I am simulating a rolling manufacturing process and I would like to define compressive force instead of displacement/fixed position of the roller as a driven mechanism of the process.

I would like to use an option similar "adjust to touch" as in ANSYS but in ABAQUS. I have found the "initial clearance" option under "Contact Initilization" but I am not sure if that enforces initial clearance of the closest points to be zero or the entire set of nodes of the master-slave interaction.

Once the contact is initilialized, I slowly increase the force to avoid any highly dynamic effects. Any suggestions regarding the validity of my approach will be welcomed.

Thank you in advance,