Contact detection between polygonal blocks based on a novel multi-cover system for discontinuous deformation analysis

摘要

A novel multi-cover searching (MCS) algorithm is presented to promote the efficiency of contact detection. As simple geometrical entities, covers are built on basic geometrical elements of the boundary of polygonal blocks, promoting the efficiency of rough search. Firstly, blocks possible to contact each other are identified more precisely through intersections between covers. Secondly, when performing contact type identification between two blocks, a full range search between geometrical elements is reduced into several local delicate checks. Moreover, we could embed MCS into many other contact detection methods. Several examples validate its accuracy and improved efficiency over traditional methods.