Arc-Length Method for Frictional Contact Problems Using Mathematical Programming with Complementarity Constraints

A new formulation as well as a new solution technique is proposed for an equilibrium path-following method in two-dimensional quasistatic frictional contact problems. We consider the Coulomb friction law as well as a geometrical nonlinearity explicitly. Based on a criterion of maximum dissipation of energy, we propose a formulation as a mathematical program with complementarity constraints (MPEC) in order to avoid unloading solutions in which most contact candidate nodes become stuck. A regularization scheme for the MPEC is proposed, which can be solved by using a conventional nonlinear programming approach. The equilibrium paths of various structures are computed in cases such that there exist some limit points and/or infinite number of successive bifurcation points.