node. Wear distance is iteratively determined for a given increment using the mesh, the associated variable, and the constraints. A position of the node in the mesh is iteratively updated based on the determined wear distance for the given increment, until the wear distance for each of the increments is determined. The wear at the node is determined based on the determined wear distance for each of the increments. An indication of the determined wear is output.