Investigation of the effect of structural parameters of elastic beam array in contact with smooth and rigid body on friction force

Nowadays, surface texturing becomes a significant method in the regulation of contact forces between two bodies in contact. Surface texturing is generally carried out by using elastic cylindrical beams. In this study, the effect of elastic beam array structural parameters on friction force amplitude of beams in contact with a flat, smooth and rigid body are investigated by finite-element method. For this, the frictional motion of the elastic cylindrical beam array is modeled in a finite-element based engineering software. Validation of the established model is performed. In the model, backing layer thickness, spacing distance between two beams, and number of beams are changed in elastic beam array. Normal force and friction force amplitudes in the full-sliding frictional motion of beams in contact with a smooth and rigid body are calculated. When the spacing distance between the two beams or the beam backing layer thickness is increased, the friction force amplitude decreases; and the effect of the number of beams on the friction force amplitude per single beam is negligible.