Learning Forum

[b.mavroeidis2]

I am trying to simulate the attachment between a rubber suction cup and a rigid/plastic part due to vacuum pressure

Current setup

• Hyperelastic suction cup (Mooney-Rivlin)
• Frictional contact between cup and part
• Negative pressure applied on internal cup surfaces

Problem

The vacuum pressure deforms the cup, but the part separates instead of remaining attached. It seems the pressure only acts on the cup and does not generate the expected suction holding force on the part.

Questions

1. What is the correct way to model vacuum suction contact?
2. Is internal negative pressure alone sufficient?
3. How should the pressure transfer to the contacted part be modeled?
4. Is there a recommended method in LS-DYNA or ANSYS Mechanical for suction cup attachment simulations?

Any guidance or example workflows would be appreciated

[peteroznewman]

Can you share your model so I can try something out?  If so, in Workbench use File, Archive to save a .wbpz file.  Upload that file (not the .wbpj file) to a file sharing site such as Google Drive.  Set Sharing on that file so that Anyone with the link can download.  Reply with the link. I will let you know what worked using Ansys Mechanical.  Others may have suggestions for how to do this in LS-Dyna.