Conserving algorithms for frictionless and full stick friction dynamic contact problems using the direct elimination method

In this paper, conserving time‐stepping algorithms for frictionless and full stick friction dynamic contact problems are presented. Time integration algorithms for frictionless and full stick friction dynamic contact problems have been designed to preserve the conservation of key discrete properties satisfied at the continuum level. Energy and energy‐momentum–preserving algorithms for frictionless and full stick friction dynamic contact problems, respectively, have been designed and implemented within the framework of the direct elimination method, avoiding the drawbacks linked to the use of penalty‐based or Lagrange multipliers methods. An assessment of the performance of the resulting formulation is shown in a number of selected and representative numerical examples, under full stick friction and slip frictionless contact conditions. Conservation of key discrete properties exhibited by the time‐stepping algorithm is shown.     

Numerical integration of the stiff dynamics of geometrically exact shells: an energy‐dissipative momentum‐conserving scheme

This paper presents a new family of time‐stepping algorithms for the integration of the dynamics of non‐linear shells. We consider the geometrically exact shell theory involving an inextensible director field (the so‐called five‐parameter shell model). The main characteristic of this model is the presence of the group of finite rotations in the configuration manifold describing the deformation of the solid. In this context, we develop time‐stepping algorithms whose discrete solutions exhibit the same conservation laws of linear and angular momenta as the underlying physical system, and allow the introduction of a controllable non‐negative energy dissipation to handle the high numerical stiffness characteristic of these problems. A series of algorithmic parameters for the different components of the deformation of the shell (i.e. membrane, bending and transverse shear) fully control this numerical dissipation, recovering existing energy‐momentum schemes as a particular choice of these algorithmic parameters. We present rigorous proofs of the numerical properties of the resulting algorithms in the full non‐linear range. Furthermore, it is argued that the numerical dissipation is introduced in the high‐frequency range by considering the proposed algorithm in the context of a linear problem. The finite element implementation of the resulting methods is described in detail as well as considered in the final arguments proving the aforementioned conservation/dissipation properties. We present several representative numerical simulations illustrating the performance of the newly proposed methods. The robustness gained over existing methods in these stiff problems is confirmed in particular. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy‐conserving and decaying Algorithms in non‐linear structural dynamics

A generalized formulation of the Energy‐Momentum Methodwill be developed within the framework of the Generalized‐α Methodwhich allows at the same time guaranteed conservation or decay of total energy and controllable numerical dissipation of unwanted high frequency response. Furthermore, the latter algorithm will be extended by the consistently integrated constraints of energy and momentum conservation originally derived for the Constraint Energy‐Momentum Algorithm. The goal of this general approach of implicit energy‐conserving and decaying time integration schemes is, to compare these algorithms on the basis of an equivalent notation by the means of an overall algorithmic design and hence to investigate their numerical properties. Numerical stability and controllable numerical dissipation of high frequencies will be studied in application to non‐linear structural dynamics. Among the methods considered will be the Newmark Method, the classical α‐methods, the Energy‐Momentum Methodwith and without numerical dissipation, the Constraint Energy‐Momentum Algorithm and the Constraint Energy Method. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polygon‐based contact resolution for superquadrics

The representation of discrete objects in the discrete element modelling is a fundamental issue, which has a direct impact on the efficiency of discrete element implementation and the dynamic behaviour of particulate systems. Disks and spheres are the most commonly used geometric shapes due to their geometric simplicity and computational efficiency, but they are unable to provide resistance to rolling motion. For this reason, some non‐circular/spherical objects, such as polygons/polyhedrons, superquadrics, or the clustering of disks/spheres to form irregular shapes, are introduced. When superquadrics are used as discrete elements, the bottleneck of contact resolution is associated with the searching for intersections of two non‐linear functions, which is a very expensive operation and may sometimes fail in finding the solution. In this work, an efficient and robust algorithm is proposed for contact resolution of 2D superquadrics, in which any superquadric is approximated with a convex polygon through adaptive sampling; then by clipping two polygons, an efficient linear algorithm is performed to search for intersections and overlap area of the polygons; the contact forces and directions are determined by employing a newly established corner/corner contact model. It is important to highlight that the proposed methodology can also be extended to general non‐circular discrete object cases. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated via numerical examples. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

