Node-to-node scheme for three-dimensional contact mechanics using polyhedral type variable-node elements.pdf

Available online at ScienceDirect Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 304 (2016) 217–242 /locate/cma Node-to-node scheme for three-dimensional contact mechanics using polyhedral type variable-node elements Seungmin Jina, Dongwoo Sohnb, Seyoung Ima,? a Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea b Division of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, 727 Taejong-ro, Yeongdo-gu, Busan 49112, Republic of Korea Received 22 July 2015; received in revised form 12 February 2016; accepted 15 February 2016 Available online 26 February 2016 Abstract A node-to-node contact scheme, which is applicable for three-dimensional contact analyses involving large deformations, is developed with the aid of polyhedral elements. The key issue is to transform nonmatching meshes into matching meshes in a seamless manner. Because polyhedral elements are allowed to have arbitrary numbers of polygonal faces and nodes, they can be used as transition elements for coupling nonmatching meshes. In this paper, the polyhedral elements make it possible to always maintain node-to-node contact during the contact deformation. The present approach guarantees that the patch test is passed and the nonpenetration condition is satisfied, and hence it yields smoother contact pressure with faster convergence than the conventional node-to-surface or surface-to-surface contact scheme. ?c 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Contact analysis; Polyhedral variable-node elements; Large deformation; Node-to-node contact scheme 1. Introduction The engineering approaches to contact mechanics may be categorized into two groups: the Lagrange multiplier methods and penalty methods [1]. In the classical Lagrange multiplier methods, nonpenetration condition is exactly fulfilled. However, a system matrix does not meet positive definiteness and additional vari