Numerical estimation of fretting fatigue lifetime using damage and fracture mechanics

Fretting fatigue is a complex tribological phenomenon that can cause premature failure of connected components that have small relative oscillatory movement. The fraction of fretting fatigue lifetime spent in crack initiation and in crack propagation depends on many factors, e.g., contact stresses, amount of slip, frequency, environmental conditions, etc., and varies from one application to another. Therefore, both crack initiation and propagation phases are important in analysing fretting fatigue. In this investigation, a numerical approach is used to predict these two portions and estimate fretting fatigue failure lifetime under a conformal contact configuration. For this purpose, an uncoupled damage evolution law based on principles of continuum damage mechanics is developed for modelling crack initiation. The extended finite element method approach is used for calculating crack propagation lifetimes. The estimated results are validated with previously reported experimental data and compared with other available methods in the literature.The authors wish to thank the Ghent University for the financial support received by the Special Funding of Ghent University, BOF (Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds), in the framework of project (BOF 01N02410) and gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness through the project DPI2010-20990.Hojjati-Talemi, R.; Wahab, MA.; Giner Maravilla, E.; Sabsabi, M. (2013). Numerical estimation of fretting fatigue lifetime using damage and fracture mechanics. Tribology Letters. 52(1):11-25. doi:10.1007/s11249-013-0189-8S112552