T. F.

CONRY A Mathematical Programming Method for

Research Engineer,
Detroit Diesel Allison Division,
General Motors Corp.,
Indianapolis, Ind. Assoc. Mem. ASME
Design of Elastic Bodies in Contact
This study deals with the development of a programming procedure for the analysis
A. SEIREG and design of general problems of elastic bodies in contact. The procedure utilizes a
Professor,
simplex-type algorithm. The technique is applied to Hertzian-type contacts, and
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
The University of Wisconsin, contacts of beams on elastic foundations. The selection of initial separations in the
Madison, Wise. Mem. ASME latter case for the optimal load distribution is considered as an example for the design
scheme. The technique gives an effective and relatively inexpensive means of treating
this class of problems.

Introduction a simplex-type algorithm and was found to be effective when

LI HE problems of contact between elastic bodies
has long been of considerable interest. M a n y contributions are
available in the literature which deals with analytical as well as
experimental aspects of this problem references [1-5]. 2 I n the
classical cases of contact the pressures are distributed over an
area which is small compared t o the dimensions of the bodies.
Many engineering problems, however, deal with conditions
where the contact extends over a large area. Examples of such
cases are rectangular elastic beams in contact.
The general contact problem can therefore be divided into
two categories:
1 Situations where the interest is the evaluation of the con-
tact area, the pressure distribution, and rigid-body approach
when the system configuration and applied loads are known.
2 Systems which are to be designed with the objective of ob-
taining the best possible distribution of pressure over the con-
tacting regions.
The purpose of this study is t o formulate a general procedure
for treating this class of problems.
The solution of both the analysis and design problems utilizes
1 condition is represented as
This paper is based on a thesis by T. F . Conry, presented to the
Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin, in partial fulfill-
ment of the requirements for his PhD degree.
2
Numbers in brackets designate References at end of paper.
Contributed by the Applied Mechanics Division and presented at
the Winter Annual Meeting, New York, N. Y., November 29-
December 3, 1970, of T H E AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL
ENGINEERS.
Discussion on this paper should be addressed to the Editorial De-
partment, ASME, United Engineering Center, 345 East 47th Street,
New York, N. Y. 10017, and will be accepted until July 20, 1971.
Discussion received after the closing date will be returned. Manu-
script received by ASME Applied Mechanics Division, December 15,
1969. Paper No. 70-WA/APM-52.
applied to several types of contact problems.
The algorithm utilized in this investigation is similar to t h a t
presented by Wolfe [6], This algorithm has been extended to
treat the design problem in the same general framework as the
analysis problem.
Formulation of the Contact Problem
The contact problem which is analyzed here is restricted to
normal surface loading conditions. Discrete forces can be taken
to represent distributed pressures over finite areas. The follow-
ing assumptions are made:
1 Deformations are small.
2 Two bodies obey the laws of linear elasticity.
3 Surfaces are smooth and have continuous first derivatives.
Problem formulation and geometric approximations can
therefore be made within the limits of the elasticity theory.
Condition of Compatibility of Deformation
At any point k in the proposed zone of contact, Fig. 1, the
sum of the elastic deformations and any initial separations must
be greater than or equal t o the rigid-body approach. This
w>*u> + w*<a) + tk - a g 0 (1)
where ek is initial separation at point k; wum, ww> are elastic
deformations at point k; and a is the rigid-body approach.
Condition of Equilibrium
The sum of all the forces Fk acting at the discrete points (fc =
1, . . . , N where N is the number of candidate points for con-
tact) must balance the applied load (P) normal to the surface.
The equilibrium condition can therefore be written as

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 where

Sk)- = a*,-(i) + a«c)

a*;(i>) aw) are the influence coefficients for the deflection of the
two bodies, respectively.

Total Potential Energy

For N discrete loads, the strain energy for the two bodies can
be written as
N
1
(7)

The loss in potential energy of the forces acting on both bodies

Fig. 1 Zone of contact loss in P E = - 2 F5{wm + wm) (8)

;' = i
The total potential energy for the system of the two bodies
N in contact is therefore
E ?J = P (2)
y=i
T P E = — - JT) Fjiwjm + wim) (9)
Criterion for Contact
At any point fc, the left-hand side of the inequality constraint Substituting (2)-(4) into (9) we obtain
(1) may be strictly positive or identically zero. Defining a new
variable Yk, inequality (1) can be rewritten TPE B F a
W«D + wtm + e,. - a - Yk = 0 (3)
4 E * - e;
(10)
where l l *

