Résumé
In this article, we compare strategies for introducing parallelism in solving multicontact problems. Two typical problems are distinguished, to emphasize both common and different features, in terms of mechanical modeling, mathematical formulation, and numerical solutions. These two parallel computational approaches are tested on two applications: cellular and granular media. It shows that two different problems using similar equations may lead to the adoption of two very different strategies in order to be efficient: either a sophisticated approach based on a domain decomposition method, or a multithreading procedure that is easy to carry out. The challenges in these research fields reveal the potential of parallel computing.