DESIGN OF ENERGY CONSERVING ALGORITHMS FOR FRICTIONLESS DYNAMIC CONTACT PROBLEMS

This paper proposes a formulation of dynamic contact problems which enables exact algorithmic conservation of linear momentum, angular momentum, and energy in finite element simulations. It is seen that a Lagrange multiplier enforcement of an appropriate contact rate constraint produces these conservation properties. A related method is presented in which a penalty regularization of the aforementioned rate constraint is utilized. This penalty method sacrifices the energy conservation property, but is dissipative under all conditions of changing contact so that the global algorithm remains stable. Notably, it is also shown that augmented Lagrangian iteration utilizing this penalty kernel reproduces the energy conserving (i.e. Lagrange multiplier) solution to any desired degree of accuracy. The result is a robust, stable method even in the context of large deformations, as is shown by some representative numerical examples. In particular, the ability of the formulation to produce accurate results where more traditional integration schemes fail is emphasized by the numerical simulations. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conservation properties of a time FE method. Part I: time‐stepping schemes for N‐body problems

In the present paper one‐step implicit integration algorithms for the N‐body problem are developed. The time‐stepping schemes are based on a Petrov–Galerkin finite element method applied to the Hamiltonian formulation of the N‐body problem. The approach furnishes algorithmic energy conservation in a natural way. The proposed time finite element method facilitates a systematic implementation of a family of time‐stepping schemes. A particular algorithm is specified by the associated quadrature rule employed for the evaluation of time integrals. The influence of various standard as well as non‐standard quadrature formulas on algorithmic energy conservation and conservation of angular momentum is examined in detail for linear and quadratic time elements. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A finite deformation mortar contact formulation using a primal–dual active set strategy

In recent years, nonconforming domain decomposition techniques and, in particular, the mortar method have become popular in developing new contact algorithms. Here, we present an approach for 2D frictionless multibody contact based on a mortar formulation and using a primal–dual active set strategy for contact constraint enforcement. We consider linear and higher‐order (quadratic) interpolations throughout this work. So‐called dual Lagrange multipliers are introduced for the contact pressure but can be eliminated from the global system of equations by static condensation, thus avoiding an increase in system size. For this type of contact formulation, we provide a full linearization of both contact forces and normal (non‐penetration) and tangential (frictionless sliding) contact constraints in the finite deformation frame. The necessity of such a linearization in order to obtain a consistent Newton scheme is demonstrated. By further interpreting the active set search as a semi‐smooth Newton method, contact nonlinearity and geometrical and material nonlinearity can be resolved within one single iterative scheme. This yields a robust and highly efficient algorithm for frictionless finite deformation contact problems. Numerical examples illustrate the efficiency of our method and the high quality of results. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An enhanced energy conserving time stepping algorithm for frictionless particle contacts

An Enhanced Energy Conserving Algorithm (EECA) formulation for time integration of frictionless contact–impact problems is presented. In it the energy, linear and angular momentum are conserved for every contact using an enhanced Penalty method. Previous formulations for these problems have shown that the total bodies' energy decreases for contact due to an artificial energy transfer between the penalty spring and the contacting bodies. Consequently, they are not able to reproduce a physical response after a single contact, introducing errors in trajectories and velocities. Through the conserving balance equations, EECA computes a physical response by inserting for every contact an additional amount of linear momentum and contact force. The structure of these equations defines the additional linear momentum to restore the energy and the enhanced Penalty method based on a spring and a dashpot. This method approximately enforces the first and second Kuhn–Tucker conditions. The new algorithm has been applied to several frictionless rigid problems using the Discrete Element Method. The first two problems consist of the simulation and analytical comparison of the Newton's Cradle and Carom problems (billiard pool problem). The last two are the hopper filling process and the breaking of a pool ball's triangular arrangement, both of which involve a medium number of contacts. Application of this formulation will be straightforward to elastic and general‐shaped bodies using the Finite Element Method. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assumed strain finite element methods for conserving temporal integrations in non‐linear solid dynamics

