An Elastic-Plastic Spherical Contact Model Under Combined Normal and Tangential Loading

Abstract

In this work, by utilizing the shear strength criterion for the sliding inception, a finite element model for obliquely loaded spherical contact has been developed, which realized a friction transition from perfect slip case to full stick case with increasing normal approach. Both tangential force and normal force during tangential loading were investigated using different models. It was found that with elastic-plastic normal displacement preload, there is an obvious normal force release during tangential loading. Furthermore, both Coulomb friction model and the proposed model predict a lower tangential force at the same tangential displacement compared to the full stick model. However, the Coulomb friction is more empirically determined with some arbitrary friction coefficient whereas the proposed model is based on physics parameters.