Reduced Order Flexible Solid and Spatial Contact Force

Hi Everyone,

I would like to model a rubber foot on a robotic leg and have used the reduced order flexible solid to do so. Before using reduced order flexible solid, my foot was a simple solid and I used Spacial Contact Force to model the contact with the ground (using "export" on both solids). How can I model ground contact between a solid and a flexible solid?

Thank you for your help!

Kind regards,

Emilia

Answer 1

[Dhruv]

Modeling ground contact between a solid and a flexible solid involves simulating the interaction between these two components. In this case, the rubber foot (flexible solid) makes contact with the ground (solid). Following is an approach to achieve this:

• Define Geometry and Material Properties: Ensure that you have defined the geometry and material properties of both the robotic leg (solid) and the rubber foot (flexible solid). The rubber foot's material properties should accurately represent its flexibility and response to deformation.
• Set Contact Parameters: Determine the contact parameters that govern how the solid and flexible solid interact when they come into contact. This includes properties like friction coefficients, contact stiffness, damping, and possibly compliance parameters for the flexible solid.
• Generate Mesh: Generate appropriate meshes for both the solid and the flexible solid. For the flexible solid (rubber foot), there might be need to use a finer mesh to capture its deformation accurately during contact.
• Contact Definition: Use a contact solver or algorithm to simulate the interaction between the solid and the flexible solid. This involves detecting when contact occurs and calculating the resulting forces and displacements.
• Contact Force Calculation: During the simulation, the contact solver calculates the forces and interactions between the solid and the flexible solid based on the contact parameters, geometry, and deformation. The solid will exert forces on the flexible solid, and the flexible solid will deform in response.
• Deformation and Response: As the rubber foot makes contact with the ground, the flexible solid will deform according to its material properties and the applied forces. The extent of deformation will depend on the flexibility and compliance of the material.

I hope the above steps will help you get started. You may also refer to the following documentation for further information:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/sm/ref/spatialcontactforce.html

[Emilia Litzka]

Hi Dhruv

Thank you very much for your answer, that helped a lot!

Kind regards,

Emilia