This paper presents a new class of assumed strain finite elements to use in combination with general energy‐momentum‐conserving time‐stepping algorithms so that these conservation properties in time are preserved by the fully discretized system in space and time. The case of interest corresponds to nearly incompressible material responses, in the fully non‐linear finite strain elastic and elastoplastic ranges. The new elements consider the classical scaling of the deformation gradient with an assumed Jacobian (its determinant) defined locally through a weighted averaging procedure at the element level. The key aspect of the newly proposed formulation is the definition of the associated linearized strain operator or B‐bar operator. The developments presented here start by identifying the conditions that this discrete operator must satisfy for the fully discrete system in time and space to inherit exactly the conservation laws of linear and angular momenta, and the conservation/dissipation law of energy for elastic and inelastic problems, respectively. Care is also taken of the preservation of the relative equilibria and the corresponding group motions associated with the momentum conservation laws, and characterized by purely rotational and translational motions superimposed to the equilibrium deformed configuration. With these developments at hand, a new general B‐bar operator is introduced that satisfies these conditions. The new operator not only accounts for the spatial interpolations (e.g. bilinear displacements with piece‐wise constant volume) but also depends on the discrete structure of the equations in time. The aforementioned conservation/dissipation properties of energy and momenta are then proven to hold rigorously for the final numerical schemes, unconditionally of the time step size and the material model (elastic or elastoplastic). Different finite elements are considered in this framework, including quadrilateral and triangular elements for plane problems and brick elements for three‐dimensional problems. Several representative numerical simulations are presented involving, in particular, the use of energy‐dissipating momentum‐conserving time‐stepping schemes recently developed by the author and co‐workers for general finite strain elastoplasticity in order to illustrate the properties of the new finite elements, including these conservation/dissipation properties in time and their locking‐free response in the quasi‐incompressible case. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An energy‐momentum‐conserving temporal discretization scheme for adhesive contact problems

Numerical solution of dynamic problems requires accurate temporal discretization schemes. So far, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, none have been proposed for adhesive contact problems. In this work, an energy‐momentum‐conserving temporal discretization scheme for adhesive contact problems is proposed. A contact criterion is also proposed to distinguish between adhesion‐dominated and impact‐dominated contact behaviors. An adhesion formulation is considered, which is suitable to describe a large class of interaction mechanisms including van der Waals adhesion and cohesive zone modeling. The current formulation is frictionless, and no dissipation is considered. Performance of the proposed scheme is compared with other schemes. The proposed scheme involves very little extra computational overhead. It is shown that the proposed new temporal discretization scheme leads to major accuracy gains both for single‐degree‐of‐freedom and multi‐degree‐of‐freedom systems. The single‐degree‐of‐freedom system is critically analyzed for various parameters affecting the response. For the multi‐degree‐of‐freedom system, the effect of the time step and mesh discretization on the solution is also studied using the proposed scheme. It is further shown that a temporal discretization scheme based on the principle of energy conservation is not sufficient to obtain a convergent solution. Results with higher order contact finite elements for discretizing the contact area are also discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A mortar method for energy‐momentum conserving schemes in frictionless dynamic contact problems

In the present work the mortar method is applied to planar large deformation contact problems without friction. In particular, the proposed form of the mortar contact constraints is invariant under translations and rotations. These invariance properties lay the foundation for the design of energy‐momentum time‐stepping schemes for contact–impact problems. The iterative solution procedure is embedded into an active set algorithm. Lagrange multipliers are used to enforce the mortar contact constraints. The solution of generalized saddle point systems is circumvented by applying the discrete null space method. Numerical examples demonstrate the robustness and enhanced numerical stability of the newly developed energy‐momentum scheme. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Global format for energy–momentum based time integration in nonlinear dynamics

