Study of contact of rough surfaces: Modeling and experiment

In the paper a problem of contact of rough surface with rigid flat plane is investigated experimentally and numerically. Samples made of three different steels with roughness constituted in a sand-blasting process were compressed in a special experimental setup. 3D surface topographies were measured in initial and deformed state using scanning profilometry. An experimental procedure has been designed that enables specifying load-approach and load-real contact area relations corresponding to plastic deformation of roughness zone. These relations were also simulated using a simple model based on statistical approach with special procedure proposed for a proper specification of sampling interval. The experimental and numerical results have been compared.