3= 1

Substituting (5) into (7), gives

The criterion for contact is therefore
1 * N
If Yk = 0, then ? g 0 SE
If Yk > 0,
t

then Fk = 0
(4) £* }= i
I N N
and the solution for the discrete contact problem is the set of
forces Fk (fc = 1, . . . , N) which satisfies equations (2)-(4). »-iy=i

or in matrix notation
General Model for Elastic Deformation
The continuous pressure distribution is approximated by a S E = - FTSF (ID
set of forces, acting at discrete points. Since both bodies obey 2
the laws of linear elasticity, the elastic deflection at a point fc
is a linear summation of the influence of all the forces F}- acting Equation (11) shows the strain energy represented by a qua-
on the interface. Accordingly dratic form. Since strain energy is always positive for all forces
and is zero only when all the forces are zero, the quadratic form
is positive definite. Thus the matrix S is posit e definite.
(5)

where akj is the deflection at point k due t o a unit force at point j .

Formulation of the Contact Problem as a
The contact problem may now be formally stated as follows: Quadratic Program
Find a solution (F, a, Y) which satisfies the following con- The discrete contact problem given in (6) may also be stated
straints, as a quadratic program.
Minimize FT(SF + t - ae)
-SF + ae + IY = e such t h a t
(6)
eTF = P -SF + ae £ e
T
Either Fk = 0 or Yk = 0 eF = P (12)
Fk S O , Yk S 0, a g o F g 0, a ^ O

•Nomenclature-
s' = JV x A ? matrix of influence coeffi- e = N X 1 vector of initial separations a = rigid-body approach, a scalar
cients X1 = N X 1 vector, the fcth component
is xk P = applied load, a scalar
F = N X 1 vector of forces X = N X 1 vector, the fcth comp6nent
isxjt
Y = N X 1 vector of slack variables
2 = 1 X 1 vector of artificial variables The subscript on a vector indicates a
e = N X 1 vector of ones with components (Zh . . . , ZN) component of t h a t vector.

388 / JUNE 1971 Transactions of the ASME

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 Fig. 4 Flow diagram for design algorithm

-SF + IY + ae - aX* -bX - c =0 10,000

DF
~ ?W» ^ 0
- aX* - bX ~ c gO
o
T c
eF = P
F, Y, a, a, c S 0 (16)
Either
5,000
0 or Fk 0

I t should be noted t h a t an upper bound must be given t o c to

keep the values of c and a finite in (16).
The algorithm for solving the design problem is divided into
two parts. T h e first part finds a feasible solution for the load <
O
distribution while the initial separations are constrained to be
zero. The second part minimizes the maximum load intensity
using the parameters (a, 6, c) as design variables. The simplex-
type algorithm is used in b o t h parts. 2 3 4
The minimization of the maximum load intensity is a non- DISTANCE FROM
linear programming problem, the objective function is linear but CENTER OF BEAM- Inches
the constraints are nonlinear. Since ah the constraints are Fig. 5 Pressure distribution for beam on elastic foundation
linear except for the criterion for contact, the basic simplex
algorithm, can again be used with the modified entry rules as
discussed previously. Global optimality, however, cannot be
proved for (16) in the presence of the criterion for contact, a L, t and d = length, width, and depth of beam
nonlinear equality constraint. = 8.9 in., 1.0 in., and 4.0 in., respectively
k = foundation modulus = 107 lb/in/in.
The first step in starting the solution method is to make the
tableau canonical relative to the artificial variables and the given
The results from the solution algorithm with a quadratic modi-
/N+i \ fication are given in Figs. 5 and 6. The pressure distribution
objective function I ^ ZA. D u e to the nature of the prob- without initial separation is shown in Fig. 5 for comparison.
lem, the tableau is already canonical relative to the design ob- The initial separation as calculated from the analysis program
jective function (p m o x ). T h e elements of this objective func- for a uniform pressure distribution is also shown in Fig. 6. I t
tion vector are called dk' throughout the cycles of the simplex can be seen t h a t the output of the design system, although it
algorithm as compared with the elements corresponding to the does not provide an exactly uniform pressure distribution,
/N+i \ represents the best quadratic curve for the stated objective.
objective function f ] T Z, j for the first part of the problem
which are called dk. T h e flow diagram for the solution to the
design problem is shown in Fig. 4.
Summary
The formulation of the general contact problem and the
Example 2
simplex-type algorithm presented in this paper gives a general
T h e case of a steel beam on an elastic foundation is considered and efficient numerical method for the analysis and design of
here as an illustration of the design system. I t is required in such problems.
this case to calculate the necessary initial separations which The results obtained from the design problem give the profile
produce, as closely as possible, a uniform pressure distribution correction corresponding to minimum of the maximum load
given in this example. intensity. An approximation for evaluation of the surface

