Study of the formation of contact between rough surfaces based on the particle method

A model is proposed for the rough surface of a solid based on the particle method. Although the particle size is selected arbitrarily in this study, the evolution of the actual area of contact and the change in stress at the points of contact show fairly good agreement with concepts derived from experimental investigations. The experiments show that as two surfaces converge, the pressure at the contacts is considerably higher than the nominal value, and this leads to plastic deformation of the surface layers much greater than the bulk deformation. The model clearly shows the controlling factors and how the stressed state of the surface layer is formed. The model can be used to analyze interaction between surfaces, not only for the stationary case, but also when these undergo relative displacement. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 24, 28–32 (March 12, 1998)