A two-level iteration method for solution of contact problems (Q1059453)

The merits and limitations of some existing procedures for the solution of contact problems, modeled by the finite element method, are examined. Based on the Lagrangian multiplier method, a partitioning scheme can be used to obtain a small system of equation for the Lagrange multipliers which is then solved by the conjugate gradient method. A two-level contact algorithm is employed which first linearizes the nonlinear contact problem to obtain a linear contact problem that is in turn solved by the Newton method. The performance of the algorithm compared to some existing procedures is demonstrated on some test problems.