A global format is developed for momentum and energy consistent time integration of second‐order dynamic systems with general nonlinear stiffness. The algorithm is formulated by integrating the state‐space equations of motion over the time increment. The internal force is first represented in fourth‐order form consisting of the end‐point mean value plus a term containing the stiffness matrix increment. This form gives energy conservation for systems with internal energy as a quartic function of the displacement components. This representation is then extended to general energy conservation via a discrete gradient representation. The present procedure works directly with the internal force and the stiffness matrix at the time integration interval end‐points, and in contrast to previous energy‐conserving algorithms, it does not require any special form of the energy function nor use of mean value products at the element level or explicit use of a geometric stiffness matrix. An optional monotonic algorithmic damping, increasing with response frequency, is developed in terms of a single damping parameter. In the solution procedure, the velocity is eliminated and the nonlinear iterations are based on the displacement components alone. The procedure represents an energy consistent alternative to available collocation methods, with an equally simple implementation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the design of energy–momentum integration schemes for arbitrary continuum formulations. Applications to classical and chaotic motion of shells

The construction of energy–momentum methods depends heavily on three kinds of non‐linearities: (1) the geometric (non‐linearity of the strain–displacement relation), (2) the material (non‐linearity of the elastic constitutive law), and (3) the one exhibited in displacement‐dependent loading. In previous works, the authors have developed a general method which is valid for any kind of geometric non‐linearity. In this paper, we extend the method and combine it with a treatment of material non‐linearity as well as that exhibited in force terms. In addition, the dynamical formulation is presented in a general finite element framework where enhanced strains are incorporated as well. The non‐linearity of the constitutive law necessitates a new treatment of the enhanced strains in order to retain the energy conservation property. Use is made of the logarithmic strain tensor which allows for a highly non‐linear material law, while preserving the advantage of considering non‐linear vibrations of classical metallic structures. Various examples and applications to classical and non‐classical vibrations and non‐linear motion of shells are presented, including (1) chaotic motion of arches, cylinders and caps using a linear constitutive law and (2) large overall motion and non‐linear vibration of shells using non‐linear constitutive law. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy–momentum consistent finite element discretization of dynamic finite viscoelasticity

This paper is concerned with energy–momentum consistent time discretizations of dynamic finite viscoelasticity. Energy consistency means that the total energy is conserved or dissipated by the fully discretized system in agreement with the laws of thermodynamics. The discretization is energy–momentum consistent if also momentum maps are conserved when group motions are superimposed to deformations. The performed approximation is based on a three‐field formulation, in which the deformation field, the velocity field and a strain‐like viscous internal variable field are treated as independent quantities. The new non‐linear viscous evolution equation satisfies a non‐negative viscous dissipation not only in the continuous case, but also in the fully discretized system. The initial boundary value problem is discretized by using finite elements in space and time. Thereby, the temporal approximation is performed prior to the spatial approximation in order to preserve the stress objectivity for finite rotation increments (incremental objectivity). Although the present approach makes possible to design schemes of arbitrary order, the focus is on finite elements relying on linear Lagrange polynomials for the sake of clearness. The discrete energy–momentum consistency is based on the collocation property and an enhanced second Piola–Kirchhoff stress tensor. The obtained coupled non‐linear algebraic equations are consistently linearized. The corresponding iterative solution procedure is associated with newly proposed convergence criteria, which take the discrete energy consistency into account. The iterative solution procedure is therefore not complicated by different scalings in the independent variables, since the motion of the element is taken into account for solving the viscous evolution equation. Representative numerical simulations with various boundary conditions show the superior stability of the new time‐integration algorithm in comparison with the ordinary midpoint rule. Both the quasi‐rigid deformations during a free flight, and large deformations arising in a dynamic tensile test are considered. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Force‐stepping integrators in Lagrangian mechanics

