Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/J09413/01
Title:	THE EFFECT OF FRICTION ON CONTACT STRESS DISTRIBUTIONS, CRACK INITIATI ON AND PROPAGATION
Principal Investigator:	Patterson, Professor EA
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
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Department:	Mechanical Engineering
Organisation:	University of Sheffield
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 January 1994	Ends:	31 December 1996	Value (£):	185,623
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Eng. Dynamics & Tribology
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
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Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The aims of this project are to understand the effect and importance of friction conditions on the initiation and direction or crack paths in contacting bodies. This requires a knowledge of the boundary conditions and stress distributions at and near to the contacting surfaces. This is to be studied mainly through room temperature photoelastic experiments since actual contacting surfaces will produce the boundary conditions as opposed to the assumed boundary conditions necessary for numerical analysis studies. The friction conditions at the contacting surfaces will be controlled by altering the surface finish and lubrication of the photoelastic models. The photoelastic stress analysis is difficult as the contacting surfaces are approached , but two complementary techniques , pioneered in this laboratory are to be further developed as part of the project so that the stress analysis are rapid and accurate. These techniques are a computerised automatic polariscope which employs phase stepping techniques and an additional computerised instrument which employs spectral contents analysis. A comparison of the photoelastic results will be made with idealised numerical analysis results currently being studied by colleagues in the same department, as part of a SERC funded fretting fatigue project. Once the modelling and analysis methods have been verified, contacting surfaces such as those which occur in dovetail and firtree connections for turbine/compressor blades and discs will be studied. This project will enable the site of crack initiation and the progressive path to be predicted for contacting bodies in the presence of surface friction, with specific reference to dovetail and firtree connections and so will aid the design of these to minimise the effect of in-service cracking.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.shef.ac.uk