The effect of elastic point contact: theory and experiment

Abstract

It has recently been pointed out that nearfield deformation in the neighborhood of an elastic point contact can have significant phenomenological effects, producing shifts of resonance frequencies and serving as a source of loss. In order to take these effects into account, it is necessary to employ three dimensional elasticity theory, precluding the use of lower dimensional dynamic models, for example, plate elements in a finite element analysis (FEA) computation. This is a very significant limitation because the frequency response of many large complex structures can only be predicted using such models. We propose here a theoretical modeling approach that resolves this problem and enables the use of lower dimensional models in the analysis of such systems. We have found the predictions of the model to be in good agreement with experimental measurements in the cases we have examined so far, translational and cantilever resonators. Research funded by the Office of Naval Research.