Hi,
thank you very much for your interest.
For the abovementioned problem I do agree with you, non-linear springs would be sufficient to simulate the interaction.
I would anyway like to use gap contact elements in order to understand how they work, since in the future I will
have to substitute the deformable body with a granular material in which the fluid will penetrate causing
overclosure between the surfaces.
Reading the manual I found that element-based contact problems which use gap elements are able to simulate
overclosure. My problem now is to use them in Abaqus CAE, do you know if it is possible or how this could work?
Thank you very much,
Best regards
M.