Asymptotic Stress Fields for Complete Contact Between Dissimilar Materials

We investigate the influence of material dissimilarity on the traction fields at the corners of a contact between an elastic right-angle wedge and an elastic half-plane. The local asymptotic fields are characterized in terms of the properties of the leading eigenvalue for cases of slip and stick as a function of the Dundurs bimaterial parameters alpha and beta, and the coefficient of friction f. Permissible values of alpha and beta are partitioned into two possible ranges, one where behavior is qualitatively similar to the case where the indenting wedge is rigid [alpha = 1] and the other where behavior is similar to the case where the materials are the same [alpha = beta = 0]. The results give insight into the high local stresses at the edge of a contact between elastically dissimilar bodies and can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of mesh refinement in corresponding finite element models.