ABAQUS/Standard offers a variety of contact elements that can be used when contact between two bodies cannot be simulated with the surface-based contact approach (Chapter 21, “Defining Contact Interactions”). These elements include the following:

Gap contact elements: Mechanical and thermal contact between two nodes is modeled with gap elements (“Gap contact elements,” Section 23.2.1). For example, these elements can be used to model the contact between a piping system and its supports. They can also be used to model an inextensible cable that supports only tensile loads.

Tube-to-tube contact elements: Contact between two pipes or tubes is modeled using tube-to-tube contact elements (“Tube-to-tube contact elements,” Section 23.3.1) in conjunction with slide lines. These elements can, for example, be used to simulate the process of running tubular components into an oil well (drill rod or J-tube analysis). They might also be used to simulate a catheter being inserted into a blood vessel.

Slide line contact elements: Finite-sliding contact between two axisymmetric structures that may undergo asymmetric deformations can be modeled using slide line contact elements (“Slide line contact elements,” Section 23.4.1) in conjunction with user-defined slide lines. Slide line elements can, for example, be used to model threaded connectors.

Rigid surface contact elements: Contact between an analytical rigid surface and an axisymmetric deformable body that may undergo asymmetric deformations can be modeled with rigid surface contact elements (“Rigid surface contact elements,” Section 23.5.1). For example, rigid surface contact elements might be used to model the contact between a rubber seal and a much stiffer structure.