From the original JKR model, the contact radius can be determined as a function of the contact overlap . The contact area between two particles is not a simple calculation to perform, therefore the simplied JKR model approximates the radius a of the contact zone
with:
Simplifying the original total normal force equation of contact with cohesion:
the normal force is written as:
where
This eliminates the computation of radius a of the contact zone while still providing an explicit expression of the force as a function of the overlap.