A Microcontact Model Developed for Asperity Heights with a Variable Profile Fractal Dimension, A Surface Fractal Dimension, Topothesy, and Non-Gaussian Distribution

Abstract

AbstractThe cross sections formed by the contact asperities of two rough surfaces at an interference are islandshaped, rather than having the commonly assumed circular contour. These island-shaped contact surface contours show fractal behavior with a profile fractal dimension Ds. The surface fractal dimension for the asperity heights is defined as D and the topothesy is defined as G. In the study of Mandelbrot, the relationship between D and Ds was given as D = Ds + 1 if these two fractal dimensions are obtained before contact deformation. In the present study, D, G, and Ds are considered to be varying with the mean separation (or the interference at the rough surface) between two contact surfaces. The D-Ds relationships for the contacts at the elastic, elastoplastic, and fully plastic deformations are derived and the inceptions of the elastoplastic deformation regime and the fully plastic deformation regime are redefined using the equality of two expressions established in two different ways for the number of contact spots (N). The contact parameters, including the total contact force and the real contact area, were evaluated when the size distribution functions (n) for the three deformation regimes were available. The results indicate that both the D and Ds parameters in these deformation regimes increased with increasing the mean separation (d*). The initial plasticity index before contact deformation (ψ)0 is also a factor of importance to the predictions of the contact load (F*t) and contact area (At*) between the model of variable D and G, non-Gaussian asperity heights and circular contact area and the present model of variable D and G, non-Gaussian asperity heights and fractal contact area.