Abstract: This paper discusses a solution method for three dimensional elastic-plastic contact problems based on the guadratic programming theory. The numerical methecl. a max-min dual iterative method, is simple and very easy in programming. The convergence of the algorithm has been proved. Finally, we give a numerical example which is an axle-tube structure connecting the fuselage and landing gear of an aircraft. The numerical results show that the method is efficient.

Key words: elastic-plastic contact, quadratic program, max-min dualiteration