An a posteriori error analysis based on equilibrated stresses for finite element approximations of frictional contact

Abstract

We consider the unilateral contact problem between an elastic body and a rigid foundation in a description that includes both Tresca and Coulomb friction conditions. For this problem, we present an a posteriori error analysis based on an equilibrated stress reconstruction in the Arnold–Falk–Winther space that includes a guaranteed upper bound distinguishing the different components of the error. This analysis is the starting point for the development of an adaptive algorithm including a stopping criterion for the generalized Newton method. This algorithm is then used to perform numerical simulations that validate the theoretical results.