Comparison of numerical and experimental analyses for contact problems under normal and tangential loads

Abstract

The methods of finite element (FE) analysis and stress frozen photoelasticity were used to investigate the stresses resulting from the contact of an infinite cylinder with an elastic half-space for comparison with the well-known theoretical solution. Two load cases were studied, that of a load normal to the plane and another where a normal and tangential load are applied to the cylinder. The coefficient of friction was controlled in the photoelastic experiment and the same value used in the finite element analysis. Plots of the Cartesian stresses in the plane of symmetry, the Cartesian shear stress along a line below the surface and the full field of the Cartesian shear stress were obtained and compared. As a result of these analyses, more complex tests were performed which involved using finite element methods and photoelasticity to investigate the stress distributions in the roots of two types of dovetail joint from the compressor of a gas turbine engine. It was found that the two methods yielded results that correlated very closely. The correlation between the experimental, numerical and theoretical results is very close and suggests that combining the experimental and numerical techniques provides a reliable method of stress determination in complex components and structures.