Chapter 20 Contact Elements______ __________________________________________

192
CHAPTER 20

CONTACT ELEMENTS

In civil engineering design there are many circumstances when structural
continuity is physically broken. Due to various reasons, such as loading,
excavation processes, temperature effects, solids which are initially in
contact became separated by gaps, or slide one to each other along contact
surfaces. A detailed finite element model should simulate these effects, in
order to emphasize, as far as good, the real behavior of the structure. Two
examples where contact simulation is of utmost importance are given below.

Long or massive structures are conceived on purpose with working joints, in
order to reduce stresses due to temperature changing or imposed
displacement of supports. A concrete dam is built of separate blocks (see
figure 20.1) and its real behavior depends on how the corresponding joint
faces are interacting. The joints status (open or closed, sliding or sticking) is
related to the upstream water level and the concrete thermal field, being
variable in time. The overall structural response, the displacements and the
stress distribution, are determined by the joints performance. When
modeling a massive structure, the design engineer may neglect these details,
considering the structure as a continuous body, or, by contrary, may take
into account the presence of these discontinuities. It is a matter of analysis
refinement and results significance.


Fig. 20.1 Massive structure breakd up by working joints downstream view of a
gravity dam
block i block j block k
permanent
joint
permanent
joint
crest level
foundation level

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When simulating a braced excavation processes, the retaining structure
made of sheet piles experiences variable deformations according to the
excavation level and the position of the struts. Sometimes, due to the sheet
piles flexibility, the contact between the retaining structure and the soil mass
brakes at various levels (see figure 20.2). Anyhow, for a correct simulation
of the excavation process, no tension stresses should develop between the
retaining structure and the soil mass. Contact finite elements should be
placed at the interface, withstanding only compression and, eventually,
shear stresses along a sliding contact.


Fig. 20.2 Gaps occured between the retaining stucture and the soil mass during the
excavation process

20. 1 POINT TO POINT CONTACT

A point-to-point contact finite element allows maintenance or breaking the
physical contact between two surfaces, or their relative sliding. Such an
element is capable to withstand compression along the normal direction to
the contact surface and shear along the tangential direction. The orientation
of the contact (or sliding) surface is given by the initial position of the nodes
which define the finite element (see figure 20.3): the normal force is in line
with this original position and the interface is assumed perpendicular to the i
j line.
H
1
gap region

H
2
contact
i
sandy layer
cohesive layer
strut
force
H
1

H
2

gap
ground level
excavation level

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194
According to Coulomb friction model, two contacting surfaces can carry
shear stresses up to a certain magnitude across their interface, the state being
known as sticking. Once the equivalent shear stress exceeds the limit, the
surfaces will slide relative to each other. The Coulomb friction model is
defined as:

c F
n lim
+ = (20.1)
lim
(20.2)
with:
lim
- the limit shear stress;
- the equivalent shear stress;
- the friction coefficient;
c - the cohesion (usually neglected).


Fig. 20.3 Point to point contact element

The element behavior in the mesh depends on its actual status: closed and
stuck, closed and sliding, or open. The stiffness matrix acts in the normal
and tangential direction when the gap between the two surfaces is closed.
The gap between the surfaces may change during subsequent loading steps.
The initial gap, usually defined by the initial position of nodes i and j,
changes according to the calculated nodal displacements. The element status
may also change during subsequent analysis steps.

If the element is closed and stuck, the stiffness matrix is:

z
y
x
x
y
z
i
j


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195
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

=
s s
s s
n s
s s
s s
n n
e
k k
k k
k k
k k
k k
k k
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
k (20.3)

with k
n
the normal stiffness and k
s
the tangential stiffness. If the element is
closed but sliding in both directions, the stiffness matrix becomes:


(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

=
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
n s
n n
e
k k
k k
k (20.4)

If the element is open, the stiffness matrix does not exist.

