Master surface and slave surface in Abaqus | Abaqus master slave surface

When defining surface-to-surface contact in Abaqus, you need to specify the master and slave surfaces for each contact pair. The contact forces and interactions are then determined based on the defined contact behavior, properties, and the relative motion between the master and slave surfaces.

In a surface-to-surface contact analysis, the contact forces are calculated based on the interaction between the nodes or elements on the slave surface and the corresponding nodes or elements on the master surface. The master surface is responsible for driving the contact behavior and influencing the interaction between the surfaces.

What is master surface? | main surface

In Abaqus, the term “master surface” refers to one of the two surfaces involved in a contact interaction. In newer versions of Abaqus the master surface is called “Main surface”. When modeling contact between two bodies or parts, the master surface is the surface that controls the contact behavior and generates the contact forces.

The selection of the master surface is important as it determines how the contact forces will be computed and applied during the analysis. The master surface is typically the surface that remains stationary or undergoes less deformation compared to the other surface, which is known as the “slave surface.”

What is slave surface? | secondary surface

In Abaqus, the term “slave surface” refers to one of the two surfaces involved in a contact interaction. When modeling contact between two bodies or parts, the slave surface is the surface that adapts its behavior based on the contact forces imposed by the master surface.

The slave surface is typically the surface that undergoes relative motion or deformation in response to the contact forces generated by the master surface. It adjusts its position and shape to conform to the contacting surface of the master surface.

Master slave contact

Generally, if a larger surface contacts a smaller surface, it would be better to have the larger one as master surface; however, if both surfaces have the same size, the one with the stiffer body (usually the rigid surface) should be the master. Note that the slave surface should have meshed more finely than the master. The master will have coarser mesh. Also, the master surface nodes can penetrate the slave surface but not the opposite (see Figure below).

Position of the master and slave surfaces nodes