How to measure Reaction and Contact Forces
For Static or Dynamic simulation the problem is often easier to solve by specifying a defined displacement or velocity e.g for Snap fit cases or other impact cases.
For such cases the output of interest is generally the stresses but also the Reaction and Contact forces.
To measure these forces the correct setup is explained below:
1- Reaction Force: For surfaces that have some constraints e.g fixed support, fixed value or fixed displacement
The reaction force on the surface with fixed value displacement should be setup as follows:
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2- Contact Force: For surfaces that come in contact e.g physical or sliding contact surfaces
Contact force is measured on surfaces that are not constrained by boundary conditions and come in contact with other surfaces. These should be setup as follows:
These are the recommended setups and will give you the correct force values.