The mortar element method for three dimensional finite elements
We analyze a numerical model for the Signorini unilateral contact, based on the mortar method, in the quadratic finite element context. The mortar frame enables one to use non-matching grids and brings facilities in the mesh generation of different components of a complex system. The convergence rates we state here are similar to those already obtained for the Signorini problem when discretized on conforming meshes. The matching for the unilateral contact driven by mortars preserves then the proper...
The contact between two membranes can be described by a system of variational inequalities, where the unknowns are the displacements of the membranes and the action of a membrane on the other one. We first perform the analysis of this system. We then propose a discretization, where the displacements are approximated by standard finite elements and the action by a local postprocessing. Such a discretization admits an equivalent mixed reformulation. We prove the well-posedness of the discrete problem...
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