Mechanics of adhesive contact on a power-law graded elastic half-space

We consider adhesive contact between a rigid sphere of radius R and a graded elastic half-space with Young's modulus varying with depth according to a power law E=E₀(z/c₀)^k (0<k<1) while Poisson's ratio ν remaining a constant. Closed-form analytical solutions are established for the critical force, the critical radius of contact area and the critical interfacial stress at pull-off. We highlight that the pull-off force has a simple solution of P_cr=−(k+3)πRΔγ/2 where Δγ is the work of adhesion and make further discussions with respect to three interesting limits: the classical JKR solution when k=0, the Gibson solid when k→1 and ν=0.5, and the strength limit in which the interfacial stress reaches the theoretical strength of adhesion at pull-off.     

The role of binder mobility in spontaneous adhesive contact and implications for cell adhesion

The standard view of mechanical adhesive contact is as a competition between a reduction in free energy when surfaces with bonding potential come into contact and an increase in free energy due to elastic deformation that is required to make these surfaces conform. An equilibrium state is defined by an incremental balance between these effects, akin to the Griffith crack growth criterion. In the case of adhesion of biological cells, the molecules that tend to form surface-to-surface bonds are confined to the cell wall but they are mobile within the wall, adding a new phenomenon of direct relevance to adhesive contact. In this article, the process of adhesive contact of an initially curved elastic plate to a flat surface is studied for the case in which the binders that account for adhesion are able to migrate within the plate. This is done by including entropic free energy of the binder distribution in the total free energy of the system. By adopting a constitutive assumption that binders migrate at a speed proportional to the local gradient in chemical potential, the transient growth of an adhesion zone due to binder transport is analyzed. For the case of a plate of very large extent, the problem can be solved in closed form, whereas numerical methods are invoked for the case of a plate of limited extent. Results are presented on the rate of growth of an adhesion zone in terms of system parameters, on the evolution of the distribution of binders and, in the case of a plate of limited extent, on the long-term limiting size of the adhesion zone.     

The effect of surface-stress on the concentration of stress at nanoscale surface flaws

A simple analytical expression for the stress-field around a surface groove of varying sharpness due to the presence an intrinsic surface-stress is derived. It is shown that this stress becomes very significant for surface grooves of high curvature, particularly at the nanoscale. Anisotropic surface-stresses are also considered. It is found that the anisotropy can make a very significant contribution to the mechanical tractions on the surface. In regions of high curvature the anisotropic part induces stresses of greater magnitude (but opposite sign) to those induced by the isotropic component. As a consequence of this, the stress concentration factor at the base of surface grooves can be enhanced, nullified or reversed, depending on the sign of the applied load and the functional form of the surface-stress. This has implications for the ability of nanoscale surface flaws to act as initiation sites for the nucleation of defects.     

A unified treatment of axisymmetric adhesive contact problems using the harmonic potential function method

A unified treatment of axisymmetric adhesive contact problems is provided using the harmonic potential function method for axisymmetric elasticity problems advanced by Green, Keer, Barber and others. The harmonic function adopted in the current analysis is the one that was introduced by Jin et al. (2008) to solve an external crack problem. It is demonstrated that the harmonic potential function method offers a simpler and more consistent way to treat non-adhesive and adhesive contact problems. By using this method and the principle of superposition, a general solution is derived for the adhesive contact problem involving an axisymmetric rigid punch of arbitrary shape and an adhesive interaction force distribution of any profile. This solution provides analytical expressions for all non-zero displacement and stress components on the contact surface, unlike existing ones. In addition, the newly derived solution is able to link existing solutions/models for axisymmetric non-adhesive and adhesive contact problems and to reveal the connections and differences among these solutions/models individually obtained using different methods at various times. Specifically, it is shown that Sneddon’s solution for the axisymmetric punch problem, Boussinesq’s solution for the flat-ended cylindrical punch problem, the Hertz solution for the spherical punch problem, the JKR model, the DMT model, the M-D model, and the M-D-n model can all be explicitly recovered by the current general solution.     

