A finite element formulation of the large sliding contact

A finite element formulation for the large sliding contact problem is discussed. With respect to a set of two material points the free and contacting state are distinguished. Because of the possibly occurring large slidings, the two points contact conditions are transformed to contact conditions with respect to larger sets of points, the so-called contact units. An incremental solution strategy is presented which calculates the equilibrium solution that obeys these contact conditions using an iterative procedure. Part of this strategy is the identification of actual sets of contacting material points. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated by some case-studies.