A NEW BOUNDARY-ELEMENT APPROACH FOR CONTACT PROBLEMS WITH FRICTION

A new boundary element solution algorithm for two-dimensional and axis ymmetric contact problems with friction, based on an independent discr etization of the contacting surfaces and under static and proportional loading conditions, is presented. The solution procedure uses the ele ment shape functions to distribute the geometry, tractions and displac ements on each contact element. The contact constraints are then appli ed between each contacting node and the opposite contact segment. The overall boundary element matrix equations for the contacting bodies ar e coupled using the contact conditions at the interface without introd ucing any additional variables into the solution matrix. The algorithm is applied to several two-dimensional and axisymmetric frictional con tact examples and the results obtained are in very good agreement with finite element and analytical solutions.