An atomic interaction-based continuum model for adhesive contact mechanics

A micro/nano-scale computational contact mechanics model is proposed to study the adhesive contact between deformable bodies. To model adhesive contact, an interatomic interaction potential is incorporated into the framework of nonlinear continuum mechanics. The ensuing contact model is cast into an efficient finite element formulation which is implemented using an updated Lagrangian approach. The scaling of the model with respect to its geometrical size and the strength of adhesion is investigated. The proposed computational contact model is validated by a comparison with the analytical JKR and Maugis–Dugdale models.