Tangential Stiffness and Contact Friction - Unilateral Contacts

FammalFammal
Apologies if this is a stupid question.

I'm trying to figure out how to use Tangential Stiffness and a Friction Coefficient for making a snap through type latch.

Ideally i want the two pieces to slide over each other with a friction coefficient. My understanding is that the tangential stiffness also gives a form of friction - would i use one or the other, but not both - correct?

Also i'm assuming the elastic contact for symmetry would have normal stiffness but no tangential stiffness to allow it to slide as a symmetrical section - correct?

I'm considering 2 methods and looking for advice.
Method 1: Set my friction coeff and set contact tangential to 0 or a very very low number
Method 2: Multiply the Contact Normal Stiffness by the friction coefficent to give a tangential stiffness value and set the friction coeff to 0

Comments

  • VictorVictor
    It's the other way around. The tangential stiffness is in series with the friction, so it would ideally be infinite. That won't solve so you have to tolerate some large finite value. The lower it is, the more of the tangential motion will be dominated by elastic stretching of those springs instead of frictional sliding.


  • FammalFammal
    edited October 2025
    Thank you.

    It seems to be behaving correctly and closely matching the classical calculated model using the following

    Frictional Contact Settings as you detailed
    High Normal Stiffness and High Tangential Stiffness per Unit Area

    Elastic Symmetry Contacts
    High Normal Stiffness and Zero Tangential Stiffness per unit Area.
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