An improved contact-impact algorithm for explicit integration FEM

Although the penalty algorithm is simple and direct in concept, it has a defect that the contact forces are badly dependent on the chosen penalty factor. An improved contact-impact algorithm for the explicit integration FEM is proposed in the present paper. Based on the fact that bodies cannot penetrate into each other on the contact faces, a set of equations with the additional unknown contact forces on the slave nodes can be formed in a new system configuration. By solving these equations, the correct contact forces could be obtained without using the penalty factor.