On the transient thermomechanical contact simulation for two sliding bodies with rough surfaces and dry friction

Abstract

A transient thermomechanical contact model for two sliding bodies with rough surfaces is presented. The underlying equations are solved for mechanical, thermal and thermoelastic submodels from which dimensionless influence functions for a loaded rectangular element on a halfspace are derived. They can be used to calculate displacements, stresses as well as temperature distributions for arbitrarily shaped and time dependent heat sources or stress distributions on the surface. All formulas are verified by comparison to solutions from the literature. The submodels are afterwards combined into one thermomechanical simulation model by coupling the heat flux to the frictional power while avoiding the use of a prescribed friction coefficient. The solution process is described in detail. Calculations for two nominally flat but periodic rough surfaces with 256 × 128 elements are performed for a range of sliding velocities and indentations. Simulation results are discussed in particular with regard to the obtained transient friction coefficient.