The normal stiffness k
n
should be based on the stiffness of bodies coming in
contact. For most problems, the local surface deformation is not important,
such that k
n
may be estimated one or two orders of magnitude higher then
the adjacent element stiffness (AE/L). The tangential, or sticking stiffness k
s

corresponds to Coulomb friction, when the friction coefficient is known
and not neglected (for frictionless contact = 0). The stiffness values can be
also computed as the ratio between the maximum expected force and the
maximum allowable surface displacement.

The force deflection relationship can be separated into the normal and
tangential directions (see figure 20.4). If the interface is closed and sticking,
both k
n
and k
s
are used. If the interface is closed but sliding, k
n
is used for
the gap resistance and the constant friction force F
n
is used for the sliding
resistance. When the normal force F
n
is negative, the interface remains in
contact and behaves as a linear elastic spring. As the normal force becomes
positive, the contact is broken and no force is transmitted. Regarding the

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196
tangential direction, for F
n
< 0 and the tangential force less then F
n
, the
interface sticks and responds as a linear spring. For F
s
= F
n
sliding occurs.
When the contact is broken and F
s
= 0.


Fig. 20.4 Force deflection relationship for point to point contact element

20.2 POINT TO SURFACE CONTACT

Sometimes, the finite element model is generated in such a way that a
precise node-to-node contact is never achievable. This is usually the case of
models generated with arbitrary meshes. A point-to-surface finite element
can be used for simulating contact between a node belonging to a contact
surface and the so called target surface (see figure 20.5).

An important step is to define the contact kinematics, i.e. to track the
possible contact nodes and surfaces in order to avoid any uncertainty
regarding the contact conditions. In 2D space a point-to-surface element has
3 nodes, with the target surface represented by nodes i and j and the contact
surface represented by the contact node k. Contact occurs whenever the
contact node k penetrates the target surface i-j. The status of the contact
element is computed by a so called pinball algorithm, taking into account
the actual relative position of nodes. A circle with prescribed radius centered
on the target surface delimitates near-field and far-field contact. When a
contact node is outside the circle, an open contact condition is assumed.
Penetration can only occur if the contact node is inside the circle (see figure
20.6). A single target should be associated to each contact node in the mesh,
thus, an elimination process is performed every iteration. The final
n
F
gap u u
i j
+
n
K
s
K
s
F
n
F
n
F
i j
u u
1
1

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kinematic step is to asses the amount of gap or penetration between the
contact node and the target surface. Contact penetration is assumed to occur
when the gap is found to be negative. A positive gap indicates an open
contact condition.

Fig. 20.5 Point to suface contact element

When penetration occurs, a force is developed in a direction normal to the
target (n), in order to satisfy contact compatibility and to reduce penetration
to an acceptable level. Shear forces are also developed along the tangent
direction (s).

Fig. 20.6 Contact kinematics the pinball algorithm
k (open)
k (open)
k (open)
k (in contact)
k (near contact)
j
i
i
j
k
x
y
contact surface
target surface


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198
Using the Penalty Method, the normal force on the surface yields

>

=
0 if 0
0 if
g
g g k
F
n
n
(20.5)

where k
n
is the contact stiffness of the target surface and g the gap value.

The tangential shear force is due to friction that arises as the contact node
moves along the target. According to the value assigned to friction
coefficient, frictionless sliding, elastic and rigid Coulomb friction can be
simulated. For elastic Coulomb friction, the tangential displacement of the
contact node relative to the target should be computed:

0
s s u
s
= (20.6)

where s and s
0
are the projections of the contact node displacement along
the target corresponding to actual and previous equilibrium iteration. The
displacement is decomposed into elastic (sticking) and sliding (inelastic)
components:
s
s
e
s s
u u u + = (20.7)

and the tangential force is

<
=
sliding if
stiking if
n
n
e
s t
s
F
F u k
F

(20.8)


Fig. 20.7 Normal and tangential forces when contact occurs

i
j
k
i n
F
,
i s
F
,
j n
F
,
j s
F
,
k n
F
,
k s
F
,

s

n

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20.3 SURFACE-TO-SURFACE CONTACT

Surface-to-surface contact elements are used to represent contact and sliding
between a deformable surface and a rigid surface, or between two
deformable surfaces, as it is shown in figure 20.8. Contact occurs when the
element surface penetrates one of the target segments on the specified target
surface. The area of contact between two bodies is usually not known in
advance. For rigid-flexible contact, the contact surface is associated with the
deformable body and the target surface must be the rigid surface. For
flexible-flexible contact, both contact and target surfaces are associated with
deformable bodies. The contact and target surfaces constitute the contact
pair.

