Experimental investigation of the effects of debris on non-conforming contact stress

Debris widely exists in contact structures, affecting the reliability of structures. In this investigation, the effects of debris on the non-conforming contact stress are investigated through two-body and three-body contact experiments. According to the relationship between the contact length and debris length, debris is divided into long debris and short debris, which show different influences on the contact behaviors. The non-conforming contact stress is reconstructed based on full-field metrology and an inverse method. The evolution of contact stress induced by debris is analyzed with various parameters and contact surface profiles. Different factors, including debris material, debris length, debris thickness, plate material, and load amplitude, are considered in experiments. Their influence rules are discussed and summarized. The plate materials and short debris materials have coupling effects on the contact stress, which is associated with the deformation characteristics of the contact surface. The results provide an experimental reference for the research of non-conforming contact problems.