Micro-plasticity of surface steps under adhesive contact: Part I—Surface yielding controlled by single-dislocation nucleation

Mechanics of nano- and meso-scale contacts of rough surfaces is of fundamental importance in understanding deformation and failure mechanisms of a solid surface, and in engineering fabrication and reliability of small surface structures. We present a micro-mechanical dislocation model of contact-induced deformation of a surface step or ledge, as a unit process model to construct a meso-scale model of plastic deformations near and at a rough surface. This paper (Part I) considers onset of contact-induced surface yielding controlled by single-dislocation nucleation from a surface step. The Stroh formalism of anisotropic elasticity and conservation integrals are used to evaluate the driving force on the dislocation. The driving force together with a dislocation nucleation criterion is used to construct a contact-strength map of a surface step in terms of contact pressure, step height, surface adhesion and lattice resistance. Atomistic simulations of atomic surface-step indentation on a gold (1 0 0) surface have been also carried out with the embedded atom method. As predicted by the continuum dislocation model, the atomistic simulations also indicate that surface adhesion plays a significant role in dislocation nucleation processes. Instabilities due to adhesion and dislocation nucleation are evident. The atomistic simulation is used to calibrate the continuum dislocation nucleation criterion, while the continuum dislocation modeling captures the dislocation energetics in the inhomogeneous stress field of the surface-step under contact loading. Results show that dislocations in certain slip planes can be easily nucleated but will stay in equilibrium positions very close to the surface step, while dislocations in some other slip planes easily move away from the surface into the bulk. This phenomenon is called contact-induced near-surface dislocation segregation. As a consequence, we predict the existence of a thin tensile-stress sub-layer adjacent to the surface within the boundary layer of near-surface plastic deformation. In the companion paper (Part II), we analyze the surface hardening behavior caused by multiple dislocations.     

Micro-plasticity of surface steps under adhesive contact: Part II—Multiple-dislocation mediated contact hardening

The study of micro-plastic behavior of rough surface contacts is the critical link towards a fundamental understanding of contact, friction, adhesion, and surface failures at small length scales. In the companion paper (Yu, H.H., Shrotriya, P., Gao, Y.F., Kim, K.-S., 2007. Micro-plasticity of surface steps under adhesive contact. Part I. Surface yielding controlled by single-dislocation nucleation. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 55, 489–516), we have studied the onset of surface yielding due to single-dislocation nucleation from a stepped surface under adhesive contact. Here we analyze the contact hardening behavior due to multiple dislocations in a two-dimensional dislocation model. Continuum micro-mechanical analyses are used to derive the configurational force on the dislocation, while a modified Rice–Thomson criterion is used to model dislocation nucleation. Dislocations nucleated from the surface step are stabilized and pile up as a result of the balance between the resolved driving force and the non-zero lattice resistance in the solid. The dislocation pileup will exert a strong back stress to prevent further dislocation nucleation and thus lead to the contact hardening behavior, the degree of which depends on the slip-plane orientation. Particularly, we find that dislocation interactions between two slip planes can make the contact loading order-of-magnitude easy to nucleate multiple dislocations, which is thus named “latent softening”. A mechanistic explanation shows that the latent softening is closely related to the stress-concentration mode mixity at the surface step. Dislocation nucleation will modify the geometric characteristics of the surface step, so that the contact-induced stress state near the step, as described by the mode mixity, changes, which influences the subsequent dislocation nucleation. Our calculations show that the dislocation pileup on one slip plane can even cause the spontaneous dislocation nucleation on the other slip plane without further increase of the contact load. Furthermore, it is found that rough surface contacts at small length scale can lead to the dislocation segregation and the formation of a surface tensile sub-layer. The discrete-dislocation model presented here and in the companion paper provides novel insights in bridging the atomistic simulations and continuum plastic flow analysis of surface asperity contact.     

A model for computational investigation of elasto-plastic normal and tangential contact considering adhesion effect

With the rapid development of Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS), we enter a field in which the surface effects have dominated many of the micro-scale phenomena, and the adhesive contact is one of the focuses. In this paper, a feasible model for finite element computation is presented via a macroscopic and microscopic combination approach, in which the adhesive forces are simulated by some non-linear spring elements considering the softening stage. Two basic problems concerning the adhesion effect were considered; through specific quantitative analysis, the results show a consistency with the current elastic continuum theories of adhesion and a brief investigation into the effects of adhesion on plastic deformation and tangential contact will be carried out as well. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10172050, 90205022) and Key Grant Project of Chinese MoE (0306)     

2-D Normal compliances for elastic and visco-elastic binder contact with finite particle size effect

The close-form 2-D normal force–displacement compliance relation (binder contact law) is derived for a system of two elastic cylindrical particles bound by an elastic or visco-elastic binder based on the approach developed by Zhu; Zhu and Zhu. A new result of finite particle size effect on the compliance is also obtained. One important application of this binder compliance is in the area of the homogenization analysis of fibrous composites, and computation of the binder compliance based effective transverse bulk modulus is conducted in this article with its comparison to the corresponding upper and lower bounds.     

