Contact mechanics is a specialist area in engineering mechanics. It deals with non standard mechanics which frequently appear in real technical applications. Examples include the simulation of car crashes, human joints, car tyres, rubber seals and metal forming processes. Modern numerical simulation methods are used to model these objects and their behaviour.
Contact problems are an area of great technical importance in industrial applications in mechanical and civil engineering, however only very few problems involving contact can be solved analytically. For most industrial applications, numerical methods have to be applied since the contacting bodies have complex geometries, undergo large deformations (including time dependent responses) or are affected by other factors. The range of applications starts with relatively simple problems such as foundations or bearings, and includes metal forming processes, rubber sealings, drilling problems, crash analysis of cars, and even biomechanics, where human joints, implants or teeth are under consideration. Although other numerical and analytical schemes can also be used, this book concentrates mainly on finite element techniques for the treatment of contact problems, including new approaches such as adaptive finite element methods.

• At the cutting edge of an area of significant (and growing) interest in computational mechanics
• Covers the theoretical background of simulations and discusses modern numerical simulation methods
• Relates to many engineering applications

A valuable reference resource for graduate and postgraduate students, as well as engineers involved in numerical simulation in industry (e.g. aeronautics, car and tyre design, biomechanics, metal forming).