A general three‐dimensional contact procedure for implicit finite element codes Available to Purchase

This paper presents a general procedure for solving 3D contact problems with implicit finite element codes. Emphasis is put on generality and robustness. Bodies in contact can be 3D solids or shells. Material and geometric nonlinearities can be dealt with (elasto‐plasticity, elasto‐visco‐plasticity, nonlinear elasticity, large displacements, strains and rotations). Different kinds of interaction are supported (tied, slip, friction). Advantage is taken of the solution history in order to improve the efficiency of the search algorithm. Numerical examples illustrate the general character of the proposed algorithm.