回转支承构件牵引滚动接触应力解析

回转支承构件是重型机械的重要基础元件,其失效往往导致灾难性的设备事故和人身事故以及巨大的经济损失.及时、充分地了解回转支承构件牵引滚动接触应力分布特点,对于保证整机安全生产和提高企业经济效益具有非常重要的意义.本文将回转支承构件接触模型简化为轴线平行的圆柱体二维平面应变模型,从接触力学理论中McEwen关于轴线平行的圆柱体二维法向接触理论出发,重点讨论牵引滚动与常规法向接触状态的切向分布力的相同点和不同点,从而推导出牵引滚动接触状态下接触区应力场各应力分量解析式,将McEw-en法向理论公式推广到法、切向复合分布力综合作用下.在此基础上,探讨了表面拉应力与摩擦系数的关系,摩擦系数越大则表面拉应力水平越高.最后,运用材料力学二向应力状态受力分析方法,计算了接触应力场最大剪应力位置、大小和方向角与深度的关系,发现与无表面摩擦情况相比,最大主剪应力发生位置变浅,幅值反而变小.     

Detachment of a rigid solid from an elastic wavy surface: Theory

The mechanics of detachment between a wavy elastic half space and a rigid solid is considered. Solutions for the axisymmetric problem of a rigid sphere and the plane strain problem of a rigid cylinder detaching from a wavy surface are developed. The interacting solids are taken to be in complete contact over a finite area initially. It is shown that the surface waviness makes the detachment process unstable, with the interface separating in alternating stable and unstable segments. Each unstable segment dissipates mechanical energy, leading to an increase in the total work of separation compared to that of a flat surface. Further, waviness causes the maximum separation force or the pull-off force to increase during detachment, resulting in an apparent toughening of the interface. This mechanism provides an alternative explanation to the experimental observations in the literature that roughness can sometimes lead to increase in pull-off force. It also illustrates the role of roughness in the attachment capability of several insect feet possessing soft pads. The basic solution presented here can be used to analyze the detachment of surfaces with multiple scale roughness as well. The solution also suggests strategies to improve reversible adhesion of a soft material by designing optimal surface topographies.     

Surface stress effects on the resonant properties of metal nanowires: The importance of finite deformation kinematics and the impact of the residual surface stress

We utilize the recently developed surface Cauchy-Born model, which extends the standard Cauchy-Born theory to account for surface stresses due to undercoordinated surface atoms, to study the coupled influence of boundary conditions and surface stresses on the resonant properties of gold nanowires with surfaces. There are two major purposes to the present work. First, we quantify, for the first time, variations in the nanowire resonant frequencies due to surface stresses as compared to the corresponding bulk material which does not observe surface effects within a finite deformation framework depending on whether fixed/free or fixed/fixed boundary conditions are utilized. We find that while the resonant frequencies of fixed/fixed nanowires are elevated as compared to the corresponding bulk material, the resonant frequencies of fixed/free nanowires are reduced as a result of compressive strain caused by the surface stresses. Furthermore, we find that for a diverse range of nanowire geometries, the variation in resonant frequencies for both boundary conditions due to surface stresses is a geometric effect that is characterized by the nanowire aspect ratio. The present results are found to agree well with existing experimental data for both types of boundary conditions.The second major goal of this work is to quantify, for the first time, how both the residual (strain-independent) and surface elastic (strain-dependent) parts of the surface stress impact the resonant frequencies of metal nanowires within the framework of nonlinear, finite deformation kinematics. We find that if finite deformation kinematics are considered, the strain-independent surface stress substantially alters the resonant frequencies of the nanowires; however, we also find that the strain-dependent surface stress has a significant effect, one that can be comparable to or even larger than the effect of the strain-independent surface stress depending on the boundary condition, in shifting the resonant frequencies of the nanowires as compared to the bulk material.     

Analytical formulations of image forces on dislocations with surface stress in nanowires and nanorods

The interaction between dislocations and surfaces is usually characterized by image forces. Most analytical solutions to image forces could be found in literatures for two-dimensional (2D) solids with or without the consideration of surface stress. This work provides alternative analytical formulations of image forces for nanowires which are in more flexible forms compared with the infinite power series solutions from complex variable method. Moreover, this work proposes analytical formulations of image forces for nanorods (3D) by approximating the 3D shape effect as a height-dependent shape function, which is obtained through curve fitting of the finite element results of image forces without surface stress. The results of nanowires are demonstrated to be acceptable compared with the classical solution and complex variable method. More importantly, the analytical formulation of nanorods has not been found in other literatures so far. This work could contribute to nanostructure design and provide guidance for the fabrication of high quality nanostructures.     

