The Effect of Surface Roughness on Contact Fatigue Behavior Using Mesoscopic Approach

The effect of surface roughness on the contact fatigue was investigated in this study. To accomplish this goal, contact analysis based on the influence functions and the rectangular patch solutions was performed to obtain the subsurface stress. Mesoscopic multiaxial fatigue criterion is then applied to predict fatigue damage. Rainbow counting method and damage rule were used to evaluate the fatigue life under random loadings caused by the rough surface contact. As a result of the fatigue analysis, the relationship among the fatigue life, the crack initiation depth, and the surface roughness were revealed. It is observed that the fatigue life has hardly changed and a crack is initiated at subsurface for the surface with the surface roughness below a critical value. However, if the surface roughness exceeds the critical value, fatigue life is remarkably reduced and the site of crack initiation moves to the near surface.