A thermo-mechanical numerical method for modelling heating due to frictional sliding

Heating due to frictional sliding is an important phenomenon in tribological applications. The present study develops a numerical method based on the finite elements (FE) for modelling frictional sliding induced heating. More specifically, the method is designed for applications where the behavior of the tool part of the frictional contact couple is not critical so that it can be idealized as a rigid body. The contact between the tool and the target, assuming linear elastic material, is modelled with the penalty method. The FE-discretized balance of linear momentum is time discretized with the Newmark scheme, and the FE-discretized heat equation is time discretized with the backward Euler scheme. The global coupled thermo-mechanical problem is solved with a globally iterative staggered approach. The frictional contact model is verified against analytical solution of a rotating blade pressed against a plane. Finally, a validation simulation of a pin-on-disc tribology test is carried out.