Rough Contact Problem Solution Using TriboSolver Online
Updated for TriboSolver 3.0 · 11 September 2026
Set up this calculation in TriboSolver 3.0
The instructions below refer to the Windows desktop tool. The original video further down shows an earlier interface and is retained for historical context; it is not a recording of 3.0.
- Open the application with your valid licence. From the Examples menu, open the guide for Rough surfaces in point contact.
- Choose File > Open project and open
Examples/01_Rough_Point_Contact/rough-point-contact.tribo.jsonfrom your supplied package. - Review the supplied inputs before editing them: normal force 1 N, radii 5 mm in both directions, elastic modulus 210 GPa and Poisson ratio 0.3 for both bodies. The computational domain is 100 µm × 100 µm.
- Inspect the enabled surface settings under Micro Geometry. Use the bundled generated surface for reproducibility; replacing it with the historical downloadable surface makes this a different numerical case.
- Select Run solver, then inspect the completion status and Results. Review the pressure map, contact area and deformation together; do not judge convergence from the picture alone.
- Save your project and retain the complete results set. In the portable release, successful results are saved under
DATAbeside the executable.
What to compare
Compare the integrated contact load with the prescribed load and inspect whether the contact patch reaches the domain edges. Repeat with a finer grid before relying on local pressure peaks. Changing the roughness, domain or grid changes the problem; the historical video is not a numerical reference for this bundled case.
See the current product overview for supported workflows and access, and use the guide supplied with your release for detailed controls.
Results from the current rough-contact example
The run converged in 37 iterations with a reported residual of 9.11 × 10−7 and recovered load of 1 N. These are results from this example, not a general accuracy guarantee.
Reading the output variables
- PADIS — contact pressure: shown in GPa. Load is concentrated in separated patches; local peaks depend on surface resolution and mesh refinement.
- Elastic displacement: deformation field, converted to nm for this figure. The displacement extends beyond the regions carrying contact pressure.
- gap: the raw signed solver field, shown in nm. Negative values occur in the exported convention; do not interpret this plot as a non-negative film thickness or take its absolute value without checking the model definition.
- S1: the exported Body 1 surface field, shown in nm; this view includes the model geometry and is not a roughness-only microscope image.
- FC: recovered contact force in N; compare with the prescribed normal load.
- AREA: reported contact area in m². Distinguish it from Anom, the nominal area.
- Up: plastic displacement output; it is distinct from elastic displacement.
- Contact solver iterations / Final contact-equilibrium residual: convergence diagnostics, not experimental validation.
What the maps show
The pressure is heterogeneous rather than a smooth Hertz distribution, as expected for this generated rough surface. Inspect the pressure and surface maps together, then repeat at a finer grid before drawing conclusions about peak stress. Preserve the input file and generated-surface settings so comparisons use the same problem.
Follow the workflow in TriboSolver 3.1
These are real captures from the 3.1 review application, using the tutorial inputs. They illustrate the interface and report layout; they do not replace the frozen 3.0 numerical comparison above or imply that 3.1 is the released download.
Setup and results screens
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Open full-size image (new tab)
What the exported report looks like
From Results, choose PDF and Export report. The following are the first two pages exported by the application for this case, not a redesigned report mock-up.
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Open full-size image (new tab)
Read the report carefully: contact area is the calculated contacting area; Anom is the nominal domain area. Average contact pressure uses the contacting area, while Pnom uses the nominal area. Rigid body motion is the reported approach. The PDF uses µm (shown as um in some tables), metres squared and GPa as labelled. A centre-line maximum can be lower than the maximum over the whole map. Map panels are not drawn with equal X/Y display scales: use the coordinate values to judge dimensions, not the apparent aspect ratio. Retained settings for disabled models may appear later in the report; they do not mean those models were active.
Historical example and earlier-version video
This video guides through solving rough contact problem using TriboSolver Online. As real surfaces are never ideally flat, roughness plays a determining role in most of tribological contact. Thus, solution of rough contact problem is fundamental in contact mechanics and tribological analysis. TriboSolver allows setting up such simulation easily and offers fast and robust solution.
Note: following surface roughness file was used in the simulation and can be downloaded to repeat the considered case: Gaussian Surface Rughness Profile Example
Comments (2)
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Begum Demirkurt
February 26, 2024I guess that the online simulator is not working at the moment, even though the simulation runs, there are no results…. I have already tried to reach you by sending several emails… I’m looking forward to your reply as soon as possible.
Aydar
February 29, 2024Thank you, Begum! Now the problem is solved!