Finite element simulation of fretting wear and fatigue in thin steel wires

• FE analysis of fretting wear induced multiaxial-stresses in thin steel wires.
• Implementation of the SWT critical-plane approach in a 3D FE fretting wear model.
• Novel damage accumulation method for 3D FE fretting wear simulation models.
• Analysis of different methods for the fatigue coefficients estimation of wires.
• Comparison the predicted lives with those obtained in fretting wear tests.

This paper studies the effect of fretting on fatigue life reduction of thin steel wires, using the frictionally-induced multiaxial contact stresses obtained from a finite element wear model, validated in previous work. The fatigue life prediction model uses a critical-plane SWT approach in a 3D crossed cylinder problem. A new damage accumulation methodology for the adaptive mesh simulation, based on the cyclic material removal, has been developed. Four methods (Manson’s universal slope, Muralidharan modified universal slopes, medians and fatigue S–N curves) for estimation of the fatigue coefficients of the wire have been used. Manson’s method and medians method give lives closer to those obtained from fretting wear tests in thin steel wires. The other methods are more conservative. The methodology predicts correctly the life reduction of this component due to the increase of normal load (contact pressure), while it is not clearly predicted that an increase of the stroke reduces the life of these components as shown in the experimental testing. Guidelines for developing a more robust methodology are proposed.