A Numerical Model for Investigating the Effect of Viscoelasticity on the Partial Slip Solution

To investigate the effects of viscoelasticity on the stick-slip behaviour, a new model reproducing the partial slip of viscoelastic materials under fully coupled conditions is developed in this paper. The ratio of retardation time to relaxation time is employed to characterize the rheological property of a viscoelastic material. It is found that materials with higher ratios exhibit more fluid-like behaviours while those with lower ratios perform more like solid. As long as the contact input (load or displacement) is constant, the stick ratio (ratio of stick area to contacting area) is found to be insensitive to the viscoelasticity of materials. However, the separation pattern of the stick and slip regions varies with time when different contact phenomena (creep or stress relaxation) are encountered in the lateral and normal directions. The transition process from partial slip to gross sliding of viscoelastic materials, unlike the elastic response, tends to be abrupt when fully coupled conditions between shear tractions and pressure are introduced. When identical contact parameters are specified for different viscoelastic materials, the more fluid-like material always experiences a quicker transition from partial slip to gross sliding.