"A NUMERICAL SOLUTION FOR THE ELASTIC SLIDING CONTACT WITH FRICTIONAL HEATING "

Abstract

A thermoelastic contact model for non-conforming smooth or rough surfaces is proposed in this paper, based on a method for thermoelastic displacement computation. A classical contact model for the contact of rough surfaces is enhanced by integrating the thermal component of displacement. In the sliding contact model, heat is generated by friction at the contact surface, at a rate proportional to the sliding velocity, the frictional coefficient and the contact pressure. The latter, in its turn, is influenced by the initial clearance, the rigid body approach and the normal displacement, which comprises contributions from (1) the elastic displacement due to pressure, (2) the elastic displacement due to the shear tractions, assumed proportional to pressure according to Coulomb law of friction, and (3) the thermoelastic displacement due to the liberated heat, also proportional to pressure. These dependencies suggest that the geometric contact equation can be reduced to an equation in pressure, whose solution is obtained numerically based on an iterative search of the contact area and of the pressure distribution as in the case of isothermal contacts. A spherical contact is simulated with the newly advanced computer program, by including the thermoelastic effects. It is found that the contact area predicted by the isothermal contact model is larger than for the thermoelastic contact, and the pressure in the central contact region is underestimated when the thermal distortion is neglected. The advanced method is expected to provide base for the study of transient contact processes with consideration of thermal parameters.