A domain decomposition method for studying the effects of missing fasteners on the behavior of structural assemblies with contact and friction

The aim of the present work is to present an efficient numerical tool for the simulation of the behavior of 3D assemblies of structures with contact and friction when strong structural modifications occur. The paper focuses on the effects of missing connection elements (screws, bolts, rivets, …) on the behavior of the assembly. A fast and efficient domain decomposition strategy for predicting the responses of an assembly for different configurations of missing elements is proposed. The efficiency is provided by the use of a pre-calculated solution as initialization for the calculation of a new design configuration. Applications are concerned with bolted joints under quasi-static loads.