Isogeometric analysis of 3D finite deformation frictionless elastoplastic contact problems

This paper focuses on the application of isogeometric analysis to model frictionless large deformation contact between deformable bodies and rigid surfaces that may be represented by analytical functions. The contact constraints are satisfied exactly with the augmented Lagrangian method, and treated with a mortar-based approach combined with a simplified integration method to avoid segmentation of the contact surfaces. The spatial discretization of the deformable body is performed with NURBS and C0-continuous Lagrange polynomial elements. The numerical examples demonstrate that isogeometric surface discretization delivers more accurate and robust predictions of the response compared to Lagrange discretizations.