A spring and damper contact force element is often used for modelling impact in multi-body dynamics. The related condition for transition between contact and non-contact is, however, inconsistently implemented in the literature and commercial software. This comparative study aims to clarify the implications of four commonly used transition conditions. Principal differences are discussed and, by simulation of a typical system, it is shown that there are significant differences in the dynamics of the system depending on the different conditions. Two of them give unrealistic contact forces and should imply incorrect prediction of system dynamics in most applications. This suggests that it is important to review results obtained from using these conditions and to eliminate them from commercial software. A discussion of the two other conditions culminates in a recommendation.
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