On the treatment of frictional contact in shell structures using variational inequalities

A new variational inequality-based formulation is presented for the large deformation analysis of frictional contact in elastic shell structures. The formulations are based on a seven-parameter continuum shell model, which account for the normal stress and strain through the shell thickness and accommodate double-sided shell contact. The kinematic contact conditions are enforced accurately in terms of the physical contacting surfaces of the shell. Large deformations and rotations are accounted for by invoking the appropriate stress and strain measures. Lagrange multipliers are used to ensure that the kinematic contact constraints are accurately satis"ed and that the solution is free from user-de"ned parameters. Three numerical examples are used to verify the developed formulations and algorithms, and test the various aspects of the solution technique. Copyright ( 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd