Boundary variational formulations and numerical solution techniques for unilateral contact problems (Q2640382)

The paper presents the analysis of the numerical solution of elastic frictionless contact problems using the standard direct boundary elements. The variational formulation of linear elastic problems with bilateral constrains is given in terms of boundary tractions. The authors discuss the application of the variational formulation, that involves only boundary forces, to a whole class of problems where some constraint is imposed on the domain of the functional (e.g. Signorini-Fichera problem). The coerciveness of the bilinear form involved in the boundary functional allows an extension of the classical error analysis for potential problems. The approximation of Green's function by means of the standard direct boundary element method is studied. It is shown that the coerciveness is preserved though the symmetry is generally lost. Since the coefficient matrix is nonsymmetric, the frictionless contact problem cannot be formulated as a minimum problem and standard programming tools cannot be employed. The discretized problem at hand can be expressed in the form of a linear complementarity problem having, as coefficient matrix, a (nonsymmetric) P matrix. Thus, the existence and uniqueness of the solution of the continuum problems are preserved also for the discrete BE problem. A simple example is discussed in some detail.