3-DIMENSIONAL UNILATERAL FRICTIONLESS CONTACT PROBLEM FOR FINITE BODIES

The numerical solution of the three-dimensional frictionless contact p roblem is obtained by means of a boundary element discretization of a variational inequality and its related extremum principle. The discret ization leads to a finite dimensional quadratic programming problem, s olved by a modification of the gradient projection method. The associa ted Green's function is approximated using a standard direct boundary element procedure. The numerical method is applicable to any type of c ontacting bodies geometry under arbitrary loading. The examples consid ered were chosen such as to illustrate a distinct ability of the metho d to capture the influence of a body shape on the contact area and pre ssure acting in it. It has been demonstrated that the symmetry propert ies of the Green's operator hold only asymptotically for the discretiz ed problem.