A yield-limited Lagrange multiplier formulation for frictional contact

An analogy with rigid plasticity is used to develop a constitutive framewor k for quasi-static frictional contact between finitely deforming solids. Wi thin this setting, a Lagrange multiplier method is used to impose a sharp d istinction between stick and slip. The scope of the multipliers is limited by a constitutively defined 'yield' function and a finite element-based pre dictor-corrector scheme is employed to efficiently determine the regions of stick and slip and the associated tractions. Selected simulations of plana r quasi-static problems are presented to validate the method and illustrate its capabilities. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.