Contact mechanics at the nanoscale, a 3D multiscale approach

Abstract We present a multiscale coupling method to address contact problems. The components of the model are a molecular dynamics engine, a finite element program and a coupling scheme. We validate the approach, first on Hertzian contact and then with a rough surface contacting a rigid body plane. Various measures are provided to highlight limitations and new opportunities in conducting large‐scale simulations of contact brought by the proposed multiscale approach. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.