Complementarity methods for multibody friction contact problems in finite deformations

This paper deals with the frictional contact occurring between deformable elastoplastic bodies subjected to large displacements and finite deformations. Starting from a standard slave/master formulation we have developed a symmetrical formulation with which the unilateral contact conditions and the friction law are satisfied for each body. From the continuum equations, the discretized frictional contact problem is set as a complementarity problem and solved using Lemke's mathematical programming method. The efficiency of the method is illustrated in the case of several examples. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.