The mixed finite element method applied to two‐dimensional elastic contact problems

The application of the mixed finite element method to two‐dimensional elastic contact problems is investigated. Since in the mixed method, both displacements and stresses are retained as variables, it is found that all the contact conditions—displacement as well as stress—can be approximated directly. A significant novelty is that some of the displacement variables are treated as natural boundary conditions in the contact region. In cases where the contact region is independent of the applied loading, an iterative procedure is used to establish the sliding and adhering portions of the contact region. In cases where the contact region is a function of the applied loading, for example progressive contact, an incremental formulation is employed to describe the discretized contact stages before invoking the former iterations. Several numerical examples are presented and the results are compared with those from the conventional potential energy or displacement finite element method.