| General | This example demonstrates contact analysis of a leaf spring using the Meshing Space function introduced in Femtet 2020.1. In its stress-free state, the leaf spring is positioned such that it interferes with other components. However, by assigning different mesh spaces to the components, mesh interference can be allowed during the analysis. |
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| Analysis Model | The analysis is performed in the following two steps: Step 1 A load is applied from below to compress the leaf spring until it reaches a position where it does not interfere with the cylindrical component. In this step, the cylindrical component is set to ”Death” (inactive). Step 2 The cylindrical component is returned to the “Birth” (active) state. The load applied to the leaf spring in Step 1 is then gradually removed until it reaches zero. As a result, the leaf spring comes into contact with both the case and the cylindrical component, reaching a state in which the contact forces are balanced. |
| Result | The graph, with analysis step on the horizontal axis and contact force on the vertical axis, shows that only the upper contact pair—the case and the leaf spring—generates a contact force in Step 1. In Step 2, contact forces acting in opposite directions are generated at both the upper contact pair (the case and the leaf spring) and the lower contact pair (the leaf spring and the cylindrical component). This indicates that the contact forces acting on the upper and lower sides of the leaf spring are in equilibrium. |
| Keywords | Spring Plate, Leaf Spring, Contact Force, Interference, Meshing Space, Birth, Death |
