Boundary face method for 3D contact problems with non-conforming contact discretization

Three-dimensional contact problems without friction have been studied using the boundary face method (BFM). In this paper, a non-conforming contact discretization approach is used to enforce the contact conditions between the two contact surfaces. This method is based on node-to-surface (NTS), and there is no need that the identical discretization is performed along the contact surfaces of both bodies. The contact equations are written explicitly with both tractions and displacements which are retained as unknowns in boundary integral equation (BIE). An iterative procedure is presented to determine the correct contact zone by obtaining a solution compatible with the contact conditions (no interpenetrations between the domains and no tensile on the final contact zone). Several numerical examples have been presented to illustrate the applicability of the method.