Journal of Applied Mechanics JUNE 197 1 / 391

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 S t a r t with </> 180,000-
C h o o s e p by Q.
Standard Equations
| (6)
120,000 Classical Theory
Make C o n s t a n t s i n If s Corresponds to r • Computer Based Model
t h e R i g h t Hand S i d e is Y„ in the Basis?
Mon-Negative with II Points Across
If s Corresponds to Ys 60,000 - the Diameter

Add t h e A r U i f i c i a l 1
is Fc in the Basis?
<
V a r i a b l e s Zlt . . . , z , v + l [
H
Add O b j e c t i v e F u n c t i c
Z
O .0150 .0100 .0050 0 .0050 .0100 .0150
Would Fs
M
2 Replace Y ^ or
o RADIAL DISTANCE FROM THE APPLIED
E „- 1'j Replace Fa LOAD ( I N )
~T~
No
Fig. 3 Pressure distribution between two spheres

G
Make Canonical Remove j
Relative to the from J
Artificial Variables
and Z '

Choose c by I
ds = Min J,
Design Procedure for Uniform Load Distribution
Define
Test Min Z n
The design system discussed in this section automatically
produces initial separations which produce the best possible dis-
Replace the i*'th| tribution of load in any given two-dimensional contact situation.
B a s i c V a r i a b l e by
xs by P i v o t i n g on A second-order curve is selected for the initial separation since it
Basic F e a s i b l e t h e Term a„~zs
Solution can be readily generated. The equation for such a curve is given
by
STOP Define = ax 2 + bx + c (14)
No F e a s i b l e
Solution 0'|l£j<2//+l}
where
Fig. 2 Flow diagram for simplex-type algorithm
y = initial separation profile and is required to be i 0
x = axial position along the face

rithm to converge to the unique feasible point in at most §-(iV + 1) The correction profile can be attained by modifying one or both
cycles, the majority of cases converging in JV + 1 cycles. of the contacting surfaces.
The problem of degeneracy (i.e., when an element of t h e right- The objective of the design system is to evaluate the con-
side is zero during any cycle) has been discussed extensively in stants (a, b, c) for the optimal corrections corresponding t o the
relation to linear programming [11]. When this occurs, the distribution giving the minimum possible value for the maximum
possibility exists of circling indefinitely, and the finiteness of the load intensity.
simplex algorithm cannot be proved. However, in practice, I n the formulation of the design system the compatibility
the fact that degeneracy occurs does not affect the convergence condition given in equation (6) is used with t being replaced by
to the solution of the problem. This same behavior is assumed equation (14). Accordingly,
for the simplex-type algorithm previously described.
T h e simplex-type algorithm for the solution of the contact -SF + ae + IY - aX 2 - bX - c = 0 (15)
problem requires less computer storage space when compared
to available solution algorithms such as Rosen's gradient pro- where
jection'method [12] or the Frank-Wolfe algorithm [13]. Only
X2 = N X 1 vector whose fcth element is xk*
minor modifications of the well-known simplex algorithm are
X = N X 1 vector whose fcth element is xk
required. This algorithm is also readily adaptable to the design
xk = position of the fcth point
problem which is discussed in the following section.
The condition of equilibrium and the criterion for contact are the
Example 1 same as in equations (2) and (4).
The classical problem of two spheres in contact [1] is considered The initial separations are required to be nonnegative; there-
as an example. I n this case the influence coefficient matrix S fore
in (6) is calculated according to aBoussinesq model [1]
aX 2 + bX + c S; 0
(1 - v*) 1
irE <hj where (a) governs the sign of the second derivative.
If we define Ak as the length of the line segment at the fcth
where point, the average load intensity over t h a t segment is Fk/Ak.
The value of p m a x must be greater t h a n the average load intensi-
E = modulus of elasticity
ties at all the candidate points. This constraint is written as
v = Poisson's ratio
follows:
dkj = distance from point fc to point j in contact zone
DF £ pmne
Fig. 3 shows a comparison between the classical Hertzian
pressure distribution and t h a t obtained by the described tech-
where D is a diagonal matrix whose fcth element is 1/A t .
nique. The spheres considered are steel with radii of 1 and 10
The design system is now stated in a concise form as:
in., respectively, and the applied load is 100 lb. The algorithm
solution gave a value of 0.000281 in. for the rigid-body approach
Minimize pa
which compares favorably with 0.000283 in. for the classical
Hertz solution. such that

