Measurement and evaluation on contact stress at the rubber contact interface

Based on the measurement principle of the ultrasonic method, the prediction and evaluation of the contact stress at the rubber contact interface are experimentally and numerically studied in this paper. First, the relationship between the ultrasonic echo signal and the interface contact stress is calibrated based on the ultrasonic method. Second, both the propagation and the interface reflection of ultrasonic at the rubber interface under different displacements are simulated using the finite element method, and the effects of the contact stress and the interfacial roughness on the ultrasonic propagation are analysed. Finally, the empirical fitting formula of ultrasonic reflection coefficient at the rubber interface between rubber and different materials is established by considering the damping, the thickness, the contact stress and the interfacial roughness through dimensional analysis method and finite element simulation, which is well validated by the experiment.