Brake, Matthew RW2020-04-232020-11-012020-052020-04-23May 2020ONeill, Eoghan Oisin. "Investigating the Influence of the Radius of Curvature in Elastic-Plastic Spherical Contact." (2020) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108356">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108356</a>.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108356The study of elastic-plastic contact mechanics is fundamental in understanding the multi-scale behavior of mechanical systems. The e ects of the varying the radius of curvature in elastic-plastic asperity contact, and resulting impact on contact parameters, has been largely neglected in previous studies. A typical approach for elastic-plastic contact models is to assume the equivalent radius of curvature from Hertzian theory is valid in this regime. To assess the applicability of this assumption, contact between two spheres is modeled with FEA. For two elastic- plastic spheres, the ratio of the radii of curvature and material models are varied to encompass the range of flattening to indentation scenarios. Comparisons to contact models are shown and trends are observed indicating the significance of the effect of the radius of curvature on elastic-plastic contact. Finally, a formulation for contact parameters as a function of radii of curvature during contact is proposed.application/pdfengCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.ContactMechanicsSphereAsperityHertzThesis2020-04-23