Complete boundary element formulation for normal and tangential contact problems

The boundary element method as a numerical tool in contact mechanics is widely used and allows for surface roughness to be investigated with very fine grids. However, for every two grid points, influence coefficients have to be employed for every force-displacement combination. In this paper, we derive the matrixes of influence coefficients for the deformation of an elastic half space, starting from the classical solutions of Boussinesq and Cerruti. We show how to overcome complexity problems by using FFT-based fast convolution. A comprehensive algorithm is given for solving the case of dry Coulomb friction with partial slip. The resulting computer program can be used effectively in iterative schemes also in similar problems, such as mixed lubrication and notably improves the applicability of the boundary element method in contact mechanics.

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