Contact Mechanics - Tribos PDF

3/16/2020 Contact Mechanics – tribos
https://tribos.wordpress.com/category/tribology/contact-mechanics/
tribos
Tribology: Lubrication, Friction and wear
Category: Contact Mechanics
Overview of Hertzian Elliptical or Point Contacts
MAY 3, 2017APRIL 1, 2017

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Her ian elliptical contacts take place between two bodies which are curved along both axes and may
be at arbitrary angles to one another. The simplest case is the Her ian spherical contact where both
bodies have the same radius; in this case the equations are much simpler. These can be referred to as
either point or elliptical contacts.
These contacts take place between two surfaces which can have any radius along both directions.
In an elliptical contact all

radii (rIx, rIy, rIIx, rIIy) can
all be different values.
https://tribos.wordpress.com/category/tribology/contact-mechanics/ 1/11
Surfaces with the same radius on both axes (left) will have a circular contact but if there are different
radii of both axes (right) the contact will have an elliptical shape.
Any two surfaces which are curved along one axis and straight and parallel along the other can be
converted into the contact of rigid curved surface against a flat elastic halfspace. This contact will
have a characteristic pressure profile and stress distribution. The figure below illustrates the shape of
the pressure profile.
Pressure profile in an elliptical Her ian contact
The two bodies are converted to have a single equivalent elastic modulus:
The equivalent elastic modulus of

elasticity
Calculating the equivalent radii is understandably quite difficult. For this reason it is often simpler to
use one of the online calculators listed in the calculators section of this website. The radii of both
bodies along the x and y axes and the angle between the coordinate systems of the two bodies are
used to calculate ‘A+B’ and ‘B-A’. From these the value of theta can be found and used to determine
c1 and c2.
Formula for A+B and B-A
Formula for
theta
Table for c1 and c2 values
The maximum pressure and half width of the contact can be calculated:
Equations for half width along the x and y

directions.
Formula for
Her ian Pressure
The pressure anywhere in the contact can also be found:
Formula for the pressure profile in a

Her ian elliptical contact
Overview of Hertzian Line Contacts
MAY 1, 2017MARCH 25, 2017

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Her ian line contacts take place between two surfaces which are flat along one axis and curved along
the other axis. One or both of the surfaces can be curved (parallel cylinders or a cylinder on a flat).
The surfaces can also be concave (negative radius) or convex (positive radius).
Parallel Cylinders
Positive and negative radii
Any two surfaces which are curved along one axis and straight and parallel along the other can be
converted into the contact of rigid cylinder onto a flat elastic halfspace. This contact will have a
characteristic pressure profile and stress distribution.
Pressure profile in a Her ian line contact
The two bodies are converted to have a single radius and elastic modulus:
Equivalent elastic modulus, frequently

wri en as E’ or E*
Equivalent radius, often wri en

as R, R’, or R*
The maximum pressure and half width of the contact can be calculated:
Her ian or
maximum
pressure for a
line contact
Her ian half width for a line contact
The pressure anywhere in the contact can be calculated:
Pressure profile in a Her ian

line contact
The subsurface stresses underneath the center of the contact can also be determined:
Sigma X (x is the direction of width of the contact)
Sigma Z (z is the direction into

the body)
Sigma Y (y is along the length of the contact)
Crystal plasticity simulation videos
FEBRUARY 5, 2017AUGUST 6, 2016

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The Dusseldorf Max-Planck group has made some interesting videos about crystal plasticity. While
this is not directly related to fre ing, it is an area of interest to the engineering community as a whole.
For some introductory information about crystal plasticity, you can read this introductory article
from the University of Edinburgh (h p://www.cmse.ed.ac.uk/AdvMat45/CrystalBasics.pdf).
h p://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x6E0w1CFCdo
(h p://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x6E0w1CFCdo)
Micro-contacts within flat on flat contacts
DECEMBER 18, 2016AUGUST 6, 2016

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In the contact between two “flat” surfaces only a fraction of them actually touch each other. The
amount of the materials that touch is referred to as the “real contact area” and is linearly proportional
to the normal force. The Abbo -Firestone Curve and Bearing Area Curve show how much of a
surface will “bear” the load at a given offset.
When there is fre ing wear between two “flat” surfaces the contact can actually appear as if there is
just a number of small Her ian contacts instead of a large scar with the dimensions of the two
specimens. Each of these small wear scars occur where the asperities interact.
As the normal load increases, the length of a test increases, and the surfaces of the wear scar will
become more even. As material is lost from the highest asperities, wear will occur over more of the
contact. There are many factors which contribute to this shape and one of them is undoubtedly the
surface heights of the initial surfaces.
The Hertzian contact equations

