Surface Cracking in Elastic-Plastic Multi-Layered Media Due to Repeated Sliding Contact

Surface cracking in a multi-layered medium due to sliding of a rigid asperity was analyzed using linear elastic fracture mechanics and the finite element method. Overlapping of the crack faces and assumptions about the distributions of surface tractions were avoided by using special contact elements. The main objectives of this study were to obtain solutions for the tensile and shear stress intensity factor (SIF) and to determine the crack propagation path in the first layer due to repetitive sliding. The crack propagation direction was predicted based on the maximum (tensile or shear) SIF range. The effects of the crack length, sliding friction, and crack-face friction on the SIF and crack propagation direction are discussed in the context of finite element solutions. Simulation results demonstrate the effects of crack growth in the elastic surface layer on the accumulation of plastic strain in the elastic-plastic underlying layer and the significance of the crack growth increment on the propagation path. It is shown that the surface crack propagates toward the layer interface at an angle of ∼57° from the original crack plane, independent of the crack growth increment, in fair agreement with experimental observations. Based on the obtained results, a general fatigue approach for surface cracking is derived for multi-layered media subjected to repetitive sliding contact.