Predicting a contact's sensitivity to initial conditions using metrics of frictional coupling

This paper examines two metrics of frictional coupling, which are then used to predict how sensitive a frictional contact's steady-state behavior is to its initial conditions. Based on a large set of numerical simulations with different contact geometries, material combinations, and friction coefficients, a contact's sensitivity to initial conditions is found to be correlated with the product of the coupling metric and the friction coefficient. For cyclic shear loading, this correlation is maintained for simulations with different contact geometries, material combinations, and friction coefficients. However, for cyclic bulk loading, the correlation is only maintained when the contact edge angle is held constant.