This paper presents a theory of mating mechanics for separable connectors based mainly on the assumption that the force-deflection relationship of a contact spring is linear-elastic. With this assumption, the force-deflection relationship of the contact can be expressed in terms of the flexibility influence coefficients. By establishing a so called contact compatibility condition and by using Taylor's expansion, the expression for the insertion force can be explicitly given as a function of the flexibility influence coefficients, friction coefficient, and angle of slope at the contact point. This explicit expression for the insertion force allows the establishment of a stubbing criterion. The theory developed does not require an iterative process to calculate the insertion force and it drastically simplifies the analyses of connector mating. Both analytical and numerical examples will be presented.
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