Finite element analysis of the contact stresses in elastic coating/substrate under normal and tangential load

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes a continuation of previous work which reported a finite element analysis of the stress field in an elastic coating/substrate system due to both axisymmetric and plane strain hertzian pressure distribution. Here we report a similar analysis of the effects of combined normal and tangential tractions, to stimulate the stresses due to frictional sliding at the coated surface. The stresses have been computed for various values of the coating-to-substrate-modulus ratio, the coating-thickness- to-contact-half-width ratio and the coefficient of friction. It has been shown that the stresses at both the outer surface and the coating-substrate interface are complicated functions of the experimental variables and it is not possible to minimize simultaneously the various stresses which could lead to coating failure under sliding conditions.