Effect of surface/interface stress on the plastic deformation of nanoporous materials and nanocomposites

Surface and interface play an important role on the overall mechanical behaviors of nanostructured materials. We investigate the effect of surface/interface stress on the macroscopic plastic behaviors of nanoporous materials and nanocomposites, where both the surface/interface residual stress and surface/interface elasticity are taken into account. A new second-order moment nonlinear micromechanics theory is developed and then reduced to macroscopically isotropic materials. It is found that the effect of surface/interface residual stress is much more prominent than that of the surface/interface elasticity, causing strong size effect as well as asymmetric plastic deformation for tension and compression. The variation of yield strength is more prominent with smaller pore/inclusion size or higher pore/inclusion volume fraction. For a representative nanoporous aluminum, the surface effect becomes significant when the pore radius is smaller than about 50 nm. When hard inclusions are embedded in a ductile metal matrix, the interface effect and resulting size effect are much smaller than that of nanoporous materials. The results may be useful for evaluating the mechanical integrity of nanostructured materials.     

The coefficient of normal restitution for the Hertzian contact of two rough spheres colliding in a viscous fluid

We use previous theoretical results for the added mass, history and lubrication forces between two spheres colliding in a fluid with viscosity ν to investigate the effect of viscous dissipation on the coefficient of restitution during contact. We assume that the mechanical interaction is governed by Hertzian mechanical contact of small duration τ and that the minimum approach distance between particles is approximately equal to the height σ of surface micro-asperities. A non-dimensionalization of the equation of motion indicates that the contact dynamics is governed by two parameters – the ratio ϵ of the surface roughness σ and the sphere radius a, and a contact Stokes number defined as St_c = σ²/ντ. An asymptotic solution of the equation of motion in the limit of small ϵ/St_c is used to obtain an explicit expression for the coefficient of restitution during contact and the latter is compared with estimates based on numerical solutions of the non-linear equation of motion.     

Green’s formula and singularity at a triple contact line. Example of finite-displacement solution

The various equations at the surfaces and triple contact lines of a deformable body are obtained from a variational condition, by applying Green’s formula in the whole space and on the Riemannian surfaces. The surface equations are similar to the Cauchy’s equations for the volume, but involve a special definition of the ‘divergence’ (tensorial product of the covariant derivatives on the surface and the whole space). The normal component of the divergence equation generalizes the Laplace’s equation for a fluid–fluid interface. Assuming that Green’s formula remains valid at the contact line (despite the singularity), two equations are obtained at this line. The first one expresses that the fluid–fluid surface tension is equilibrated by the two surface stresses (and not by the volume stresses of the body) and suggests a finite displacement at this line (contrary to the infinite-displacement solution of classical elasticity, in which the surface properties are not taken into account). The second equation represents a strong modification of Young’s capillary equation. The validity of Green’s formula and the existence of a finite-displacement solution are justified with an explicit example of finite-displacement solution in the simple case of a half-space elastic solid bounded by a plane. The solution satisfies the contact line equations and its elastic energy is finite (whereas it is infinite for the classical elastic solution). The strain tensor components generally have different limits when approaching the contact line under different directions. Although Green’s formula cannot be directly applied, because the stress tensor components do not belong to the Sobolev space H¹(V)$H^1(\text{V})$, it is shown that this formula remains valid. As a consequence, there is no contribution of the volume stresses at the contact line. The validity of Green’s formula plays a central role in the theory.     

The wetting problem of fluids on solid surfaces. Part 2: the contact angle hysteresis

In part 1 (Gouin, [13]), we proposed a model of dynamics of wetting for slow movements near a contact line formed at the interface of two immiscible fluids and a solid when viscous dissipation remains bounded. The contact line is not a material line and a Young-Dupré equation for the apparent dynamic contact angle taking into account the line celerity was proposed. In this paper we consider a form of the interfacial energy of a solid surface in which many small oscillations are superposed on a slowly varying function. For a capillary tube, a scaling analysis of the microscopic law associated with the Young-Dupré dynamic equation yields a macroscopic equation for the motion of the contact line. The value of the deduced apparent dynamic contact angle yields for the average response of the line motion a phenomenon akin to the stick-slip motion of the contact line on the solid wall. The contact angle hysteresis phenomenon and the modelling of experimentally well-known results expressing the dependence of the apparent dynamic contact angle on the celerity of the line are obtained. Furthermore, a qualitative explanation of the maximum speed of wetting (and dewetting) can be given.Received: 5 June 2001, Accepted: 24 May 2003, Published online: 29 July 2003PACS: 02.90, 47.50, 66.20, 68.03, 68.08