A finite element implementation for biphasic contact of hydrated porous media under finite deformation and sliding.

The study of biphasic soft tissue contact is fundamental to understand the biomechanical behavior of human diarthrodial joints. However, to date, only few biphasic finite element contact analyses for three-dimensional physiological geometries under finite deformation have been developed. The objective of this article is to develop a hyperelastic biphasic contact implementation for finite deformation and sliding problem. An augmented Lagrangian method was used to enforce the continuity of contact traction and fluid pressure across the contact interface. The finite element implementation was based on a general purpose software, COMSOL Multiphysics. The accuracy of the implementation is verified using example problems, for which solutions are available by alternative analyses. The implementation was proven to be robust and able to handle finite deformation and sliding.