Non-Linear Stress Simulation

Rubber materials can be simulated by using non-linear material behavior in the solid mechanics modules in COMSOL. The meshing and the application of boudary condition is delicate, but once the settings are appropriate for the application a wealth of information can be retrieved from the model. For this customer we had laboratory values for the force devlopment of the rubber material when it was sliding over the metal gray ring, depicted on the right. 

In COMSOL we could verify the forces, and then we were able to modify the design in order to get the desired forces in practice.