A novel face-on-face contact method for nonlinear solid mechanics

摘要

The efficient solution of quasistatic contact problems in nonlinear solid mechanics continues to pose some challenges. Traditional node-to-segment methods are not guaranteed to pass the contact patch test, and exhibit non-smooth contact behavior in the presence of sliding. More recent mortar-based methods, which resolve contact interactions over local facet-pairs and typically feature an integral-form gap constraint, result in a more robust treatment of contact in the presence of geometric nonlinearities and large sliding. However, these methods usually require designation of one surface for the interpolation of contact quantities, and are therefore biased. Moreover, reliable iterative solution in the presence of contact constraints remains a challenge for all implicit contact methods. This work presents an unbiased face-on-face contact method using a median-plane methodology and an integral-form gap constraint. The method additionally features a novel subcycle iterative solution strategy that exhibits reliable and efficient convergence performance, even in the presence of large sliding and curved contacting surfaces. Performance of the method is demonstrated through a suite of nonlinear quasi-static contact problems. Published by Elsevier B .V.