Identification of effective location of thermocouples from the contact interface

Abstract

This paper describes an experimental and analytical investigation of the temperature rise at the contact interface which occurs during dry sliding of SS304 alloy. Experiments were conducted on rotatory type pin on disk tribometer. Cylindrical pin of 3 mm radius of contact and 165 mm diameter circular disk having flat surface were utilized to simulate Hertzian contact configuration. Rise in contact interface temperature due to sliding was measured using K-type thermocouples which are attached to the pin at 4 mm and 7 mm distance from the contact surface. The temperature at the contact surface during dry sliding experiment was calculated from the measured temperature data obtained from thermocouple pasted at 4 mm and 7 mm locations using inverse heat transfer method. Heat measured at different locations along the longitudinal axis of the pin increased with sliding distance. The temperature data obtained from finite element analysis is verified by comparing it with experimental results to identify effective location of thermocouples to measure the contact interface temperature.