A Method to Measure Contact Pressure Between Metallic Surfaces by Changes in Surface Roughness

Abstract

A new method was developed to find the interface pressure distribution of metallic surfaces in contact by measuring the roughness change. The pressure distribution of two kinds of contact surfaces, a sphere and a flat surface, a flat end of a cylinder and a flat surface, was measured experimentally by the method and compared with that of the elasticity theory. As a result, it was shown that it is possible to find the pressure distribution by measuring the roughness change in the contact surface before and after contact.