Elastic–plastic spherical contact under cyclic tangential loading in pre-sliding

An elastic–plastic spherical contact under cyclic tangential loading in pre-sliding is numerically analyzed assuming full stick contact condition. Both isotropic and kinematic strain hardening laws are studied. It is found that the slip index and the dissipated energy, calculated from numerically obtained friction–displacement loops, are qualitatively similar to corresponding recently published experimental results. An empirical expression to predict dissipated energy is derived, showing good agreement with the numerical model prediction.

Research highlights
► Elastic–plastic spherical contact subjected to oscillating tangential loading is analyzed in pre-sliding assuming full stick contact condition.
► Slip index and dissipated energy show qualitative similarity to recently published experimental results.
► Slip index in pre-sliding is characteristic of “partial slip” fretting regime.
► A derived analytical expression for dissipated energy show good agreement with the model prediction.