SUMMARYThis paper focuses on the application of NURBS-based isogeometric analysis to Coulomb frictional contact problems between deformable bodies, in the context of large deformations. A mortar-based approach is presented to treat the contact constraints, whereby the discretization of the continuum is performed with arbitrary order NURBS, as well as C 0 -continuous Lagrange polynomial elements for comparison purposes. The numerical examples show that the proposed contact formulation in conjunction with the NURBS discretization delivers accurate and robust predictions. Results of lower quality are obtained from the Lagrange discretization, as well as from a different contact formulation based on the enforcement of the contact constraints at every integration point on the contact surface.

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a b s t r a c tA three-dimensional mortar-based frictional contact treatment in isogeometric analysis with NURBS is presented in the finite deformation regime. Within a setting where the NURBS discretization of the contact surface is inherited directly from the NURBS discretization of the volume, the contact integrals are evaluated through a mortar approach where the geometrical and frictional contact constraints are treated through a projection to control point quantities. The formulation delivers a non-negative pressure distribution and minimally oscillatory local contact interactions with respect to alternative Lagrange discretizations independent of the discretization order. These enable the achievement of improved smoothness in global contact forces and moments through higher-order geometrical descriptions. It is concluded that the presented mortar-based approach serves as a common basis for treating isogeometric contact problems with varying orders of discretization throughout the contact surface and the volume.

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In this work, homogenization of heterogeneous materials in the context of elasticity is addressed, where the effective constitutive behavior of a heterogeneous material is sought. Both linear and non-linear elastic regimes are considered. Central to the homogenization process is the identification of a statistically representative volume element (RVE) for the heterogeneous material. In the linear regime, aspects of this identification is investigated and a numerical scheme is introduced to determine the RVE size. The approach followed in the linear regime is extended to the non-linear regime by introducing stress-strain state characterization parameters. Next, the concept of a material map, where one identifies the constitutive behavior of a material in a discrete sense, is discussed together with its implementation in the finite element method. The homogenization of the non-linearly elastic heterogeneous material is then realized through the computation of its effective material map using a numerically identified RVE. It is shown that the use of material maps for the macroscopic analysis of heterogeneous structures leads to significant reductions in computation time.