A semi-explicit algorithm for solving multibody contact dynamics with large deformation

This work is devoted to the numerical modeling of contact problems in the context of multibody dynamics. Nonlinearities including large deformation and frictional contact are modeled based on the finite element method. An improved approach by means of a semi-explicit calculation is applied to integrate the equation of motion. The frictional contact forces and the relative velocity establish an implicit relationship within the bi-potential framework. A hybrid methodology consisting of the Octree structure and the bounding volume hierarchy is proposed to reduce exhaustive contact inspections. Two numerical examples implemented in our in-house finite element software FER/Impact are given to illustrate the efficiency and accuracy of the resulting methods.