DECEMBER 2, 2016AUGUST 6, 2016

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The Her ian equations describe the contact between a curved and flat surface or two curved bodies.
I will briefly describe the phenomena and present the equations necessary for calculating the contact
half with and Her ian pressure for a line and point (circular) contact. The Her ian contact is named
after Heinrich Her (h p://fre ingwear.com/2010/heinrich-her /) who solved this problem in the
1800s.
Solving for a Her ian contact requires converting the geometry into an equivalent curved and flat
surface. The radius to each body along the x and y axes must be known and is used to calculate an
equivalent radius. The equivalent radius along the x axis can be found by
1/R’x=1/Rx1+1/Rx2
where Rx’ is the equivalent radius and R is the radius of each body. Ry’ is calculated similarly. If
there is no curvature along an axis use infinity. If the radii on the x and y axes are equal, than there is
a point contact. If one radius is infinite, than it is a line contact. If both radii are different, than there
is an elliptical contact.
An equivalent elastic modulus is also used. This can be calculated as
1/E’=1/2(1-v1^2/E1+1-v2^2’E2)
where E’ is the equivalent modulus, E is the elastic modulus and v is the Poisson ratio. The elastic
modulus is formulated in two different ways varying by author. Sometimes it is twice the above
number and this difference is accounted by changes in the following equations.
The maximum pressure in a point contact is given as
P=2W/pibl
where Ph is the Her ian or maximum pressure, W is the normal load, b is the contact half width, and
l is the length of the contact. The pressure distribution over the contact is given as
p=pmax sqrt(1-x^2/b^2)
where x is the distance along the short axis of the contact. The contact half width is given as
b=sqrt(8WR’/pilE’)
In a Her ian line contact the maximum or Her ian pressure is given as:
Ph=3W/2pib^2
The pressure distribution over the contact is given as
p(x,y)=Phsqrt(1-x^2/b-y^2/b)
where x and y are the two axes on the surface. The contact half width is given as
a=(3WR’/(2E’))^(1/3)
What goes on in a Hertzian Contact
JULY 20, 2016AUGUST 3, 2016

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Schematic of a Her ian contact. Figure from Principles of Tribology.
A Her ian contact occurs when two curved surfaces meet or a curved surface contacts a flat surface.
Her ian contacts are non-conformal because the two surfaces have different shapes which only
touch over a small area. Some examples are a ball on flat, a ball in a groove, two balls touching, and a
cylinder on a rolling track.
Her ian contacts can always be simplified by converting the radii and elastic properties of both
surfaces into an equivalent curved and flat surface where one surface is rigid and the other surface
has an equivalent modulus. In the equivalent contact there will be a radii along either one axis or
both axes. If there is only a radii around one axis then the contact is a line contact. If the surface is
curved along both axes the contact is a point or elliptical contact.
Because all of the force is transmi ed through a very small area (if both bodies were rigid it would be
a single point), there is significant deformation at the contact as illustrated in the figure above.
If you are simulating a Her ian contact using finite elements, you must turn off friction to match the
theoretical values. Frictional forces will resist the deformation and expansion of the surfaces. The
vertical distance from the center of the contact between the bodies to the undeformed surface is
usually referred to as delta or the deformation of the contact. Take note that the surfaces are closer
together outside the contact than they would be otherwise because of the bodies’ deformation.
The pressure profile is shown on this figure. When viewing the deformed surfaces it is easy to
understand why Her ian contacts have their classic pressure profile. The pressure decreases to zero
as the overlap decreases to zero. The pressure is maximum in the center of the contact where the
overlap increases. The maximum pressure does not increase linearly with normal force because the
contact is able to constantly expand adding new area to the contact and reducing the decreasing the
rate at which the pressure increases at the center of the contact.
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3/16/2020 Contact Mechanics – tribos

Tribology: Lubrication, Friction and wear

Category: Contact Mechanics

Overview of Hertzian Elliptical or Point Contacts

MAY 3, 2017APRIL 1, 2017

In an elliptical contact all

Pressure proﬁle in an elliptical Her ian contact

The equivalent elastic modulus of

Formula for A+B and B-A

Table for c1 and c2 values

Equations for half width along the x and y

The pressure anywhere in the contact can also be found:

Formula for the pressure proﬁle in a

Overview of Hertzian Line Contacts

MAY 1, 2017MARCH 25, 2017

Positive and negative radii

Pressure proﬁle in a Her ian line contact

Equivalent elastic modulus, frequently

Equivalent radius, often wri en

Her ian half width for a line contact

The pressure anywhere in the contact can be calculated:

Pressure proﬁle in a Her ian

Sigma X (x is the direction of width of the contact)

Sigma Z (z is the direction into

Sigma Y (y is along the length of the contact)

Crystal plasticity simulation videos

FEBRUARY 5, 2017AUGUST 6, 2016

Micro-contacts within flat on flat contacts

DECEMBER 18, 2016AUGUST 6, 2016

The Hertzian contact equations

DECEMBER 2, 2016AUGUST 6, 2016

An equivalent elastic modulus is also used. This can be calculated as

The maximum pressure in a point contact is given as

The pressure distribution over the contact is given as

What goes on in a Hertzian Contact

JULY 20, 2016AUGUST 3, 2016

Schematic of a Her ian contact. Figure from Principles of Tribology.

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