Numerical Analysis of Quasi-Static Unilateral Contact Problems with Local Friction

Abstract

A mixed finite element method is adopted to approximate the quasi-static unilateral contact problem with local Coulomb friction. The existence of a solution with bounds independent of the discretization parameter is obtained by an incremental scheme. This approach enables us to select a sequence of discrete solutions which converges strongly towards a solution of the quasi-static unilateral contact problem with Coulomb friction law.