Author(s)

R Vodicka, A Blázquez, F París, V Mantic

Abstract

There are several formulations of Boundary Integral Equations (BIEs) used in the general numerical procedure known as Boundary Element Method (BEM). There are also several approaches to deal with contact problems in BEM. In this paper a comparison between several procedures: conventional discretization of the displacement BIE by collocations, Galerkin discretizations of the symmetric BIE of the first kind and the non-symmetric BIE of the second kind, is performed. Although several aspects of these procedures are discussed, the emphasis is placed on the accuracy of the results obtained with identical meshes. The comparison is carried out including problems with analytical solutions or in presence of singularities, covering conforming, advancing and receding contact problems. Linear elements, conforming discretizations of surfaces in contact and frictionless case define the frame in which the study is performed.

Keywords