Techno Press
Techno Press

Structural Engineering and Mechanics
  Volume 12, Number 1, July 2001 , pages 35-50
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/sem.2001.12.1.035
 


Analysis of slender structural elements under unilateral contact constaints
Ricardo Azoubel da Mota Silveira and Paulo Batista Goncalves(Brazil)

 
Abstract
    A numerical methodology is presented in this paper for the geometrically non-linear analysis
of slender uni-dimensional structural elements under unilateral contact constraints. The finite element method
together with an updated Lagrangian formulation is used to study the structural system. The unilateral
constraints are imposed by tensionless supports or foundations. At each load step, in order to obtain the
contact regions, the equilibrium equations are linearized and the contact problem is treated directly as a
minimisation problem with inequality constraints, resulting in a linear complementarity problem (LCP).
After the resulting LCP is solved by Lemke
 
Key Words
    unilateral constraints; incremental-iterative strategies; geometric non-linearity; updated Lagrangian formulation; linear complementary problem.
 
Address
Ricardo Azoubel da Mota Silveira, Civil Engineering Department, Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP) Morro do Cruzeiro-Campus Universitario, 35400-000 Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil
Paulo Batista Goncalves, Civil Engineering Department, Catholic University, PUC-Rio Rua Marques de Sao Vicente, 225 - Gavea, 22453-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
 

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