Adhesive contact in the context of multi-asperity interaction

In order to analyse the scale effect of roughness and adhesion in contact between solids, we introduce in this work a 3D model of elastic contact combined with the adhesive theory. The model of roughness with different fractal dimension is introduced to study the adhesive contact in the elastic state at different length scales.The results of this study show that the scale of roughness modifies the distribution law of the contact pressure and stiffness. The introduction of the adhesive force and fractal property of roughness clearly shows the combined influence of roughness scale and adhesive force on contact stiffness.