Perfectly elastic axisymmetric sinusoidal surface asperity contact

This work presents a finite element study of a perfectly elastic axisymmetric sinusoidal shaped asperity in contact with a rigid flat for different amplitude to wavelength ratios and a wide range of material properties. This includes characterizing the pressure required to cause complete contact between the surfaces. Complete contact is defined as when there is no gap remaining between two contacting surfaces. The model is designed in such a way that it is axisymmetric and interaction between adjacent asperities are considered. The numerical results are compared to the model of curved point contact for the perfectly elastic case (known as Hertz contact). Once properly normalized, the non-dimensional contact area does not vary with non-dimensional load. The critical pressure required to cause complete contact is found. The results are also curve fitted to provide an expression for the contact area as a function of load over a wide range of cases for use in practical applications, such as to model rough surface contact and predict contact resistance.