Interface shear test

In order to validate the implementation of the contact algorithms for problems with friction, a large-scale interface shear test is simulated. A right wall is moved relative to an elastic soil body. The Coulomb friction model is used to account for friction.

Finite element model of the large-scale interface shear test.

Input files

The input files for the benchmark simulations can be downloaded here.

Simulation results

The normal contact stress and tangential contact stress vs. the vertical displacement of the wall are evaluated for different dimensions of the model, different order of interpolation of the elements, different types of elements (triangular = tri, otherwise quadrilateral or hexahedral elements are used), time integration schemes (the explicit simulation uses a large mass scaling factor to avoid large accelerations, not present in the static implicit simulations) and contact discretisation technique. Note that the point of evaluation is not perfectly the same for the different models, for why the 2D quadrilateral models show slightly higher stress.

Simulation results of the interface shear test for different contact discretisation methods in 2D and 3D