In the 2D space, the surface-to-surface contact element is defined by two
nodes, i and j, underlying a solid or a beam element. The contact surface
element is associated with a 2D target element. If more than one target
surface is in contact with the same boundary of solid elements, several
contact elements sharing the same geometry should be defined.



Fig. 20.8 Surface to suface contact. Contact and target surfaces

The contact points between the surfaces are detected out of the integration
points (Gauss points) of the element, where the contact element is
constrained against penetration into the target surface. The penetration
distance is measured along the normal direction to the target surface at the
integration points (see figure 20.8). The position and the motion of a contact
j
i
n
x
y
Solid or beam elements
Contact element
Associated target surface

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200
element relative to its associated target surface determine the contact
element status (open far-field or near-field contact, sliding contact or
sticking contact). A similar pinball algorithm as before is used for status
detection, this time the center of the pinball region being at the integration
point of the element.

The sticking/sliding calculations determine when a point changes from
sticking to sliding or vice versa. The contact cohesion (c) provides sliding
resistance even with zero normal pressure. An optional maximum
equivalent shear stress
max
can be defined so that, regardless of the
magnitude of the contact pressure, sliding occurs if the magnitude of the
equivalent shear stress reaches this value.

The integration of the frictional contact is similar to that of nonassociated
theory of plasticity. Because contact problems involving friction produce
non-symmetric stiffness, a symmetrization algorithm is used by which most
frictional contact problems can be solved using solvers for symmetric
systems.

A common contact algorithm is the Penalty Method. It requires both normal
and tangential contact stiffness. The amount of penetration between the two
surfaces depends on the normal stiffness. Higher stiffness values decrease
the amount of penetration but can lead to ill-conditioning of the global
stiffness matrix and to convergence difficulties.

20.4 CONCLUDING REMARKS

The use of contact elements enhances the structural analysis, creating better
and more refined finite element models. Even though, the pronounced
nonlinear behavior of contact elements may cause numerical instabilities in
the solution phase. Using all contact elements facilities (including elastic
Coulomb friction), as well as their complicated definition during
preprocessing (stiffness parameter values, node connections, etc), make
their use cumbersome. It is highly recommended to simplify as much as
possible the contact elements behavior, when the analysis object permits.
Taking into account only the normal stiffness, friction being neglected, may
be a reasonable option (i.e. enabling the compression withstanding between
the surfaces in contact and gap opening when tension occurs). Even so, the

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initial orientation of the contact element should be assigned with care. In the
following example, the obvious difference between various results is due to
the initial assigned orientation of contact elements. In figure 20.9.a the finite
element model is represented: two regions of a 2D solid, delimited by an
oblique sliding plane, defined by pairs of coincident nodes. These nodes are
connected through point-to-point contact elements, with two assigned
orientations: 30 and 210. The deformed shape of the model for both values
is represented in figures 20.9.b and 20.9.c.


Fig. 20.9 Finite element model with contact elements along sliding plane (a);
deformed shape for different contact elements orientations (b and c).
a
b c.

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202


Fig. 20.10 Results differences according to the contact element orientation
a.
b.

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Other differences are emphasized in figure 20.10. The left column (a) is dedicated
to results obtained on the model with the initial orientation for contact elements
of 30. The right column (b) presents the same results on the model with the
initial orientation of 210. From top to bottom, the images represent the
following distributions: the horizontal displacement, the vertical stress and
the shear stress. Except the contact elements orientation, all other model
characteristics are the same (material properties, boundary conditions and
load).

It is obvious that only turning the assigned orientation of contact elements with
180, a complete different behavior of the model occur. Thus, it is important
to define correctly the initial and following contact element status,
considering the deformation trend and the nodal order in which the contact
elements are declared.