ObjectContactSphereTriangle

A simple contact connector between a sphere (marker0) and a triangle (marker1). Penalty-based contact is computed from penetration of the sphere with the triangle, including contact with edges if desired.

Author: Gerstmayr Johannes

Simpler: mbs.CreateSphereTriangleContact or mbs.CreateSphereQuadContact add this item, with what it needs, in one call.

Interface

Parameters

The parameters of the item; in a dictionary, its type is ‘ContactSphereTriangle’:

name

type

size

default

description

name

String

‘’

constraints’s unique name

markerNumbers

ArrayMarkerIndex

2

[ invalid (-1), invalid (-1) ]

(symbol: \([m0,m1]\tp\)) list of markers representing the center of the sphere (marker 0) and the reference point of the triangle (marker 1), where triangle nodal positions are defined in the local coordinates of marker 1.

nodeNumber

NodeIndex

invalid (-1)

(symbol: \(n_d\)) node number of a NodeGenericData with numberOfDataCoordinates = 4 dataCoordinates, needed for discontinuous iteration (friction and contact); data variables contain values from last PostNewton iteration: data[0] is the gap, data[1] is the norm of the tangential velocity (and thus contains information if it is stick or slip); data[2] is the impact velocity; data[3] is unused.

sphereRadius

PReal

0.

(symbol: \(r_S\)) radius of sphere [SI:m]; must be given: the default is only a placeholder

trianglePoints

Vector3DList

[]

(symbol: \([\LU{m_1}{\pv}_0,\LU{m_1}{\pv}_1,\LU{m_1}{\pv}_2]\)) triangle points, defined in marker 1 local coordinates

includeEdges

UInt

7

Binary flag, where 1 defines contact with edges 0, 2 with edge 1 and 4 with edge 2; 7 means that contact with all edges is included; edge 0 is the edge between node 0 and node 1

dynamicFriction

UReal

0.

(symbol: \(\mu_d\)) dynamic friction coefficient for friction model, see StribeckFunction in exudyn.physics, Module: physics

frictionProportionalZone

UReal

0.001

(symbol: \(v_{reg}\)) limit velocity [m/s] up to which the friction is proportional to velocity (for regularization / avoid numerical oscillations), see StribeckFunction in exudyn.physics (named regVel there!), Module: physics

contactStiffness

UReal

0.

(symbol: \(k_c\)) normal contact stiffness [SI:N/m] (units in case that \(n_\mathrm{exp}=1\))

contactDamping

UReal

0.

(symbol: \(d_c\)) linear normal contact damping [SI:N/(m s)]; this damping should be used (!=0) if the restitution coefficient is < 1, as it changes its behavior.

contactStiffnessExponent

PReal

1.

(symbol: \(n_\mathrm{exp}\)) exponent in normal contact model [SI:1]

restitutionCoefficient

PReal

1.

(symbol: \(e_\mathrm{res}\)) coefficient of restitution [SI:1]; used in particular for impact mechanics; different models available within parameter impactModel; the coefficient must be > 0, but can become arbitrarily small to emulate plastic impact (however very small values may lead to numerical problems)

minimumImpactVelocity

UReal

0.

(symbol: \(\dot\delta_\mathrm{-,min}\)) minimal impact velocity for coefficient of restitution [SI:1]; this value adds a lower bound for impact velocities for calculation of viscous impact force; it can be used to apply a larger damping behavior for low impact velocities (or permanent contact)

impactModel

UInt

0

(symbol: \(m_\mathrm{impact}\)) number of impact model: 0) linear model (only linear damping is used); 1) Hunt-Crossley model; 2) Gonthier/EtAl-Carvalho/Martins mixed model; model 2 is much more accurate regarding the coefficient of restitution, in the full range [0,1] except for 0; NOTE: in all models, the linear contactDamping is added, if not set to zero!

activeConnector

Bool

True

flag, which determines, if the connector is active; used to deactivate (temporarily) a connector or constraint

visualization

VObjectContactSphereTriangle

parameters for visualization of item

Renamed parameters, still taken with a DeprecationWarning: radiusSphere (deprecated since 1.12.258, removed in 2031): use sphereRadius.

Visualization parameters

The parameters of VObjectContactSphereTriangle, given as visualization:

name

type

size

default

description

show

Bool

False

set true, if item is shown in visualization and false if it is not shown; draws spheres by given radii

color

Float4

4

[0.7,0.7,0.7,1.]

RGBA connector color; if R==-1, use default color

Drawing

Drawn as all connectors; the sphere with contact.showSpheres and the triangle with contact.showTriangles.

Settings beyond those of all connectors: contact.colorSpheres, contact.colorTriangles, contact.showSpheres, contact.showTriangles, general.sphereTiling.

