Boundary element analysis of contact problems using artificial boundary node approach

An improved version of the regular boundary element method, the artificial boundary node approach, is derived. A simple contact algorithm is designed and implemented into the direct boundary element, regular boundary element and artificial boundary node approaches. The exisiting and derived approaches are tested using some case studies. The results of the artificial boundary node approach are compared with those of the existing boundary element program, the regular element approach, ANSYS and analytical solution whenever possible. The results show the effectiveness of the artificial boundary node approach for a wider range of boundary offsets.