This paper on "A Frictional Model for the Micro-Slip Range" was presented at the NAFEMS World Congress on Design, Simulation & Optimisation: Reliability & Applicability of Computational Methods - 9-11 April 1997, Stuttgart, Germany.

Abstract

A non-classical friction law suitable for micro-slip studies is introduced in the Finite Element (FE) code ANSYS. Micro-slip is a phenomenon that occurs between contacting surfaces when a frictional load, less than that necessary to produce macro-slip, is applied to the contacting surfaces. Micro-slip consists of an elastic and a plastic deformation and is of importance for fretting fatigue, control engineering, the damping and stiffness of connections etc. Physical arguments for the non-classical friction law are presented. The friction law is based on asperity deformation and is capable of simulating oscillating displacements. One important feature of the non-classical friction model is the decoupling of the frictional effects caused by shape, material and surface topography. Numerical results for two example problems are given. Significant differences in friction force distribution between the standard ANSYS elastic Coulomb friction law and the non-classical friction law are detected on local level as well as on global level.