Experimental and simulation analyses of the stress field of slider-on-block contact for static and slip states

Contact problems have been widely investigated for many years. However, there are few reports on the real-time observation of shear stress evolution in friction process by experimental method. In this paper, the plane stress fields of slider-on-block contact in different contact states were observed by photoelasticity experiments and finite element simulation. In the static state, the slider is only subjected to a normal force by an L-shaped body above the slider while the block is fixed. However, in the slip state, the block is moved, and the slider is acted upon by normal and tangential forces. In both cases, the principal stress difference fields in the block obtained by photoelasticity and simulation were basically consistent. Additionally, based on simulation, the distributions of pressure and frictional stress on the contact surface were determined; the influences of the load and friction coefficient on the contact stress distributions were also investigated. Accordingly, some principles for contact stress distribution were obtained. The combination of experimental and simulation methods aims to be complementary, helping to better understand the nature of the contact stress field.