• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.363-375
• /
• 1998

The stiffness matrix of a two-dimensional contact surface element is deduced from the principle of virtual work. The incremental loading procedure used is controlled by displacement and stress. Special potential contact elements are used to avoid the need to rearrange the FEM mesh due to variations of the contact surface as contact develops. Published results are used to validate the method, which is then applied to a turbine to solve the contact problem between the blade root and rotor in the region in which a 'push fit' connects the blade to its rotor.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.155-180
• /
• 2006

Many applications in mechanical design involve elastic bodies coming into contact under the action of the applied load. The distribution of the contact pressure throughout the contact interface plays an important role in the performance of the contact system. In many applications, it is desirable to minimize the maximum contact pressure or to have an approximately uniform contact pressure distribution. Such requirements can be attained through a proper design of the initial surfaces of the contacting bodies. This problem involves a combination of two disciplines, contact mechanics and shape optimization. Therefore, the objective of the present paper is to develop an integrated procedure capable of evaluating the optimal shape of contacting bodies. The adaptive incremental convex programming method is adopted to solve the contact problem, while the augmented Lagrange multiplier method is used to control the shape optimization procedure. Further, to accommodate the manufacturing requirements, surface parameterization is considered. The proposed procedure is applied to a couple of problems, with different geometry and boundary conditions, to demonstrate the efficiency and versatility of the proposed procedure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.66 no.3
• /
• pp.329-341
• /
• 2018

This paper considers the smooth receding contact problem between a homogeneous half-plane and a composite laminate composed of an inhomogeneously coated elastic layer. The inhomogeneity of the elastic modulus of the coating is approximated by an exponential function along the thickness dimension. The three-component structure is pressed together by either a concentrated force or uniform pressures applied at the top surface of the composite laminate. Both semianalytical and finite element analysis are performed to solve for the extent of contact and the contact pressure. In the semianalytical formulation, Fourier integral transformation of governing equations and boundary conditions leads to a singular integral equation of Cauchy-type, which can be numerically integrated by Gauss-Chebyshev quadrature to a desired degree of accuracy. In the finite element modeling, the functionally graded coating is divided into homogeneous sublayers and the shear modulus of each sublayer is assigned at its lower boundary following the predefined exponential variation. In postprocessing, the stresses of any node belonging to sublayer interfaces are averaged over its surrounding elements. The results obtained from the semianalytical analysis are successfully validated against literature results and those of the finite element modeling. Extensive parametric studies suggest the practicability of optimizing the receding contact peak stress and the extent of contact in multilayered structures by the introduction of functionally graded coatings.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.931-937
• /
• 2008

The rail/wheel rolling contact affects the microstructure in the surface layer of rail. Recently. continuum damage mechanics allows us to describe the microprocesses involved during the straining of materials and structures at the macroscale. Elastic and plastic strains. the corresponding hardening effects are generally accepted to be represented by global continuum variables. The purpose of continuum damage mechanics is to introduce the possibility of describing the coupling effects between damage processes and the stress-strain behavior of materials. In this study. the continuum damage mechanics caused by elastic deformation was briefly introduced and applied to the fatigue damage of the rails under the condition of cyclic loading. The material parameter for damage analysis was first determined so that it could reproduce the life span under the compressive loading in the vicinity of fatigue limit. Some numerical studies have been conducted to show the validity of the present computational mechanics analysis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.431-447
• /
• 2006

A new incremental finite element model is developed to simulate the frictional contact of elastic bodies. The incremental convex programming method is exploited, in the framework of finite element approach, to recast the variational inequality principle of contact problem in a discretized form. The non-classical friction model of Oden and Pires is adopted, however, the friction effect is represented by an equivalent non-linear stiffness rather than additional constraints. Different parametric studies are worked out to address the versatility of the proposed model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.52 no.3
• /
• pp.469-483
• /
• 2014

In an indentation approach, the smooth rigid spherical ball penetrated into a deformable flat is considered for the study based on contact mechanics approach. The elastic-plastic frictionless spherical indentation analysis has been under taken in the finite element analysis using "ABAQUS" and experimental study. The spherical indentation has been studied for the materials like steel, aluminium, copper and brass with an identical spherical indenter for diverse indentation depths. The springback analysis is executed for studying the actual indentation depth after the indenter is unloaded. In the springback simulation, the material recovers its elastic deformation after the indenter is unloaded. The residual diameter and depth of an indentation for various materials are measured and compared with simulation results. It shows a good agreement between the simulation and an experimental studies.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.241-255
• /
• 2013

The receding contact problem for two elastic layers whose elastic constants and heights are different supported by two elastic quarter planes is considered. The lower layer is supported by two elastic quarter planes and the upper elastic layer is subjected to symmetrical distributed load whose heights are 2a on its top surface. It is assumed that the contact between all surfaces is frictionless and the effect of gravity force is neglected. The problem is formulated and solved by using Theory of Elasticity and Integral Transform Technique. The problem is reduced to a system of singular integral equations in which contact pressures are the unknown functions by using integral transform technique and boundary conditions of the problem. Stresses and displacements are expressed depending on the contact pressures using Fourier and Mellin formula technique. The singular integral equation is solved numerically by using Gauss-Jacobi integration formulation. Numerical results are obtained for various dimensionless quantities for the contact pressures and the contact areas are presented in graphics and tables.

• Tribology and Lubricants
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.163-169
• /
• 2015

This paper describes a design method for the corner radius of a contacting body using the theoretical approach of contact mechanics. A complete contact, as in the case of a sharp-cornered punch, produces singular contact traction: whereas, in an incomplete contact, the singular contact traction disappears because of the rounded corners, and the contact edges are within the rounded regions. The design method aims to determine the conditions of the contact force as well as the material properties in an incomplete contact. The incomplete contact changes into the complete contact again when the contact edges exceed the rounded regions owing to either an increased contact force or the compliance of the materials. The contact length of a rounded punch is used as a parameter to derive the required conditions. As a result, a design formula is obtained, which provides a minimum allowable radius when the materials, normal contact force, and the length of a flat region of the punch are predetermined. This work consists of two parts: Part I includes a theoretical background, design method, and formula, and Part II describes the actual process with the investigation of design parameters.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.785-788
• /
• 2009

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.441-459
• /
• 2004

This paper explores the potential use of neural networks (NNs) in the field of contact mechanics. A neural network model is developed for predicting, with sufficient approximation, the contact lengths between the elastic layer and two elastic circular punches. A backpropagation neural network of three layers is employed. First contact problem is solved according to the theory of elasticity with integral transformation technique, and then the results are used to train the neural network. The effectiveness of different neural network configurations is investigated. Effect of parameters such as load factor, elastic punch radii and flexibilities that influence the contact lengths is also explored. The results of the theoretical solution and the outputs generated from the neural network are compared. Results indicate that NN predicted the contact length with high accuracy. It is also demonstrated that NN is an excellent method that can reduce time consumed.