Output variables

Available as OutputVariableType in sensors, Get...Output() and other functions:

output variable

symbol

description

Position

contact center point (also given for positive gap, when no contact occurs)

Displacement

global vector from the sphere center (marker 0) to the closest point of the triangle

Velocity

velocity of the closest point of the triangle, with the rotation of its body, relative to the sphere center

DisplacementLocal

1D Vector, containing only gap

Director1

normalized vector from sphere midpoint (marker 0) to triangle contact point

Force

global contact force vector

Torque

global torque due to friction on marker 0

Detailed description

Definition of quantities

intermediate variables

symbol

description

marker m0 position

\(\LU{0}{\pv}_{m0}\)

center of the sphere, provided by marker m0

marker m1 position

\(\LU{0}{\pv}_{m1}\)

reference point of the triangle, provided by marker m1

marker m1 orientation

\(\LU{0,m1}{\Rot}\)

rotation of the triangle, provided by marker m1

triangle points

\(\LU{0}{\pv}_{i} = \LU{0}{\pv}_{m1} + \LU{0,m1}{\Rot}\, \LU{m1}{\pv}_i\)

the three trianglePoints in the global frame

marker velocities

\(\LU{0}{\vv}_{m0}\), \(\LU{0}{\vv}_{m1}\)

global velocities

data coordinates

\(\xv=[x_0,\,x_1,\,x_2,\,x_3]\tp\)

the gap (0), the norm of the tangential velocity (1), the impact velocity (2); (3) is unused

Geometric relations

The point \(\LU{0}{\pv}_T\) of the triangle closest to the sphere center is found - inside the triangle or on one of its edges -, and with \(\Delta\pv = \LU{0}{\pv}_T - \LU{0}{\pv}_{m0}\)

\[ g = \Vert \Delta\pv \Vert - r_S , \quad \LU{0}{\nv} = \frac{\Delta\pv}{\Vert \Delta\pv \Vert} . \]

A contact on an edge counts only if includeEdges contains that edge (bit 1: edge 0 from point 0 to 1, bit 2: edge 1, bit 4: edge 2). The velocity of the contact point on the triangle includes the rotation of marker 1; that of the sphere includes its rotation only if friction is used, because only then does marker 0 need an orientation.

Connector forces

The normal force - from the penetration \(\delta = -g\), with contactStiffness \(k_c\), the exponent \(n_\mathrm{exp}\), contactDamping \(d_c\) and the impact model impactModel with the restitution coefficient - and the regularized dry friction with \(\mu_d\) and frictionProportionalZone are computed exactly as for ObjectContactSphereSphere, see ObjectContactSphereSphere, with the normal \(\LU{0}{\nv}\) and the relative velocity at the contact point of this contact. The force on marker 1 is \(\LU{0}{\fv}\), the force on marker 0 is \(-\LU{0}{\fv}\); the friction force also gives a torque about the centers. The data coordinates hold the gap, the tangential velocity and the impact velocity of the last post Newton step, which decide on contact and on the friction regime during the Newton iterations (active set).

Mini example

#a ball dropped onto a triangle fixed to the ground
inertia = InertiaSphere(mass=1, radius=0.1)
node = mbs.AddNode(NodeRigidBodyEP(referenceCoordinates=[0.2,0.2,0.2]+eulerParameters0))
ball = mbs.AddObject(ObjectRigidBody(nodeNumber=node, mass=inertia.Mass(), inertia=inertia.GetInertia6D()))
mbs.AddLoad(LoadMassProportional(markerNumber=mbs.AddMarker(MarkerBodyMass(bodyNumber=ball)), loadVector=[0,0,-9.81]))
mGround = mbs.AddMarker(MarkerBodyRigid(bodyNumber=oGround, localPosition=[0,0,0]))
mBall = mbs.AddMarker(MarkerBodyRigid(bodyNumber=ball, localPosition=[0,0,0]))
nData = mbs.AddNode(NodeGenericData(numberOfDataCoordinates=4, initialCoordinates=[0,0,0,0]))
mbs.AddObject(ObjectContactSphereTriangle(markerNumbers=[mBall, mGround], nodeNumber=nData, sphereRadius=0.1,
                                          trianglePoints=exu.Vector3DList([[0,0,0],[1,0,0],[0,1,0]]),
                                          contactStiffness=1e5, contactDamping=1e3))

mbs.Assemble()
simulationSettings = exu.SimulationSettings()
simulationSettings.timeIntegration.numberOfSteps = 1000
mbs.SolveDynamic(simulationSettings)

#at rest on the triangle: 0.1 - m*g/k
exu.sys['testResult'] = mbs.GetNodeOutput(node, exu.OutputVariableType.Position)[2] #0.0999

Relevant Examples (Ex) and TestModels (TM) with weblink to github: contactComparisonTest.py (TM), inactiveConnectorForceTest.py (TM), sphereTriangleTest.py (TM), sphereTriangleTest2.py (TM)