Analysis of Surface Tractions in Complex Fretting Fatigue Cycles Using Quadratic Programming

Real fretting fatigue cycles often involve complex loading where the fretting force may vary with a different phase or frequency to the other loads on the components. Analysis of the contact tractions in such cases can be difficult. Here we present a quadratic programming technique which enables the shear tractions to be determined in a relatively straightforward manner. A number of sample load histories are investigated and it is shown that the shear traction cycle rapidly shakes down to a steady state. Further, the results are relatively insensitive to the manner in which loading is commenced.