FINITE-ELEMENT STRESS-ANALYSIS OF A PUSH-OUT TEST .1. FIXED INTERFACE USING STRESS COMPATIBLE ELEMENTS

In this first part of a two-part paper, interelement stress compatible finite elements are developed and used to perform the stress analysis of a push-out test with a fixed interface. In the formulation, the required continuity of some of the stresses along either a specific interface or all interelement interfaces is enforced by a penalty procedure. The model is axisymmetric and consists of two cylinders attached to each other through the interface. Various relative material properties and boundary conditions are simulated in order to examine their effects on the interface stresses. Both loadings of axial compression force and axial torque are considered. The predicted results exhibit identical interelement stresses and displacements even when highly dissimilar materials are used. They also exhibit a complex state of interface stresses which depend on the geometry, material arrangement, boundary conditions, and loading. The variation of the shear stress is often highly nonuniform and the radial normal stresses are likely to be large. The present results, therefore, disagree with the common assumptions made in the pull-out tests in the orthopaedic applications. Finally, stress analysis of a number of possible testing configurations could lead to the design of an optimal pull-out test which maximizes the usefulness of the measured results in terms of the interface bond strength and factors affecting it.