Basic principles of rough surface contact analysis using numerical methods

A detailed account of the principles involved in using numerical elastic contact techniques on digitized measurements from rough surfaces is presented in relation to two- and three-dimensional topography data. The main results of such analyses are shown to include the detailed interface geometry and the subsequent contact pressure distribution involved. Methods of defining the resulting sub-surface stresses created by this contact pressure distribution are also presented for static normal loading, and for the case of a normal load in the presence of a frictional surface shear. The problems posed in dealing with plastic asperity contacts are also discussed, together with an outline of how the numerical methods described have been modified further to allow analysis of rough layered bodies of dissimilar materials, thus offering a very useful design tool for surface coatings.