Stick-slip analysis of a circular point contact between a rigid sphere and a flat unidirectional composite with cylindrical fibers

The stick-slip contact problem is investigated here when at least one of the contacting bodies behaves as an ideal composite material with long fibers perpendicular to the direction of movement. Cylindrical inhomogeneous inclusions within a homogeneous media and with axes parallel to the contact surface are considered. The Eshelby’s equivalent inclusion method is used to solve the problem numerically. Interactions between close inclusions are taken into account in the numerical procedure, as well as the coupling between the normal and tangential contact problems. It is found that the presence of heterogeneities in the vicinity of the surface contact affects significantly the contact pressure distribution and subsequently the distribution of shear and slip at the interface.