Influence of coefficient of friction on fretting fatigue crack nucleation prediction

The role of coefficient of friction (COF) on fretting fatigue damage prediction is studied using an elastic/plastic finite element analysis (FEA) of an experimental fretting fatigue test. At a scale on the order of tens of microns, the COF has a large impact on fretting fatigue damage prediction. By using a higher COF than that determined from conventional gross sliding tests, along with critical plane multiaxial fatigue damage models, the life and experimentally observed damage at this scale appear to be better predicted. Potential origins of this higher effective COF are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.