<p>In practical engineering, collisions with zero indentation or remaining surface deformation following separation have attracted widespread attention. A general contact force model that can effectively simulate these two types of collisions is proposed in this work based on the typical formula of the continuous model. By introducing equivalent velocity, an approximate dynamic equation for the system can be established. Based on the principle of energy equivalence, the basic formula for the key parameter hysteresis damping coefficient is derived by approximating the dynamic equations and system dynamics equations. Based on the consistency of the restitution coefficient before and after collision, a general contact force model is obtained by modifying the basic formula. The effectiveness of the model is verified by comparing the simulation results with experimental results for corresponding types of collisions. Compared with other existing models, the model can not only simulate collisions with remaining surface deformation with high accuracy but also better describe collisions with zero separation indentation. The general contact force model will aid in the dynamic analysis of multibody systems.</p>