Modelling of ploughing in a single-asperity sliding contact using material point method

Loading and sliding of a rigid asperity over a substrate results in friction due to shearing of the contact interface and deformation of the substrate. In this article, we introduce the Material Point Method (MPM) based numerical tool to study friction during ploughing of a soft-smooth metallic sheet by a rigid-spherical asperity. The numerical model incorporates a dislocation based physical model for substrate material deformation and interfacial shear strength at the asperity- substrate contact. Initially, the numerical output has been validated using results obtained from the analytical models available in the literature for single-asperity sliding. Finally, the depth of the ploughed wear profile and the overall coefficient of friction obtained from the numerical simulations has been compared with the data obtained from the ploughing experiments and are shown to be in good agreement. Hence, the developed MPM model can be established as a robust tool to model ploughing in a single-asperity sliding contact. •Introduction of the Material Point Method (MPM) to model ploughing of single-asperity sliding through a substrate.•Implementation of a material model for plastic deformation and a friction model for shearing at the interface in the numerical-MPM model.•Validation of the numerical model with the theoretical models for perfectly elastic and perfectly plastic material in frictionless contact.•Ploughing experiments in lubricated contact using spherical indenters of different sizes over a range of applied loads.•Validation of the numerical model using coefficient of friction and ploughing depth results obtained from the ploughing experiments.