Solution of Signorini's contact problem in the deformation theory of plasticity by secant modules method

Abstract

A problem of unilateral contact between an elasto-plastic body and a rigid frictionless foundation is solved within the range of the so called deformation theory of plasticity. The weak solution is defined by means of a variational inequality. Then the so called secant module (Kačanov's) iterative method is introduced, each step of which corresponds to a Signorini's problem of elastoplastics. The convergence of the method is proved on an abstract level.