Abstract
A two-dimensional finite element model is developed for determining the non-linear steady-state configuration of a two-dimensional thermoelastic system involving sliding in the plane with frictional heat generation. Above a certain critical speed, this causes the uniform pressure solution to be unstable and the final steady-state configuration involves regions of separation at the interface and associated temperature and displacement fields that migrate over the contacting bodies in the direction of sliding. A major challenge in the development of a suitable algorithm is to determine this migration speed by iteration to be able to use a reference frame in which the fields are stationary. The results of the algorithm were validated by comparison with the long-time behaviour of a previously published (but very time consuming) transient simulation algorithm.