390 / JUNE 197 1 Transactions of the AS ME

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 Fig. 4 Flow diagram for design algorithm

-SF + IY + ae - aX* -bX - c =0 10,000

DF
~ ?W» ^ 0
- aX* - bX ~ c gO
o
T c
eF = P
F, Y, a, a, c S 0 (16)
Either
5,000
0 or Fk 0

I t should be noted t h a t an upper bound must be given t o c to

keep the values of c and a finite in (16).
The algorithm for solving the design problem is divided into
two parts. T h e first part finds a feasible solution for the load <
O
distribution while the initial separations are constrained to be
zero. The second part minimizes the maximum load intensity
using the parameters (a, 6, c) as design variables. The simplex-
type algorithm is used in b o t h parts. 2 3 4
The minimization of the maximum load intensity is a non- DISTANCE FROM
linear programming problem, the objective function is linear but CENTER OF BEAM- Inches
the constraints are nonlinear. Since ah the constraints are Fig. 5 Pressure distribution for beam on elastic foundation
linear except for the criterion for contact, the basic simplex
algorithm, can again be used with the modified entry rules as
discussed previously. Global optimality, however, cannot be
proved for (16) in the presence of the criterion for contact, a L, t and d = length, width, and depth of beam
nonlinear equality constraint. = 8.9 in., 1.0 in., and 4.0 in., respectively
k = foundation modulus = 107 lb/in/in.
The first step in starting the solution method is to make the
tableau canonical relative to the artificial variables and the given
The results from the solution algorithm with a quadratic modi-
/N+i \ fication are given in Figs. 5 and 6. The pressure distribution
objective function I ^ ZA. D u e to the nature of the prob- without initial separation is shown in Fig. 5 for comparison.
lem, the tableau is already canonical relative to the design ob- The initial separation as calculated from the analysis program
jective function (p m o x ). T h e elements of this objective func- for a uniform pressure distribution is also shown in Fig. 6. I t
tion vector are called dk' throughout the cycles of the simplex can be seen t h a t the output of the design system, although it
algorithm as compared with the elements corresponding to the does not provide an exactly uniform pressure distribution,
/N+i \ represents the best quadratic curve for the stated objective.
objective function f ] T Z, j for the first part of the problem
which are called dk. T h e flow diagram for the solution to the
design problem is shown in Fig. 4.
Summary
The formulation of the general contact problem and the
Example 2
simplex-type algorithm presented in this paper gives a general
T h e case of a steel beam on an elastic foundation is considered and efficient numerical method for the analysis and design of
here as an illustration of the design system. I t is required in such problems.
this case to calculate the necessary initial separations which The results obtained from the design problem give the profile
produce, as closely as possible, a uniform pressure distribution correction corresponding to minimum of the maximum load
given in this example. intensity. An approximation for evaluation of the surface

Journal of Applied Mechanics JUNE 197 1 / 391

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Optimum Quadratic Correction
• Correction for Uniform Pressure
I 2 3 matics, Vol. 9, 1961, pp. 51-54.
DISTANCE FROM
CENTER OF BEAM-Inches
Fig. 6 Initial separation for uniform pressure distribution and optimal
quadratic correction
modification is to assume a uniform load distribution, compute
the necessary initial separations and then fit these data to a
curve with the stated equation. The results from t h e design
program are the best that can be attained with the stated form
of surface modification, since in the process of curve fitting,
the main criterion is t o approximate the computed initial separa-
tions without regard to the resulting load distribution.
The method presented in this paper can have many applica-
tions in the design of mechanical elements such as gears, cams,
and seals. I t can also be-applied effectively t o the analysis and
design of elastic beams in contact and bolted joints. T h e
method is readily applicable t o the analysis of beams on elastic
foundations such as those discussed in reference [14].
Acknowledgment
The authors wish t o acknowledge the support of the National
392 / JUNE 197 1
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Science Foundation, the Engineering Experiment Station of
the University of Wisconsin and t h e University of Wisconsin
Computing Center during the course of this investigation.
References
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York, 1951.
2 Galin, L. A., "Contact Problems in the Theory of Elasticity,"
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New York, 1969.
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