We formulate an integration scheme for Lagrangian mechanics, referred to as the force‐stepping scheme, which is symplectic, energy conserving, time‐reversible, and convergent with automatic selection of the time‐step size. The scheme also conserves approximately all the momentum maps associated with the symmetries of the system. The exact conservation of momentum maps may additionally be achieved by recourse to the Lagrangian reduction. The force‐stepping scheme is obtained by replacing the potential energy by a piecewise affine approximation over a simplicial grid or regular triangulation. By taking triangulations of diminishing size, an approximating sequence of energies is generated. The trajectories of the resulting approximate Lagrangians can be characterized explicitly and consist of piecewise parabolic motion, or free fall. Selected numerical tests demonstrate the excellent long‐term behavior of force‐stepping, its automatic time‐step selection property, and the ease with which it deals with constraints, including contact problems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-linear dynamics of three-dimensional rods: Exact energy and momentum conserving algorithms

The long-term dynamic response of non-linear geometrically exact rods under-going finite extension, shear and bending, accompanied by large overall motions, is addressed in detail. The central objective is the design of unconditionally stable time-stepping algorithms which exactly preserve fundamental constants of the motion such as the total linear momentum, the total angular momentum and, for the Hamiltonian case, the total energy. This objective is accomplished in two steps. First, a class of algorithms is introduced which conserves linear and angular momentum. This result holds independently of the definition of the algorithmic stress resultants. Second, an algorithmic counterpart of the elastic constitutive equations is developed such that the law of conservation of total energy is exactly preserved. Conventional schemes exhibiting no numerical dissipation, symplectic algorithms in particular, are shown to lead to unstable solutions when the high frequencies are not resolved. Compared to conventional schemes there is little, if any, additional computational cost involved in the proposed class of energy–momentum methods. The excellent performance of the new algorithm in comparison to other standard schemes is demonstrated in several numerical simulations.     

Efficient simulation of multi‐body contact problems on complex geometries: A flexible decomposition approach using constrained minimization

We consider the numerical simulation of non‐linear multi‐body contact problems in elasticity on complex three‐dimensional geometries. In the case of warped contact boundaries and non‐matching finite element meshes, particular emphasis has to be put on the discretization of the transmission of forces and the non‐penetration conditions at the contact interface. We enforce the discrete contact constraints by means of a non‐conforming domain decomposition method, which allows for optimal error estimates. Here, we develop an efficient method to assemble the discrete coupling operator by computing the triangulated intersection of opposite element faces in a locally adjusted projection plane but carrying out the required quadrature on the faces directly. Our new element‐based algorithm does not use any boundary parameterizations and is also suitable for isoparametric elements. The emerging non‐linear system is solved by a monotone multigrid method of optimal complexity. Several numerical examples in 3D illustrate the effectiveness of our approach. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conservation properties of a time FE method. Part IV: Higher order energy and momentum conserving schemes

In the present paper a systematic development of higher order accurate time stepping schemes which exactly conserve total energy as well as momentum maps of underlying finite‐dimensional Hamiltonian systems with symmetry is shown. The result of this development is the enhanced Galerkin (eG) finite element method in time. The conservation of the eG method is generally related to its collocation property. Total energy conservation, in particular, is obtained by a new projection technique. The eG method is, moreover, based on objective time discretization of the used strain measure. This paper is concerned with particle dynamics and semi‐discrete non‐linear elastodynamics. The related numerical examples show good performance in presence of stiffness as well as for calculating large‐strain motions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A method for structural dynamic contact problems with friction and wear

A method for structural dynamic contact problems with friction and wear is suggested. The method is obtained by including wear in the non‐smooth contact dynamics method of Moreau. A comparison of the method to the discrete energy‐momentum method of Simo and Tarnow is also outlined briefly. The fully discrete equations are treated using the augmented Lagrangian approach, where a non‐smooth Newton method is used as the equation solver. Two two‐dimensional examples are solved by the method. It is investigated how solutions of contact, friction and wear are influenced by inertia. It is shown that the quasi‐static assumption might be questionable for solving contact problems with friction and wear. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.