Contact impact interface modelling

Investigation in engineering often deals with impact loaded connections which are elements of machines working with technological impact. Investigating these problems, we are interested in energy transfer through these connections and in stress concentration of their particular elements. Knowledge of energy transfer mechanism is also necessary for application of acoustic measurement methods. Generally, we are speaking about contact impact problems. nite-Element Method (FEM) has proved to be a powerful tool for the solution of contact-impact problems. Many engineering problems are now solved by means of modern computers with sufficient accuracy. Numerical simulations of dynamic contact problems by FEM are connected with solution of the two basic tasks—the macro-scale behaviour of contact surfaces and the micro-scale behaviour of contact interface. In this contribution, we focused primarily on solution of the latter one. A hybrid method was developed using both experimental (methods based on the Hopkinson split bar (HSB) type of measurements) and theoretical (methods based on FEM) procedures, which enable us to determine the normal and tangential stiffness of the contact interface and the dynamic friction coefficients.