Publications

Bending Effects in the Frictional Energy Dissipation in Lap Joints

Heinstein, Martin W.; Segalman, Daniel J.; Segalman, Daniel J.

Frictional energy dissipation in joints is an issue of long-standing interest in the effort to predict damping of built up structures. Even obtaining a qualitative understanding of how energy dissipation depends on applied loads has not yet been accomplished. Goodman postulated that in harmonic loading, the energy dissipation per cycle would go as the cube of the amplitude of loading. Though experiment does support a power-law relationship, the exponent tends to be lower than Goodman predicted. Recent calculations discussed here suggest that the cause of that deviation has to do with reshaping of the contact patch over each loading period.