A New Finite-Element Approach to Contact Problems

The use of boundary and volume finite elements in contact problems permits determination of the influence function for bodies of any specific form, with elimination of the indeterminacy at the point of load application; and direct construction of the system of equations for determining the contact regions and the corresponding contact-stress distribution, without the need for complex transformations and without loss of physical significance. As an illustration, the proposed method is used to solve a contact problem.