Modified node-smoothing method of non-smooth surfaces in FE analyses of 2D contact

The use of a node-smoothing technique of contact interfaces is a very effective way to avoid a jump of the normal vector when a contact node moves from one contact segment to a neighboring segment. Such jumps may cause the failure of the numerical analysis. In general, the relevance of the jump of the normal vector is restricted to the vicinity of the respective master contact node. The purpose of this paper is to improve the node-smoothing technique in order to enhance the robustness and the effectiveness for numerical analyses of contact problems. Additionally, the accuracy of the geometric discretization of the contact boundary is increased by keeping node-smoothing restricted to the vicinity of a master node.