A critical overview of internal and external cylinder contact force models

Most of the analytical models found in the literature, to study the contact between cylindrical bodies, are based on the Hertz pressure distribution. The major shortcomings associated with these cylindrical models concern their nonlinearity. Firstly, the indentation is expressed as an implicit function of the contact force, thus a numerical iterative technique is required to evaluate the contact force for a given indentation. In a dynamic analysis code, it is implied that at each integration time step, the iterative process for the solution of the nonlinear equations has to be solved. Secondly, the current cylindrical contact models include logarithmic functions, which impose mathematical and physical limitations on their application, particularly for conformal contact conditions with lower clearance values. The validity domain of each contact model is identified in this work with relation to the clearance value and material properties of the contacting cylinders. A comparative assessment of the performance of each model is performed calculating the relative difference of each one in relation to Johnson's model. The results show that, in general, different models exhibit distinct behavior for both the internal and external contact between cylinders. The load limit of each model and the restrictions on its application is identified using two simple examples of mechanical engineering practice in which internal contacting cylinders are involved and analyzed to include: journal bearings and roller chain drives.