Contact Stress Distribution of a Pear Cam Profile with Roller Follower Mechanism

Abstract The problem of this paper is the high contact stress at the point of contact between the cam and the follower. A pear cam and roller follower mechanism were studied and analyzed for different position of the follower and different contact compression load. The objective of this paper is to study the effect of contact compression load on the contact stress distribution of the cam profile at the point of contact. Four different positions of the follower with the cam was considered (0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°). The theory of circular plate was applied to derive the analytic solution of the contact stress. The numerical simulation had been done using ANSYS Ver. 19.2 package to determine the contact stress, while SolidWorks software was used to investigate follower displacement, velocity, and acceleration. Four distinct values of the compression contact load, such as 3.121 N, 6.242 N, 9.364 N, and 12.485 N, were used in the numerical simulation. In the experiment setup, a photo-elastic technique was carried out in the field of polarized light to exhibit the stress distribution on the cam specimen. The annealed PSM-4 backalate material was used in the experiment setup. The experimental value of contact stress was checked and verified analytically and numerically at the point of contact. The innovation in this paper the use of spring-damper system which reduce the value of contact stress at the point of contact. The contact stress was maximum 2.136 MPa when the follower located at 270° with the cam, while the contact stress was minimum 1.802 MPa when the follower located at 180° at compression load 12.485 N.