Effect of yield hardening on plastic deformation of metal contact interface

Metal contact has a pivotal role in various engineering situations, such as hydraulic sealing, wear, tribology, and so on. Under extreme contact pressure, metal surfaces deform plastically and yield hardening occurs, which forms a better sealing interface. In order to predict the plastic deformation more accurately, we propose a novel method considering yield hardening to calculate the stress distribution and plastic deformation of the contact interface. The analysis results are well agreed with the experimental results. Characterization of plastic deformation is important for our increased understanding of sealing performance.