Adaptive Mesh Refinement Strategy for the SemiAnalytical Solution of Frictionless Elastic Contact Problems

Abstract

Semi-analytical methods are commonly used to solve contact problems. These methods require the discretization of the domain into a mesh of pressure elements. In general, it can be said that their accuracy increases as the pressure element mesh is refined. However, the refinement of the pressure element mesh also implies an increase in their computational cost. So, in the great majority of the cases, a commitment between accuracy and computational cost must be achieved. In this work, a new approach is presented, whose main purpose is to improve the efficiency of the semi-analytical methods that are used to solve contact problems. To do so, an adaptive refinement of the pressure element mesh is implemented. This strategy allows for a reduction of the computational cost of the method, while its accuracy remains unaffected.