4. Mechanical modeling of rough contact

The previous discrete analysis highlighted the heterogeneity of asperity deformation. Moreover, the number of asperities in contact varies from 60 to 195 (table 3 ), making the use of a discrete rough contact model necessary.

While rough contact is usually modeled on an equivalent surface, in our case the surface before and after indentation is known and finely characterized. Direct comparisons between model and experiment can therefore be made. First, the modeling is presented.