Analysis of unbonded contact problems by means of quadratic programming

Two-body, elastic, unbonded contact problems are formulated as quadratic programming problems. Uniqueness theorems of quadratic programming theory are applied to show that the solution of a contact problem, if one exists, is unique and can be readily found by the modified simplex method of quadratic programming. A solution technique that is compatible with finite-element methods is developed, so that contact problems with complex boundary configurations can be routinely solved. A number of classical and nonclassical problems are solved. Good agreement is found for problems with previously known solutions.