《Greenwood_Williamson_paper》.pdf

Contact of Nominally Flat Surfaces Author(s): J. A. Greenwood and J. B. P. Williamson Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Vol. 295, No. 1442 (Dec. 6, 1966), pp. 300-319 Published by: The Royal Society Stable URL: /stable/2415421 . Accessed: 04/11/2013 20:08 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms Conditions of Use, available at . /page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@. . The Royal Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. This content downloaded from 5 on Mon, 4 Nov 2013 20:08:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Contact of nominally flat surfaces BY J. A. GREENWOOD AND J. B. P. WILLIAMSON Burndy Corporation Research Division, Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S.A. (Communicated by F. P. Bowden, F.R.S.-Received 28 April 1966) It is usually assumed that the real area of contact between two nominally flat metal surfaces is determined by the plastic deformation of their highest asperities. This leads at once to the result that the real area of contact is directlyproportional to the load and independent of the apparent area-a result with many applications in the theories of electric contacts