A method to model crystalline anisotropy in contact using semi-analytical method

In this paper, the contact problem between a cylinder and a half-space with a crystalline anisotropic behavior is solved. The model is based on semi-analytical methods to solve a three dimensional contact problem. A numerical technique based on a Voronoi tessellation is implemented using the Eshelby's equivalent inclusion method to account for the effect of the material microstructure on the contact pressure distribution and subsurface stresses. Fast Fourier Transforms (3D and 2D) are used to reduce the computation cost of the simulations. An application of this method to compute the scatter in fatigue life of rolling element bearings is also presented. Three different critical stresses are used in the Lundberg-Palmgren equation and results are compared in term of Weibull plot slope.