An investigation of the elastic cylindrical line contact equations for plane strain and stress considering friction

Abstract

This work presents a finite-element model-based study of elastic cylindrical contact. The aim is to evaluate the transition between the plane stress and plane strain-based Hertz solutions when each assumption is most applicable. To accomplish this, a range of curvatures, widths, Poisson’s ratios, and friction coefficients are considered. The finite-element model results for the elastic cylindrical contact cases are compared with the Hertz contact model when assuming plane stress or plane strain. Perhaps, surprisingly, the finite-element model predictions show little dependence on Poisson’s ratio and friction coefficient. The finite-element model predictions of force as a function of deflection agree relatively well with the plane stress Hertz prediction for all cases considered. The finite-element model predictions of contact width as a function of force actually fall below all the analytical Hertz predictions. Therefore, an adapted version of the Hertz equations is provided, which shows better agreement with the cases considered in this work.