A gap element for three-dimensional elasto-plastic contact problems

A simple yet efficient contact algorithm with gap elements is developed to solve three-dimensional elasto-plastic contact problems without friction. A special gap element is presented, together with a stress invariance principle, to model the contact process. The solution is achieved through an iterative procedure which adjusts the modulus of the gap elements. The elasto-plastic solid element with variable nodes and nonconforming modes is employed for the effective and economic three-dimensional finite element analysis. The validity and performance of the proposed contact algorithm with gap elements are demonstrated through various numerical tests.