A FEM Based Multiple Asperity Deterministic Contact Model

Knowledge of contact stresses generated when two surfaces are in contact play a significant role in understanding most mechanisms of friction and wear. Most of present contact models are based on the Greenwood-Williamson (GW) single asperity contact model and a statistical approach is adopted to calculate the real contact area for the entire surface based on the assumption that all the summits have uniform radius of curvatures and their heights vary randomly. But in real cases, the asperity radii vary. For a clear understanding about those aspects, a multiple asperity contact model, based on 3-D rough surface generated is analyzed using a commercial FEM package. Salient aspects of the present model are presented here and results are compared with a single asperity contact model.