Effect of fine-scale roughness on the tractions between contacting bodies

If the roughness is restricted to wavenumbers greater than a certain critical value, the algorithm predicts a converged relation between nominal traction and mean gap that can be regarded as a modified interfacial force law describing the influence of just the fine-scale roughness on the contact. In particular, the area under the resulting curve can be interpreted as a measure of interface energy as reduced by this roughness. The remaining macroscopic features of the surface can then be described using the JKR methodology in combination with this modified interface energy.