Study of the deformation of solids that touch each other
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Stresses in a contact area loaded simultaneously with a normal and a tangential force. Stresses were made visible using photoelasticity.
Contact mechanics is the study of the deformation of solids that touch each other at one or more points.[1][2] A central distinction in contact mechanics is between stresses acting perpendicular to the contacting bodies' surfaces (known as normal stress) and frictional stresses acting tangentially between the surfaces (shear stress). Normal contact mechanics or frictionless contact mechanics focuses on normal stresses caused by applied normal forces and by the adhesion present on surfaces in close contact, even if they are clean and dry.
Frictional contact mechanics emphasizes the effect of friction forces.
Contact mechanics is part of mechanical engineering. The physical and mathematical formulation of the subject is built upon the mechanics of materials and continuum mechanics and focuses on computations involving elastic, viscoelastic, and plastic bodies in static or dynamic contact. Contact mechanics provides necessary information for the safe and energy efficient design of technical systems and for the study of tribology, contact stiffness, electrical contact resistance and indentation hardness. Principles of contacts mechanics are implemented towards applications such as locomotive wheel-rail contact, coupling devices, braking systems, tires, bearings, combustion engines, mechanical linkages, gasket seals, metalworking, metal forming, ultrasonic welding, electrical contacts, and many others. Current challenges faced in the field may include stress analysis of contact and coupling members and the influence of lubrication and material design on friction and wear. Applications of contact mechanics further extend into the micro- and nanotechnological realm.
The original work in contact mechanics dates back to 1881 with the publication of the paper "On the contact of elastic solids"[3] ("Ueber die Berührung fester elastischer Körper") by Heinrich Hertz. Hertz was attempting to understand how the optical properties of multiple, stacked lenses might change with the force holding them together. Hertzian contact stress refers to the localized stresses that develop as two curved surfaces come in contact and deform slightly under the imposed loads. This amount of deformation is dependent on the modulus of elasticity of the material in contact. It gives the contact stress as a function of the normal contact force, the radii of curvature of both bodies and the modulus of elasticity of both bodies. Hertzian contact stress forms the foundation for the equations for load bearing capabilities and fatigue life in bearings, gears, and any other bodies where two surfaces are in contact.
^Johnson, K.L. (1985). Contact Mechanics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-25576-9.
^Popov, V.L. (2010). Contact Mechanics and Friction: Physical Principles and Applications. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 362. ISBN 978-3-642-10803-7.
^H. Hertz, 1881, Über die berührung fester elastischer Körper, Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik 92, pp.156-171. (For English version, see: Hertz, H., 1896. On the contact of elastic solids, In: Miscellaneous Papers, Chapter V, pp.146-162. by Hertz, H. and Lenard P., translated by Jones, D. E. and Schott G.A., London: Macmillan.
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