Hybrid discretization of the Signorini problem with Coulomb friction. Theoretical aspects and comparison of some numerical solvers

The purpose of this work is to present in a general framework the hybrid discretization of unilateral contact and friction conditions in elastostatics. A projection formulation is developed and used. An existence and uniqueness results for the solutions to the discretized problem is given in the general framework. Several numerical methods to solve the discretized problem are presented (Newton, SOR, fixed points, Uzawa) and compared in terms of the number of iterations and the robustness with respect to the value of the friction coefficient.