A virtual element method for 3D contact problems with non-conforming meshes

The Virtual Element Method is ideal for problems with non-conforming meshes since nodes can be inserted at the virtual element boundary to obtain a conforming mesh structure, without changing the ansatz of the element. The contact conditions can be employed on different enforcing strategies. This feature can be explored also for three-dimensional contact problems. In this work, we introduce a new framework, including a remeshing strategy, which leads to conforming meshes. Various numerical examples in 3D will be shown, including standard cases like the contact patch test and Hertzian contact.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.