Analysis of Contact between a Functionally Graded Vitreous Enameled Steel Plate and a Rigid Spherical Indenter

Indentation of a functionally graded (FG) vitreous enameled steel plate with finite dimensions by a rigid spherical indenter is studied in this research. The plate is simply supported and the contact of the plate and the spherical punch is assumed to be frictionless. Here, as the first step toward investigating the contact problem, two sets of tests are carried out to find the forcedisplacement curve (contact rule) between the FG plate(upper surface) and the rigid spherical indenter. Each set of tests has specific plate dimensions and thicknesses, material distribution (in the direction of plate thickness) and indenter radii. The experimental results of the first set of tests are then used to calibrate a simulation of theproblem which is done by ABAQUS finite element package. Plastic behavior of the constituting phases of the FG plate in ABAQUS is accounted for by assuming a volume fraction based model proposed by Tamura et al. (TTO model). The experimental and simulated results for the second set of tests are in good agreement which shows the validity and accuracy of the ABAQUS model. As the second step in studying this contactproblem, the obtained ABAQUS model is used to investigate the effect of parameters such as material distribution and plate and indenter dimensions on the force-displacement curve. The simulations show that between two plates with the same thickness, an FG enameled steel plate has a higher load carrying capacity compared to a homogeneous steel plate for equal displacements

Keywords:

functionally graded materials , frictionless contact , plate , ABAQUS , vitreous enamel steel