Sequential quadratic programming for non-linear elastic contact problems

The physical problem considered in this paper is that of a non-linear elastic body being indented by a rigid punch. The treatment is based on finite element discretization and sequential quadratic programming (SQP). The finite element formulation is obtained through a variational formulation, which generalizes to frictionless contact a three-field principle which involves deformation, volume strain and hydrostatic pressure as independent fields. We compare an incremental load method and a method where the indentation for the final load is sought directly. Crucial for the second method is the use of a line search with respect to a merit function which measures the infeasibility in the optimality criteria for the problem; this line search also includes a check of the orientation-preserving condition of a positive determinant of the deformation gradient. Each iteration within an SQP method requires the solution of a quadratic programming (QP) subproblem, and four different methods for the solution of these subproblems are compared. The performance of the overall procedure is also compared to that of a commercially available system. Test examples ranging from 23 to 770 displacement degrees of freedom are treated. The computational results show that the proposed solution concept is feasible and efficient. Furthermore, it can be applied to general non-linear elastic contact problems, since it does not include any ad hoc rules.