A node‐to‐node scheme with the aid of variable‐node elements for elasto‐plastic contact analysis

Abstract

A strategy for a two-dimensional contact analysis involving finite strain plasticity is developed with the aid of variable-node elements. The variable-node elements, in which nodes are added freely where they are needed, make it possible to transform the non-matching meshes into matching meshes directly. They thereby facilitate an efficient analysis, maintaining node-to-node contact during the contact deformation. The contact patch test, wherein the contact patch is constructed out of variable-node elements, is thus passed, and iterations for equilibrium solutions reach convergence faster in this scheme than in the conventional approach based on the node-to-surface contact. The effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed scheme are demonstrated through several numerical examples of elasto-plastic contact analyses. A NODE-TO-NODE SCHEME FOR ELASTO-PLASTIC CONTACT ANALYSIS 1765 where Ä and G are interpreted as the bulk and shear modulus, respectively, for infinitesimal elastic deformations. The Kirchhoff stress tensor is obtained by a general expression [25] as follows: D J e 0 I C s; 0 D U 0 .J e / D Ä 2  J e 1 J e à D Ä 2 J 2 e 1 J e ; > 0; f ; N © p 6 0; f ; N © p D 0: