The Elastic Cross-Influence between Two Quasi-Hertzian Contact Zones

In this paper a type of contact between two bodies is considered, which leads to the formation of two separate contact zones. The contact zones considered are Hertzian ellipses if the distance between them is large. When the distance between the zones is finite it is necessary to take into account the elastic cross-influence of the two zones. In this paper an approximate method is proposed which allows the determination of the actual contact zones as Hertz's ellipses but without disregarding the cross-influence. Numerical results are presented for two, two-humped bodies pressed against each other and for steady state rolling of a flanged wheel along a steel rail.

It is shown that neglecting the cross influence for a flanged wheel leads to a negligible error in the contact forces but the forces are transmitted between wheel and rail through contact patches which are generally more slender than with the cross-influence neglected.